Let’s take a few moments to think through the biblical concept of propitiation. For those who don’t know, propitiation is the concept of the wrath of God toward sin being appeased by a sacrificial offering. God’s wrath poured out on a substitute in the place of sinners ensured that He can be just towards sin yet not have to justly condemn deserving sinners.
The website Got Questions says this about propitiation: “The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.” That is propitiation in a nutshell.
Now this concept is not a new one. In the ancient pagan world people had a concept of propitiating their gods by sacrifices, offerings, etc. That explains why people would cut themselves, offer their own children as sacrifices to the gods in gruesome rituals, and do unspeakably gross and horrible things to try to appease the deities. The common thread of propitiation in those pagan religions was that the person would make the effort to do whatever was necessary to make themselves acceptable to their god. It was all about the effort of the one presenting the offering. There was no thought or concept of grace (in the biblical sense) in any of these sacrifices. Propitiation in this sense was all about getting whatever god you were trying to appease to no longer be angry with you. What made this difficult was that the god being appeased was always angry and vengeful. These were not love offerings; they were a way to come out from under the curse of the spirits.
The glorious difference in Christianity (besides the fact that it is true, where the other religions aren’t) is that God the Father, the one whose wrath was propitiated on Calvary, is the one who made the effort to propitiate our sin, and that is what needs to be made clear.
God the Father is the one who sent God the Son to forgive us of our sins so that we could be forgiven and reconciled back to Him. Although God is angry with sin, and although we were His enemies (Romans 5:10) and were under His wrath (John 3:36), His anger does not mean that He is vengeful and full of bloodlust the way that He is typically caricatured by those who don’t know Him. No, our God is the one who wanted us to be reconciled to Himself, and He did all that was necessary to make sure that would happen. The God against whom we have sinned, and whom we have offended, has given His own life so that we His people could be with Him for all eternity. What an unspeakable gift! God loves His people that much. We couldn’t make propitiation for our own sin—we were dead in sins and trespasses. If we were ever going to be delivered from our sin and from His wrath, He was going to have to provide that salvation. And He did. Hallelujah and Soli Deo Gloria!
This is so crucial because it both upholds the truth that God is love—and that He is not angry in the way that He is caricatured by unbelievers—but that He is also infinitely holy and just. This both affirms His infinite love and justice.
I have heard many sermons about the anger and wrath of God, and let me state unequivocally that His wrath is perfect and part of His nature. Also, I have heard certain Bible teachers reject the idea of penal substitution on the grounds that it makes the Father seem like a vengeful, bloodthirsty deity. They just can’t reconcile God’s infinite love with the idea of penal substitution.
However, I believe the Bible clearly teaches penal substitutionary atonement. The entire Old Testament sacrificial system, which points to Jesus, was based on penal substitution—the innocent animal sacrifice would be slain in the place of the guilty sinner in order that the guilty one would be made right with God. Isaiah 53, the fourth of the ‘Servant songs,’ is one of the clearest passages in the Old Testament speaking of Christ’s sacrifice, and it clearly teaches the substitutionary aspect of His atoning work. So how do we reconcile God’s love with penal substitution? I posit to you that they are perfectly in harmony because of the fact that God is the one who authors and completes our salvation. Yes, God is angry at sin, and His wrath abides upon unbelievers. At the same time, God is the one who accomplished salvation for His elect because of His great love for us who were guilty sinners.
Once again, God proves that, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men…” (1 Corinthians 1:25). How amazing is this! God sentenced Himself so that His justice would be satisfied, the penalty for sin paid, and we guilty sinners would not only be declared legally righteous in His eyes (justification) but be adopted by Him to be His very children! Wow.
In Romans 3:24-26, the Apostle Paul writes, “Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” God the Father thus remains perfectly just and also the infinitely gracious justifier of those of us who believe in His Son for salvation.
Dr. R.C. Sproul, in his commentary on the Book of Romans, writes: “In the drama of justification, God remains just. He does not set aside His justice; He does not waive His righteousness; He insists upon it…if all He did was maintain His righteousness without extending the imputation of that righteousness to us, He would not be the justifier. He is both just and justifier, which is the marvel of the gospel.”
Amen.