What is Propitiation?

By Jeff Cranston

The theology of the church is filled with big words: justification, sanctification, predestination, expiation, and many other “–ations.” In this blog post, we will take a look at propitiation, another word that does not easily flow from our lips. You probably are not likely to find it the topic of conversation at the barbershop, or hair salon, or the pickleball court or the golf course. Yet, while it is not a popular topic of conversation, its importance to the Christian faith cannot be overstated.

Propitiation is a rare word. In the New Testament, it’s used six times in various forms relating to the effects of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In Romans 3:21-25, the apostle Paul writes:

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a PROPITIATION in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed.” (Rom. 3:23-25, NASB).

What does propitiation mean?

Propitiation is the turning away of wrath by an offering.[1] Let’s understand what God’s wrath is.  When you think about the wrath of God, you might tend to think of it as God losing His temper—sort of like what happens to us. But His wrath comes from a deeper, more settled place. With us, wrath always has elements of passion, lack of self-control and irrationality. The wrath of God does not.[2] Here is what we know: There is wrath in the character of God, and His wrath had to be satisfied. It was appeased through the work of Jesus on the Cross. On Calvary’s hill is where the Son of God sacrificed His life as an appeasing sacrifice for the wrath of Almighty God the Father because of your sin and mine.

Propitiation portrays a violent death. It’s not pretty. It is the wrath of God unmitigated. It is fully poured out. It is the totality of the cup of the wrath of God, and it is absolutely and totally satisfied upon the person of His Son.

How does propitiation affect our lives?

God is a God of love. God is also a God of wrath. And the Bible corroborates that. In  1 John 4 says, “…for God is love, Just two verses later John says, “… He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Love and wrath.

In the Old Testament, there are at least 20 words that express the wrath of God. If you were to count all of those words and their uses in the Old Testament, you would come up with at least 580 references where God demonstrates wrath. 580! Then, you can read the stories that don’t implicitly contain the word wrath, but the whole context of the story shows God’s wrath towards sinners. And then you would be up to about 1,000 references in the Old Testament alone. God certainly is a God of wrath, and His wrath must be satisfied. But because He is a God of love, He made sure that His wrath was appeased in the Person of Jesus Christ.      

Romans 3:21-25a says:

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction.”

 It says what? “For there is no distinction,” There is none. “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …” It is a necessity; it is the act of God. It is not the result of sinful us that we are saved. “… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ …” God did it. God’s action. God’s initiative.

The whole purpose of the cross of Calvary was to demonstrate publicly to the world the righteousness of our God. He said, “I will show you my righteousness, and it’s all going to be culminated on the cross of Calvary. Justice is going to be had.” It was to show His righteousness so that God might be just, and the justifier, of whom? “Of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Do you see how this grand scheme becomes individualized and brought down to a personal level? Justice and the justifier of who? “The one”—you! Your neighbor, your family member. The one who has faith in Jesus. Why in the world does a hardened sinner get to go to heaven? Because of faith in Jesus Christ, the Substitute, who died on his or her behalf. This is God’s perfect righteousness.

You may say, “Well, look, the whole world is crumbling and going against God’s ways, and God doesn’t do anything.” You just hold on: The day of reckoning is coming. For the believer, the day has come in Christ. But for unbelievers, they are not getting away with a thing. God’s wrath is building. It will be executed unless they repent.

When it comes to appeasing the wrath of God, let’s get this straight:

Who is the offended party? GOD.

If there is any paying going on here, then the payment is to be paid to holy God because He’s the one who is offended.

Who has offended Him? We have.

We have offended God because of our sin. But watch this:

Who paid the penalty? He did.

He paid it Himself. God satisfied and appeased Himself. God supplied the means for His own satisfaction. We are not doing something in order to appease God’s wrath. God has appeased Himself.

Propitiation is the very center hub of the gospel. You lose propitiation, you lose the gospel. You have no gospel left.

Hebrews 2:17 says it like this: “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Jesus Christ made propitiation for the sins of the people by His willing, purposeful, necessary step to the cross in order to receive the wrath of God upon Himself so that you and I may go free.

And the apostle John says in 1 John 2:2, “…and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. John is saying that if any person in the entirety of this globe, past, present, or future, is to have their sins propitiated, they will have to come to Christ because there is not another! There is no one else. He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

If you come to Him, He won’t cast you away. What should you do? You should cry out very specifically: “Lord Jesus Christ, I have no other hope! Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Your cross I cling. I am depending my soul, and all of its eternity, upon God, and apart from Him, I have no other resource. I am totally dependent.’

Because Jesus Christ died, God’s justice is now satisfied.

Because Jesus Christ died, God’s wrath has now been turned away. The price for sin has been paid.

Because Jesus Christ died, God’s mercy is now freely available to anyone who wants it.

How are you using your life for the Lord? Are you walking with Him? Have you used the pandemic to drift away from Him and His Bride, the church? Have you stopped reading the Bible, praying only when you need something or are hurting and in trouble?

Today, you have an opportunity to repent of those things—or whatever it is going on in your life—and come clean before Him.

Jeff Cranston is the lead pastor of LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, South Carolina.

References

[1] Baker’s Dictionary of Theology. Everett F. Harrison, Editor-in-chief. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 1960, p. 424.

[2] The Shaw Pocket Bible Handbook, Walter A. Elwell, Editor, Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, IL: 1984, p. 361.

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