Efficacious Atonement - Part 2

Propitiation

February 18, 2001 - Brett Baker

Romans 1:18-26

v The atonement of Christ was successful in accomplishing five things:

þ Justification - Although previously found guilty, now declared righteous before the law.

o Propitiation - To appease God and turn aside His wrath.

o Redemption

o Crucifixion

o Reconciliation

v Introduction

Keeping in mind that the atonement of Christ consists of three events: his death, burial and resurrection, when we consider the propitiatory nature of His death we are looking at the implications and context primarily of His death, not simply the fact that he died nor that He rose again. Who He was, how He died and what happened to Him in death are all wrapped up into the doctrine of propitiation.

v Propitiation - Romans 3:21-26

We have already established that descendants of Adam are under the condemnation of God. There is no one who is righteous and all have fallen short of His glory. But we have already seen that some of these descendants do not have their sins imputed to them but instead have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. As a result they are justified. But where did their sins and the penalty go? What is the righteousness of Christ? What is the extent of His propitiation?

Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin. - Hebrews 9:22

¨ God had established that the only means by which sins would be forgiven was by a shedding of blood. He did not establish a systems of works righteousness through adherence to the law, instead he established an elaborate sacrificial system by which there would be an annual reminder of the transgressions committed against Him.

The blood of bulls and goats could not bring forgiveness of sin - Hebrews 10; Romans 3:25

¨ But the sacrificial system was not set up as a actual atonement procedure but was actually a picture of work that was to come as performed by Christ Himself. The blood of these animals never was able, nor intended to be able to remit the sins of man.

¨ In His forbearance, God passed over these sins waiting for the fullness of times when He would send His Son as the true and efficacious sacrifice. This sacrifice then worked retroactively to the first covenant and proactively for those who came after the first advent. Notice also when you read of the wrath of God that was poured out at various times in the old and new testaments, this wrath came at a time when God was showing forbearance with the sins. Although God may pour out a temporal wrath on sinners, the temporal wrath is not the same as His eternal wrath. God does not treat physical death or other temporal curses as the final judgement for sin.

Motivated by love, the Father sent Jesus to be the sacrifice that could bring perfection. - 1 John 4:7-11

¨ Knowing that perfection could not be imparted through the sacrifice of animals, at the perfect time, the Father begot His Son and prepared Him to become the perfect sacrifice. He foreordained the sins of the Jews, the disdain and laws of the Romans and when the time was right, Jesus was put to death innocent of the charges made by guilty men.

Although never a sinner, Jesus became full of sin. - 2 Corinthians 5:21

¨ The sin that was imputed to Christ did not belong to Him. Although He became full of Sin, none of it belonged to Him. The separation that Christ experienced between the Father and Himself was not a result of the Father being displeased with Him. In no way was the Father abandoning Jesus because of His failure to please Him. Instead the Father forsook the Son as a demonstration of His love and mercy for the Elect.

While on the cross, Jesus suffered the condemnation of the Father under a curse. - Galatians 3:13

¨ Again, Jesus was not punished, but our sins were imputed to Him and the corresponding wrath of God which emanates from His utter hatred for sin was placed upon Him. In addition, the Father rejected Him and separated Himself from Christ when the sins were imputed to Him. Furthermore, the Son was sent to Hades as one who was condemned.

Jesus became the propitiation for the sins of the whole world - 1 John 2:1-2

¨ Jesus’ life and obedience, even to the point of death on a cross, was sufficient to expiate the wrath of God for the sins of the world. But when John speaks here of the whole world is he claiming that Christ atoned for every last sin of every last sinner? If we properly understand what the word propitiation means—that the wrath of God has been fully satisfied resulting in complete expiation, then we must turn our attention to what the word “world” means. When John speaks of the world, he is not referring to a specific quantity of those who are atoned for but is actually referring to the magnitude of the atonement.

The Extent of Christ’s Propitiation

WORLD

		ALL	SOME
SIN		Universal Damnation	Universal Damnation
		Universal Atonement	Limited (Definite) Atonement

¨ Uses of the Greek word “kosmos” translated “world”:

John 13:1, Ephesians 1:4 the earth

John 12:31, 1 John 2:15 the world’s evil system

Romans 3:19 whole human race

John 15:18, Romans 3:6 humanity except for believers

Romans 11:12 Gentiles as opposed to the Jews

John 3:16 Believers only

In Christ, the curse is taken from those servants who have been justified. - Revelation 22:1-5

¨ The result of the propitiation is eternal blessing for those whom God has chosen to impute Christ’s righteousness. Although this eternal blessing is not yet seen, it is experienced by those who are God’s Elect. The eternal realities have temporal implications by the Spirit of God manifesting the fruits of crucifixion, redemption and reconciliation.

Questions for Younger Saints

Efficacious Atonement - Part 2

Propitiation

1) Propitiation means to turn aside the anger or wrath of God. Where was the wrath turned to?
(Romans 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10)

2) Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. Was Jesus ever a sinner? The Bible says that Jesus became full of sin, so where did that sin come from? (1 Thessalonians 5:9; Hebrews 9:24-28)

3) Did Jesus die to pay the penalty for:

A) All of the sins of all the world?

B) Some of the sins of all the world?

C) Some of the sins of some of the world?

D) All of the sins of some of the world?

The Bible teaches that whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross to pay for our sins and that after three days He rose from the dead will be saved. Those people who do believe these things are called Christians and also called the Elect.