Christ took our place
We Can’t escape Sin
In order that he alone might be righteous, it was necessary for God to deliver the whole human race to death on the cross in the judgment of his wrath. The death of Jesus is the manifestation of God’s righteousness, it is the place where God has given gracious proof of his own righteousness, the place where alone the righteousness of God will dwell. By sharing in this death we too become partakers of that righteousness.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Justification and Propitiation???
Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out, and your dog would go in.
A pastor’s son and his mom had been to a shopping mall and the boy had acted badly, wanting this and that, running off, etc. As they were driving home, he could sense her displeasure and said, “When we ask God to forgive us when we are bad, He does, doesn’t He?” His mother replied, “Yes, He does.” The boy continued, “And when he forgives us, He buries our sins in the deepest sea, doesn’t He?” The mom replied, “Yes, that’s what the Bible says.” The boy was silent for awhile and then said, “I’ve asked God to forgive me, but I bet when we get home, you’re going to go fishing for those sins, aren’t you?”
Too often, we do “go fishing” for other people’s sins that God has already buried.
3:25 Propitiation
The word “propitiation” is translated “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5. To understand this, we must go back to Leviticus 16. The entrance of the high priest into the presence of God once a year was made possible by the blood of the sacrifice which he brought. He sprinkled the blood on the ark of the covenant, which symbolized the throne of God. That throne would have been a throne of judgment, but the blood showed that someone had already been judged; thus, the throne became a throne of mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is said to be the place where the believing sinner may meet God.
Faith eliminates the pride of human effort, because faith is not a deed that we do.
• Faith exalts what God has done, not what people do.
• Faith admits that we can’t keep the law or measure up to God’s standards—we need help.
• Faith is based on our relationship with God, not our performance for God.
Most religions prescribe specific duties that must be performed to make a person acceptable to God. Christianity is unique in teaching that the good works we do will not make us right with God. No amount of human achievement or progress in personal development will close the gap between God’s moral perfection and our imperfect daily performance.
Paul envisions the Jewish critic raising these last concerned and valid questions: “Does faith wipe out Judaism, cancel our Scriptures, end our customs? If we are saved by faith, does that mean we no longer need to obey God’s laws?” Paul answers, “Absolutely not!” In fact, only when we trust Jesus can we fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. The law is not something that only the Jews can “do” for God; the law is for both Jews and Gentiles and can only be “done” through faith in Christ. Faith returns the law to its proper place and role in God’s plan for people. Faith does not wipe out the Old Testament; rather, it makes God’s dealings with the Jewish people understandable. (See also 5:20–21; 8:3–4; 13:9–10; Galatians 3:24–29; 1 Timothy 1:8.)
In order to show the priority of faith, Paul feels compelled to turn his readers’ attention to the origins of the Jewish race. He invites Abraham to make a contribution to the discussion by providing proof that faith was already the sole requirement between God and his creatures long before the Mosaic law was given.