WHAT
THE CROSS DID FOR US
Propitiation:
God was Satisfied
1
John 1:1-2
Jerry
A. Collins
SCC
PROPITIATION:
The acceptance by the wronged party of a compensatory payment, by virtue of which
his anger against the one who has injured him is soothed.
1. Appeased in so far as the wronged
person is brought by the compensation, which settles the account to the
abandonment of his wrath against the offender. So that the
two can come to a state of friendship with one another.
2. The wrath of god is often confused
with that irrational passion we so frequently find in man and which was is
commonly ascribed to heathen deities who needed appeasement or else there would
be further arbitrary punishments.
3. We have to face the fact that in
the nature of things there must be eternal recoil against the unholy on the
part of the all-holy God. The wrath of God is a reality to be reckoned
with. Though men sin and draw down the wrath of God upon themselves the
consequences of his wrath, yet God does not delight in the death of a sinner.
He provides ways in which the consequences of sin may be averted. God may be
slow to anger Ex 34:6; Num 14:18; Ne 9:1`7; Pss 86:15; 103;8; 145:8; Jer
15:15; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2; Na 1:3; but that does not mean he will not get
angry.
THE WRATH OF GOD
Two words are orge
and thumos used to make the point that wrath
is not so much a sudden flaring up of passion which is soon over as a strong
and settled opposition to all that is evil arising out of God’s very nature.
1. Romans 3:25 In this
section the argument is that all men are under the wrath of God with all that
means but that now a new way appears. The blood of Christ effects propitiation
so that those who are of faith no longer need fear the wrath. Whereas
originally sinners were liable to suffer from the outpouring of the wrath of
God, Christ has suffered instead of them, and now they may go free. This action
is essentially substitutionary.
PT:
Jesus’ death is the final sacrifice, which completely satisfied Gods demands
against sinful people thus averting His wrath from those who believe. He had
left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. God was forbearing because
he anticipated his provision for sins in the death of JC. This is evidence of
his grace not injustice.
2. Hebrew
PT: In
this section (2:9-18) are 7 effects of the incarnation. Here is the sixth one,
namely, to place Christ in the role of a high priest. The difference is, a
priest of
3. 1 John 2:2
If we sinners need an advocate with God then obviously we are in no good
case our misdeeds prevail against us and we are about to feel the hostility of
God to all that is sinful. Under these circumstances we can speak of Christ
turning away the wrath of God.
PT: So
adequate is Jesus Christ’s as Gods atoning sacrifice that the efficacy of his
work extends not merely to the sins of Christians themselves but also to the
sins of the whole world. In saying this John was clearly affirming the view
that Christ genuinely died for everyone. Not that all will be saved but rather
anyone who hears the gospel can be saved if he so desires (
4. I John
PT:
Gods love was not a response to man’s love but an initiative on God’s part. By
it the Son became an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Nothing less than God’s
love in Christ is the model for the love Christians should have toward one
another.
LESSONS
1. What is meant is not some
irrational passion bursting forth uncontrollably but a burning zeal for the
right coupled with a perfect hatred for everything that is evil.
2. If there is such a divine hostility
to evil it is obvious that something must be done about it if man, sinner as he
is, is ever to be accepted before God.
3. It is the combination of God’s deep
love for the sinner with his uncompromising reaction against sin, which brings
about what the Bible calls propitiation. Since God would not leave man to
suffer all the consequences of his sin, Christ suffered. His death was really
our death in a vicarious and propitiatory sense.
4. God himself is propitiated and He
provides the way whereby men may come to him. He initiates the very means by
which we are delivered from the wrath we deserve.
5. We see two great realities;
A. The reality and seriousness of the
divine reaction against sin and,
B. The reality and the greatness of
the divine love, which provided the gift which should avert the wrath of God
toward men.
6. If men die in their sins then they
only have the divine displeasure to face. Propitiation was essential so that we
would not have to own up to our condemnation and face the just wrath of God.
7. Unless we give real content to the
wrath of God and unless we hold that men really deserve to have God visit upon
them the painful consequences of their wrongdoing, we empty God’s forgiveness
of its meaning. If there is no ill desert God ought to overlook our sin. We can
think of forgiveness as something real only when we hold that sin has betrayed
us into a situation where we deserve to have God inflict upon us the most
serious consequences.
8. If we empty wrath of its sting,
that God should take action against the sinner, there is no room for grace. If there
are no dire consequences grace loses its meaning. There is nothing that is
undeserved yet the Bible declares that there is. The scripture is clear that
the wrath of God is visited upon sinners or else that the Son of God dies for
them. Either we die or He dies. Rom 5:8 says, But
God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ
died for us.
9. It is possible for unsaved man to
be good. Good in the sense that good deeds and moral judgments can be done. But
he is still under divine wrath as a sinner. The problem is that while man can
do good or be good, man cannot be holy. Without
holiness no man can see God. Propitiation removes the divine disfavor legally,
making it possible now for one to become holy and thus acceptable to God.
SO WHAT?
A. We cannot avoid the reality of sin
as we share the gospel with people.
B. The sin problem is the most basic
human problem. Ignore it to our peril.
C. God is not a child abuser but Jesus
willingly propitiated God His Father not because of the uncontrollable,
capricious anger of His Father but because He willingly gave His life a ransom
for many.