The Gospel of Propitiation and Justification

Today, we’re going to take a look at Paul’s explanation of some of the inner workings of the Gospel. You might say that we’re going to look under the hood to see how the Gospel actually works. Paul uses some technical language to do this, words like propitiation and justification. Now, there are those who think, ‘Why do I need to know about all that technical stuff? I just want to love Jesus.’ Well, here’s one answer. The Spirit thought it was a good idea to include this ‘technical stuff’ in the Bible. He must have a good reason for doing that. But please understand that He did that not just to be technical. Here’s the thing. It’s as we grow in our understanding of the inner workings of the Gospel that we will grow in our love for Jesus who has done amazing things for us.

As with my treatment of earlier parts of Paul’s letter, I’m just going to hit some high spots here. But I might return to this passage next week to deal with some things that I won’t spend time on this morning.

Please listen as I read Paul’s explanation of the Gospel.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3.21-26

Let’s start with this. There is a problem. Paul identifies it quite simply.

all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Sin is the problem, and it is a problem for all. We are all, Jews and Gentiles alike, under sin.

Now, why is that a problem? It’s actually not a problem, at least not for God. But it is a problem for us. Back in chapter one, Paul explained how the sinful Gentiles have earned God’s wrath. Paul teaches the same thing for the Jews in chapter two.  God’s justice against sin requires wrath. And that’s a problem for us.

Now, I realize that wrath is a church word. But instead of offering a translation, as I commonly do, what if you remember what I read to you last Sunday from Revelation 16. This is how it started.

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” Revelation 16.1

What followed were images conveying something of the horror of that wrath. Here’s just one example.

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. Revelation 16:10-11

That’s just one image of what the wrath of God is about. And simple images cannot adequately convey the reality.

So, when I say that there is a problem for us, there really is a problem. And that leads to this question. Is it possible for any of us to be rescued from the wrath of God?

And that gets us to discussing a solution. It’s important that you understand that God could have just let the problem play itself out. Humanity could have simply been allowed to experience the justice that we all deserve. Wrath. God is under absolutely no obligation to provide a solution. None. There have been some who believe otherwise. They have been taught that God had to do something to solve the problem. He just had to. No, He didn’t. And that is something that would be good for all of us to remember.

However, as you know, He did provide a solution.

So, what did God do to provide this solution? Or to phrase that better, how did God provide a solution without compromising His own justice? Again, there are those who misunderstand the situation. They assume that God could simply decide to ignore the sin, to forgive it, just like that. Problem solved, right? Wrong. That would require Him to ignore the demand for the punishment of our sins that His own justice requires. Can He do that?

All of this brings us to the first of those technical words that Paul uses. Listen.

…the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation…

So, what is this propitiation? It’s all about wrath. God’s justice requires wrath for sin. His justice requires punishment. So, in God’s solution to our problem is sin punished? Is the demand of God’s justice satisfied? If we answer that with a ‘No’, it means that God has compromised Himself. He has not been true to Himself. And if God can ignore what justice requires in one situation He can do it in any situation. And there goes any confidence that we might have that He will keep any of His promises. But God does not compromise Himself. He maintains His justice even as He provides a solution to our problem. And, as you know, the solution was found in the Cross. That’s where Jesus was put forward as a propitiation of God’s wrath. 

The just demands for the punishment of our sins were completely satisfied in Jesus’ death. He endured God’s wrath. And not God’s wrath just for one or two people or even one or two thousand people. He experienced the wrath of God for all the sins of all His people. And that is simply astounding to consider! In this way, there is a solution to our problem while God’s justice is maintained. The sentence of wrath for our sin has been carried out. It has been carried out in Jesus. Justice is satisfied. And we are saved from the wrath of God. That’s propitiation.

Now, the temptation is to think that that’s good enough. Jesus has died for my sins, and now God isn’t angry at me. It’s all good. That is good, but it’s not good enough, not for our Father.

This gets us to that other technical word that Paul uses.

 [We] are justified by his grace as a gift…

Now, what is this justification? It’s a legal declaration. Imagine a court room. There is a trial going on. Evidence is presented and debated. The jury deliberates. It returns and hands its verdict to the judge. The judge then declares that the accused is either innocent or guilty. And whatever the judge declared, that’s the status of the person who was accused of the crime.

Now imagine another courtroom - God’s courtroom. We are the accused. Evidence is presented and debated. A verdict is reached. And God also makes a declaration. God declares the status of all for whom Jesus died. God does not merely declare that justice is satisfied and we are free to go, even though because of propitiation that is true. God’s declaration goes further. He declares that we who are Christians are righteous. The Father applies Jesus’ righteousness to us and declares it ours. We are righteous in His sight.

So, think of it in this way. Propitiation removes all of the negative of our sins. You might say that it gets us back to zero on God’s scale. But it is justification that gets us to the plus side of that scale. And we aren’t taken just a few points above zero. We are taken to as high as the scale goes. We are declared not just innocent or even a little bit good. We are declared righteous before God. We have gone from the depths of the minus, because of our sin, to the heights of the plus, because of Jesus’ righteousness given to us.

So, you see, the problem is solved. All who come to Jesus, all of whom had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, have the punishment for their sins dealt with. Propitiation. And then, they are declared righteous. Justification. This is the Gospel.

Now, all of that is the theory. Let me mention a little of how this makes a difference practically. And it all flows from these facts: The justice due our sins has been satisfied. We have been declared righteous before God. And yet, we continue to sin. Does that ruin everything? Does our continuing to sin somehow undo what God has done? It is the glory of the Gospel of God that makes it possible for us to answer that with a resounding, ‘No!’

Because of the declaration of God that we are righteous, we have this confidence: we are accepted by the Father, and we always will be. Now, why is that? Why are we accepted by the Father? It has nothing to do with what we have done or might do. We did not solve the problem. We did not do what needed to be done. We are not the cause of our very good situation before the Father. We have been declared righteous for reasons that have nothing to do with what we have done. So, what that means is that there is nothing that we can do to change that declaration. We did not cause that declaration and we cannot ‘uncause’ that declaration.

The Gospel of propitiation and justification provides a solid reason to know that you are accepted by the Father and that you always will be.

It’s the Father saying to each of His people, ‘I like you. I think you’re ok. Sure, you just sinned again, and we’ll need to work on that. But it doesn’t change the fact that I like you. I really do.’ There is nothing that we can do to change our status before God. Nothing.

So, I’m going to tell you again what I’ve told you before. Relax. Don’t be anxious about these things. Enjoy the acceptance of the Father. Believe the Gospel and relax.

‘But we still sin!’ Yes, that’s a problem. But it isn’t a fatal problem. Later in this letter, Paul will explain the resources that we have to deal with this. And they are powerful resources. But let me say this now. Yes, we sin. That’s not good. It is something that we are called to work on. But please understand that we don’t work at this because we have to maintain our good standing with the Father or else. What is that but salvation by our works. We do work at this, but we do that because we can and not because we must. There are resources in God so that we can take attitudes and behaviors that are ugly and evil, and see them changed into things that are beautiful and holy. We fight against our sin because we can. Our acceptance by the Father is not at risk. That’s been taken care of by what Jesus has done. Propitiation. Justification.

So, what would I like to see as a result of all of this? I’d like to see a group of people striving toward holiness, working hard to put sin to death. But I’d also like to see a group of people who are at peace with themselves because they know that they are at peace with their God. They are fully accepted by the Father because of Jesus, and they know it. And that frees them up to accomplish much for the kingdom. So, again, I say to you, believe the Gospel and relax.