LOOKING TO PRAISE AND WORSHIP JESUS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. 18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].

Monday, June 04, 2007

Propitiation by Phil Johnson


Propitiation
by Phil Johnson

Too many Christians think of divine forgiveness as something that utterly overturns justice and sets it aside—as if God's mercy nullified His justice—as if God's love defeated and revoked His hatred of sin. That's not how forgiveness works.



Is forgiveness from sin grounded only in the love and mercy and goodness of God—apart from his justice? Does love alone prompt the Almighty to forego the due penalty of sin, wipe out the record of our wrongdoing, and nullify the claims of justice against us, unconditionally?



Or must God Himself be propitiated? In other words, do His righteousness and His holy wrath against sin need to be satisfied before He can forgive?



It truly seems as if most people today—including multitudes who identify themselves as Christians—think God forgives merely because His love overwhelms His holy hatred of sin. Some go even further, rejecting the notion of propitiation altogether, claiming it makes God seem too harsh. The problem with every such view of the atonement is that mercy without propitiation turns forgiveness into an act of injustice.



Please read more here....
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2007/04/propitiation.html

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5 Comments:

Blogger mark pierson said...

Joshua and Caleb - Thanks!

June 04, 2007 1:31 PM

 
Blogger Even So... said...

This matter of propitiation (Romans 3:25-26) was what I preached on this Sunday...important, in a way very few, unforunately, have taken the time to understand...

June 04, 2007 1:33 PM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Super post, Mark!
I thought both links - to Pyromaniacs and the Wikipedia reference to propitiation - of great interest as well.
Notably - this paragraph in the latter link:

"The Hebrew (kaphar), means "to propitiate, to atone for sin." According to Scripture, the sacrifice of the Law only covered the offerer's sin, and secured divine forgiveness for that year. The Old Testament sacrifices never removed man's sin. "It is not possible . . .", Hebrews 10:4. The Israelite's offering implied confession of sin in anticipation of Christ's sacrifice which did, finally, "put away" the sins "done previously in the forbearance of God", Romans 3:25; Heb. 9:15,26. This forgiveness frees the confessing believer from the burden of sin, allowing him or her to be 'adopted' into the spiritual family of God, and to enjoy the many blessings and spiritual fellowship with God which are the inheritance of God's people, the promise given to Abraham and his spiritual descendants given by God."

Note the last sentence there. Falls right in line with our conversations over at the Moor.

June 04, 2007 2:59 PM

 
Blogger jazzycat said...

Mark,
I am still dealing with this issue on my May 25 post with an 'emergent' pastor. His latest comment suggest that our belief in penal substitution is due to our interpretive lens being wrong.
wayne

June 04, 2007 2:59 PM

 
Blogger mark pierson said...

,

June 05, 2007 6:16 AM

 

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