God the Holy Spirit will be pleased
by the message I preach to you this hour to cause you and me again afresh
to give ourselves away to Him. Oh, how blessed our day will
be. Romans chapter 3. Throughout these first three
chapters of the Book of Romans, God the Holy Ghost shows us the
necessity of Christ's satisfaction. That is the necessity of justice
being satisfied by the sin-atoning death of God's darling son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. Until justice is satisfied, God
cannot save. Until justice is satisfied, sinners
have no hope. Until justice is satisfied, sin
cannot be forgiven. Without shedding of blood is
no remission. Until justice is satisfied, God
cannot be just and the justifier of them which believe. He cannot
be a just God and a Savior. That's essentially the message
of the first three chapters of the book of Romans. Justice must
be satisfied. And that's clearly the subject
of our text this morning. Romans chapter three, beginning
at verse 19. Now we know that what things,
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped. and all the world may become
guilty before God. The purpose of God's law is to
expose your sin to you, to make it so that you have no excuse,
to so convince you of your guilt, your depravity, your corruption,
your nature, that you put your hand over your mouth before God
and say I have no excuse for what I am. It's not my daddy's
fault, not my mama's fault, not because mama was a drunk or daddy
was a drunk, not because I was abused as a child, I was raised
in a bad environment. Nobody's fault but yours. Nobody's
fault but yours, what you are. This generation has been lied
to by religion and lied to by medical profession for so long,
everybody thinks they can find a refuge, an excuse for what
they are. The law of God is written, as
it is written, to stop your mouth, that you may acknowledge and
confess your guilt before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. That's
not the purpose of the law, not to justify you, but to condemn
you. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ. Now, be sure you read the text
as it is written. the righteousness of God, which
is by faith of Jesus Christ, not by faith in Jesus Christ. Your faith in Christ does not
establish righteousness, but the faith of Christ as our substitute,
our God made mediator in his obedience unto death that establishes
righteousness unto all and upon all them that believe. For there
is no difference. For all have sinned, religious
folks and irreligious, good folks and bad folks, folks you admire
and folks you despise. There's no difference. All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified
freely, freely, without any cause in you. Oh, how thankful I am. It's freely. justified freely by his grace. If it's by grace, it's free. If it's conditional, it's not
by grace. Freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth a propitiation through
faith in his blood to declare his righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare,
I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. Righteousness. Righteousness. Righteousness. Righteousness. Righteousness. Five times in this one chapter,
God the Holy Spirit tells us that salvation is a matter of
righteousness. Grace comes to sinners as a matter
of righteousness. Redemption is a matter of righteousness. Forgiveness is a matter of righteousness. That righteousness of God, by
which we are justified, by which we are saved, is righteousness
that requires satisfaction. And three aspects of that satisfaction
are propitiation, atonement, and reconciliation. That's the
title of my message this morning. Propitiation, atonement, reconciliation. Propitiation, atonement, reconciliation. Gospel preachers often speak
about the satisfaction of Christ. declaring that he has both made
satisfaction for the sins of his people and that he shall
be forever satisfied with the results of his finished work.
Be sure you understand that declaration of Holy Scripture. It is the
essence of the gospel. Without it, there is no gospel.
The Lord Jesus, by his obedience unto death, satisfied the law
and justice of God for his people. when he suffered all the fury
of God's wrath and died as our substitute upon the cursed tree. He made complete satisfaction
to divine justice so that justice cannot require more than that
which Christ has given by his death upon the cursed tree. Obeying
the precepts of God's law as a man our Lord Jesus fulfilled
all Righteousness for us and brought in everlasting righteousness
Which God makes ours by his almighty grace in free justification Look
at Romans chapter 5 verse 12 Wherefore as by one man sin entered
into the world and death by sin and so death passed upon all
men For that all have sinned Now look what it says down in
verse 17 Verse 18 ready therefore as by the offense of one judgment
came upon all men to condemnation and Even so, by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men under justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. Just as we were made sinners
by the doing of Adam in the garden, so we are made righteous by the
doing of Jesus Christ in his life as our mediator and substitute. As we sinned and died in Adam,
so we fulfill righteousness and live in Jesus Christ the Lord. And then dying under the curse
of the law, bearing our sins in his body upon the cursed tree,
enduring all the penalty of divine justice, The Lord Jesus satisfied
the justice of God in His blood. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. When He was made
sin for us, He had our sin imputed to Him because He was made sin. And when our sin was imputed
to Him because He was made sin, He was made a curse for us. cursed of God so that God poured
out his wrath on his son and punished his son in our stead
and we died in Christ. Thus, the righteousness of God
is satisfied. The justice of God is satisfied. And having satisfied the law
and justice of God, we are assured that our Lord Jesus Christ, our
great Redeemer, shall see of the travail of his soul and shall
be satisfied. I'm talking to you about redemption
as it's described in the book of God. I'm talking to you about
the work of Christ as it's described in the book of God, not the way
men talk about it. Not the way religious folks across
the street, down the street, or up the street talk about it.
I'm talking about the way the Word of God describes it. Jesus
Christ, by His obedience unto death, satisfied all the requirements
of God on our behalf. And He shall be satisfied with
what He's done. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. This is what that means. If Christ
died for you, he's going to have you. If Christ redeemed you,
he's going to get you. If Christ shed his blood for
you, you shall be with him in glory. There's no possibility
that one sinner for whom Christ lived and died as a substitute
should ever suffer the wrath of God in hell. To say so is
to declare that Jesus Christ is a failure in his most important
work. To declare that he is a failure
is to declare that he is no God at all, and you're yet in your
sins. Jesus Christ satisfied the justice
of God, and he shall be satisfied with his work as our Redeemer
in satisfying justice. Now, three aspects of that satisfaction
are propitiation, atonement, and reconciliation. Propitiation
is the appeasement of God's wrath by the blood of Christ. Atonement
is union made between God and sinners, meeting in Christ the
mercy seat where Christ's blood covers our sins. Reconciliation
is the reuniting of God's elect with God in the person of his
dear son. With God, the triune Jehovah,
looking upon Christ, the mercy seat, and sinners redeemed, saved
by His grace, believing on Him, being called by His Spirit, looking
on the blood of Christ, we're reconciled in Him. God reconciles
men to Himself in the sacrifice of His Son. Look to Christ, where
the Lord God looks for satisfaction, and be reconciled to Him. If
you are taking notes, you'll have no trouble following my
outline. It's in my title, Propitiation, Atonement, Reconciliation. First, let's look briefly at
the three places in the New Testament where this word propitiation
is used. The word propitiation is the same word that's translated
mercy seat in Hebrews 9.5. And it is the same word that's
used in the Septuagint translation, the Greek translation of the
Old Testament scriptures, wherever you see the word mercy seat.
The propitiation of which the scriptures speak is Jesus Christ
himself, our Redeemer. Whenever you read about or think
about propitiation, think about mercy seat. Whenever you read
about or think about the mercy seat, think about propitiation. And whenever you read about or
think about propitiation or mercy seat, think of Jesus Christ. Christ is our propitiation. Christ is our mercy seat. You recall that in the Old Testament
scriptures, in the Holy of Holies, God put the Ark of the Covenant. It was a box about the size of
that communion table there, a little bit smaller, about that size.
Inside that Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies was the
broken law of God, the commandments of God that we have broken. And over top of the mercy seat
was over top of the ark was a lid, a covering called the mercy seat
made of pure gold. At each end, you had the cherubs
made it one with the mercy seat, facing one another and facing
downward toward the mercy seat. The high priest of Israel went
in with the blood of the paschal lamb once every year on the day
of atonement, having sacrificed the lamb that God ordained, and
he walked in behind the veil into the Holy of Holies by the
commandment of God. with the blood and with hyssop
he sprinkled blood on the mercy seat and made atonement and propitiation
and reconciliation. All done by this one sprinkling
of blood, atonement and propitiation and reconciliation on the mercy
seat. When the public had mentioned
by our Lord in Luke's gospel called upon God, he looked toward
the mercy seat. His heart looking toward the
mercy seat, not in the temple, but in glory. He looked beyond
that typical mercy seat to Christ, the real mercy seat, and says,
God be merciful. The word skip is God be propitious. God be propitious to me, the
sinner. God be appeased toward me through
Christ, the mercy seat, the propitiation to me, the sinner. Now, the first
place this word is found is here in Romans chapter three and verse
twenty five. The apostle Paul tells us that
Christ is that one whom God has set forth a propitiation through
faith in his blood. to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. The Lord Jesus Christ was set
forth by God the Father as our propitiation. He's the one who
made propitiation. He's the one in whom propitiation
is found, the one for whose sake God is propitious toward sinners,
the one who is himself Our propitiation. Christ Jesus has satisfied the
justice of God. He has made propitiation. The
word means appeasement, appeasement. Propitiation is the turning away
of wrath. Propitiation is the turning away
of fury. Propitiation is the appeasement
of God. Propitiation is God's contentment
with Christ's sacrifice. That's how John Gill put it.
He said the sacrifice of Christ was an offering of a sweet smelling
savor to the father. He was well pleased with it.
It gave him content and satisfaction because justice was appeased
by it. The Spirit of God declares to
us here in Romans 3.25 that God the Father sent forth His Son
as propitiation, as the propitiation for our sins. He did that obviously
in his eternal decree as Christ is that Lamb who verily was foreordained
before the foundation of the world and was in due time sacrificed
for us. Christ Jesus was set forth as
a propitiation in all the types and promises and prophecies of
the Old Testament Scripture. He is the seed of woman who would
crush the serpent's head. He is that one who is the Paschal
Lamb, the one represented in the brazen serpent, the one represented
in each morning and evening sacrifice. He is the promised substitute
of whom all the prophets wrote. And in the fullness of time,
God set him forth in this world as our propitiation. when his
son came here to redeem them that were under the law by the
sacrifice of himself. And Christ Jesus is set forth
by the gospel. He's set forth by the gospel
as propitiation for sin, propitiation for sinners, propitiation toward
God. Now turn to first John chapter
two. Here's the second place where this word propitiation
is used. First John chapter two. John writes to us who are believers. And he says, My little children,
these things write I unto you, that you sin not. Children of God don't sin. Don't sin. Don't sin. Make that the ambition of your
heart. Oh God, make that the ambition
of your heart. Don't sin. God, block my mind so that I sin not with my mind.
Guard my lips so that I sin not with my lips. Subdue my heart
so that I sin not in my heart. And if any man sin, no question, you do all the time. As I was preaching and praying
just now for God to block the evil of my mind and my heart
and my mouth. I am fully aware, even then,
I'm full of sin. And Merle, I'm anxious for that
not to be anymore. Don't sin. And when you sin,
as you surely do all the time, and as you acknowledge you do
all the time. If any man sin, if any man sin,
then forget it, you're lost. God'll have nothing to do with
you. Oh, bless God, that's not what this book says. It says,
Mark Henson, when you sin, we have an advocate with the Father.
Someone to plead our cause with God because of our sin. Someone to stand by as he stood
by Joshua, the high priest in Zechariah 3. And his garments
are changed from filthy garments to clean garments. And his iniquity
is purged because the angel of the Lord stood by. We have an
advocate with the Father. And here he is, Jesus, he whose
name is Savior. Christ, the anointed one. And he is the righteous. Jesus Christ, the righteous. The only righteous who ever was. The only righteous who ever was. Perfectly, always righteous. He is our advocate. And he is
the propitiation. the appeasement, the content
of God for our sins. He is the content of God for
our sins. This is what God says concerning
him. I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done. You can read that in Ezekiel
16, 63. I am pacified toward thee for
all that thou hast done, saith the Lord. Isn't that remarkable? I am pacified toward thee for
all that thou hast done. Now, here's the third place where
this word propitiation is used. First John chapter four, verse
nine. This that is in the sacrifice
of our Lord Jesus In this was manifested in this is brought
out to clear light the love of God toward us Because that God
sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live
through him Herein is love Herein is love Oh, amazing love, how
can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Herein is
love, not that we loved God. We hated Him, Curtis. That's
our nature. You who are yet without Christ,
you live in rebellion to God because you hate God. That's
the nature of man here in his love. Not that we loved God.
But he loved us. And sent his son to be the propitiation
for our sins. Offering up his body and his
soul, offering up his life as our substitute, when Jesus Christ
said father into thy hands I commend my spirit bowed his head and
gave up the ghost God said I'm content I want no more I demand no more
that's enough he is the propitiation for our sins Oh, Pastor, how can I make up
for all I've done? You can't. You can't. After God saved me, until they
died, I spent my life in good measure in my relationship with
my parents, trying to make up for all the pain I'd caused. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't
do it. They never mentioned it, but
I couldn't do it. I could never be content. I've now done enough to make
up my parents for all the pain I caused them. Couldn't do it. How do you expect to make up
to God? Told you this many times, my
dad said to me one night, going out of the house on the way back
home. He said, son, I hope someday before I die, I'd be able to
make up to God for all I've done. And he cried. He was sincere. And I wept as I said to him,
Dad, I wish you could hear this. Quit trying. You can't. You can't
make up to God. Hear me, sinner. You can't make
up to God. You can't make up to God, but
Christ has! He is the propitiation for our
sins. And God says, I'm content. I'm pacified toward you for all
that you have done. Now, the second word, atonement,
has propitiation appeasement is one aspect of Christ's satisfaction. The second is atonement. The
word atonement is used throughout the Old Testament especially
through the book of Leviticus with regard to various sacrifices
made for sin. It is used constantly to speak
of those sacrifices of the law making propitiation for sin.
The blood of is the atonement for sin. We're told in Leviticus
17 11. The basic meaning of the word is to cover. When Aaron
sprinkled blood on the mercy seat, the blood covered our sins
ceremonially. Now some folks object to using
the word atonement today. They say it's an Old Testament
word. Well, Basically it is it's only used once in the New Testament
and folks say well, that's a mistranslation Romans 511 I beg to differ. It's a proper translation. It's
a proper translation. Yes, but but our sins aren't
covered. Oh, yes, they are Oh, yes When it when to put away
skip they're covered from God's sight That's the whole picture. The word is used the basic root
word is used. It's translated pitch and when
Noah was commanded to build the ark and he was commanded to pitch
it within and without with pitch. He was commanded to cover the
whole thing with pitch. The word at its root is atonement. He was commanded to make a whole
covering inside and out for the ark of the covenant or for the
ark in which Noah and his family were put and shut up by God so
that when the wrath of God is poured out They're covered. They're
covered. The word atonement is that word
used when it speaks of the blood of sprinkling on the mercy seat,
the blood on the doorpost and on the lentil. Children of Israel
eat in the Passover. They put the blood on the doorpost
and little and they're inside where the door shut and the angel
passes by. And God said, when I see the
blood, I'll pass over you because they're covered behind the blood.
Christ by his sacrifice is the antitype of all this. From the
curses of the law, we are covered by Jesus Christ. From the wrath
of God, we are covered by Jesus Christ. From the avenging justice
of God to which our sins expose us, we are covered by the blood
of Christ. Look here in Romans chapter five
and verse 11. Here's the only place in the
New Testament where the word is used. And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have now received
the atonement. Not we have made atonement. By whom we have now received
the atonement. faith in Christ receives and
embraces the atonement. The atonement was made by Christ.
The knowledge of it, the blessing of it, the benefit of it comes
by the application of that atonement to our souls, to our hearts by
God, the Holy Spirit, when he sprinkles our hearts with the
blood of Christ, when it purges our consciences with the blood
of Christ and causes us to see that Jesus Christ is indeed the
Lord, our righteousness, the Lord, our propitiation, the Lord,
our atonement, and gives us faith in him. Now we receive the atonement
believing on Him. The word used here properly signifies
reconciliation. It's translated that way many
times in the Old Testament and in the New. Atonement means to
reconcile. Atonement and reconciliation
are two words that in a sense speak of the same thing. Both
imply satisfaction made for sin and accepted by God. The word
atonement, look at it carefully, divide it up into syllables.
At one meant. At one meant. It means to be at one with. At one with. The precious blood
of Jesus Christ. causes believers, all who believe,
all who trust the Lord Jesus to be at one with God. To be at one with God so that
we take sides with God against ourselves, acknowledging our
sin as David did. Declare God to be just in justifying
us as Paul did and Isaiah did we are at one with God Reconciled
to God in his true character as he's revealed in Jesus Christ
our Savior now The next word is reconciliation Reconciliation
turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 Verse 18 All things are of God, who hath
past tense at one time, by one work, who hath reconciled us,
all of us, at the same time, to himself, by Jesus Christ. When Christ died, Don Renari,
God reconciled us to himself, the work was done. And now he's
given to us the ministry, the service of reconciliation. This message, Larry will post
it in just a little while, it'll go all over the world. You send
your pastor everywhere God opens the door to preach the gospel.
What for? We're involved in a service.
We're involved in a service. We're serving up reconciliation. We're serving up reconciliation,
the rich gospel feast of reconciliation. We're proclaiming reconciliation,
not possibility reconciliation, reconciliation done and persuading
sinners now to be reconciled to God. Reconciliation began
with God himself. Not with us all things are of
God in nature in providence and in grace and God has reconciled
us to himself by Christ Jesus When Christ died for our sins,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son Hold your
hands here in second Corinthians turn back to Romans 5 just a
second Romans chapter 5 Look at this verse 10 If when we were enemies We were
reconciled to God by the death of his son. We were reconciled
to him when Christ died, when we were still enemies, when we
were still alienated from God. Much more being reconciled, we
shall be saved through his life. Reconciled judicially by the
death of his son. We are now experimentally reconciled
to him by faith in Christ. By whom we have received the
atonement. By whom we have received the
reconciliation. Paul tells the Colossians that
we preach urging you to be reconciled to God. You who were enemies
in your mind. You see, God's people. God's
people. were never objects of enmity
to him. The alienation and the enmity
and the wrath and the hatred and the anger was always one
sided. It was ours toward God. We were
reconciled to God in the death of his son, the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. Before we ever went astray, we
were reconciled. Before we ever fell, we were
brought back. Before we ever sinned, we were
forgiven. But in our minds, in our experience, NMS. Children of wrath, just like
everybody else. Some of you here today know the
wrath of God on your consciences. You know the wrath of God upon
your consciences. You know you deserve to go to
hell. And if you walk out that door
and fall down those steps and die as you walk out of this building,
you're going to hell because you fully deserve it. You know
that, you know that. Perhaps, perhaps some of you
in just that state whose minds and consciences and hearts are
terrified with guilt, terrified with the fury of God, the justice
of God, the anger of God, the wrath of God. Oh. Look away to Christ. And walk
out that door, reconcile to God. Be ye reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. What's
that mean? Quit fighting God. Throw up in the city of man's
soul the white flag of surrender to God. Surrender everything
to Him. That's what it is to be reconciled,
to be reconciled. I've often told you about the
first time I was out in Appomattox, Virginia, where my brother, Ernie
Lucas, his pastor, he just resigned. I guess Ernie must be 81 or 82
years old now. And he just resigned. But first time I was out there
to preach for years ago, this is a long, long time ago. I had
to visit Appomattox Courthouse. Such a sad, sad picture. Picture
of the Confederate Army lined up on both sides of the road
going into Appomattox Courthouse as the Union troops rode by General
Grant, General Lee riding beside him, and then the Union troops
following. As they rode by, those Confederate soldiers had in front
of them their arms stacked. Swords, bayonets, rifles, pistols,
powder horns, all stacked in front of them as they stood utterly without arms now. You understand what I'm saying?
Lay down your arms and be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. It's only right. It's only right. This reconciliation is that which
to which we are urged here in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. All
who have been reconciled to God By the sin atoning death of his
son shall at God's appointed time be reconciled to him in
their hearts by the power and grace of his spirit. Look here,
2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he's a new creature. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. And all things are of God. who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation,
to wit that God was in Christ, reconciling the world, reconciling
his elect all over the world unto himself, not imputing their
trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of
reconciliation. Now then, We, as ambassadors for Christ,
as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's
head, be you reconciled to God. Be you reconciled to God. Be
reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us who
knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Listen to these three statements
and I'll be done. Reconciliation has been made
for sinners by Jesus Christ. When John saw heaven open, you
remember the first thing he saw? Revelation 4 verse 1. I saw a
door opened in heaven a door open God stands as it were at
Christ the door open and says come in center welcome center
come to me center by Christ the door a Door is open for sinners
to come to God Christ is the propitiation for our sins second
God Almighty sent me to you with the word of reconciliation to persuade you to be reconciled
to him. Imagine that. Imagine that. God sent a man to you. with the word of his grace. And
God himself speaks by the word of his grace through the lips
of a man. Can you hear? God says, walk, be reconciled
to God. Right now, right where you are,
God says, Frank, be reconciled to God. That's not me. That's God speaking. Did you
hear? If you hear it, God spoke to you. God spoke to you. The word came,
not with the words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration and power
of the Holy Ghost. Number three, the motive by which
God urges you to be reconciled to him is the blessed promise
of all things new in Jesus Christ. Preacher, why should I be reconciled
to God? If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Bow to Christ. Be reconciled
to God through him who is made of God unto us. propitiation,
atonement, and reconciliation, and go home today with all things
new. New name, new nature, new heart,
new will, new record, all things new with no possibility of it
ever being borrowed. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It'll
start all over, completely erase the past. Oh, that's almost more than I
can imagine. Completely erase the past! All sin gone, perfect righteousness
done, and no possibility of ever messing it up. Be reconciled to God. by faith
in His Son. Amen.