Today we are going to look at Christ our propitiation. It is a word and a description which is borne out of our need. To understand what Propitiation is, we must first look at our current plight and what our eternal condition and position would be without it.
Gods wrath.
The Bible says that outside of Christ we are all under Gods wrath. Romans 1:18 tells us Gods unchanging position towards our sins.
18 For the wrath of God lis revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The idea of Gods wrath is difficult for us, for on a human level, our examples of human displays of wrath are sinful.
James 1:20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
But Gods wrath is His perfect response to our sins and mans wickedness. It shows His perfection. Gods wrath is a display and a manifestation of His righteousness and holiness.
Today there is an attempt from within the church to change God, to re-invent God in our thinking, to make God other than He is. I suppose if there was one thing we would like to eliminate from scripture, it would be Gods wrath.
To eliminate certain aspects of Gods nature is called idolatry. We do this because we are not comfortable with it, or it doesn’t agree with our tastes, it has become distasteful for us,
Psalm 50:21 NKJV. These things you have done, and I kept silent;
vYou thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And wset them in order before your eyes.[1]
As people we often mistake Gods patience and longsuffering toward us, as condoning the things we do. “Well the roof didn’t cave in on me after doing this, so God understands!”
Rom 9:22 NKJV What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.
Longsuffering means God is slow to anger. But we should make no mistake, God will at some point show His toward our sins. The continuing hardening of our hearts against God is simply accumulating against us. The more we sin against Him, and refuse to ever repent, we are storing up for ourselves, on the day when God will display His righteous anger against our sins.
ROM 2:5-6 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are lstoring up mwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 nHe will render to each one according to his works:
Once we come to discover our current plight, it is a natural response to us that we seek to reform our lives. This is an important step in the process when we feel this way. Some people get just enough of religion to ease their conscience, instead of taking the whole cure and drinking the whole bottle so to speak, we give ourselves the cure in small measures. “Well I went to church today, this should balance the scales out a little bit.” Just enough of religion to keep our sin and sickness, but the complete cure? No…
In the days of John the Baptist, there were Scribes and Pharisees who did this. Seeking religious covers, instead of truly repenting and changing their ways. Religion will not save you and me from Gods wrath. And is a poor, yet deceitful replacement for Christ.
7 But when he saw many of sthe Pharisees and tSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, u“You brood of vvipers! Who warned you to flee from wthe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit xin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, y‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from zthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. aEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
In
conclusion, there is a wrath to come, a day of reckoning, when we will give
account, seek for refuge in Christ and Christ alone!