Romans 3:25 KJV: “Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God”. NLT: “For God sent Jesus to take the
punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made
right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life
for us …”
I watched the TBN channel on the Classic of Billy Graham.
When he preached about Roman 3:25, the words he used were “The Blood of
Propitiation.” I became interested and I decided to do some research and try to
put God’s Word into my heart.
After several researches, I came up with what I understood
from my own words. The word, propitiation became a puzzled to me for years even
though I had read several translations. The studies revealed that Paul uses the
Greek word, hilasterion, to try to describe Jesus. This translates to English,
‘to propitiate’ which has to do with sacrifice. In the Old Testament, when a
man broke the law, he brought a sacrifice to God at the Brazen Altar. The lamb
or some animals became propitiate (sacrifice) for man’s sin.
Propitiation (hilasterion) means to be a sacrifice, a covering,
a satisfaction, a payment, an appeasement for sin. God is the One who “set
forth” Christ to be the propitiation for man’s sins. God set Christ at the
cross before the world that He is definitely the propitiation for the world’s
sins.
Take a note of this that it is not His teachings, power,
example, or life that makes Christ the propitiation. It is His blood—His
sacrifice, His death, His sufferings, His cross—that causes God to accept Jesus
as the propitiation. It is the blood of Christ that God accepts as the
sacrifice for our sins; the covering for our sins; the satisfaction for our
sins; the payment for the penalty of our sins; and the appeasement of His wrath
against sin.
What does the Bible mean by “the blood of Christ”? It means the willingness of Christ to die (shed
His blood) for man. It means the supreme
sacrifice Christ paid for man’s sins. It means the terrible sufferings Christ went through for man’s sins. It
means the voluntary laying down of His
life for man’s sins. Oh, the wonders of it all that God loves even me!
Song: The Wonder of
It All Chorus
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
[Lyrics and Music: George Beverly Shea, Sing His
Praise]
May the Lord touch your heart through His love!
[References: 1Jn.2:1-2; Mt.20:19; Heb.2:17; 1Jn.4:10; Jn.10:17-18]
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