GREAT BIBLE WORDS
PROPITIATION
(ATONEMENT FOR SIN)
(ATONEMENT FOR SIN)
ROMANS 3:24-26
Introduction:
Propitiation is “that by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love towards sinners.” Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Atonement is an Anglo-Saxon term, which means “a making at one.” It points to a process of bringing those who are estranged into a unity. Sinful man and the Holy God are brought together through the sacrifice of the Son of God as payment for man’s sins.
I. ATONEMENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A. God provides a way for forgiveness of sin, Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
B. God provided a substitute, Genesis 22:7-8, “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8- And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.”
C. The Passover Lamb, Exodus 12:3, 5-6, “Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 5- Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6- And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”
II. ATONEMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
A. It reveals God’s love for man, Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1. We did not love God, 1 John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
2. He loved us first, 1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”
B. Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, 1 John 2:2, And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1. He was put to death for our sins, Romans 4:25, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
2. His blood was shed for our forgiveness, Matthew 26:28, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
3. He bore our sins in His own body, 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
4. He made purification for our sins, Hebrews 1:3, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
5. He is the propitiation for our sins, Romans 3:25, “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;”
a. Through faith in his blood, Ephesians 1:6-7, “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
b. To declare the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Romans 3:26, “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
C. The nature of the Death of Christ.
1. He died specifically for us, Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
2. He gave Himself a ransom for all, 1 Timothy 2:6, “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
3. To take away the sin of the world, John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
4. He died in our place, Isaiah 53:5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
a. God made Him to be sin for us, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
b. God, the Father, forsook the Son because of our sin, Mark 15:34, “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
CONCLUSION
Jesus Christ is made the propitiation for our sins by becoming OUR SIN BEARER, 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” However, man has to make the decision as to whether or not to accept God’s forgiveness by trusting Christ as Savior.
Hebrews 2:17, Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation [Propitiation] for the sins of the people.