Justification, Redemption, Propitiation
There's only one medication against the virus of sin: JESUS.
1. Everybody has sinned.
2. Everybody is accountable.
3. Anybody can be saved by faith in Jesus.
The Greek noun for “justification,” dikaiōsis, is derived from the Greek verb dikaioō, meaning “to acquit” or “to declare righteous” (Rom. 4:2, 5; 5:1). It is a legal term used for a favorable verdict in a trial. The word depicts a courtroom setting, with God presiding as the Judge, determining the faithfulness of each person to the Law. In the first section of Romans, Paul makes it clear that no one can withstand God’s judgment (Rom. 3:9–20). The Law was not given to “justify” sinners, but to expose their sin. To remedy this deplorable situation, God sent His Son to die for our sins, in our place. When we believe in Jesus, He credits His righteousness to us, and we are declared righteous or “not guilty” before God. In this way, God demonstrates that He is both a righteous Judge and the One who declares us righteous, our Justifier (Rom. 3:26).
The English word “redemption” is derived from a Latin root, meaning “to buy back.” Thus, it means “the liberation of any possession, object, or person, usually by payment of a ransom.” In Greek, the root word means “to loose” and so “to free.” It is used to mean freeing from chains, slavery, or prison. Two cognate words in the New Testament, lutrōsis and apolutrōsis, are both typically translated “redemption” in various versions. Lutrōsis indicates the act of “freeing or releasing” by paying a ransom price; apolutrōsis indicates the act of “buying back” by paying a ransom price. Christ paid the ransom price with His own blood (1 Pet. 1:18–19) and thus freed us from the demands of the law, and its curse on sin, to become children of God (Gal. 3:13; 4:5). When payment seems to be the main point in a passage, the term “ransom” is a good English equivalent. When the point seems to be more related to buying something back—hence, recovering someone from sin—the word “redemption” is a better choice.
Jesus, the Son of man, came to give Himself as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45). The work of the Messiah was vicarious and substitutionary. The same thought occurs especially in the writings of Paul where Christ is the sin offering to the Father (Rom. 3:25). In other words, Jesus purchased and redeemed us with His life (Acts 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:14–17). All who believe in Jesus Christ—by accepting His payment for us to the Father—are freed from the bondage of sin.
“Propitiate” and “propitiation” are not commonly used in the English language. We must look to an age long gone in order to discern their meaning. In ancient times, many polytheists thought of their gods as unpredictable beings, liable to become angry with their worshipers for any trifle. When any misfortune occurred, it was believed that a god was angry and was therefore punishing his worshipers. The remedy was to offer the god a sacrifice to appease his anger. This process was called “propitiation.”
A few of the New Testament writers used exactly the same word, but the meaning was slightly different. Instead of seeing God as one whose mood needs to be appeased, “propitiation” focuses on the sacrifice of Jesus by death on the cross which brought the resultant peace between God and sinful humanity. The Greek term for “propitiation,” hilasmos, occurs in some important passages: Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10. The message we get from these passages is that propitiation (also called “expiation”) pertains to Christ’s sacrifice for sins in order to bring about a peaceful relationship between God and humanity.
Whenever God’s children sin, they provoke His anger. Of course, His anger is not an irrational lack of self-control, as it so often is with humans. His anger is the settled opposition of His holy nature to everything that is evil. Such opposition to sin cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. It requires something much more substantial, and the Bible states that it was only the cross that did this. Jesus is “the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2, KJV). This is not the only way of looking at the cross, but it is an important way. If God’s anger is real, then it must be taken into account in the way that sin, which caused that wrath, is dealt with. When the New Testament speaks of “propitiation,” it means that Jesus’ death on the cross for the sins of mankind appeased God’s wrath against His people once and for all. First John 4:10 states that God demonstrated His love to us by sending His Son to become “the propitiation for our sins.” Just as in the Old Testament God met with His people when the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled on the altar, so Christ’s death brings us into fellowship with God.