whom 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. it 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. [romans 3:25-26]
propitiation can be an intimidating word that is difficult to spell, let alone define, for many people. but the beauty in the truth of Christ our propitiation is worth diving into. God’s scandalous grace is revealed in the death of Christ. let’s break it down!
God is righteous. he upholds what is right, and the thing that is most right is himself! he is altogether good and holy, and he is worthy of the highest honor because as sovereign Creator, he needs nothing outside of himself. therefore, anything that does not lift him and his holy name high, is unrighteous, and deserves the punishment of his wrath and separation from his glorious presence.
God is just. God does not fail to uphold what is right, therefore, he does not fail to punish sin and rebellion against him and his holy name.
God passed over sins. before the Father sent his Son Jesus to the earth as a human baby, there were many, many generations of sinful man. thousands of years’ worth, in fact. but of those generations, God still chose many to be his own children. to count them as righteous, and to withhold his wrath, even though each had sinned against him. he was forbearing, or tolerant, restraining his wrath and punishment, for those who trusted him.
doesn’t that make God unjust? doesn’t that make him a liar, saying that sin must be punished, and then not punishing it? may it never be!
God gave Jesus as a propitiation for the sins of his children. the payment for sin is death. but God made a way for his children, from creation to the end of time, to live. he sent his perfectly righteous Son, Jesus Christ, to die the death we deserved. because Jesus is man, he qualified to pay the penalty. because Jesus is sinless, he could be a propitiation; he satisfied and appeased the wrath of the Father. he was a pure and spotless lamb. because Jesus is God, he overcame death, raising to eternal life, to reign at the right hand of God forever and ever!
God gives forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but through him. [john 14:6] even those who walked the earth before Jesus came, looked forward to the promised Savior for the forgiveness of sins, trusting that God had a plan for salvation. no one is made right outside of faith in Christ. no one else can appease the wrath of God. but if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, trusting in his blood for salvation, and bowing our knee to him as Lord, we will have eternal life with him!
God is both just and the Justifier of those who trust in Jesus. God has to pour out wrath on sin because he must uphold his own good name. and he did. he poured out the fury of his wrath toward sin on his sinless Son, sending him to the cross the bear the weight of your sin and mine, so that he would be perfectly justified to pass over our sins, and the sins of all of his children from all time. our debt has been paid, and our punishment removed. we now have nothing but the perfect, sinless record of our Savior, Jesus. we now have only all of the love of the Father, with condemnation removed, with no more fear of his wrath, with no more fear of death, and with no more fear of judgment.
today, in the presence of your Father who is both just and your Justifier, thank him for the cross. thank him for his Son who was able to withstand all of the wrath toward sin, even though he had no sin of his own. think about the forgiveness you’ve been so freely given, and rejoice.
~ arwen east