The Atonement- Redemption & Propitiation for Sins
| The Propitiation-the payment to satisfy the wrath of God against sin
JUSTIFICATION THROUGH REDEMPTION AND PROPITIATION
If you have read the book of Romans we have seen that, because the Jews had sinned by
breaking the law which God had committed unto them, they were no better than
the Gentiles who did not have the law. All were sinners: all were subject to
God’s judgmental wrath; therefore all were in need of pardon. The law had been
given to stress the exceeding sinfulness of sin and to impress upon them their
need of redemptive pardon. Though they had failed, or refused, to comprehend
that law, God remained true to ills Word, providing for their need on the
ground of true belief in the gospel. The provision was justification by faith.
Paul presents it as ‘the righteousness of God without
(apart from) the law’ (3:21). At this point, he explains that this justifying
righteousness is ‘by faith of (in) Jesus Christ,’ or faith in Christ’s
redemptive work for us, meaning that it is received by believing it in the
light of the Scriptures. To receive it ‘without the law’ means that it is God’s
work of grace according to his mercy,’ totally apart from ‘works of righteousness
which we have done’ (Titus 3:5). The verse below says that it is ‘according
to the riches of his grace.’ it is so priceless that all men are paupers,
comparatively speaking. None could afford such grace and forgiveness. Only God
possesses infinite riches!
Eph 1:7 in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Exodus 6:6,7; 12:7, 12
Ex 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Ex 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Ex 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
Ex 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
Deuteronomy 7;7, 8
De 7:7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Romans 3;24
Ro 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Colossians 1:15. 14
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Hebrews 9;12
Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
I. REDEMPTION (Ex. 6:6, 7; 12:7,12; Deut. 7:7, 8; Rom.
3:24; Col.1:13, 14; Heb. 9:12)
A. Old Testament Type; (Ex.6:6, 7; 12:7, Deut.12; 7:7,
8); The book of Exodus is sometimes
called “the book of redemption”. It has been pointed out that: (1) Redemption
is altogether the work of God (Ex. 3:7, 8; John 3:16); (2) God works His
redemption through a chosen person (Ex. 2:1, 2; 5:4-10; John 3:16,17); (3)
redemption is by blood (Ex. 12:7, 12:1 Peter 1:18, 19); and
(4) redemption is by power (Ex. 6:6, 7; John 1:12).
B. Redemption Defined: To “redeem” means: (1) to buy
again something that has been sold, by paying back the price to him who bought
it (Webster). (See Leviticus 25:25-27,47,48.) Some have ‘sold out’ themselves
to Satan, or the world. (2) To deliver and bring out of bondage those who were
kept prisoners by their enemies. (See Deuteronomy 7:8; Luke 1:68: 1 Timothy
2:6; and Titus 2:14.)
Biblical redemption is God’s mighty work of deliverance
from a captive state; the deliverance of sinners ‘...out of the snare of the
devil, who were taken captive by him at his will’ (2 Tim. 2:26); ‘...delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God’ (Rom. 8:21).
C. Redemption Demands a Price:
Though justification makes us free (by grace), it comes
to us at a great price, ...through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus’
(Rom. 3:24). The price was the Son of God. God gave His Son. The Son gave His
life by shedding His blood; the blood of God, as it were, shed from the body
which God had prepared Him to be offered as the one and only acceptable eternal
Sacrifice. (See Hebrews 10:5-7 and Psalm 40:5-8.) Jesus himself said that lie
came ...to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45; see also 1 Tim. 2:6).
Summarily then, the great Biblical redemption was the
sacrificial, substitutional work wherein God gave His Son as the ransom price
for man’s deliverance from Satan’s captivity. in the ‘order of salvation’—
God’s orderly procedure in providing salvation—redemption precedes
justification (Rom. 3:24). Redemption laid the groundwork, so to speak When
redemption was complete, and Jesus could say, “IT IS FINISHED,’ justification
was offered to ‘whosoever will.’
Romans 3;25
Ro 3:25 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;
Ro 3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
I John 2;2, 4;10
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
II. PROPITIATION (Rom. 3:25. 26:1 John 2:2; 4:10)
A. Christ Our Propitiation: ‘Propitiation’ is another
component of the overall blood atonement. For some reason, many expositors
avoid the use of this word. They substitute ‘expiation’ and ‘mercy seat’ for
propitiation. While expiation (atonement; satisfaction for sin) and the mercy
seat are clearly a part, standing alone they do not do justice as synonyms for
propitiation. Note carefully the following definition:
PROPITIATION is
that component of the substitutionary atonement by which the Almighty God
declared His, absolute righteousness in remitting the sins of the guilty (past
and present sins) without violating His own infallible Word.
The Scriptures declared God’s Word to be unchangeable.
For instance: ‘Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled (established; fixed) in
heaven’ (Psa. 119:89). The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of
our GOD shall stand forever (Isa. 40:8). Moreover, all sin carried a sure
penalty: either punishment or death, spiritually or naturally. ‘...The soul
that sinneth it shall die’ (Eze. 18:4, 20; see also 33: 10-13). ‘I will punish
the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity...’ (Isa. 15:11).
Though hand join in hand (in protest to the contrary), the wicked shall not be
unpunished...’ Pro. 11:21).
B. GOD the Just Justifier (3:26):
The question arises: How can the God of a ‘forever
established’ Word and unbending justice forgive sin, despite His own declared
sentence of punishment or death? How can He justly justify men who positively
deserve to be blamed? Must the Supreme Ruler of the Universe relax His
stand—modify it significantly—simply set it aside by his sovereignty— in order
to save a people who clearly deserve to be damned? Has God put himself ‘on the
spot,’ as it were, leaving Himself only two options: (1) To back down on His
promised salvation, or (2) to grant that salvation without requiring the
criminal to suffer his punishment? How could He ever be trusted again if He
should violate his own Word?
The answer is found in the propitiation component of our
redemption, as a careful reading of Romans 3:24 and 25 clearly shows, climaxing
in the words, “...That he (God) might be (both) just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus.” God had given His Word; His law. It could not be
by-passed or set aside on a mere ‘sensational whim.’ The only way to keep His
Word was to provide the required sacrifice. He would satisfy the penalty
Himself; pay the sin-debt in full Himself. The sacrifice must be without spot
or blemish—a perfect offering. (See Leviticus 22:17-25; Deuteronomy 15:19-21;
and Hebrews 9:11-14.)
No, God was not ‘on the spot.’ In eternity, before He
had set ‘time’
in motion, the Godhead had sat in council, as it were.
The ‘determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God’ (Acts 2:23) had made full
provision for forgiveness of sin; sin yet nonexistent, by man yet uncreated!
(See again Psalm 40:5-8 and Hebrews 10:5-7.) The Sacrifice would be substitutional,
yet real. Christ was the only available perfect offering. At the Father’s will,
He would take every man s place in judgment. He would be the holy Substitute
for every sinner’s lifeblood, for the life was in His blood. On Calvary’s
Cross, Christ was ‘set forth to be a propitiation (the one and only acceptable
propitiatory Sacrifice) through faith in his blood.’ it may be said that the
Sacrifice was twofold: (1) Redemptively, for the sins of men, and (2)
propitiatorily, also for the justification of the Father, that He might remain
just as the justifier of sinful men.
Commentator Robert Brinsmead has written the following
quotation concerning propitiation relevant to God’s justice in forgiving
sinners through justification by faith:
“...God Himself answers in bolts of holy wrath that fell
upon Himself in the person of Christ (the promised propitiatory Sacrifice).
Never had earth or heaven beheld such a display of awful, infinite justice as
when God spared not His Son. So Paul points to the Cross of Christ and
declares:
‘Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
‘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.:
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that
he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus’ (Rom.
5:24-26.).
‘The biblical doctrine of the atonement...shows us that
God was not only providing for the justification of sinners, but for the
justification of His moral order of the universe...Calvary was the highest
honor that God Himself could pay to His law. Prophecy had declared concerning
Christ:
‘The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake;
he will magnify (highly exalt) the law, and make it honourable” (Isa. 42:21).
Truly the ‘bolts of holy wrath’ were awesome indeed; but
no more awesome than the holy outpouring of divine love for a lost world! The
blessed hymn, ‘Such Love,’ says it well:
‘That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh
How wonderful is love like this!
Such love! Such wondrous love!
Such love! Such wondrous love!
That God should love a sinner such as I!
How wonderful is love like this!
Amen!!!
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ here are three steps you need to take to be saved:
 You must admit you are a sinner, confess your sin to Jesus, repent (turn from all you know is wrong), ask Jesus to come in your heart, and begin to follow Jesus by reading and obeying his word and go to a bible believing church that teaches his word. And Tell Someone What Christ Jesus Has Done For You (Rev 12:10) May God through Christ bless you! If you enjoyed this blogpost and believe some else can be helped and may be blessed pass it along:
If you have a prayer request or have questions that need clarification please contact me at: neverstoppraying8@gmail.com
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