“…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.” Romans 3:25
October 28-29, 2022
The cross of Jesus Christ has historically been the visible representation of what transpired in the death of Christ. However, it was not merely the physical agony of crucifixion, as awful as that was, it was what God was doing in Christ at that key moment in the redemptive plan of God. The righteousness which God requires was made excruciatingly public. Two words are blinking at us for special attention. One is “propitiation.” In the Old Testament on the Day of Atonement only the high priest entered into the holy of holies with blood of a lamb to be sprinkled on the lid (the mercy seat) of the ark of the covenant. This took place behind a veil. But the sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was openly set forth to the most insignificant by-stander. Jesus did not bleed to death, He gave up His life voluntarily in a violent death to display the price He paid for our sins. Jesus Christ was put forward for all to see as the satisfaction of God’s wrath toward sin. Christ became our mercy-seat whereby guilty men and women and a holy God can meet. The second word calling for attention is “blood” through faith. Faith is to stop trusting in anything else and trust in what God has provided through the redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of history flows to that moment and from that moment. The greatest problem of all is how to get God to sinners. It has been solved through the atoning work of the Son of God. Dear friend, God’s justice and love are reconciled in the cross. If you have never put your trust in Christ, don’t wait another moment. Pray for someone who needs to hear about the greatest price that has ever been paid for the gift of our justification. H
“Faith’s only function is to receive what grace offers.” John Stott