So, you've been following us, you've been talking, Nathan kind of brought you up to date with kind of where we are now in this series.
And he just reminded me that Martin Luther just said that this passage that we just read is the centerpiece of the whole Bible, which I can definitely see how he got that if you look at it.
And so we're going to talk about some big words tonight for us. And remember, as I've said in the past, big words are Latin phrases or any other thing we use around here.
It's not to sound smart and theological. It really is to kind of help you remember something, because if something's different, it'll stand out in your mind and you'll remember.
So that's why we use big words. And language is important, because it helps describe what Christ has done for us and who he is.
So tonight, we're going to talk about the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
And I have four points for us to kind of walk through.
And the first one to kind of walk through is, is all men have sinned and rebelled against God.
And we've kind of talked about that a lot already, so I'm not going to give you the whole doctrine of sin again.
But the reign of sin is universal. It affects everybody.
And I was talking with a good friend of mine, a really awesome, awesome girl.
And she has just a very, very staunch Catholic background, Roman Catholic background.
And she was telling me how she fully believes that Jesus, or Mary, was sinless.
And because if she was going to bear Jesus, that she had to be sinless.
And to which I was saying, like, no.
Like, we all are under the curse of sin, all of us.
And even Mary, during her song to God, or her prayer, she says, basically, that she blesses God, her Savior.
You know, like, she knew that she needed a Savior.
She cried out for a Savior, just like everybody did.
And in Ecclesiastes, you've got to turn there, but Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote, more than likely Solomon wrote,
Surely there is not a righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.
See this alone I have found, that God made man upright.
Remember that?
Like, Kyle talked about how God made man, God created man upright.
But then it says, but they have sought out many schemes, or many devices.
So we have rebelled against God.
We have abused that awesome privilege He gave us.
And then in Isaiah 59, 2, it really is a cool picture.
I'll just read it to you.
It says, your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.
And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
A very powerful language.
This picture of separation from God.
Not togetherness, not a relationship with God, but separation from God.
So that He has hidden His face from us.
And such a powerful phrase.
I was going to just kind of make a point that to the Hebrews, and also it should be to us as well, really.
But the greatest blessing in their mind, you can read in the Old Testament, the greatest blessing in their mind was to behold God's face.
To see God's face.
Because that implied His love, His favor.
Lord, lift up your countenance upon us.
You've heard that in the Psalms.
This idea of God loving and showing favor.
So that was the greatest blessing.
So the greatest curse was for God to hide His face from you.
To leave you to yourself and to your sin.
And later on in Habakkuk, chapter 1, verse 13.
It says,
You who have pure eyes, you cannot look upon evil and you cannot do wrong.
Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil and you cannot do wrong.
So this idea that God's face is hidden from those who have sinned and rebelled against Him.
And they're under a curse.
The curse of sin.
So all of us, no matter who we are, we all have sinned and rebelled against God.
And it has to start there.
So that's the first one.
But the second one, the second point of the night, is that God's righteousness must be upheld.
God's righteousness must be upheld.
And so righteousness, there's a lot of ways to describe this.
But basically, God will always do what's right.
Period.
Always.
At all times.
And that holiness, boy, there's a lot of definitions on that one.
They all hit on the same.
They're all good stuff.
It's probably one of the harder attributes of God to actually describe sometimes.
Like sanctification would be for a lot of things.
But in one sense, though, the holiness of God means that He is utterly separated from all things that are evil.
Utterly separated from Him.
But it doesn't just mean that.
It also means that if He is holy, it means that He is devoted to destroying evil.
And upholding His own honor.
That's what it could also imply.
So God's holiness pushes Him to destroy evil.
And so, since God loves what is good, right, and pure, then it shouldn't surprise us that He is devoted to destroying evil.
He won't, He's going to destroy anything that's opposed to who He is.
It's not just that God has holiness.
It's that God is holy.
Or He has righteousness, but that He is righteous.
It's anything that opposes Him, He will deal with.
So, what are some things in the world that have happened that you are outraged about?
Or something that you remember hearing about?
Something in you just kind of like rose up and said,
That is awful, and that has to be dealt with.
You know, just atrocities, or when judges let terrible criminals get off,
when the evidence is so clear that they were guilty.
So many things we get upset about.
And you just have to ask the question,
Is evil and is sin worth hating?
Absolutely, it is.
And like the loving thing for God to do would be to destroy evil.
So, God in His character like intrinsically hates sin.
He hates it.
And we don't want God just to kind of see what's going on and then brush it under the rug.
Some leaders in history don't tolerate anything.
They're just like killing people left and right, right?
Like a dictator, Stalin, Mao, Hitler.
But at the same time, it's probably just as bad to have a ruler who just lets anything fly.
And that's kind of like almost where our nation is kind of going to some degree.
A lot more so.
A Roman citizen during the Roman Republic wrote this,
And that's true.
But God is not like that at all.
So, He hates sin.
He hates injustice and injustice and anything that goes against who He is.
So, when people rape children, when young girls are taken captive and sold into slavery,
when greedy businessmen do damage to others to climb the ladder,
or when we, not me, but like when other people are just like your roommates in school or wherever,
and you lash out with them in anger and pride and think that you are better than them,
they should do something for you.
Just so many things.
When you actually do something good for somebody with a selfish gain in mind,
a selfish motive, not really out of love for them, but for yourself,
God hates these things.
Big and small, He hates all of it.
And we want Him to be that way.
We don't want a God that sees evil going on and just sweeps under the rug.
He's not worth worshipping if that's true.
He would not be God.
You see that?
He'd be like some kind of other deity we've created.
Sin destroys human happiness.
It destroys it.
It hurts us.
And what we glorify is what we love the most.
And if you track the matter of your day, you'll see that normally it's not God.
It's a lot of other things that you're following.
And so God just doesn't see what's going on and turn a blind eye.
He's sworn that He will deal with evil.
And He feels a holy wrath toward those things.
It's just within His character to be that way.
So just as much as God's love has propelled Him to send Christ,
and to provide a way for us to be forgiven,
at the same time, like running along right beside that,
is God's holiness saying that one day I will destroy all evil.
So He said, a lot of you know in Romans 6,
for the wages of sin is death.
Right?
Ezekiel, all souls belong to me, God says,
and the soul who sins shall die.
That's what He says.
Very powerful.
So there's a payday coming for sin,
and we've earned it.
We've worked for it.
It's our wage.
And it's death.
That's the outcome.
And His wrath is coming,
and it's coming like non-stop.
There's nothing anybody can do to stop it.
John the Baptist in Matthew,
he said,
flee from the wrath to come.
Now, I'm sure some of you saw those hoo-hahs up on the square during Gold Rush,
just pretty much just damning people.
Man, that disinfuriates me.
But don't be fooled.
What they're saying is true, though.
Okay?
They're just giving you a part of the picture, though.
They're not giving you the rest of who God is at all.
And to make an idol out of one attribute of God is idolatry.
Like, to just focus on one part of who God is
and then ignore the rest of Him is wrong.
So if you love,
if you really fall in love with His goodness and His fatherly side,
then you hate, like,
uh-uh, I don't want to hear about the wrath side.
You don't really love God.
You don't really know God.
He's all those things.
So, turn to Revelation 6.
Just to take a look at this.
This is terrifying stuff.
And this stuff's all through the Scripture.
You can't really turn a blind eye to it.
Revelation 6.
And all throughout the Scripture,
both Old and New Testament,
they had different names for this,
but a lot of times in the Old Testament,
they would call this the Day of the Lord.
It's referred to as the Day of the Lord
in Zephaniah and Ezekiel and other places.
Amos.
But, just to jump ahead,
Revelation 6, verse 12,
it says this.
This is going on in the heavenly realm.
It says,
When He opened the sixth seal,
I looked,
and behold,
there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became black like sackcloth,
and the full moon became white blood,
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth
as the fig tree sheds in winter
and its fruit was shaken by a gale.
So, basically,
it's like everything is getting dark.
Get the picture there,
just like utter darkness is what's happening.
Verse 14,
The sky vanished like a scroll,
that it is being rolled up,
and every mountain and island
was removed from its place.
The kings of the earth,
and the great ones,
and the generals,
and the rich,
and the powerful,
and everyone,
slave and free,
hid themselves in caves
and among the rocks of the mountains,
calling on to the mountains and the rocks,
fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him
who is seated on the throne
and from the wrath of the Lamb.
for the great day of their wrath has come,
and who can stand?
Very, like, terrifying stuff.
Like, no matter where you go,
the Lord will find them.
Like, He's going to...
It's like a...
I hated to compare it to this,
but if you are God's enemy
and you don't have Christ standing on your behalf,
like, you're His enemy.
We'll read that in just a minute.
But it's kind of like one of those scary movies
where everybody's kind of locked up in a house,
you know,
and they're hiding from people,
and then, like, the murderer,
whoever,
is just going from room to room
just killing people, you know?
And, like, you're hiding,
thinking, like, maybe He won't get me.
Like, it's that kind of terror
that is going on here,
and God will, like, find everybody.
And from the wrath of the Lamb,
that will be Christ, you know?
And it doesn't matter.
It says the King's the most powerful people on the earth.
Then it says slave and free
from the homeless guy out in the street.
I mean, everybody.
No one will be spared.
And so some of you may be thinking, like,
well, I'm glad I'm a Christian,
so I don't really need to worry
about reading passages like this.
So I really don't even like to think about it,
so I'm a Christian, and I'm okay.
Thank goodness I'm saved.
But think about this.
I think that if we're around when this happens,
no matter who you are,
we all will be aware of the wrath of God when it comes,
whether you're a believer or not.
And in that moment,
you're going to feel like terror
and also like what it's like to stand within Christ
when that happens
and like the gratitude and the joy
and the peace that will come from that.
But people will say, I'm saved.
Like, I shared the gospel with several guys this week,
and one of them was like, I'm saved.
Like, I'm good.
I'm saved.
And I was like, cool, man.
I said, well, I was trying not to be, like,
too hard on him.
I know he had no idea what he was talking about,
but I just said, like,
you know what you mean when you say you're saved?
Like, what does that imply?
He's like, well, I did it at a church, you know,
like when I was 15,
and, you know, like I went forward
and I prayed a prayer.
Like, I know I'm good, man.
You don't got to worry about me.
And I said, that's not answering the question, bro.
I was just kind of real with him.
And I said, like, what does it mean to be saved?
Like, when you say you're saved,
what are you saved from?
And I went on to show him a couple passages,
and I was saying, like, it's the wrath of God
that you're, that people say that term.
That's what it means.
It's saved from judgment, saved from the wrath of God,
saved from the just, holy, and loving wrath of God.
Hard to hear it that way, but it's true.
So in Romans 1, it says this,
the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men
who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
That's Romans 1.18.
So it's all over the pages of Scripture.
It's terrifying.
It should just...
Man, I'm...
So, where is the wrath right now?
Well, at this time,
I mean, you can definitely say this is going on now,
there's a season of grace
where God has sent His messengers,
His people,
out with the gospel to declare
that He has a peace offering,
like in Jesus.
He put it this way,
kind of like if we were...
I remember when this happened,
like Bush told Saddam,
like, surrender now.
Like, here's the terms.
Do it now.
Or we're going to war.
And Saddam obviously was like,
no, I'm not doing that.
And, okay.
And like, he had all fury unleashed on him
when that happened.
And tiny picture,
puny picture,
compared to what it's like now.
Christ, or God has said,
here is my terms.
Repent, believe the gospel,
and turn to my Son,
like you will be my enemy
based on...
my enemy or not,
based on what you do
with those terms.
And one day,
I will come back.
I'm going to clean house.
And that's really just how
terrifying it is.
So, when we sin,
we're putting ourselves
underneath that.
And no one can stand.
No one will be able to stand
the wrath of God.
A terrifying thing.
So then, thirdly,
the third point...
Kind of moving along tonight.
Alright.
The third point is,
Christ came to make atonement
on our behalf.
That's good.
Christ came to make atonement
on our behalf.
Okay?
So, atonement.
I'll just give you kind of a
loose definition of it, okay?
It's the work of Christ
in His life and in His death
to earn us salvation.
Okay?
It's the work of Christ
in His life and His death
to earn us salvation.
So,
Christ made right
the offense
that we have caused
to God
and the enmity
between us and God.
And He opened the door
for all spiritual blessings
then to come to us.
All the other things
that are about to follow
these messages,
regeneration,
justification,
all these things
that are going to follow this
were made possible
by the atoning work
of Christ
or else it wouldn't have happened.
So, Christ won for us
all these awesome things
through what He did
on the cross.
So,
here's some words
to kind of follow
to help describe this, okay?
The first one is
penal substitution,
P-E-N-A-L,
penal substitution.
We get from our word penalty,
alright?
And it basically just means that
it's the idea that
the penalty that we deserve
was given to someone else
who took it voluntarily
who didn't deserve it.
Christ took our penalty.
Christ voluntarily
took what we deserve.
He stood in our place
as our substitute.
And then,
another word
is used to describe this
as vicarious atonement.
And a vicar
is someone who stands
in the place of another,
a one who represents another.
And Christ's death
was vicarious
because He stood in our place
and represented us
before God
at that moment.
And He took the penalty
that we deserve.
He stood in our place.
So,
turn to Isaiah 53
real quick.
Christ bore our penalty
and He stood in our place.
Isaiah 53,
go to verse 4.
Isaiah,
as some of my Irish friends say.
I'm like,
what?
Can you just not say Isaiah?
Isaiah.
Isaiah 53,
verse 4.
So,
over 700 years
before Christ,
these words were spoken
about the Messiah,
about Christ.
And this is a picture
to the T
about what
substitutionary atonement is.
All right?
Surely,
He has borne
our griefs
and carried
our sorrows.
Notice the hours
throughout this.
He bore our griefs
and carried
our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed
Him stricken,
smitten by God
and afflicted.
But He was wounded
for our transgressions.
He was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon Him
was the chastisement
that brought us peace.
And with His stripes
we are healed.
All we like sheep
have gone astray.
Each turn,
we all have turned
everyone
to His own way.
And the Lord
has laid on Him
the iniquity
of us all.
He was oppressed
and He was afflicted.
Yet He opened
not His mouth.
Like a lamb
that is led
to the slaughter
and like a sheep
that before its shearers
is silent.
So He opened
not His mouth.
By the oppression
and judgment
He was taken away.
And as for His generation
who considered
that He was cut off
of the land
of the living,
stricken
for the transgression
of My people.
Transgressions
of My people.
That's what it is.
Our sorrows,
our transgressions,
our iniquities.
He bore this.
And the whole time
He could have stopped it.
Notice that?
He did not open His mouth.
He could have said,
I'm not doing this anymore.
He could have stopped it
at any time.
He could have bailed.
And notice the words
that are used.
It says that He was
stricken,
smitten,
afflicted,
wounded,
chastised,
oppressed,
and afflicted.
Alright?
Those are serious words.
On our behalf,
that's a definite picture
of what atonement means.
Do you remember,
I remember when the movie
Passion of the Christ
came out,
and I was just kind of
wondering like,
what does that mean?
Passion.
Like,
the passion of the Christ.
What does it mean?
And really,
like when you look at it
from a biblical sense,
I tried to read up on this
many years ago,
and I remember,
but it really means
not like,
rah, rah, rah,
we're passionate
about something.
I'm passionate about coffee.
Oh my gosh.
Like,
not that kind of,
not that kind of passion.
It means like,
suffering
the degree of difficulty
to reach the goal.
What it means.
Like,
something in us that says
that goal
or that prize
is worth anything,
and I'm willing to do it
to get that.
So,
when you speak of
the passion of Christ,
that's what it was.
Like,
what did he suffer for?
And,
at least in my mind,
what I could pick out
was really just three things.
One was,
he suffered
so that we would be
restored back
into a relationship
with the Father.
Okay?
So that we could know God
again.
But also,
to enable us
to live in a manner
that would reflect
God's glory again.
Right?
Remember the fall?
The broken image of God
cannot reflect
God's glory anymore?
Now we can,
if you are in Christ.
In many ways,
we can reflect
what we originally
intended to do.
But then,
ultimately,
Christ's passion
was to honor
his Father.
That's why he did it.
To honor
his Father
in heaven.
It says that
he gave himself
for us
a fragrant aroma
to God,
a fragrant sacrifice
to God,
pleasing to God.
So,
so on Good Friday,
which is a long way
from now,
kind of,
like in Jerusalem,
have you ever
thought about this?
Like,
what must it be like
to know the hour
of your death?
You know?
I just think about,
like,
what would that do to you?
Would it just crush you?
A lot of us,
it would.
The people here
who know me well
that have kind of
followed me over the years
know that I've had
moments like that
in the hospital
where I knew,
like,
very well
that,
like,
I was in my last
few hours,
possibly.
And,
you have a thousand
things run through
your mind.
And,
it can really just be
a time of great turmoil.
And,
so what must it be like,
think about that,
to know the hour
of your death?
And Christ
had this on his mind
from the very beginning,
right?
He knew why he was here.
But,
when he set his face
toward Jerusalem,
it really just kind of
all came down on him.
He really knew
what was going on.
And,
it became more and more
tense.
And,
so,
well,
and think about this,
the Gospel of John,
John throughout
the whole time
calls Jesus
the King,
the King.
He refers to Jesus
as the King
a lot.
And,
and why?
Because,
like,
he acted in the most
royal and,
like,
dignified manner ever.
While men were
lashing out at him
and spitting on him,
he didn't revile
in return.
He had compassion
on his mother
at the cross.
All these things.
A totally disgraceful
trial that he had.
Blasphemy.
You know what?
They,
they accused Jesus
of that.
You know that?
That was the crime.
Blasphemy.
Right?
That was what they
were saying,
like,
our Lord
was guilty of
blasphemy.
And isn't that crazy?
Like,
that is,
like,
the ultimate thing
that we are guilty of.
Blasphemy against God.
And they were accusing
Jesus for this.
And,
they accused him
of treason.
Right?
Against Rome
and against the state.
Definitely not.
But that was the two things
that we were the most guilty of.
Blasphemy and treason.
All of us are.
Against God.
So,
in Gethsemane,
in the garden,
you can go and see it today.
It's still there.
But Gethsemane means,
like,
the oil press.
And it really,
it's on the Mount of Olives
on,
like,
the western side
of Jerusalem.
And,
it really means,
like,
where olives are pressed.
Right?
And it's really
crazy symbolic
that Jesus was feeling that
while he was there.
He was feeling pressed
and crushed
by what was on his mind.
And I'll just read you
a few things
out of some different
gospels that happen.
Jesus said this
in Matthew.
He said,
My soul is very sorrowful.
Even to death.
And he told his disciples,
Remain here.
Watch and pray.
So sorrowful
that he was,
he felt like he was
going to die.
Like,
that's how awful it was
for our Lord.
And then in Luke 22,
verse 41,
he says this.
Well,
he withdrew from them
about a stone's throw away.
So,
not too far.
Then he said,
he knelt down
and he prayed,
saying,
Father,
Abba,
you know,
if you are willing,
remove this cup
from me.
So,
is there some other way?
Is there any other way
that this can be done?
Is what he almost was saying.
If possible,
is there any other way
that you could,
like,
deal with this?
When he says,
take this cup from me,
he's referring to,
like,
the Father's wrath.
All throughout the Old Testament,
God's wrath
that's referred to
is cups
or bowls of wrath.
And he knew
that he was about to drink it.
He knew it like the,
it was being passed to him.
And he said,
is there any other way?
And,
and believe it,
like,
the Lord,
the union between Christ
and the Father
is so close
that if there was another way,
he would have done it.
Seriously.
He would not have done this
if this was not
the other,
any other way.
And then it says,
Jesus went on to pray,
nevertheless,
not my will,
but yours be done.
And it says,
and there appeared to him
an angel from heaven
strengthening him.
Isn't that cool?
And that is an awesome gift
from the Father
just to remind him
of, like,
who he is
and where he will be going
eventually.
And it said,
and being in agony,
he prayed
more earnestly
And his sweat
became like
great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.
I'm very,
the agony of Christ
that he went through,
like,
in Gethsemane.
Then the cross.
When he finally was on the cross,
like,
the cruelest,
most degrading way
of execution,
at least,
in my knowledge,
I don't know,
I could be wrong,
but I doubt anybody here
is going to dispute me
on this anyway,
but I think there was around
maybe five or six thousand
slaves that were crucified
after the Spartacus Rebellion
all along
the Appian Way to Rome.
it was reserved
for, like,
the cruelest,
most wicked,
treacherous people
for scum.
That's who it was designed for.
And then, like,
the very Creator Himself,
Christ,
being put on the cross.
Cicero,
an old writer,
he said that
crucifixion is
the supreme
capital penalty,
the most painful,
dreadful,
and ugly.
You'd hang there for days,
you would die of,
like,
you wouldn't be able to breathe,
your arms would be lifted up
so high,
and eventually,
buzzards and crows
would come and just
eat on you
while you were there.
It was meant to last for days,
a very slow death,
mentally and physically,
just torture.
And this was the death
that Christ
was to die for us.
And remember what I said,
for God to show His face
towards you,
the greatest blessing,
and for God to hide
His face from you,
the greatest curse.
in Mark 15,
this is something
that happened at the cross,
it says,
And when the sixth hour
had come,
there was darkness
all over the whole land
until the ninth hour.
And in the ninth hour,
Jesus cried
with a loud voice,
Eloi,
lama sakpathini,
which means,
My God,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Because in that moment,
like,
God was treating Christ
as if He was
full of all the sin
of all the people
He was going to save.
He was feeling
the Father's wrath,
something totally alien
to Christ,
something He was totally
not used to at all.
He was feeling
the wrath of God
on the cross.
God was hiding His face
from the Son.
Terrible stuff.
Think about our
our Father Adam,
right,
in the garden.
The tree that was
in the garden
said what?
Everything,
it was beautiful,
it was attractive,
right?
Everything pleasing
to the eye
was on that tree.
And He was,
He went right for it.
But think about this tree
that Christ was on.
Nothing appealing about it.
Nothing in Christ's
holy nature
wanted to go to the cross.
See that?
Totally different.
But He went
and He suffered.
So,
Christ,
that second,
that third point,
excuse me,
Christ came
to make atonement
on our behalf
as our substitute.
So then lastly,
fourthly,
Christ's atonement,
the double cure.
Okay,
we'll talk about that
in a second.
Christ's atonement,
the double cure.
Some of you are familiar
with the hymn,
Rock of Ages.
I hope we might sing that.
Are we singing that?
We are singing that.
There's a line in there
where He says,
Be of sin the double cure.
Save from wrath
and make me pure.
And,
so,
atonement,
when you look at the word,
it really,
there's two words
that can be kind of used
to give a full picture
of what it really means.
And then,
there are two big words.
The first one
is propitiation.
That's actually in your Bible,
so don't think
we're making that one up.
If you have a good translation,
it's in your Bible,
propitiation,
and then expiation.
And,
they carry
slightly different meanings,
but they give us
a good picture
of what Christ did
on the cross.
And,
they both
are kind of found first
in the Old Testament
during
the Day of Atonement.
And,
it was
symbolic
of what Christ
would do for us
one day.
And,
they took two different
goats,
if you remember this,
and then one of them
was killed
and slain
on behalf
of the sins
of the people
of Israel.
And,
the other goat
was like set free
and sent off
into the wilderness.
And,
it was symbolic
of like removing
the sin
from God's presence
and freeing them
of guilt and shame.
That's what it was
symbolic of.
That's where you get
the word scapegoat from,
actually,
the scapegoat.
He was sent away
into the wilderness.
And,
the first goat
was an act
of propitiation.
He was killed.
The second goat
was an act
of expiation.
He removed
or blotted out
the sin of the people
from the presence
of God.
And,
he carried away
their guilt
and their shame.
And,
both of those
were figures,
prefigures
of what Christ
would do for us.
And,
both represent
the complete
work of Christ.
Christ propitiated
the wrath of God.
He satisfied
the wrath of God.
But,
he also removed
our guilt
and our shame
from Christ.
So,
let's just look
at one at a time.
Propitiation.
Just go ahead
and,
we read it
in Romans 3
if you remember that.
We'll look at
something else
in a second.
But,
turn to Romans 5
real quick.
Romans 5,
go to verse 6.
Excuse me.
Choking a little bit.
So,
propitiation,
the idea of like,
in front of idea.
That's what the word
pro kind of means here.
is the act
by which
a sacrifice,
in our case,
Christ,
bore the wrath
of God
and thereby,
like,
changed God's attitude
or God's outlook
on who we were.
It changed
God's view
on us.
So,
it turned it
from wrath
to love
is what
Christ did.
So,
some translations
use,
I don't know
what yours might say.
When we read
Romans a while ago,
it might have said
something like,
it might have just
said atonement,
it could have said
a lot of different
things,
but when we look
at this word,
if you were to
kind of look it up,
it doesn't mean
a lot of things,
but some would say
like,
to appease
or to placate.
Okay,
like,
that's what Christ
did for us.
Like,
he appeased
the wrath of God.
And,
those aren't really
good words
to use
because,
like,
appease
or placate,
appease,
appeasement
usually has a
negative context,
right?
Like a,
like a tyrant
wants something,
a terrorist
or something
wants something
and we give it
to him
and that appeases
him and so
he backs off.
Or to placate
almost carries
an idea
of,
like,
soothing,
like,
it's okay,
you know,
don't,
don't be upset
about this.
And either one
of those
describe,
like,
what was
really done
for us.
Both of those
carry,
like,
just a very
negative meaning
and I think
some NIV
translations say
atoning sacrifice,
which isn't bad
but it kind of
means,
like,
that Jesus
turned away
the wrath of God
from us
is what that
kind of implies.
And that's
not good either.
Jesus didn't
just simply
turn away
the wrath of God.
in high school
some buddies
of mine
used to box
a lot.
One of my
best friends
in high school
won the
Junior Olympics
in boxing.
He's a tough
dude.
He beat the
snot out of me
like four or
five times.
He was just
fast.
Every time I
rear back
he'd go
bam,
bam.
And I
gave him
a bloody
nose one
time.
But I
kept coming
back for
more for
some reason.
So,
but like
when you're
boxing though,
like,
if you swing
and someone
like bobs
and they
miss or
they block
you,
like,
it implies
like you
didn't hit
your intended
target,
right?
And that's
why,
like,
we can't
say that
Christ
turned aside
the wrath
of God
because it
would mean
like he
missed,
it missed
the object
and that God
is upset
because he
didn't like
hit his
intended
target.
So,
it really
doesn't mean
that.
But two
words I
think that
propitiation
could mean
clearly is
one is like
exhausted
Christ
exhausted
the wrath
of God
on the
cross
or he
absorbed
the wrath
of God
on the
cross
or two
words
that kind
of
explain
this.
He
didn't
just merely
deflect it
from us
or prevent
it from
reaching us
like he
absorbed it
completely
and like
all of
God's fury
unleashed on
his son
on the
cross
and held
nothing back.
Just think
about
standing on
like a
seashore
or an
ocean shore
tsunami
just coming
right at
you
like just
full on
and then
all of a
sudden
it's absorbed
into this
little hole
in front
of you
like the
whole thing
just goes
like that's
what Christ
did.
He absorbed,
he exhausted
the wrath
of God
on our
behalf.
Romans 5
verse 6
it says
for while we
were still
weak
at the
right time
Christ died
for the
ungodly
for the
ungodly.
So very
important.
I use this
passage more
than any
other to
share the
gospel with
unbelievers
because it
has so much
in here
that's good.
So while we
were still
weak,
so not
when God
doesn't help
those who
help themselves,
not when you
get your act
together,
the scripture
says you're
weak and
helpless and
utterly can do
nothing for
yourself at
all.
While we
were still
weak at the
right time
Christ died
for the
ungodly.
For one
will scarcely
die for a
righteous person,
though perhaps
for a good
person one
would dare
even to die.
So what's
he saying
there?
It's a really
good argument.
I really like
what he says.
This is the
best analogy
I can have
I guess for
me.
But I
have three
nieces,
okay,
like seven,
six,
and a year
now.
Addison,
Ansley,
and Ava.
And they're
all really
cool.
And I love
them.
I don't really
get to see
them a lot,
but I
really love
them.
And if
someone said,
hey,
somebody's
got to
die,
it's going
to be
you or
them,
without any
hesitation,
I would
say me.
John would
for his
children,
Nathan,
Wes,
they would
do it for
their children
like in a
heartbeat.
They wouldn't
even stop
them to think,
okay,
well,
it wouldn't
be like a
process,
it would
just happen.
It would
be like,
they would
just do it
for their
children.
But at
the same
time,
if you
were to
say,
hey,
there's
this dude
out here,
he's murdered
three people,
he's molested
several children,
and he's on
death row,
unless you
step in
and die on
his behalf.
You up for
that?
Everything
kind of
goes back
to,
wait a
minute,
he's had
his chance,
you know,
why should
I do
this?
He's going
to get
what he
deserves.
Be glad
that none
of us
get what
we deserve,
by the
way.
So,
like,
so what
Paul is
trying to
say here
is that
we all
are that
guy.
We're not
like the
innocent,
cute little
kids,
like we
are that
guy.
We are
that person
that no
one would
die for
at all.
It's his
point.
And so
what does
this do?
We all
would be
willing to
die for
those whom
we love,
right?
But to
die for
someone as
wretched as
that would
have to
be an
incredible,
powerful love,
right?
An incredible,
powerful,
infinite,
almost love.
But he
says,
this is why
in verse 8,
look at verse 8,
but God
is not like
us,
but God
shows his
love for
us,
and while we
were still
sinners,
Christ died
for us.
Wow,
that was it.
That demonstrates
the great love
of Christ
right there,
that he
died for
wretches
like us.
Verse 9,
Since therefore
we have now
been justified,
made right
with God
by his
blood,
much more
shall I be
saved by him
from the wrath
of God.
For if while
we were enemies,
we were
reconciled to
God by the
death of his
son,
much more
now that we
are reconciled
shall I be
saved by his
life.
More than
that,
we rejoice
in God
through whom
our Lord
Jesus Christ,
through whom
now we have
received
reconciliation.
Great passage.
Go back and
study this
some more.
There's so much
good stuff in
there.
What I like
about it,
it deals with
the two
different extremes
of people,
some that are
all about
the love of
God,
and God
is our
grandpa in
the sky,
and never
doesn't have
any wrath,
and then it
deals with
the people
who say,
hellfire and
damnation,
that's all
there is to
God.
And so it
deals with
both of
those camps,
because it
says that,
it talks about
the wrath
of God,
it says that
we were the
enemies of
God,
and then it
says that,
it talks about
the great,
powerful love
of God,
and sending
Christ to
die on our
behalf,
to reconcile
us,
to bring us
back into
fellowship with
the Father so
that we can
live for him
and glorify him
again.
All that in
that one
passage.
So many
good things.
So that's
propitiation,
God sending
Christ,
Christ absorbs,
exhausted the
wrath of God
on the cross
on behalf of
those who
would believe
in him by
faith.
That's what it
says here.
And then,
so that's
propitiation.
Then expiation,
that's E-X-P-I-A-T-I-O-N.
Expiation,
it means out of
or from,
if you want to,
out from.
And,
Christ,
death on the
cross,
not only
dealt with
our,
not only
bore our
punishment,
but enabled
us to be
free from
guilt and
from shame.
And for me,
this is what I
have a hard
time with.
I have a hard
time forgiving
myself.
The guys in
here that are
really close up
and in my
life,
they know,
like I,
I really just
want to like
ram my head
into the wall
sometime after I
sinned against
the Lord.
And this is
the hard,
so,
if Christ really
did remove
the wrath of
God,
then this would
be an obvious
conclusion that
he also would
deal with your
guilt and your
shame from
that second
goat that
was set off.
And so,
some of you
know Casting
Crown Song,
East from the
West.
Psalm 103,
verse 11,
For as high
as the heavens
are above
the earth,
so great is
his steadfast
love towards
those who
fear him.
As far as
the east is
from the west,
so far he
has removed
our transgressions
from us.
So,
this is
language,
this cultural
idioms that
are trying to
express an
infinite distance.
How high is
the heavens above
the earth?
There isn't
a limit.
How far is
the east is
from the west?
It just keeps
going,
like there is
no set distance.
It's an
infinite picture.
So,
Jesus not only
bore our
punishment on
the sin,
but he
carried away
an infinite
distance our
guilt and
our shame.
Okay?
That's what
the cross did.
So,
when it says
that God
forgets the
things we do,
you ever heard
that?
Like he forgives
and he forgets?
It really
depends on what
you mean by
that.
God is
omniscient.
He doesn't
forget anything,
right?
He knows all
things.
But what it
really does
mean is that
he chooses
not to
count our
sin against
us.
He chooses
not to
deal with
it that
way because
of what
Christ has
done on
the cross.
Choosing not
to bring
them up
again.
And so,
he tore
down the
barrier between
us and
God and
provided this.
So,
I think,
partially,
one of the
greatest gifts
that Christ
gives us is
an approving
or a clear
conscience.
You can lay
your head down
at night and
say,
amen.
And that's
what the
cross was
meant to
do for
us,
to carry
away our
guilt and
our shame,
to do
away with
the accusations
that come
against us.
I guess a
difference,
if you just
kind of want
to make that
distinction.
One more
time,
propitiation
refers to
satisfying or
absorbing the
wrath of
God,
making Him
favorable
towards us.
Expiation
refers to
the removing
of sin and
guilt from
God's
presence.
that makes
us joyful,
the result of
what Christ
has done.
So,
in the future,
whatever that
sin is in
your life,
it just keeps
popping up
over and
over.
You all know
what it is.
You just
think,
gosh,
again.
And then
you hear
the accuser
saying,
like,
you fool,
he did it
again.
God does
not care
about you
anymore.
You've
ruined it.
This is
all over.
You're
done.
Jesus did
all that
for you,
and you
can't do
that for
Him.
You really
think He's
going to
put up
with that
when you
talk to
yourself.
I actually
read a
cool quote
recently.
It said
that no
one has
greater
influence
over you
than you
because no
one listens
to themselves
more than
you.
Like,
you preach
to yourself
constantly,
all the
time,
and you're
just going
over things
in your
head all
the time.
So,
what are
you preaching
to yourself?
Are you
preaching
guilt,
condemnation,
and shame
if you
belong to
Christ?
I'm just
going to
read you
a quote
by Martin
Luther,
a pretty
fiery guy.
He said
this,
and this
relates
directly to
the atoning
work of
Christ on
the cross.
He said,
when the
devil
throws
your
sins
in
your
face
and
declares
that you
deserve
death
and
hell,
tell him
this,
I admit
that I
deserve
death
and
hell,
what
of it?
For I
know
one who
suffered
and made
satisfaction
on my
behalf.
His name
is Jesus
Christ,
Son of
God,
and where
he is,
there I
shall be
also.
That's
it.
That's like
the effect
of the
atonement
of Christ.
he suffered
and made
satisfaction
on our
behalf,
and where
he is,
there we
shall be
also.
So,
that's
the fourth
thing.
So,
some
application.
If you
are,
last place
to turn,
just look
at John
3,
the famous
chapter of
John 3,
and go to
verse 35.
John 3,
verse 35.
So,
if you
are,
without
Christ
tonight,
know that
God doesn't
see you
as neutral.
He's not
waiting for
you to
RSVP.
You're
either going
to be
friends on
his terms
or enemies
on your
terms.
That's
really just
kind of how
it is.
And he
sent you
away to
be reconciled
and brought
back to
him and
his son.
That's his
peace terms.
And you
can throw
that away
and say,
I'm not
going to
do it.
I'm going
to do
it on
my own
or I
don't
care.
And you're
going to
put yourself
under the
wrath of
God.
Because Christ
is the
definitive thing.
He is
the,
it's either
or.
You have
Christ or
you don't.
You can't
be on
the fence.
so.
So in
John 3
verse 35
it says
this,
the
father
loves
the
son
and
has
given
all
things
into
his
hand.
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.
That's
terrifying.
It's
like this
thing
hanging
over
you
and
that
that's
it.
Christ,
believe in
him,
be saved.
Don't
just have
a mental
knowledge
of him,
but such
a strong
conviction
of who
he is
that it
changes
how you
live.
Like I
want
Christ,
give me
Christ,
or else
I die.
And if
you know
Christ,
rejoice
that your
sin has
been dealt
with a
long time
ago.
I have
a better
time feeling
like Christ
died for
my past
sins,
but like
my future
ones,
I have a
hard time.
I think
like,
oh man,
if he'd
just known I
was going
to do
that,
he did
know I
was going
to do
that.
And that
was dealt
with at
the cross.
And if
you want
one,
why not?
Okay,
just go ahead
and turn
here.
This is the
last thing
we're going
to do,
and we're
going to
close.
But 1
John 4,
towards the
back of your
Bible,
1 John 4,
verse 9.
Okay?
1 John 4,
verse 9
says this,
In this,
the love
of God
was made
manifest
among us
that God
sent his
only son
into the
world
so that
we might
live
through him.
All right?
And this,
and this
is the
love.
Not that
we love
God,
but that
he loved
us,
and sent
his son
to be
the
propitiation
for our
sins.
All right?
See that?
We didn't
love God.
We could have
cared less.
We would have
just constantly
rebelled
against him.
But he
loved us,
and sent
his son
to be
the
propitiation
for our
sins.
to satisfy,
to absorb
the wrath
of God
on our
behalf,
and to
carry away
our guilt
and our
shame,
the double
cure.
So we
have a
magnificent
Savior.
It couldn't
get better.
It was
impossible to
improve upon
like what
he did
for us.
So let's
celebrate that
together.
Let me just
pray for us.
Wes and
Lauren,
you can
come on
up.
Amen.