Paul changed what atonement meant from humans attempting to overcome their sin to changing God by committing sin. It's a blasphemous concept to claim God is the one who needed to change. Neither Paul nor modern fundamentalists tell us what human responsibilities should be in overcoming sin. But they both harp. Paul harped on boasting vs. humbleness.
Fundamentalists harp on abortions.
What you are supposed to be doing, instead of allowing gimmicks like atonement to become an excuse for sin, or a reason for doing nothing about sin, is overcoming sin. To do that, you learn to tolerate sin against yourself without producing a counterforce. It is being effect rather than cause. One then acquires the awareness and correct habits for overcoming sin. The exception is in opposing the more extreme sin, which is codified as crime, because it is too harmful to be tolerated.