Propitiation — What I Should Have Said

Propitiation— offering a sacrifice to appease the wrath of a god. The scripture says, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath, the earthquakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.” Jeremiah 10:10. And again, “My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. 9 I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” Hosea 11:8b,9.

God’s holiness sets a standard (that we cannot achieve), His justice demands recompense (which we cannot endure), and his love makes a way (that we cannot provide). God does not want to display his wrath, because it consumes all that sin and fall short of his glory. God is not like us. His standard is based on his character, and his character doesn’t change, therefore, neither does his standard. Every generation has a cause that believes God is too harsh on a group of loving and caring people, no matter what they have done. Fairness is their battle cry! Inclusion their goal.

However, righteousness is better than fairness. We all stand condemned. That is fair. Love provides a way to escape God’s wrath through faith in the propitiation of His Son, Jesus.  That’s grace and mercy. In today’s culture grace, mercy is trumped by fairness. People want God to bend his standard so that they can escape judgment, but they aren’t willing to submit to God’s mercy and grace and allow God to change them from the inside out. They want their cake and it too. They want their sin and God’s love, and God doesn’t work that way.

Example:

• God’s standard: all life is precious and valuable.
• Man’s sin: abortion
• God’s Justice: “15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 3:15
• God provides a way: “16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,” 1 John 3:16
• Man’s responsibility: “and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1 John 3:16

Example: 

• God’s Standard: Sexuality between one man and one woman who are married.
• Man’s sin: Homosexuality.
• God’s justice: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,” 1 Corinthians 6:9
• God provides a way: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11
• Man’s responsibility: “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” 1 Corinthians 6:13-15.

Praise the Lord, that in the midst of our sin he offers salvation. Praise the Lord, that He is not like us, but is constant and sure! Praise the Lord that He is inclusive because everyone is welcome into the Church through faith in Christ! Praise the Lord that you a part of His family! I know I do, I’m just saying.