We are looking at some pictures of our atonement in our annual series which intentionally coincides with our study of Romans. In our last lesson we noticed the beauty of Jesus as our redemption. We looked at this in Romans 3:24. Even though all of us have sinned and all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, we are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This is one of the most frequently used images in the New Testament. Jesus is our redemption. Jesus is our ransom. God often described what he did for Israel in the exodus as redeeming them from slavery and often described himself in the prophets as their Redeemer. But another picture is immediately given to us in Romans 3:25. Paul says regarding Jesus that God put him “forward as a propitiation by his blood” (ESV). Propitiation is certainly not a word we use today and so we can be left wondering what this word means. Some translations read that God put forward Jesus as a “sacrifice of atonement” (cf. NIV, NRSV). Some translations read that God presented Jesus as “the mercy seat” (CSB, NET). You can consult many more lesser known translations that give even more translations that try to express the meaning of this word. For example, the Common English Bible reads, “the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given.” The God’s Word translation reads, “the place of sacrifice where mercy is found.” So what is God telling us about what Jesus is for us and what Jesus accomplished for us?
The Picture of Propitiation (Romans 3:25)
As we try to understand the picture that Paul is showing us, scholars note that the Greek word “hilasterion” (translated in the ESV as propitiation) is regularly used in the Septuagint (the Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures) in Leviticus 16 where we read the instructions regarding the Day of Atonement (see Moo, New International Commentary on the New Testament; Schreiner, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Kruse, Pillar New Testament Commentary; Bird, Story of God Commentary; Thielman, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament). In fact, Hebrews 9:5 is the other place where this Greek word “hilasterion” is used and it refers to the ark of the covenant and the Day of Atonement preparations (cf. Hebrews 9:3-7).
Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Hebrews 9:5 ESV)
The apostle Paul is drawing our focus back to the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 when the high priest entered the Most Holy Place to make atonement for the people. The blood of the animal was sprinkled in front of the mercy seat and over the mercy seat to make atonement (cf. Leviticus 16:13-16). Now it is important to stop here for a moment because when we talk about a mercy seat we might be visualizing a chair in the Most Holy Place of the temple or tabernacle. But there was not a chair on the ark of the covenant. Rather this is referring to the lid of the ark of the covenant. This space was the place of mercy. In fact, God proclaimed that this would be the place where God would meet his high priest (cf. Exodus 25:21-22; 30:6; Leviticus 16:2). Everything about the Day of Atonement was pointing to Jesus. The scapegoat, the sacrifice, the lid of the ark of the covenant, and the sprinkled blood were all pointing to Jesus. The point is that Jesus is the place of atonement. Jesus is the place of mercy. Jesus is the place where we can meet God and God can come to us through the shedding of his blood (Romans 3:25).
The Purpose of Propitiation (Romans 3:25)
The discussion that unfolds in verse 25 is to want to know what the meaning and purpose is of propitiation. This is where it is very important that we listen carefully to what the scriptures say is the meaning. Sometimes what happens here is people will study how this word was used by the Greeks and see that it was used to referring to appeasing a pagan god. But is that what God is trying to say and is God comparing himself to the pagan gods that need appeasing? So we need to be careful and let God tell us what he means by using propitiation in reference to Jesus. Keep reading verse 25 where we read the purpose of God putting forward Jesus as a propitiation by his blood.
This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:25 ESV)
I do not want us to pass over this explanation quickly because it shows us everything we need to know about what God is doing with Jesus being put forward as a propitiation/sacrifice of atonement/mercy seat. God needed to show his righteousness. We will understand this better in the next verse. So hold on to that for a moment. Putting forward Jesus was to show God’s righteousness. What about God’s righteousness was at stake that required Jesus to be the propitiation/mercy seat? The rest of verse 25 answers this question.
God in his divine forbearance had passed over former sins. Please let this sink in so that you will be amazed by our God. God in his restraint passed over previously committed sins. Here is the point Paul is making. God was showing constant restraint, patience, long-suffering, and forbearance toward the sins of the world. God showed constant restraint, patience, long-suffering, and forbearance toward the sins of Israel. God was constantly passing over the people’s sins. People sometimes have the wrong idea of God. People think that God is constantly killing people in the scriptures for their sins. This very rarely happened. For all the people who have ever lived there are just a few times where we read God suddenly judging a person to immediate death for their sin. Instead, we read the opposite. What we read is that people are constantly sinning and God is showing patience and forbearance. This is what the apostle Paul is reminding us about with our God. God’s disposition to the world is NOT that he wants everyone to perish and cannot wait to execute his wrath. God’s disposition to the world is that he does not want anyone to perish and is waiting as long as possible to execute his wrath (cf. 2 Peter 3:9). We should not present to people the idea that our God is like a pagan god who is so full of wrath ready to burst at any given moment but Jesus died so that he would not explode that wrath. This is not the picture Paul presents and this would be the right place to present such a picture. In fact, in God’s interactions with Israel he does not describe himself as needing appeasing. This is not God’s problem. We will see God’s problem expressed in verse 26. Now this is really important. Please do not hear me say that there is no such thing as the wrath of God. There is no way Paul would be saying this and it is clear that there is God’s wrath that will be expressed in judgment. We studied earlier in Romans 1:18 that the wrath of God has been revealed against all ungodliness and all unrighteousness that people commit. Jesus directly spoke about this:
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV)
So our take away from this text is not that there is no such thing as God’s wrath. The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6). The wrath of God is coming against sin (Colossians 3:6). It is Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The problem with the righteousness of God is not his wrath. The problem that Paul expresses is his patient mercy. God in his divine forbearance has passed over former sins.
The Reason For Propitiation (Romans 3:26)
This brings us to verse 26. We want God to continue to show his patience and restraint by passing over our sins. So why doesn’t God just keep doing this? Look at verse 26. God put forward Jesus as a propitiation/sacrifice of atonement/mercy seat to show his righteousness at the present time “so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” What is the problem with God passing over former sins? It is not just. It is not right. Imagine it like this. What would you think of a judge who just passed over every crime and every case presented? We would scream. We would say that this is not right and this is not just. Our cries would be fair and right. You cannot simply pass over every wrong. This is the problem that Paul presents. God has been so patient and has shown his divine forbearance by passing over sins. No one receives what they deserve. Every day God is showing his divine forbearance but that is not just.
This is the point Paul is making. God has put forward Jesus as the propitiation/mercy seat to show his righteousness. The sacrifice of Jesus is how God can be just and justify those who have faith in Jesus. This is why redemption is tied together with atonement in Romans 3:24-26. There must be a price paid for sins so that God can be just and right. The problem is that if we pay for our sins then God cannot justify us because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The sacrifice of Jesus is the high price that needed to be paid so that God can be just and still justify those who come to him through faith in Jesus. Going back to verse 25, putting forward Jesus demonstrated God’s righteousness. This is how God would keep his promise to bless the world while at the same time maintaining his own righteousness and justice. The Day of Atonement showed this very picture of God. The people were being reminded each year about the mercy and patience God showed them as atonement is made while being in their midst.
Seeing God
What I want for this lesson is to see your God as he has presented himself to you. In particular, I want us to see the amazing picture of Jesus as our propitiation/mercy seat. God desires to justify people. God does not want any to perish. God is not hoping you will give him a reason for wrath. God wants you to be in relationship to him and God wants to save you. This is why God is passing over sins. Someone just asked me the other day about why we see so much evil and why God does not do something about it. This is one of the primary reasons. God overlooks sin for the moment because he wants to give everyone the opportunity to reach repentance. Jesus is the reason we can be justified before God. But we must also see that Jesus is the reason why God can be just and right in waiting to punish for sins. The sacrifice of Jesus is the reason why God can continue to show patience toward each person.
You need to see this God who has shown his patience to you for yet another day because he wants you to be justified through the redemption that is in Christ. Jesus is the propitiation needed that allows God to remain patient toward us while remaining just at the same time. God would have every right to show his righteousness by bringing judgment immediately on all who disobey him. Instead, God put forward Jesus to show his righteousness, showing his forbearance and patience on all who disobey him so that they would see that patience and come to salvation. Let me end the lesson with what Peter said about these things:
Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. (2 Peter 3:14-16 ESV)