Our Propitiation

Hebrews 2:14–18 ESV

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 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. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Intro

Apologetics Sunday

1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

Common use (or non-use) - “My wife is upset with me.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, she told me I need to embrace my mistakes. So I gave her a hug.”

“I don’t think that’s what she was talking about.”

“Clearly. So I need to do something to propitiate my wife.”

“You want to do what to her?”

“You know, propitiate. I need to expiate the situation.”

“Say what?”

“She is mad at me, I messed up. I need to atone for my mistake.”

“Ah, you need to appease her anger and reconcile the relationship.”

“That’s what I said. I need propitiation.”

There is a wrong that was committed, a sin. Now we need to reconcile the relationship, to cover for the sin committed.

Propitiate - win or regain the favor of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them.

Expiation - the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing; atonement.

Atone - make amends or reparation (repair the relationship)

Why Propitiation is important

The wrath of God - Is God angry and vengeful?

The wrath of God is real

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

The anger of God is real

1 Kings 16:33 “And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”

More than wrath and anger, we see that God is slow to anger and full of grace. He wants to forgive.

Jonah 4:2 “For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

We must not think of the wrath or anger of God in our own terms. Which one of us, in our wrath, gave our prized possession to help the object of our wrath?

Where would justice or love be without wrath?

The love of God - Is love all acceptance and no judgment?

Love is taking the judgment upon Himself so we could be forgiven

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.”

Love is keeping the commands, not doing whatever your heart desires

John 15:10 “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

God’s love corrects us, draws us to Himself, and gives us the truth of repentance

Revelation 3:19 “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

It is not loving to allow people to harm themselves or others. It is also not loving to allow those in heaven who don’t want to follow God’s commands.

Day of Atonement

Aaron, as the high priest, was to come into the Holy of Holies

He was to bathe

He was to put the holy garments on

He was to offer for himself a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering

The bull was to make atonement for himself and his house

He was to offer for Israel two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering

He was to cast lots over the two goats, one for the Lord and one for Azazel

Leviticus 16:10 “but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.”

He was to burn incense in the Holy of Holies so the smoke would cover the Mercy Seat

He was to sprinkle the blood of the bull on the Mercy Seat with his finger on the East side seven times

He was to kill the goat for Israel’s sin offering then sprinkle the blood as he did with the bull, sprinkling it over the Mercy Seat and in front of the Mercy Seat

Leviticus 16:16–17 “Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.”

Then he was to make atonement for the Altar and sprinkle the blood of the bull and the goat seven times on the horns of the Altar all around

Leviticus 16:20 ““And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.”

The scapegoat - Leviticus 16:21–22 “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”

Aaron is to go back into the Holy Place, take off his garments and leave them there

Then he is to bathe and put on his other garments

He is to offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people to make atonement for himself and the people

Then he is to burn the fat from the sin offering on the altar

The guy who let the goat go to Azazel was to bath and put on fresh clothes before returning to camp

Leviticus 16:27 “And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. Their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned up with fire.”

Leviticus 16:28 “And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.”

This was to be a statute forever on the tenth day of the seventh month

They were to fast and do no work

Leviticus 16:30 “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.”

This is how they were to appease the wrath of God. Not that God was just angry with them, but they had sin and could not be in the presence of God. God’s intention was for His people to be in His presence. There were times He was angry with their sin because it prevented His people from being who He created them to be and limiting others from being with God. God’s whole intent was to be with us.

Denying the atonement

Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology is a core of many different Progressive Theologies

Oppressor vs. Oppressed

Jesus’ Death:

“He goes outside of himself. His grief, his anger, and his suffering are expressions of his historical interest in his creatures. Identification with his people therefore means not an actus purus but the affection and changing of God…He waits on his creatures in his “costly love.” He himself suffers in the wandering of his people in the wilderness, with the exiles, and in the cross. He suffers through time, struggling with himself, but in hope for the coming occupation of the land, the new exodus, and the resurrection. Human beings living in this God-situation are called to understand their power as passion, that is, power which has interests, yearnings, expectations and which lives from time through time in faithful anticipation of the promised full liberation. Power as passion is power which will not give up its goals, precisely when one can feel only impotence or even when one’s goals seem mostly realized. Thus power as passion is the stuff of resilence and insatiability. From the perspective of the Stoic ethic, this is not a particularly prudent understanding of power because it keeps one stubbornly restless and unsatisfied.” ~ M. Douglas Meeks, God’s Suffering Power and Liberation

Notice what is missing; sin, redemption, atonement, new birth

“Why Jesus did not die for our sins”

Some Jews tied Jesus’ death to the ancient sacrificial system. However, this system was archaic and a misunderstanding of God.

Atonement Theory is based on violence

Richard Rohr says that atonement theory implies that “God the Father was petty, offended in the way that humans are, and unfree to love and forgive of God’s own volition. This is a very untrustworthy image of God that undercuts everything else.”

Jesus didn’t teach Atonement

In fact, it was from Anselm in the Middle Ages.

“However, Jesus deconstructed his bible, the Torah. Like a good postmodern of today, but far ahead of his time, Jesus rejected all the angry warrior God parts of his scriptures.”

We have to ask, how do you know which scriptures to keep and which to throw away?

“Following Jesus’ example, we must deconstruct our Bible, including those parts of the New Testament that continue to reflect the vengeful tribal God of the past.”

Paul taught we are already reconciled to God

“As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:22)

Ignores such Scripture as: 1 Corinthians 6:9–10 “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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Divine Child Abuse - Cosmic Child Abuse

A vengeful Father punishing His Son for something He didn’t do. That can’t be the God who is love.

The Trinity is in unity

Jesus went willingly

God gave of Himself and took our place so that we could live. How is that not love?

Well, He could have just forgiven.

For God to forgive without the debt being paid would be unjust, and God is just. We carry this concept that we can simply forgive so God should be able to do the same. However, we are able to forgive because of the sacrifice of Jesus.

Our idea of wrath is not God’s idea of wrath

In my wrath I have never sought for someone’s good

Purgatory

This is proclaiming Jesus’ blood was not enough to forgive all your sins

You are forgiven to the point you were saved, the rest is up to you to pay off

Also falls in line with Penance - paying for our sin when Jesus already did

How now shall we live

Don’t live under condemnation for your sins, they have been paid for.

Grace came at a steep price, don’t take advantage of it.

Propitiation helps us understand a little more about how God loves us and all He has done for us. It should move us to be more grateful for God’s love and more committed to His ways.