Text: Romans 3:25-26
Title:Why Redemption was Needed
Truth:Redemption was needed to satisfy God’s wrath against sin and demonstrate His righteousness.
Date/Location: Sunday evening May 5, 2013 Lord’s Table
Introduction
The truth of the matter is that Christian redemption was not only necessary because of our sin; it was necessary because of God’s wrath and His righteousness.
IV. Why was this Redemption Necessary? Verse 25-26
Verse 24 ended with “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Verse 25 picks up with “whom,” indicating the verse is going to be about what God did with Christ Jesus.
To be set forth = set forth publicly; with a nuance of “offer” as in offering a sacrifice.
A. As a propitiation = To satisfy God’s wrath. Built into the word propitiation is the notion of God’s wrath against sin.
We learned in 1:18 that God’s wrath is a real concern, despite people’s hatred of the idea. John 3:36 teaches us that the unsaved are presently already under the wrath of God and subject to its fullest expression upon their deaths.
To propitiate means to satisfy that wrath. Jesus was the means of expiation (atoning for guilt or removing the grounds of guilt). The word actually is hilasterion which is also used in Hebrews 9:5 in the New Testament and in many passages in Exodus and Leviticus to refer to the mercy seat cover over the Ark of the Covenant. This is the place where the priest sprinkled the blood of the Day of Atonement sacrifice to make satisfaction for the sins of himself and the nation. It was also the place where God met with man (Exodus 25:22, Numbers 7:89).
In this way, we see that God has replaced the metal mercy seat with the person Christ Jesus. Jesus is now the place where God meets man and where God’s wrath against sin is dealt with.
Note that God set forth this means of propitiation. He actively initiated and pursued this outcome. Humans do not initiate in the matter of salvation. Probably in every other religious system, the initiative starts with man trying to propitiate God; in Christianity it is the opposite, where God set for His son as the propitiation.
In His blood = through death
B. Accessible or received through faith
This propitiatory sacrifice demonstrates TWO things:
C. To demonstrate God’s attribute of righteousness in the past.
Why does God’s righteousness (His attribute) need to be demonstrated? Because in the past, He passed over sins committed before – that is, not that He ignored them, but He did not completely address them. He patiently waited until the time of the revealing of His Son. This is similar to the notion that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins, but that what they could not do about the sins committed before, Christ did do once for all (Hebrews 10:4, 10:10).
D. To demonstrate that God is righteous in the present despite justifying sinners.
Why does God’s righteousness need to be demonstrated? Because in the present, there is a question as to how can he justify wicked people. After all, doesn’t it say in the Bible that the wicked should not be justified (Deut. 25:1, Exodus 23:7)? See esp. Proverbs 17:15, 26.
The reality is that God cannot justify wicked people. Marvelously, however, in the atonement, God reveals a way for wicked people to be justified. They are first imputed righteousness in justification, then declared to be so, such that God can treat them as only righteous people would deserve to be treated.
This arrangement preserves God’s righteousness and allows Him to justify unrighteous people and permit them to have a relationship with Him.
Conclusion
Let us be very clear on this point: Today, God only justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Based on what we have learned in this passage, if God were to justify someone another way, then He would not be just because He would not have fully dealt with the sin of the person. Without Jesus, there would have been no propitiation and no demonstration of His righteousness. God would be accepting wicked people with no ransom price, with no satisfaction, and with no legal proceedings to show they are righteous. MAP
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