Propitiation

Last week we spoke about Reconciliation, which refers to the fact that through Jesus God has restored the relationship between Him and His people.

Today we are going to zoom in on this, and look at what had to happen on God’s side of this restoration.

To start out though, 1 question: What is love?

John defines love as this:

1 John 4:10 LEB

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.

The cross is the greatest act of love in all of history, does anyone know why?

What God has done is he has taken guilty sinners like each and every single one of us, who deserve punishment, and instead of condemning us and destroying us, He has chosen to love us.

What makes it so loving is that God is choosing to love and save a people that hate him. We are creatures and are disobedient and have earned noting but punishment from God.

Not only this but because of God’s perfect and holy nature God to be consistent with who He is must punish us.

God is a wrathful God, and this is what makes the cross so amazing. Because instead of punishing us for our sin, God has taken out the punishment on Jesus.

This is where our word comes in

Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition Propitiation

propitiation. The satisfaction of God’s just wrath toward sinners, accomplished through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Expiation, Propitiation

Propitiation, taking a personal object, speaks of the appeasement of an offended party—specifically the Christian God—from wrath or anger

We have offended God, and yet God has chosen to love us and provide a sacrifice in Jesus.