Propitiation (Elders Training)

Introduction

Opening Introduction: Today’s topic of study is Propitiation. What a weighty matter this is before us. I am assuming each of you have read the chapter by JI Packer on Propitiation this week, and so Lord willing you have come here with solid footing to engage the discussion. Truly, the idea of propitiation is at the center of Christianity.

Today’s False Gospel: Of course, today there are all kinds of shallow and deficient gospels being offered in pulpits and in pastoral counseling meetings across this city. These deficient Gospel messages are “tickle the ears” of their listeners by promising a therapeutic gospel. That is the term I use to speak about much preaching and teaching that takes place today in modern churches. The therapeutic gospel states that by bringing Jesus into your life, you will feel happier and have a greater sense of identity. These things are true. Jesus does bring joy into a person’s life, and he does bring a new sense of identity. But the Gospel is much more than that. And as elders, one of our chief responsibilities is to guard doctrine. We must passionately guard doctrine from being watered down. Over time this guarding will in fact make you some enemies. But such is the cost.

The True Gospel: The true Gospel of Jesus Christ must clearly state Christ’s blood shed on the cross to satisfy the wrath of God against our sins. And that is the heart of propitiation.

Plan: The plan for our short time today is I want accomplish three things. First, I want to doctrinally understand propitiation. Second, I want to work that doctrine into our hearts. To consider the experiential benefits of this doctrine.

Meaning & Application

I DOCTRINAL UNDERSTANDING OF PROPITIATION

The term propitiation occurs four times in the New Testament. Let’s look together at Romans 3:21-26, one of these verses.

Romans 3:21–26 “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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. 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.”

Definition: John Owen in one of his lengthy commentaries discusses the meaning of this word, and he said this,

“In the use of this word, then, there is always understood: first, an offense, crime, guilt, or debt, to be taken away; secondly, a person offended, to be pacified, atoned, reconciled; thirdly, a person offending, to be pardoned, accepted; fourthly, a sacrifice, or some other means of making atonement.”

And so in Owen’s requirement definition of that term we see four ideas.

An Offense to Be Taken Away: First, the offense to be taken away. The Scriptures overwhelming inform us that we have broken God’s command, in heart, mind, action, disposition, emotion, down to our very nature. The offense that needs to be removed in God’s economy is our sin, our rebellion to God.

A Person Offended: Secondly, the person offended is God himself. It is God who wrote the law, who imbued reality with morality. And because he is just, the slightest breaking of his law is worthy of the proper punishment.

A Person Offending: Third, a person offending, that’s you and me. “All have sinned.” There is not a person alive, nor that has ever lived (outside of Christ), that is not need of a propitiation before a Holy God.

A Sacrifice: Fourth, a sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the lamb that was slain. The perfect eternal second person of the Trinity, who existed with God from all eternity passed, condescended into human flesh, and died as a fulfillment of the curse on our behalf.

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.”

JI Packer: Propitiation Described: Packer in the chapter you read layed three aspects of Propitiation. All of these are vital to get a full sense of the meaning and depth.

Propitiation is the Work of God Himself: First, propitiation is the work of God Himself. What packer means here is that the entire work of our salvation, is a work of God. Jesus never acted outside of the will of the Father. Their wills were united. In fact, repeatedly we read in the Scriptures that the Father sent the Son on his mission. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together worked for the propitiation to be given by the Son to the Father. This is extraordinary. Truly, the gospel is a free gift.

Propitiation Was Made by the Death of Jesus: Second, propitiation was made by the death of Jesus. This moment, in world history, was the propitiatory offering of sin for God’s beloved.

Romans 3:24–25 “… Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood…”

In the Old Testament, this sacrifice by Jesus was foreshadowed in the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law. Those sacrifices were shadows that pointed to the substance which was Christ. In every sacrificial lamb, God’s people saw the true punishment for sin, death. Each of those lambs pointed forward to the final sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ. He is the substance. And because Jesus was fully human, and also infintely divine, his death on the cross is the propitiatory offering that satisfies the wrath of God.

Propitiation Manifests God’s Righteousness: Third, Packer notes that Propitiation manifests God’s righteousness. I think this is seen in the Romans 3 passage when Paul writes,

Romans 3:26 “…so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

The public crucifixion of the Son of God is a visual display of the holiness and righteousness and justice of God. At the cross we see that God is just, that sin is not simply overlooked. At the cross we see that sin has consequences, namely death.

II PRESS THIS INTO OUR HEART

Second, I would like to attempt to press this into our heart. One of the challenges of being a Christian for some time is that it is quite easy to become numb in all the areas where we ought to be amazed. I’d like to attempt to push this into our hearts today in a way that awakens us to the majesty of what it means to be a Christian. In fact, the model of preaching I aspire to is called Experiential Preaching, and at the heart of experiential preaching is allowing oneself ot be so pricked by the word of God that you actually have something to say. I heard one fellow describe it this way.

“Experiential Preaching is weilding the sword that has already pierced you.”

The idea is simple, the Word of God has to pierce us, before we can dare to pierce others with it. Well let me give you two very simple ways today, that this idea of propitiation can pierce your heart and perhaps drive new behavior.

1 Ought to Make Us Incredibly Humble: First, understanding the doctrine of propitiation ought to make us incredibly humble. We could not save ourselves. Everything needed for our salvation was accomplished outside of us, by God. The Father sent the Son, and the Son willingly gave his life on the cross. We are simply recipients of a divine gift, that we did not earn or ask for. The Christian who understand this should have a very powerful sense of humility about them. That doesn’t mean you’re a pushover, and it doesn’t mean that you don’t have strenght and carry that strength well. But people who know you, ought to be able to say he composes himself with a humility that is very different.

2 Ought to Give us a Peace of Conscience: Second, it ought to give us a peace of conscience. We have an objective peace with God based, not on our merit, or our sustaining will power, but on the propitiatory gift of Christ. The verdict has been read. Debt paid in full. When our conscience weighs on us heavily, and condemns us for some fault of ours, some weakness of ours, we can appeal to the cross, and find our consciences cleansed. Bruce Demarest says it this way,

“The righteous God has pardoned, cleansed, and freed true believers from the burden of sin and guilt. Overly scrupulous Christians need to celebrate this glorious reality.”

When we do sin, we don’t need to whip ourselves or receive some absolution from a priest. We appeal to the finished work of Christ on the cross.

3 We Ought to Hate Sin In Our Own Lives: Third, your sin is so deep, so wicked, so vile, so debased, that the only satisfactory method of removing your from between you and God, was the death of Christ, the lovely one. This is not just myth, Christ Jesus took on flesh, and died a horrible death, underneath the wrath of God, for your sin.

If we are awake, and we call ourselves Christians, this ought to give us a sense of loathing over our sin. A sense of a desire to repent of sin. To be cleansed from it, not for selfish gain, but because we love God and we love his glory, and we love Christ, and we therefore hate all rebellion against him. What does this look like practically.

Ask God to Reveal Deeper Levels: First, make a regular habit of asking God to reveal deeper levels of sin in your heart and life. Determine in your heart to get to the bottom of it and root it out. So much of modern Christianity is so shallow; there is no plunging to the depths of our faith to discover what’s down there. We are grown ups playing in the kiddy pool. But as mature men of faith we are invited to train up our lungs to deep dive into the abyss.

Reflect and Keep Track: Second, keep track of your sin. Trace its development. See when it pops up, and what causes it to pop up. I recommend keeping a spiritual journal, where you can monitor your day. What was happening in my day. Did I respond as a godly man? Did pride drive my responses to people today? Did jealousy drive my responses today? Was I filled by the spirit, and quick to see God in the moments of my day.

Bring it Quickly to God (Don’t Entertain It): Third, bring it to God quickly. Don’t entertain it. This is true of every sin, but perhaps for us men, I might bring up the sin of lust and lustful thoughts. I have taught a number of times to group of men about pornography in our culture. I’ve shared from my own story that God is able to bring full victory over pornography. Full! And yet, in this fallen mind of mine, I can discover lustful thoughts continuing to plague me. Men, here’s what we can do. Because they’re in our mind, we can entertain them, we can let those thoughts linger. Or we can bring it to God quick.

Conclusion

We have looked at the doctrine of propitiation. As Elders, we must carry this doctrine well. We cannot let false or diminished gospel anywhere near our churches. Like Phinehas of the Old Testament, we must have a godly zeal to guard truth, no matter the cost.