Reading: Romans chapter 3 verse 25:
K.J.B:
25”Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”;
N.I.V:
25”God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public--to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured.”
Amplified:
“Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment”.
Ill:
• There are 800,000 in the English language,
• 300,000 are technical terms.
• The average person knows 10,000 words and uses 5,000 in everyday speech.
• A journalist knows approximately 15,000 and uses around 10,000.
Propitiation is one of those 300,000 words that are technical terms in the English language:
• That the average person or journalist rarely uses.
• Simply put: ‘Propitiation is the satisfaction of God's holiness’.
Ill:
When you walk into the Book of Romans, you are walking into a court of law.
• The good news is the judge is absolutely 100% fair and just.
• We can be confident he is the best and will do his job justly and perfectly!
• The bad news is that you and me, who are in the dock;
• And we are 100% guilty (and of that there is no-doubt!)
Question:
• How can somebody who is absolutely guilty.
• Be set free and yet at the same time satisfy the law?
Answer: Propitiation (or atonement) is the answer:
Just think again for a moment about this picture of a law court:
(a). There is of course the person in the dock:
• That person is in big trouble because the book of Romans teaches that;
• No guilty person can ever satisfy the law (too late – they are condemn – guilty!)
(b). Also in the court is the judge:
• The Judge may love us and want to help us all that he can,
• But being just and righteous he has to obey the Law.
(c). We need another option.
• The only solution is that someone else who is qualified and willing can come in,
• And could act as some kind of substitute.
• Someone who can obey the Law, and thus satisfy it.
• But also someone who is willing to transferee their righteousness onto us.
• Of course, that person is Jesus Christ.
• He alone is qualified to be our propitiation (atoning sacrifice).
LET US CONSIDER THIS DOCTRINE FROM 3 DIFFERENT ASPECTS.
(1). Definition of Propitiation:
Quote: One Christian writer put it this way:
“Propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross;
By which He satisfied God's holiness so God could extend mercy to lost sinners”.
NOTE:
• If you look up the word "propitiation" in an English dictionary,
• You will find it defined as "appeasing someone's anger."
Ill:
A biblical example of that is Jacob and Easu (Genesis chapter 32):
• Jacob has ripped off his brother Esau.
• Esau is very angry at Jacob wants revenge.
• Eventually Jacob has to come back home.
• Knowing the rotten situation he left behind.
• He sends word, and he sends spies ahead to check out Esau.
• To find out if he is still mad and gunning for his blood.
• The report comes back;
• Esau is coming, and it is not likely to be good news when he catches up with you.
• Jacob gets presents and sends them to his brother,
• Hoping to turn his brothers frown into a smile.
In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament);
• They uses the Greek word ‘Hilasmoi’.
• Which in our New Testament; some translations interpret as ‘propitiation’.
• In other words Jacob is sending something;
• In the hope of appeasing the anger of his injured and offended brother.
Question: Is that what the word means when it is used in the New Testament?
• Some people have the idea that God the Father is angry at lost sinners.
• And that he is out to get even with those people who have disobeyed Him.
But then God the Son comes up and says,
"Now, Father, please don't be angry!
I will go and die for these sinners, and this will appease Your wrath."
I believe nothing could be further from the truth.
• To begin with, Jesus Christ and His Father and the Holy Spirit work together;
• They are totally united in this whole great plan of salvation.
• It is not that one wants to condemn and the other wants to forgive.
• The Bible makes it abundantly clear that it was as much God the Father who gave…
• Ill: John chapter 3 verse 16.
• Ill: 1 John chapter 4 verse 14.
• The Bible makes it abundantly clear that it was as much God the Father who gave…
• As it was the Son who was willing to come!
When Jesus Christ went to the cross, the Father was also there:
• The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit worked together in the plan of salvation.
• Propitiation does not mean that Jesus Christ came to appease God's anger.
Some people have the idea that because of His death on the cross:
• Jesus somehow turned God's wrath into love.
• Again, I believe nothing could be further from the truth:
All of God's attributes are consistent:
• His wisdom does not fight against His power.
• His power does not fight against His grace.
• His grace does not fight against His holiness.
• There is a co-operation, a consistency, a unity about the character of God.
Ill:
You and I are not consistent:
• At times we are overly sentimental and loving;
• At other times we are overly angry and unforgiving.
• God is not this way.
• God's attributes are consistent and unified.
• And so there is no need for Him to lay one aside for the other.
• God's holiness demands that sin be punished.
• Yet God’s love moves Him to save the sinner,
• His love is a HOLY love, and this is where propitiation comes in.
What we see at the cross is sometimes called ‘tough love’:
Ill:
Human father and their naughty child.
• We see a parent punishing the child;
• Not to get even! But for the good of the child (selfish & spoilt etc).
With God we see both those attributes working together:
• We see love & righteousness (doing what is right),
• Complementing each other!
• God the Father simply cannot close His eyes like some doting grandfather and say,
• "Well, I'll forget all about it." A holy God has to deal with sin.
• Just as a human father deals with his very naughty child.
• In applying discipline we see both love and righteousness together!
• So God deals with people in both love and righteousness;
• One is not at the exclusion of the other!
Question: What is propitiation:
• Propitiation does not mean appeasing God's anger;
• Propitiation does not mean turning God's wrath into love.
• Propitiation means that Christ satisfied the holiness of God;
• So that He is able to extend grace and mercy to lost sinners.
Quote:
• The old Puritan theologian, John Owen,
• Has summarized propitiation in four simple statements.
First:
• There is an offence to be removed.
• Sinners have offended a holy God.
Second:
• There is an offended person to be dealt with.
• The person offended is God himself.
Third:
• The person who has offended has to be pardoned.
• Because if he is not pardoned, then he is obviously condemned.
Fourthly:
• In order for this to happen, a sacrifice has to be offered.
• And that sacrifice was of course Jesus Christ.
These four points are a good explanation of the meaning of propitiation.
• So there is an offence to be removed,
• An offended person to be satisfied,
• An offending person to be pardoned,
• And a sacrifice to be made to make this all possible.
(2). Demonstration of Propitiation.
A display of propitiation is found in the book of Leviticus:
• I do not think there is any other book in the Bible;
• Which is stronger on the holiness of God than Leviticus!
• The key verse in the book is one frequently alluded to in the New Testament:
• “Be holy for I am holy”.
Leviticus also underlines the sinfulness of man:
• In this book we see human sinfulness as it really is;
• Quote: ‘Sinfulness in not just polluting things but also in profaning holy things’.
• We live in a world that is doing both;
• Sadly we are or have been guilty of doing both as well.
In this book we see a display of propitiation:
• We find it illustrated in chapter 16:
• Where we read about the great Day of Atonement (at-one-ment).
Ill:
• Once a year the high priest removed and laid aside his ornate garments,
• And then he offered sacrifices for his own sins.
• Having done that he set apart two goats:
• One goat was chosen to die, and the other goat was chosen to stay alive.
The high priest would then kill the goat that was chosen to die (as a sacrifice);
• And he would then take the blood of that goat into the Holy of Holies.
• This was the only time in the year he was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies.
• He then sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat.
• Ill: The mercy seat was that beautiful, golden covering on the ark of the covenant.
• Contained inside the ark of the covenant;
• Were two copies of the ten commandments (The Law).
• When the priest came in and sprinkled the blood upon that mercy seat,
• The blood covered the law of God that was broken by human beings.
• So the blood he sprinkled covered the broken Law.
• Having performed this act the high priest would then go back outside:
• And put his hands on the head of the living goat;
• And confess the sins of the people of Israel.
• That living goat was then taken out into the wilderness,
• Turned loose and never seen again.
• Together these two goats made up what is called ‘a sin offering’.
• It is a two-fold picture to us of what Jesus would do for us on the cross.
• First: He would die to satisfy the broken law of God;
• Second: He would enabling guilty sinners to be forgiven and set free.
Ill:
In fact, in the Greek Testament;
• The word "propitiation" is translated ‘mercy seat’ in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 5.
• It carries the idea of the removal of sin.
• Ill: “Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover”.
• Ill: “And the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat.”
• God's justice has been satisfied,
• And God’s love can now fully be experienced!
(3). Dynamic of Propitiation
What is the dynamic of propitiation:
• For every Christian;
• Three things.
(a). Sinners Can Be Saved:
• First of all, sinners can be saved from judgment.
• We read in 1 John chapter 4 verse 10:
N.I.V:
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an
atoning sacrifice for our sins”.
K.J.B:
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Also in 1 John chapter 2 verse 2 we read these words:
N.I.V:
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
K.J.B:
"And he is the propitiation for our sins;
and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Propitiation says that sinners can be saved from judgment:
• And not just a few sinners;
• Propitiation (or atonement) is available to the whole world.
• ‘At-one-ment’ is available but not automatic;
• A person must respond in repentance and faith.
(b). Believers Can Be Forgiven.
• Second, believers can be forgiven when they sin.
• 1 John chapter 2 verses 1-2 says:
ill:
• Shower in morning,
• But wash our hands throughout the day.
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have (K.J.B: Latin name ‘Advocate’ N.I.V. explains the term) one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2He is the atoning sacrifice (K.J.B: propitiation) for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Notice:
• That verse 2 tells who our ‘advocate’ is:
• ‘Jesus Christ.’
• It also tells us why he alone is qualified:
• ‘The righteous one’.
• He alone is able to meet the holy demands of God's just Law,
• So that we can be forgiven.
• We don't have to be saved all over again;
• But we are able to experience a daily cleansing.
(3). We Can Find Strength.
There is a third dynamic to propitiation:
• It means that we can find daily strength for our daily living:
• Quote: Hebrews 4: 16 says,
"Let us come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
• The mercy seat is the place where we meet God,
• Where we meet Jesus Christ;
• And where we can find grace for the demands of life.
So the Lord Jesus Christ is our propitiation:
• He has provided all that is necessary for salvation,
• For daily forgiveness,
• For motivation to witness to the whole world;
• And for strength for daily living.
Ill:
• Over the years we have all sung the hymns of one man;
• His name William Cowper.
• He was often a very discouraged and depressed man,
• He was a very nervous fellow, ready to give up.
• And he said in one of his writings,
• On a day when he was extremely distraught,
"I flung myself into a chair near the window, and seeing a Bible there, ventured once more to apply to it for comfort and instruction. The first verse I saw was the 25th of the 3rd of Romans: 'Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.'
I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and completeness of His justification.
In an instant I believed and received the peace of the gospel."
It was William Cowper who wrote these words:
“There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.”
