"The cross was a judgment of sin, cleansing for the human conscience, payment for sin, appeasement/satisfaction of God's wrath, substitutionary ransom, etc. It is all these and more."
Say, are you sure about the Cross being the event that cleanses a person's conscience? Jesus can lift the Sin Nature from anyone's Heart at any time, thus we have Exodus 33:19, where the Lord says that He can grant His Grace, Mercy, and Compassion upon anyone He so chooses. And this is what happened to Abraham . . . our Father of Faith. His Heart was circumcised by Christ . . . by the Spirit.
Romans 2:28-29 KJV - "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither [is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God."
The above teaching from Paul shows us what True Circumcision is, and this Circumcision is exactly what happened to Abraham.
Romans 4:16 NLT - "So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses,
if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe."
Even Abel, the son of Adam was a prophet, and certainly, no one can be a prophet of God if they remain under the Curse that Jesus removes as described in Colossians 2:9-15. Jesus lifted this Curse for all Righteous and Holy men/women of the past. If they remained under the Curse brought on by Adam and Eve, then Righteousness and Holiness are utterly impossible.
The Work of Jesus is as follows:
1. Jesus Enables a Heart to Repent, to Turn from sin and live a life of consistent obedience.
2. Jesus Circumcises the Heart of the Sin Nature.
3. Jesus died on the Cross to pay for the sins of those who had been given to Him.
4. Jesus sends the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Three of the four, above, were all issued to our Patriarchs, for this is why we must all have the same kind of Faith that Abraham had . . . along with all others listed in Hebrews 11.
Romans 4:11-12 NLT - "Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous--even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. 12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised."
Just something to consider.