Hi and thanks for tuning in. It’s beautiful out today. Part of me wants to be out working in the yard and the other part says get going on your podcast.
Isn’t that the way it is with us? God shows us what he wants us to do and we want to change His priorities. Our priorities are not always aligned with Gods. But if we love Him half as much as He loves us, we will do what he requires.
So, let’s just continue with our study and give God the glory for what He’s doing and continues to do in our lives. We left off with Romans chapter 3 verse 24. Let’s look at verses 23 and 24 again.
Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Verse 23 makes it abundantly clear that we all have a sinful nature. Verse 24 describes the opportunity for everyone to be declared righteous and sinless by His grace. When we say grace we are saying that even though we deserve a bad thing, we have found favor in God’s eyes through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:25 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.
Propitiation is a heavy word.
It comes from the Greek word hilastērion, which means sacrifice of atonement. A propitiation is how God’s justice is satisfied. God’s wrath is turned away and His mercy can be shown toward us because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
The last part of this verse which reads, in his divine forbearance He had passed over former sins refers to the Old testament saints. Paul is referring to God’s leniency towards those who were saved before the cross. God knew even then that Christ would pay the price for their sins as well.
Four times in the New Testament Christ is spoken of as the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Not only is Christ the propitiation for our sins but he is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
What a mighty weight to put on His shoulders. He had lived a sinless life. His life was perfect and without blemish. Yet he willingly took on the sin of the world. How repulsive that must have seemed to Him. Yet Jesus willingly went to the cross for all mankind.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Think about it, would you be willing to give your life to pay the price for someone who had murdered three young girls and tossed them in a dumpster. Of course not. Yet, however reprehensible this individual’s crime was, he can find God’s grace and mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
There is no greater love than this. A loving God who was willing to sacrifice his only begotten son to pay the penalty for our sins.
If your view of God is distorted because of your upbringing. Maybe you had a father who was vindictive and cruel. Maybe you think of God in the same terms because of the way you were raised. Then just remember this, God loves you so much that he sacrificed His Son for you. He wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to have an eternal relationship with you.
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
The Messiah had to take on human form so that He could properly atone for our sins and become that perfect high priest reconciling us to God.
For the Jews the term high priest had great significance. Because it was the high priest that went into the holiest part of the temple once a year to offer a sacrifice for the people and for himself. The Jewish high priest had to continually sacrifice for the people’s sins
Jesus is our everlasting high priest and has eliminated the barrier between God and man. He has atoned for our sins once and for all and no further sacrifice is needed.
Romans 3:26 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.
God cannot compromise his principles.
He is Holy and merciful, but he also detests sin. Our God is unchanging and will not go against the laws and principles that he laid down for us. God will never violate his own nature. He is unwavering, steadfast and sure.
We need to do the same. We need to detest sin, and we need to be unwavering, steadfast, and sure in our faith. If we are truly Christians we will be Holy or set apart from the things of this world.
1 Peter 1:15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
As always thank you for listening and may you have a week full of opportunities to share this good news with those that need to hear it