Propitiation—How We Escape God’s Wrath

Rom 3:25

--A problem every lost person has—God has wrath toward them

1. What is propitiation?

a. Propitiation means “…a sacrifice that satisfies God’s justice and turns away God’s wrath…”

b. Old Testament—the place of the application of blood sacrifice was the “kapporeth,” or Mercy Seat.

(1) The word only refers to the Mercy Seat, the gold covered lid of the Ark of the Covenant

(2) (Exo 25:17-22) ""You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold… 21 "You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. 22 "And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."

c. New Testament—

(1) the term “propitiation” is conveyed to us by three terms which are from the same root word, and which reinforce each other’s meaning and impact

(2) Hilasterion—

(a) The Place where the sacrifice is applied—Heb 9:4 “… the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat…”

(b) The sacrifice that turns wrath aside. (Rom 3:25) "whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,"

(3) Hilaskomai (verb infinitive—to make propitiation)—(Heb 2:17) "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

(a) Who are His “brethren” here? All mankind—the reason Christ had to come as a man was so He could be the Priest and Sacrifice

(4) Hilasmos—

(a) (1 John 2:1-2) "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

(b) (1 John 4:10) "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

d. Look at these contexts!

(1) Ex 25:17-22, the Mercy Seat of God—where God and the Mediator meet to achieve reconciliation for the people and satisfaction for God’s offended Holiness and his violate law, and where the reconciliation centers in the blood of the sacrifice applied to the mercy seat

(2) Rom 3:24-25—The fullest revelation of the doctrines of salvation, that we are Justified as a gift by Grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and that God’s righteous wrath against sin is satisfied by God’s own actions.

(3) Hebrews 2:17—the Incarnation—Why is it that the Mediator had to be of Godly blood

(4) 1 John 2:1-2—The extent of God’s salvation plan, that the propitiation is (potentially) for the whole world.

(5) 1 John 4:10—The love of God is evidenced by His Propitiation, as His Love for sinners motivates Him to make propitiation by the sacrifice of His Son.

2. But, Does God Have Wrath?

a. Many in our day reject that God has wrath—but to do so, they have to erase a lot of Bible verses.

b. The Extremes rule—Most people deny the wrath of God to a degree, no matter what their theological persuasion

(1) Why do lost, unchurched people usually reject divine wrath?

(a) Denial of a reality they cannot face

(b) Their thoughts are unified and allied with evolution—if there is no God, there is ultimately no accountability

(2) Various viewpoints among the professedly believing church.

(a) Ignore wrath and preach only "love"

(b) Ignore love and preach only wrath...

(c) Balance is required, but not often present!

c. We can only understand the wrath of God in the light of His love

(1) Wrath is not the central attribute of God—that is His Holiness (Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!"" (Rev 4:8

(2) Wrath is not the defining attribute of God—Love defines God.... ("God is Love....") God Is Love, but God Has wrath. (1 John 4:8) "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

(3) God does not delight in wrath, or its effects—

(a) (Ezek 33:11) ""Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. …'

(b) (Mat 23:37) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! …”

(4) BUT, Divine Wrath is the right and natural result of sinful rebellion against the Thrice-Holy God of Isaiah 6

(a) God is just and Holy and righteous—

(i) (Dan 9:14) ""… for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does...”

(ii) (Psa 99:9) "Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy."

(b) We are rebels against Him and His Law

d. Facts About Divine Wrath

(1) Divine wrath hangs over the head of the man or woman who does not believe in Christ—(John 3:36) ""He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.""

(2) The revelation of Divine Wrath is central to the theme of salvation—(Rom 1:18) "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…”

(3) The wrath of God required the blood of Christ to turn wrath aside—(Rom 5:9) "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

(4) As natural born sinners, ,we are “children of Wrath—(Eph 2:3) "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."

(5) But it is God Himself who delivers us from His own wrath—(1 Th 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."

(6) God’s plan for us is salvation, nor wrath—(1 Th 5:9) "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,"

(7) Those who reject Christ in this age will face Him on That Day in another way entirely—(Rev 6:16-17) "and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?""

(8) Though the devil will deceive some people into thinking it is not real, that cannot change the fact that the Wrath of God against sin is a vital part of the Gospel—(Eph 5:6) "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

e. Wrath teaches us why people need salvation

(1) Wrath helps us appreciate God's Grace and Mercy to us

(2) Wrath is vital if we are to understand the Cross

(a) The Holiness and Justice of God require that He deal with sin—If He does not deal with sin, He denies His own law.

(b) The Wrath of God is the natural result of Holiness offended.

(c) But the love and mercy of God toward the human race are so great that He would rather pour His wrath out on His own Son than on us.

3. God Authored the Cross—25 “…Whom God hath set forth…”

a. There is a popular concept among some people that the Cross was “Plan B,” However, the Bible teaches otherwise. The Cross was the only plan from before the creation of the world.

(1) Jesus was not tragically captured, tried and slain because of any lack of power in Him, He was no martyr—Jesus laid down His life—Jn 10:16-18

(2) He was in control of events, He had to power to escape—John 18:4-6, Mat 26:52-54, but He did not

b. Whom God….

(1) Planned by God—1 Pet 1:18-20, Rev 13:8

(2) Arranged by God, Carried out at God’s command —Acts 4:24-28

(3) The actions of the Trinity—Heb 9:14

(4) Jesus Laid down his life—John 10:18

(1 Cor 2:8) "which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

c. Whom God hath set forth…

(1) Placarded—The Father exposed the sacrifice to public view—John 3:14, John 12:32

(2) Demonstrated to the world—God set forth His Son—He made a public spectacle of Jesus, and in this we can see both His love, and His hatred of sin.

(3) God loves us so much, and God hates sin so much, that He sacrificed His Son to atone for it

d. The Cross was a propitiation— “…Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation…

e. Propitiation becomes effective only when we believe—“….through faith in his blood…”

(1) Only through faith—there is no propitiation for unbelievers.

(2) Lost people die in their sins—John 8:24, Rev 20:12, Rev 21:7-8, Rev 22:15

(3) Only through faith in His blood sacrifice are our sins paid for.

(a) You must believe

(b) There is no inherited salvation

(c) You must believe in His blood sacrifice—there is no salvation in bloodless “Christianity…”