Propitiation - The two-part act of satisfying the wrath of an offended person, and being reconciled to him.
This is the most important word in the entire Bible, and its a shame how so few people have even heard of it. The definition says it is a two part act of satisfaction. The satisfaction of anger, followed by the reconciliation of the relationship itself. What does this mean in the Bible? First we must see something...
"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!"
-Psalm 32:1
"He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord."
-Proverbs 17:15
"The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one."
-Psalm 14:2-3
Do you see the problem here? At face value, this is indeed a contradiction. David writes in Psalm 32 that we are being justified because our sin is being covered. Yet, in Proverbs 17, Solomon is saying ANYONE who justifies the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. Because there is no one who does good, we are all technically wicked. Therefore anyone and anything that tries to justify us, is an abomination. So, is God Himself an abomination, because He justifies us? That would mean God is not just. This is the biggest problem in the entire Bible, and I hope to answer it.
The fact of the matter is, God is both "Love" and "Just." He is not only love, and He is not only just. So the main question is this,
"How can God be just, yet forgive sinners?"
From the perspective of a human, it is impossible. God MUST judge sin, and the only wage of sin is death. The sinner MUST go to hell, despite God's love for them. God doesn't cut corners. God can not simply "forgive" sin by looking away or something. It would be against God's very nature to not pour out His wrath upon sin. So in reality, we are all supposed to be in hell when we die. All have sinned. All have fallen short to the glory of God. All should NOT make it to heaven. However, God had formed a simply genius plan. God actually found a way to redeem us. God actually found a way to satisfy His own anger on sin, so we could actually be declared "right with God." God found a way to be both "just" and the "justifier."
"for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
-Romans 3:26
So then, what was God's plan? How did God do this? How could God possibly justify a sinner? The answer is Jesus Christ.
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
-2 Corinthians 5:21
What does this mean, "He who knew no sin to BE sin?" Does this mean the nature of Jesus Christ went from 100% Holy to 100% evil? No, not at all. What Paul meant by this was Jesus, who knew no sin, stood in the place of sin. Our sins were "imputed" to Jesus. Our sin was not given to Jesus, Jesus took it by force, because of His love. Imagine this,
You are dead, your soul is standing before God, ready to face divine judgment. You are standing before God with your stack of papers in your hands. On your papers is your name, and a record of every sinful thought, action, intention, everything, and you are going to be judged. Hell is inevitable. You WILL go to hell. 100% going. God WILL bring justice, despite the fact He loves you. Then Jesus walks over to you and says "Do you want to trade with me?" On His papers it does not have a list of sins, rather, a list of every single thought and action He did for God the father. If you accept the free and undeserved offer, you take His papers and He takes yours. Jesus goes to the Father and gets judged according to YOUR sin. When God looks at Jesus, He sees you. When God looks at you, He sees Jesus. Because you have Jesus, you are "legally" declared right with God. It isn't that you become Holy and Jesus becomes a sinner, Jesus was always the spotless lamb, and you are always the sinner. The only difference is, you have your legal stamp of approval despite your corrupt nature.
This is why there is no other way to heaven outside of Jesus Christ. This is why denying Jesus Christ is the only sin you can not be forgiven for. If you deny Jesus, you are saying He died for nothing, and you go before the father with your sin papers saying "Okay! I'm ready for heaven!" God's like "Yeah, no. Bye." You should all be thankful that God found a loophole to even save you when you were beyond saving. Praise the Lord for His loving-kindness and long-suffering.
So then, what is the sinner saved from? hell? sin? The sinner is saved from GOD. The sinner is saved from the wrath of Almighty God. The Holy hatred of God. That's what the sinner is saved from.
"The LORD shall never be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. Then the LORD will single him out for adversity from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant which are written in this book of the law."
-Deuteronomy 29:20-21
One of the things that really gets me is when Jesus movies are always putting to much emphasis on the Roman beating that Jesus went through, as if that atoned for our sins. People have said the reason Jesus sweated blood in the garden of Gethsemane was because He was afraid of what He was going to physically endure. Are you kidding me? How many times do you read in "Foxes book of Martyrs" that there were followers of Jesus going through the same beatings and singing hymns on the cross? Peter gets crucified upside down because he couldn't die in the same way as his Lord. You're telling me that Jesus, the fearless leader, is afraid of that?
Jesus wasn't afraid of the Romans, Jesus wasn't afraid because He had to fulfill the "by His stripes we are healed" prophecy. Jesus constantly said "let this cup pass from me...nevertheless, Your will be done." What was in the cup? The wrath of God! That was His fate from the very beginning. That was what was in the cup. Jesus made God the Father's anger towards sin, satisfied. That's why it says in Isaiah 53:10 "It pleased the Lord to crush Him."
"In the hand of the LORD is a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to its very dregs."
-Psalm 75:8
Jesus had to drink the full capacity of God's wrath. However, God's master plan was surely nothing new. No, God gave us clues over a thousand years before Jesus was born.
"He said, 'Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'"
-Genesis 22:2
That language sounds familiar. I'm sure you all know Abraham had many sons. Why would God say "your only son?"
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
-John 3:16
"Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together."
-Genesis 22:7-8
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."
-Genesis 22:13-14
Do you all understand yet? Yes, surely the Lord's plan was not new. Isaac asked where the lamb was, because the lamb did not yet come. Abraham responded "God will provide for Himself, the sacrifice." Yes, surely only God was able to provide a sacrifice for our redemption. No man could have found Him. Do you think it is a coincidence that Abraham found something to sacrifice in place of his son? Do you think it is a coincidence that the name of the place was named "The Lord will provide?" God created foreshadowing.
What was Mt. Moriah? Maybe you've heard of Golgotha. The place where Jesus was crucified. We were all an Isaac, going to be killed by the Father in heaven. God had to kill us even though He loves us. However, just before our death, God stopped the execution for He had found a ram in the thicket. He had provided for Himself a lamb that could actually save us.
Jesus Christ.
