I want to explain a very important word today. It is a large, theological word, but don’t just brush it off because of its size and unfamiliarity. It is a word of life, a word of salvation, a word of God. It is a word that pertains to the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. It comes from Romans 3:25, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement.” Throughout the centuries, the Greek word for “sacrifice of atonement” has been translated multiple ways. One of the primary words that has been selected is propitiation. When used of Christ, propitiation is a word that means Jesus fulfilled and completely satisfied the wrath and anger of God. In God’s holiness, he is personally and morally obligated to deal with sin. In other words, for God to be true to his own righteousness, he must punish disobedience. The problem for us is that the punishment we deserve for our sins is death (Romans 6:23a). On the cross, Jesus became our propitiation and received that death. On the cross, Jesus received, absorbed and all together satisfied God’s wrath and anger against our sins. Death was necessary for the righteous requirement of the law to be fulfilled. But instead of God requiring our death, he allowed the death of his Son to take our place. On Calvary, God presented Jesus as our propitiation, as the one who would receive the needed punishment for our sin. Because of his death, we have life. Because he received the wrath of God, we never will. All we will receive is his love and grace and mercy. When you get a free moment, read II Corinthians 5:21 today
