Propitiation
Romans 3:21-31
21But now the righteousness of
God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets
bear witness to it—
22the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
23for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God,
24and are justified by his grace
as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins.
26It was to show his
righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27Then what becomes of our
boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by
the law of faith.
28For we hold that one is
justified by faith apart from works of the law.
29Or is God the God of Jews only?
Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
30since God is one—who will
justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
31Do we then overthrow the law by
this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
Paul has established, in that last 63 verses of text, that
we are ALL sinners. There is not one of us since Adam and Eve, with the
exception of Jesus Christ, who can claim any type of righteousness at all. Not
the Jews, not the Gentiles. Our status as sinners before a holy God is plain.
But he doesn’t leave us in that place of damnation. Now he comes along and
presents the only answer to our desperate sin problem. We have been justified by his grace as a gift, through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation
by his blood.
That word propitiation
has always fascinated me. It is used only 5 times in the entire New Testament,
all referring to Jesus as the one who has paid the price for our sins. It’s a
word you don’t hear very often any more but its connotations are fairly
substantial. In its original forms it applies to the sacrifice made during
temple worship where the blood of innocent lamb is spread upon the mercy seat. There
God’s wrath is appeased for a time by the sacrifices He proscribed before Jesus
makes the final sacrifice. The clearest verse that supports this understanding
comes from Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he had to be
made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and
faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins
of the people.
Our Great High Priest completes once and for all the
sacrifice that brings peace to God and ends His wrath over our sin. We are free
from the power of sin and death in our lives because of His work. The Apostle
John also uses this word to describe Jesus and His work on two separate
occasions in 1 John
1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not
that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
The most interest use of this word comes in the parable
Jesus told His Disciples of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector who are praying
in the Temple. The words of the Tax Collector as he stands humbly at the back
of the room beating his chest in repentance are striking.
Luke 18:13
God, be merciful to me
[propitiate me], a sinner!
Here is a man who understands that a sacrifice must be made
on his behalf or he is lost. That is the person I want to be every single day
of my life. God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
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