This morning, we are continuing our series on Romans titled Paul’s Magnum Opus. And in this series, we will be going verse by verse through what is arguably Paul’s greatest work, and that is saying something considering Paul wrote over a third of the New Testament.
But two weeks ago, we started a deeper dive into a critical few verses found near the end of chapter 3. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, there are some who consider these verses the heart of the entire Bible. That is how important they are. They are verses that we should at the very least be familiar with if not have memorized and always on our minds.
And because these words of Paul are so important, we’re taking time to break down the important words and thoughts that Paul included in them. As I said when we started looking at these verses, it doesn’t matter if you know the words if you don’t understand what the words mean.
So this morning, we are going to look at the next important part of these verses that is found in verse 25. And if you haven’t been here or need a reminder of what we are discussing, here are the verses we are really diving into:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith … -Romans 3:23–25
And the important word and thought that we are looking at this morning is the word propitiation. And I am sure that as I say this word, every single one of you knows immediately what I am talking about and understand the cultural significance of this word, right?
And while I am sure there are some of us here who understand what this word means or maybe what imagery it is trying to promote, many if not most of us have no idea. And that makes perfect sense. Of course, most of us wouldn’t completely know or understand this word because it is a word and cultural thought and practice that are long gone from us.
So while it makes sense we probably don’t get what Paul is saying when he uses this word, it really is a shame because there is so much tied up in this little word.
There is such beauty and power in what would have undoubtedly come to the minds of Paul’s original readers when he says this. So while it may be something that is odd and foreign to us, if we don’t understand what is being communicated here, we will miss out on so much.
And I have talked about this before, but I think it is a shame that we as Christians are just so content with basic things and ideas and just don’t seem to be particularly interested in the deeper meanings and truths that are in our Bibles.
Sure, it requires work to figure out what is being said, but there is so often where incredible life and truth are. So when we are just content to quickly skip over words and thoughts because they are too difficult, we miss out on so much that the authors are trying to communicate to us.
But luckily for you, I am someone who likes to try to help others go a little deeper than the surface … you just have to look at us spending over a month on these few verses … so we are going to dive a little deeper into this word. And I think it is important and powerful.
The Greek word that is translated into propitiation here is:
ἱλαστήριον hilastērion.
Really, there is some confusion around the word here and what it means … people choose to translate it differently … but it basically means the place of propitiation or mercy seat. Some others may choose to think of it as expiation or something similar, but in all these translations, you’re left with important theological and cultural ideas.
And as I am talking about this, your eyes may be starting to glaze over when you think of words such as propitiation and expiation. You may be thinking, “I knew I should have skipped church this morning. I wasn’t expecting a foreign language class!”
And I get it. These things aren’t easy, but again, they are important. So before I go any further, let’s define these two terms that I have used a few times.
Propitiation: The appeasement or turning away of God’s wrath against sinners by means of an atoning sacrifice. -Dictionary of Theological Terms
Expiation: The removal of guilt by means of an atonement or satisfaction rendered to God. -Dictionary of Theological Terms
I am sure that just cleared everything up, right? I am sure that now you perfectly understand these important terms? Yeah, probably not. But while they are different terms and theological ideas, they are intricately connected.
And you may have noticed a common theme with both of them in their definitions, and that is atonement. Both of these come into play when we talk about atonement. And that connection may help you understand.
“Expiation and propitiation are correlative terms; the sinner, or his guilt, is expiated; God, or justice, is propitiated. Guilt must, from the nature of God, be visited with punishment, which is the expression of God’s disapprobation of sin. Guilt is expiated, in the Scriptural representation, covered, by satisfaction, i.e., by vicarious punishment. God is thereby rendered propitious, i.e., it is now consistent with His nature to pardon and bless the sinner. -Dictionary of Theological Terms
Got it now? Lol, some of your eyes look even more glazed over. You’re probably thinking, “Bo, you could throw a hundred definitions up there, and I still wouldn’t get it. This just doesn’t make sense to me. Can you teach me this like I’m 5? Is there some kind of children’s picture book version of this?”
And we can chuckle, but these are hard terms. We just don’t use them and they aren’t a part of our culture. So it definitely can be difficult to grasp.
Luckily for us who learn with images and stuff more than just definitions, the Bible actually gives us a tremendous look into what it has in mind for these words and terms. And unsurprisingly, it all centers around the Day of Atonement.And if you don’t know what the Day of Atonement was, here is a definition:
Yom Kippur, the most important day in the religious calendar of Israel, falling on the tenth day of Tishri (the Hebrew month corresponding to mid-September through mid-October). On that day the high priest entered the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle (or temple) to atone for the sins of all Israel. The basic idea of atonement is a “covering” of sin; the purpose is to accomplish reconciliation between man and God. -Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible
So the day of atonement was a critical day in the life of God’s people. It was the day when their sins were atoned for. It was instituted by God, and there were certain things that were supposed to happen that day. And here is an important snapshot of some of the things that were to take place.
Leviticus 16:7–10 ESV
7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.
Leviticus 16:15–16 ESV
15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
Leviticus 16:20–22 ESV
20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.
So, there is a lot happening in those verses, but the imagery is absolutely critical. Basically, among some other things that were happening, including a bull being sacrificed, the high priest was supposed to take these two goats. And after casting a lot between them, one was supposed to be killed as a sin offering, with its blood being brought in and sprinkled on the mercy seat.
And with the other, the priest was supposed to put his hands on this goat and confess the sins of all the people. And then this goat was supposed to be released into the wilderness. The imagery is of the sins of the people being placed on the goat and then the goat being sent away.
And while again, you may think this is all supremely weird, it is actually a beautiful picture of what is represented when we talk about propitiation and expiration. So when you think of propitiation, think of the goat that was killed as a sacrifice for the people. God’s judgment and wrath were turned away from His people because of the sacrifice of this goat. Now, God’s just wrath and judgment are fulfilled. The goat makes an atoning sacrifice.
And when you think of expiation, think of the other goat. Symbolically, this goat had the sins of the people placed on it (by the priest putting his hands on its head), and then the goat was sent away from the people. With that, the guilt and everything that comes with sin is removed from the people. This is also where we get the idea of a scapegoat by the way …
So again, built into the day of atonement, you have these incredibly powerful and moving images of what is taking place when the people’s sin is getting atoned for. On one hand, you have a sacrifice that is taking place that takes care of the just and rightful wrath that God must execute against sin as a just God.
But it doesn’t stop there. On the other hand, you have this activity that takes away guilt and stain of sin. So the consequences of sin aren’t just taken care of, but also the effect of sin. So through these goats, we get a beautiful picture of the sin problem being taken care of.
And so when you understand this, you begin to see what Paul is saying and doing. Paul is grounding everything in the Day of Atonement and connecting that important day that all Jews and his audience would have no doubt been familiar, with and in Christ.
Paul says that God put forward Christ as a propitiation by His blood. Instead of the blood of bulls and goats that were given by the people during the day of atonement for their sins … which we know never took away sins … God brings forward His own son as a true and greater sacrifice.
And while during the Day of Atonement, a goat was sacrificed and had its blood spilled so that the people could avoid God’s just wrath … a propitiation … God gives a real and greater sacrifice … one that truly is the thing that can and does take God’s just wrath against sin away from humans. And that is the sacrifice of Christ.
Do you get it? Do you see what Paul is doing and saying here in these few words? Christ’s blood is the true propitiation … the true thing that takes care of God’s wrath. Because again, God cannot just overlook our sin and rebellion. He would not be a just God if He did.
So instead of rightfully directing His wrath at us … like we deserve … Christ comes to take the penalty of sin on Himself. He takes God’s wrath that should be on us onto Himself. He is the greater propitiation and the true one.
Hebrews 9:15 ESV
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Now, connect this with the courtroom imagery I have been using, that I believe Paul has established. Again, we are like the defendant who is standing before the ultimate righteous and holy judge God.
And across from us is the law. It makes its case to the judge that we are guilty and worthy of judgment and God’s wrath. And of course, the law would know this. The law is God’s will, way, demands, and expectations. We would need to perfectly keep it to be able to escape the judgment that comes from breaking it.
But as we have talked about, that is impossible. It is impossible because of our sin. So the law makes it clear how far we have all missed the mark and rebelled against God’s will, way, expectations, and demands.
The case against us from the law is so strong, we have no defense. Not a single word could be uttered that would provide even a glimpse of hope to defend ourselves against the case the law makes for us to be guilty and face God’s righteous wrath.
But incredibly, when it is time to hand down the verdict, God … the judge of all things and eternity … does not declare us guilty. Instead, He declares us innocent. And with that innocent declaration … at that moment … we are made right with God … we are justified.
Now, we are no longer estranged from Him. We have right relationship with the God of the universe. We are declared righteous! We have gone from death to life … unrighteous to righteous … at the moment God has declared it.
And the reason God did it is because of His grace. It is completely a gift. We did nothing to deserve or earn that verdict and declaration from God. As we saw, it was instead the exact opposite.
It was clear and without any doubt that we deserved His judgment and wrath, yet He graciously gave a different verdict. He justified us and declared us righteous. All through His grace … as a gift.
And the reason God could do this is because Jesus has redeemed us … He has freed us from our enslavement and debt. The debt was paid!
But how? I mean, can you imagine standing in this courtroom trying to figure it out. In one moment, you were completely guilty and about to face God’s judgment and wrath … which you absolutely deserve to face.
But in another moment, you are declared not guilty and you are made righteous … your debt has been completely paid, and you are free. That would be completely jarring. While great, it would seem too good to be true.
Again, how could it be? How could things have changed for you so quickly and in an instant? How could you go from death to life … enslavement to freedom … unrighteous to righteous?
And the answer is what we looked at this week. It wasn’t that God just had a change of heart. He is a just God … He cannot just overlook sin. It must be punished. Instead, the answer to this was Christ.
God put forward Christ as a sacrifice for our sins. The debt that we owed to God for our sins and rebellion was taken care of because of Christ’s sacrifice. He took on God’s wrath, and what are we left with? Freedom! Again, our debt is paid! We are free from guilt and everything else.
And that is the expiation part that I believe is tied up here when Paul talks about propitiation. Not only is Christ sacrificed to take away God’s wrath from us, but all our sins and guilt and everything else that comes from sin is placed on Him and are taken from us.
So, bringing it together, we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God … every single one of us. But we are justified … made right with God … through His grace as a gift. We don’t deserve it and could never be made right with Him by ourselves, but He graciously justifies us.
And that justification comes through the redemption … our freedom from the bondage and enslavement to sin … that is earned for us in Christ Jesus. And we are redeemed because a price has been paid.
And as we saw this week, the price was paid because Christ was put forward as our propitiation … a sacrifice that satisfies the just wrath and judgment against God for our sin and rebellion.
Whew! That is a lot. In just a few words, that is the incredible reality that Paul is communicating.
The just judge couldn’t just let us off the hook because we were absolutely guilty, so He incredibly and graciously makes a way for our debt to be paid … through the blood of Jesus Christ as our substitute who is sacrificed for us … as a result, the righteous requirements of the law could be fulfilled … so that we can be declared righteous instead of guilty … be free and in relationship with Him instead of facing His just wrath.
It truly is incredible! So I hope that you learned something this morning. I hope that … at a minimum … you were able to understand more about the beautiful picture that Scripture lays out for us in regard to what Christ accomplished for us through His life, death, and resurrection.
But more than that, I hope that these images of what was done for us move us. I hope our hearts and emotions and all we are are moved and in awe of what Christ did. And the fact all this was laid out in different practices thousands of years before should cause us awe as we think about how God has always had a plan to make us right again.
I hope that is what happens if you are a Christian. I hope you think of the goat imagery used in Scripture and see Christ taking away your sin and its effects while also taking the punishment you rightfully deserve.
And I hope that causes us to glorify God more and more as we think about how … honestly ridiculous it is that God would do this for us. How loved we really are, and how much He wants us despite not a single one of us even coming close to deserving it.
Whew again! Amazing stuff. Again, while I hope you learned something, I also hope it doesn’t stay up here … in our heads. I hope it moves down to our hearts and changes them every day as we think about what Christ did for us.
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