Jesus: Our Propitiation
God's Wrath Appeased Through Christ's Blood
“Whom God hath set forth to be a
PROPITIATION through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”
(Romans 3:25). The word
“propitiation” means “to appease one’s wrath.” “Appeased” means “to make peace with.” Humanity had sinned. God
was angered. God’s holiness demanded justice. Humanity could not redeem himself and was at enmity
(hostility) with God. Humanity had
become the enemy of God because of sin.
Nevertheless, God expressed His love for humanity by coming down to the earth in the form of a man and laying down His own human life in sacrifice to pay for the sins of humanity. Jesus died, was buried and rose again. Christ's blood was applied in Heaven. The father’s anger was APPEASED by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God’s demand for justice had been completely satisfied by the redeeming work of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus had made peace with God the Father possible again for mankind... “Therefore being justified by faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST” (Romans 5:1). Christ had opened the door for all humanity to be at peace with God the Father through faith in the Son of God.
Propitiation is Jesus meeting the demands of the Father, to appease His wrath, so that humanity could be redeemed to God. Thankfully, Jesus paid the price for our sins. Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by Christ’s own physical blood. This gift can only be received by faith alone in Christ. All you have to do is admit to God that you’re a guilty sinner and believe upon the name of Jesus for forgiveness... “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).
The choice is
completely yours to make! God will
not make you believe on Christ when you have it in your own power to do so. If you refuse to believe on Christ, then you are still in your sins and
the wrath of God abideth on you... “He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the
WRATH
OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM” (John 3:36). Though God’s demand for justice was met by Christ's
blood sacrifice, you are willfully
rejecting that provision if you reject Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. By so
doing, you are negating what Christ did for you; therefore, you are
choosing to remain under the condemnation of God’s Law and under the wrath of
God. If you go to Hell,
you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!
Christ Died for All Humanity
And he is the PROPITIATION for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1st John 2:2). What a wonderful truth, JESUS IS OUR PROPITIATION! Again, It is Christ’s blood sacrifice that squares everything away with God concerning our sin debt. Jesus met the Father’s requirements for justice and God’s wrath is appeased when a sinner appropriates that blood sacrifice through faith in Christ.
We just read in 1st John 2:2, “And his is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD.” Jesus died for all mankind. Calvinists and other false prophets errantly teach that Jesus only died for the elect, i.e., the saved. This is not so. The Word of God plainly states that Christ died for all... “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one DIED FOR ALL, then were all dead” (2nd Corinthians 5:14). And again in Romans 4:5 we read, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth THE UNGODLY, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Whom does Jesus justify by faith? ... THE UNGODLY. Jesus died for ALL SINNERS!
2nd Peter 2:1 gives solid evidence that Christ
died for all men, even unbelievers...
“But
there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord THAT BOUGHT THEM, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction.”
Here we see that Jesus BOUGHT these false prophets!
Anyone Can Be Saved — Whomsoever Will May Come!
The invitation to be saved is to WHOSOEVER... “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER WILL, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Whosoever will may come to be saved. This is the freewill of mankind.
Notice again from the Scripture we just read that Jesus is the “propitiation” of THE WHOLE WORLD. All people of every nation may come to know the Lord as personal Savior. God is no respecter of persons. Jesus has made provision for ALL PEOPLE to be saved and become the Children of God by way of Christ's blood sacrifice.
By the way, anyone who says that all people are the Children of God is a false prophet. You are NOT a Child of God unless you have been BORN-AGAIN (John 3:3). Certainly, we are all God's creation and the object of God's unconditional love, but only those who place their faith in the Son of God are members of God's family.
This whole matter of salvation centers around our sins. Mankind has sinned and we are under the condemnation of God’s holy Law until we repent of our sins, by acknowledging our guilt of sin and believing on the name of Jesus for salvation. Repentance is simply a “change of mind.” Repentance is owning before God that I am as vile a sinner as He has declared me to be in His holy Word.
John 3:20 states: “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, LEST HIS DEEDS SHOULD BE REPROVED.” In John 5:40 Jesus said, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Carefully notice that Jesus DIDN'T say “ye cannot come.” The idea that God chooses some to salvation and others to eternal damnation is unbiblical. 2nd Peter 3:9 plainly states, “ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God desires for all sinners to come to repentance.
There
are many wonderful unsaved people, who are very friendly, loving and kind. They are honest and good people, humanly speaking.
However, this does not merit them Heaven and they will go to Hell if they
don’t get saved. This is the sad part about life, many good people fail to
realize that all good people are still dirty, rotten sinners when compared to
the Holy Word of God. Romans 3:12 tells us
that there are NONE THAT DOETH GOOD, no not one. Earthly
speaking, there are many good people in the world; Heavenly speaking, there are none
righteous, no not one. We must
follow God’s Word, not our own reasoning! James
2:10 tells us, “For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty
of all.” Adam and Eve found out the
hard way what just one sin could do—plunging the human race into sin and
darkness. Thankfully, God has made a way of escape for mankind, by way of the
blood of Jesus Christ.
Christ is the Only Mediator, because He is the Propitiation for Our Sins
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the PROPITIATION for our sins” (1st John 4:10). God loved us (all of us) and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to meet the demands which needed to be met in order that all people might be saved. “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1st Timothy 2:3-5). God wants ALL people to be saved. Notice that Christ is the ONE MEDIATOR between God and humanity. Do you know why it is Christ and only Christ? ... Because Jesus is the only One Who met the demands of God the Father. Only Jesus was as a Lamb without spot, nor blemish (perfect). Only Jesus was born of a virgin. Only Jesus was sinless. Only Jesus could have paid for our sins and praise God that He did! This is why Jesus is our Mediator, because He is our propitiation. He met the demands of God the Father, so He is now the One and Only Mediator between God and Man. If you want to be saved, go to Jesus. Don’t go to the Pope, or to a priest, or to your minister, or to a religion, or to a baptistery, or to a confessional booth—Go to Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation and forgiveness of sins. Jesus is our PROPITIATION.
