Now Paul in this paragraph, as I've said, brings together several themes to introduce God's plan solving the deep problem into which mankind has fallen that he's previously described. And so we are condemned as rebels, disobedient from the womb. Taking after our first parents, Adam and Eve, left to ourselves, we are liable to God's legitimate, perfect justice and wrath, as Paul demonstrated in the opening chapters of the book of Romans. And now, what are some of the themes that shape the overarching storyline given to us in the scriptures to help us to appreciate and even revel in the work of our Lord Jesus in his redemptive plan? And so in our previous studies, please recall with me that we considered the extent of the atonement of Christ on the cross. After carefully examining a number of texts, we considered Christ's death on the cross, concluding that our great shepherd provided atonement only for his sheep, both past, present, and future, from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, and only to them. As we learned from John 10, verse 11, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. We also contemplated the reality that Christ came as the God-man in full submission to accomplish his Father's will as the servant of Yahweh, written of by the prophet Isaiah. The cross of Christ was the culminating act of a life fully fully given to the will of God. In the same chapter, verse 17 of John, for this reason the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This charge, this command, I have received from my Father. And so where our first parents failed to remain under God's authority, Only Jesus Christ, that second Adam, fully accomplished the Father's will. More recently, we consider Christ's death on the cross as redemption, a ransom paid for those who were held captive and enslaved by Satan. In the paragraph before us, we looked at verse 24. Those are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So it is a full payment made to redeem those that are enslaved in sin. And so this evening, we return to the same passage. We're going to pick up yet another category, which the scriptures used to describe Christ's death on the cross, and that is propitiation. I'm glad that Pastor Mitch, some months ago, gave us a thorough exposition on that theme, and I'm going to summarize that for us this evening. So Paul uses the term propitiation in verse 25, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. And this was to show God's righteousness because of his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins. So as we study the scriptures, we can see this term is only used a handful of times in the New Testament. Certainly it's not part of our everyday conversation. And yet in Paul's introduction to the gospel in this most important paragraph, he uses this concept as a lens through which we can appreciate what Jesus accomplished. And so while this idea is only seen occasionally, it has a rich history that brings us back to the opening chapters of our Bibles. If you would turn with me to Romans chapter three, we'll look at this briefly. So, in your handout then, Roman numeral one, it's Old Testament origin. It's Old Testament origin. First, we need to consider letter A, our first parents. Immediately following the fall of our first parents, recorded here in the guard, we have the likely evidence of the first expiatory sacrifice, which had reference to their guilt. As we see in verse 15, a superhuman seed of Eve will bruise the serpent's head, and in so doing would be wounded in his heel himself. Look with me at verse 21, please. Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. And so this is the first record of an actual death of animals that we find in the scriptures. You can imagine the expression of our first parents, of their eyes going wide as they witnessed the death of these animals in order for them to be clothed to cover their nakedness. Recall the awareness of their nakedness was only realized after they made that fatal mistake of following the counsel of the serpent. The fig leaves that they had used were in inadequate covering. God covered their nakedness by killing these animals. And so why are we here in Genesis chapter 3? Well, the meaning for the Hebrew word used for propitiation means to cover. The skins of animals killed by God covered their nakedness. covered their sin and in part its consequences well. Sin results in death. Covering is needed for those who sinned. And so these animal skins would be a constant reminder of their falling condition and the consequence of death promised to them when they disobeyed. But more than this, it is also a token of God's mercy to them to cover their sin. And by way of application, man's method of dealing with guilt feelings, like Adam and Eve's fig leaves, will never do. Their exposure, their nakedness, was a symbol of a far deeper spiritual problem. Today, people employ their own versions of fig leaves to address the real guilt that is within. Some give themselves to a great social cause, to think that that is sufficient to salve their guilty conscience. while others, perhaps, will use some sophisticated psychology. Others project their failures onto a previous generation. Still others numb themselves with some thrill-seeking experience or medication, and I'm not saying medicate, I'm not putting a blanket condemnation on on that, but they may use that or drunkenness or illicit drugs. And yet, our defilement, our crimes against a holy God involves a radical, a costly solution, as we'll see. And so, in the following chapter of Genesis, you know the story. Abel's sacrifice of the lamb was accepted by God, while Cain's offering of produce was not. And again, we learn that without the shedding of blood, the death penalty, there can be no forgiveness of sin. Death is the wages of sin. And now as we quickly move on through redemptive history, if you would turn to Leviticus chapter 16, only briefly. This chapter in Leviticus is going to describe the procedure to be followed by Aaron and his sons for the day of atonement. So we'll jump down in a moment to verse 21. While the early Genesis sacrifices were not explicitly expiatory, they anticipate these Levitical sacrifices of the guilt or sin offering on the Day of Atonement. On the one goat the priest would lay his hands and confess the sins of the people and then it would be sent out into the wilderness. The other would be killed and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. The first show that God in mercy separates our sins from us. It also points to Christ's suffering outside of Jerusalem as Paul had pointed out in one place. The second good forfeited its life as a vicarious payment, a substitute for the sins of the people. And again, pointing to Christ, taking our sins upon his sinless person, sparing us the penalty which we deserve. And so look at verse 21. Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. And so in this way we see a type as a means of understanding how justice and the holiness of God are married to the mercy of God. The death penalty for sin is upheld, yet here by a substitute and God's righteous wrath is satisfied and turned away. So one could say that God is propitiated. His wrath is turned away. Professor Murray makes this statement. But what does propitiation mean? In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, it is expressed by a word which means to cover. In connection with this covering, there are, in particular, three things to be noted. First, it is in reference to the sin that the covering takes place. Secondly, the effect of this covering is cleansing and forgiveness. And third, it is before the Lord, it is in relationship to this holy God that both the covering and its effect take place. And so this means that sin creates a situation in relation to the Lord that makes covering necessary. It is this Godward reference to both the sin and the covering that must be fully appreciated. It may be said that the sin, or perhaps the person who had sinned, is covered before the sight of the Lord. And so propitiation signifies the removal of wrath by a God who exercises wrath, but by means of a substitute that is sacrificed. In our day, to think of a God who has wrath is very unpopular. And here, two goats on the Day of Atonement, one dies in the wilderness, the other dies as a sacrifice. The anger of God falls on this sacrifice and not the sinner. But this is not the only place that we see the use of the term propitiation. In Roman numeral two, we also find its appearance in Greek culture. The setting of the term is often used in worship where a deity's anger is turned away or appeased. We find it on Greek inscriptions, a propitiatory gift that appeases the wrath of a deity. And that's a means by which the wrath is turned away. That's how it's used in the broader culture. And so propitiation implies guilt. It implies God's anger. And it's understood that even in the, and understand that even the pagan use of this term, going all the way back to the Tower of Babel onward, there is still this echo of that ancient reality from Genesis chapter 3. Instead of approaching the one true God with her propitiatory sacrifice, a counterfeit idol and a counterfeit propitiation is put in its place. This only underscores the pervasive reality of mankind's deep need for such a propitiation. And so, looking at the Old Testament, its ancient origins, we're looking at the Greek culture here, we want to look very briefly at the use of the term under Roman numeral three. First, there is a relationship this term has with the wrath of God. We had seen in the Levitical service of part number one there, as we saw a moment ago, Moses instructed Aaron in Leviticus 16 not to enter into the holiest place lest he die. In verse one of that chapter, only on the day of atonement and only if he had already killed a bull for a sin offering to atone for himself and his household. and the blood of one of those two goats would his presence in the Holy of Holies be accepted. And so God's wrath against sin is seen in the death of the sacrifice. I'm going to be redundant here. So recall with me that Moses placed what he placed into the Ark of God. If you recall, there are those two tablets of stone where God himself engraved the Ten Commandments. There's also that pot of manna which calls to mind as well the grumbling that we had heard about this morning. where they complained about that food that they grew so tired of. Now if we jump all the way back to our Romans 3 passage, think again of the context, Romans chapter 1 verses 18 through chapter 3, we have universal condemnation of mankind, right from the outline that Pastor Mitch offered for the book Romans there. In chapter 2, verse 5, Paul speaks of God's wrath. In chapter 2, verse 8, just condemnation and eternal wrath for all of mankind. And so, it is only in the context of wrath that we see the use of this term, propitiation. And as with the case of redemption, where the context is always slavery and bondage, when we see the use of the term propitiation, there is always the context of God's wrath. And so, does that make you feel a bit uncomfortable sitting here this evening? To think that God has wrath? That he has in mind so many crimes that you have committed against his holy person? his clearly expressed law to be offended with you, to be repulsed by you. And yet, for all that, he extends his mercy in Christ alone. Which brings us really to part B in your outline, not only in relation to God's wrath, but in relation to God's mercy. There is more than just God's wrath. The most common use of our word for propitiation, as we look into the Greek Old Testament, 21 out of 27 times is translated mercy seat, which obviously is the place of propitiation there in the Holy of Holies. The blood of the bull and the goat were sprinkled there. We learned that without the shedding of blood, there is no mercy, no forgiveness. So, the covering of that arc in gold is the mercy seat, which is a symbol of Christ's sacrifice. If we turn to the book of Psalms, Psalm 130 verse 3, if you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness in the Septuagint. The word for propitiation is used there. But with you there is forgiveness, there is propitiation that you may be feared. So we can see there is a relationship of this term always relating back to God's mercy. If we were to turn to the New Testament, we'll just pick out one passage. In Luke 18, you remember the Pharisee and the tax collector go up to the temple to pray. Luke 18 verse 13, but the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful, be propitious to me, a sinner. He's asking God to cover over his sins. So it is in covering our sin by means of propitiation that God's anger is silenced toward the sinner. His wrath is turned away from us and what remains is mercy where there was only wrath before. And so where does this mercy come from? Well, if you look at part C of your outline, it's going to go all the way back to a God who loves, in relation to God's love. Throughout history, think with me, it was always God's love that initiated our path back to Him. by means of propitiation. In the garden, it was God who made the tunics from the animal skins. With Moses, and of course in the context of the promise of a Redeemer. With Moses, it was God who instructed him in creating the temple sacrifices, and specifically Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement. We also see most clearly in Christ once for all sacrifice. And so at every turn, all along, it was God the Father loving us. If you would turn with me to 1 John chapter 4, we're just going to look at a verse briefly here, but it's an important one to consider, this reality of God's love. 1 John chapter 4, verse 10, where the Apostle John writes these important words, in this is love. agape. Not that we loved God, which is not true. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. At every point in redemptive history, it was God pursuing us, teaching us and providing the way that we could live in peace in his presence through the death of a substitute. Dr. Waldron makes this comment. When we think about the love of God, we want to think accurately about that. Three misconceptions must be corrected if propitiation is to be understood. Firstly, to love someone is not the same as being propitiated towards that person. God loves men with whom he is already angry, and yet he loves them. So it's not as though they are inconsistent with one another. Propitiation does not turn a God of wrath into a God of love. And that's very plain from this passage. It was love that caused God the Father to send Jesus to be that propitiation for our sins. Thirdly, propitiation does not detract from In other words, it's not as though Jesus came to appease the Father's anger and just to win him over. I mean, that would be a wrong way of characterizing what's taking place here. Thirdly, propitiation does not detract from God's love and mercy. Rather, it shows how costly it is, how determined God is, and how glorious it is to secure this. God will love even at the cost of his Son, but he will not love at the cost of his justice. And so we can see in the Romans 324 passage, it is the righteousness of God that's going to be exhibited there. And so thus his love is secure. Justice cannot change that. And so we go back to John 316, don't we? For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. And so we've looked at this word propitiation in relation to God's wrath, to his mercy and also to his love. Let's consider Roman numeral four, the culmination in Christ's cross, the culmination of propitiation in Christ's cross. Consider with me part A. This is the turning point of all history. A number of passages come to mind, we'll just look at Galatians 4, beginning at verse 4. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. So the most important event in all history. Christ's death on the cross is the event that divides time. We go from B.C. or B.C.E. now to A.D. It doesn't matter, it's still this central event that divides history. And so as we look at verse 25 then of Romans 3, if we're turning back there, This is 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. In other words, whenever there is a sin, God didn't hammer that violator of that crime with immediate death, because the human race would end, wouldn't it? By way of analogy, think of the load of humanity's sins as a tremendous debt. When I make a mortgage payment, one of those options on the computer screen is for me just to cover the interest, to make the interest payment, and then not do anything in relation to the principal on that interest. And so in making that, now I don't do this, but in making that interest payment only, I'm acknowledging my debt. there is the forestalling of the foreclosure on the part of the bank for my home. So that judgment is forestalled, and yet the actual original debt remains. And so the Old Testament sacrifices could never possibly pay down the principle of the debt that our sins have accumulated. But as it were, And I know it's a poor analogy, but that's the one that came to mind. It could only forestall the judgment that in acknowledging that debt until Christ came. But now Christ has come and provided that path forward back to God for you and for me on the basis of faith in Christ. It is only in his sacrifice of himself that the debt, the principle of that debt, is paid in full. Praise God. Praise his blessed name. And so we've seen that the cross of Christ is the turning point of history. Secondly, it also highlights the costliness, the costliness of Christ's sacrifice. God the Father addresses his righteousness and wrath towards sin in sacrifice, the offering of a substitute. His son's blood which exhausts the anger of God on the cross. Christ's propitiation. His turning away of God's wrath was not done in half measures. There was no installment plan, no layaway plan, no amortization schedule. But on the cross, see the full payment of our debt, of all of our sins, dear believer. And so Jesus knew what he was going into as he entered into Gethsemane that evening. He painfully anticipated what would soon come to pass. In the words of the Apostle Paul from 2 Corinthians 5.21, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. And so like that Old Testament goat, he would suffer the penalty of death as the sin bearer. Like the scapegoat, he would realize the rejection of the Father's love, which here at a fourth through all eternity, he had always known. If we look at 1 Peter 1 verse 18, consider the costliness, the costliness of Christ's payment on the cross. Beginning at 1 Peter 1 verse 18, knowing that you are ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Like that of a lamb without blemish or spot, he was foreknown before the foundation of the world. but he was made manifest in these last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. If we turn forward in the book of Romans, verse 31, familiar passage, Paul says, what can we say to these things? Romans 8, 31, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, will he not also with him graciously give us all things? The costliness of that propitiation. The Father pronounces us perfect. We are just in his sight. Paul teaches us in Romans 3 verse 24. Is he lying? So how can he be just in justifying sinners? We go back to the hymn that we had just sung. Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me. So we need to consider the great cost of our triune God in propitiating, in covering our sin. But it also is going to teach us the reach of Christ's sacrifice as well. Back in 1 John chapter 2, if you don't mind turning there. We're almost through. 1 John chapter 2, just the first two verses there. And again, we find this word propitiation used. John's letter, beginning at verse 1 of 1st John 2, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Verse 2, He is the propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And so wherever this gospel is preached, propitiation through Christ is offered. His sacrifice is sufficient for everyone who will call upon Him. As believers, we still need Christ's propitiatory advocacy when we fall into sin. Even today, you and I will never somehow mature beyond Christ's propitiatory sacrifice. And that's John's point in verse 1. The very remembrance of his death on the cross in the Lord's Supper brings us back to this basic reality, and this is one of several reasons why we regularly remember our Lord's death in this simple set of ordinance here. In fact, the only time the term propitiation even appears in our confession of faith, I just found this, this is just one of those trivial kinds of things, the only time this is found in the 1689 is in the chapter on the Lord's Supper. Isn't that interesting? Since it is Christ bleeding on the cross that provides a covering for sin, not the communion table itself, It's just a remembrance of that. So this propitiation, though it covers every sin of every believer, keep in mind, though, it's not a license for sin. Our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, there, verse 1, did not propitiate the Father so that we could cast off all regard for His holy character. his holy will for us in continuing in any sinful practice. And yes, we do still sin as believers. John anticipates that need, and that is why we are here this evening, among other reasons to continue to stay right with our God. We can come as imperfect worshipers this evening. in this ordinance. Why? We have such an advocate, Jesus Christ, who is the only one God authorized to forgive sins and to cleanse us from our unrighteousness. So you who struggle with this or that sin, come to Jesus again and again. Have full and open dealings with him even this evening as you commune with him in the Lord's Supper to receive afresh his cleansing by his blood. Renew your love to him. He promises to cleanse and strengthen you to walk before him in renewed obedience to his ways. And also, if you've trusted Christ to take upon himself your sins, he has taken them to his grave where your debt is canceled out for all eternity. And though you may experience trouble, even as we thought of King David this morning, God is no longer your enemy, no longer your judge, but your Father is one who has adopted you into his family for all eternity. The words of Paul in Romans 8, 37 and following come to mind, knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else. And all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now, if you are not yet trusting in Christ's propitiatory sacrifice as your substitute, realize that before God, you are exposed. You are not covered like our first parents. In the words of Hebrews 9.13, And all you need to do is receive by simply going to Christ now in prayer. confessing your sins, admitting your crimes, and trust that He is fully capable of covering all your sins, forgiving you, cleansing you, and this day make you completely accepted in His presence, and that for all eternity. Amen. Let's go toward God in prayer, shall we? Our Lord Jesus, God our Father, and Spirit of God, help us to appreciate afresh what our Lord Jesus did in willingly laying his life down to be a spectacle for all to see, to display your dying love on our behalf, and satisfying God's justice to the very last drop by your blood. We pray that you would help us to sense our privilege in trusting in you and hearing the gospel and embracing it. May it not be lost to anyone here this evening. And may we give you praise and glory in that name. Amen.