Christ Jesus Himself is the Propitiation for our sins. A Propitiation is a wrath-removing sinless blood sacrifice. Wrath is God's righteous anger toward human sin, a holy hatred toward your evil nature. God is not simply angry at sin in general. Rather, God is personally angry against individual sinners, and for this reason Jesus Christ was set forth, that is, sent into this world as a Propitiation for human sin. The Lamb of God came down from Heaven to die in your place. In doing so, Jesus Christ took upon Himself the curse, wrath, and vengeance due to your sins against God. Jesus bore the infinite divine chastisement that was due to you. But God was pleased to accept Christ's sinless sacrifice, His atoning blood satisfied God's justice and vengeance and turned away or appeased God's wrath.
When a sinner trusts in Christ's Atoning Blood and Perfect Righteousness, that sinner moves from being an object of God's wrath to an object of God's love and favor. This is a miracle of God's mercy and grace towards the unworthy sinner. A saved sinner that relies completely on what Jesus Christ did for Him on Calvary's Cross moves from being "angered at" to being "pleased with". The Propitiation was a one-time act completely accomplished by Jesus Christ Himself on Calvary's Cross, and not by any of your human merit at all. Your sins deserve death - someone has to pay for your crimes against God's divine law. Will it be you, or Someone else? It's your choice, you have a free will to either receive or reject Christ as your Propitiation.
Propitiation means to satisfy God's righteous demands and divine justice for sin that has been committed against Himself. Propitiation teaches us that man is a sinner, and that God hates man's sin, because God is just and holy. Therefore, sin must be judged and judgment is due to every man from God the Father. The wrath of God presently abides on all those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior (John 3:36). Nevertheless, when any man trusts in Jesus Christ as his Savior, Jesus steps in between that man and the wrath of God. Jesus takes the wrath upon Himself, and pays the price of that man's Judgment, and then gives him eternal life freely! Jesus Christ's Blood Atonement fully satisfies God’s demands for righteous Judgment due to my sin.
By nature, you love your sin and this world's darkness. You have taken Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice for your sins lightly. You have neglected and rejected Him and sinned your life away up until now. You're a guilty criminal in God's sight and you deserve God's eternal wrath. There's a day of reckoning coming for you if you die in your sins. You're think you're good, but the Bible says you're not. *Romans 3:10* Now understand - Simple faith in the Finished Work of Jesus Christ saves the ungodly sinner on the spot. Jesus is the only Propitiation for our sin, He is the complete payment for human sin. Have you really trusted in Jesus' blood? Jesus completely justifies the sinner freely by His grace - He makes us righteous in God's sight by giving us His Righteousness. None of your works can help you attain heaven - that is called Self-Righteousness, and it is a damnable thing. You don't do good works to stay saved and keep yourself in the body of Christ. Imputation is the miracle that occurs when you're Born Again by the Spirit of God. Imputation is when your soul is eternally credited (infused) with Christ's Righteousness, and you are seen as Good in God's sight for Christ's sake, even though you are no good. Sinners are only saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone.
God only saves despicable sinners. There's nothing good in you that will ever benefit or help God. Jesus died to save you out of the sewer of sin. God doesn't save good and respectable people, because good people don't need to be saved, God only saves really bad people. The Gospel is this, a good God bleeding and dying to save bad sinners. Christ Jesus rescues and extends mercy to vile wretches just like you. The Law of God is a holy mirror that shows you the Holy Nature of God, and it shows you your sinfulness, and that you are doomed if you remain in your sinful state. The Law kills your pride and self-love, and then the Holy Spirit through the Gospel makes you alive in Christ.
God's Salvation displays the glories of God's free grace and dying love. God loves to save bad people through the blood of the Lamb of God. You live for yourself and you love yourself. You're not innocent, you are guilty of breaking God's law and rejecting His dear Son. When the gracious God saves any sinner, He displays His amazing grace. Your sins are scandalous and heinous, but Christ Jesus can save you from the *love of sin* and the eternal death you justly deserve. Because of Jesus Christ's great and perfect Sacrifice on Calvary's tree, God will give you eternal life freely today, if you lay down your love of sin and love of self-righteousness at the foot of the Cross, and look only to Jesus for full and free forgiveness of your sins. Your main business is to fear God, repent of your love of sin, and trust in Christ's blood atonement for your sins.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation through faith in His Blood, to declare His Righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that God might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: And He is the Propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the Propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25; I John 2:2; I John 4:10).
You must be led to a real knowledge of your sins, and led by the Holy Spirit to Jesus who alone can wash out in His precious blood the sins of your guilty soul. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Hasten to the Cross, without any delay, to HIM. Jesus is able and willing to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. Let not the number or greatness of your sins stop you. No sins are too many or too great to be pardoned and cleansed by Christ's precious blood. If you weary and heavy laden with sin, and sense your sinful and dangerous state, Jesus pardons the guilty, and justifies the ungodly. No case of guilt is too desperate for the Friend of sinners to relieve.
Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse you of all your sins. Come and cast your soul unreservedly on the merits and mercy of Jesus Himself. Repentance of your self-love and sin-love, and Simple faith in God's Blood, and all your danger is over, your salvation is eternally secure. Give up your own will and way - Flee to Christ Jesus now, hide under His sheltering Blood, and then feed on Him and His words, and let Him change your nature, habits, appetites, and desires daily by His power. Lord, please save my soul from the love of sin, please change me within, my nature is so filthy and vile, I don't want to go to Hell when I die, I am so sick of my sin, forgive me for rejecting your Son all these years, be merciful to me a sinner, I truly trust in your Son's precious blood, thank you for sending Him to die for a miserable wretch like me. The highest and choicest wisdom is to fear God, that is, to love God enough to truly trust in Christ and depart from your sin, by God's help.
