Salvation: The Atonement of Christ

[0:00] 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.

[0:20] 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.

[0:34] 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.

[0:53] 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.

[1:05] 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.

[1:20] 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.

[1:32] 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.

[1:48] 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.

[1:59] 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.

[2:12] 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.

[2:30] 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.

[2:43] 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.

[2:53] 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.

[3:06] A very powerful language. This picture of separation from God. Not togetherness, not a relationship with God, but separation from God.

[3:17] 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.

[3:31] 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.

[3:42] 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.

[3:54] 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.

[4:08] 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.

[4:20] 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.

[4:32] 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.

[4:50] God's righteousness must be upheld. And so righteousness, there's a lot of ways to describe this.

[5:00] 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.

[5:11] 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.

[5:28] 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.

[5:39] 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.

[5:57] 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.

[6:08] 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?

[6:20] 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.

[6:35] 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.

[6:48] 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.

[7:03] 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.

[7:19] 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.

[7:43] 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.

[8:18] 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.

[8:31] 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.

[8:43] 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.

[8:54] 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.

[9:06] 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.

[9:18] 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.

[9:36] 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.

[9:50] 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.

[10:01] 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.

[10:13] Now, I'm sure some of you saw those hoo-hahs up on the square during Gold Rush, just pretty much just damning people.

[10:25] 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.

[10:38] 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.

[10:56] You don't really love God. You don't really know God. He's all those things. So, turn to Revelation 6.

[11:07] 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.

[11:22] 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.

[11:39] Amos. But, just to jump ahead, Revelation 6, verse 12, it says this. This is going on in the heavenly realm.

[11:54] 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.

[12:16] 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.

[12:33] 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.

[12:57] 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.

[13:11] 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.

[13:23] 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?

[13:39] 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?

[13:53] 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.

[14:05] 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.

[14:19] 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.

[14:30] 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.

[14:42] 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.

[14:53] 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?

[15:04] 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.

[15:16] 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.

[15:30] 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.

[15:42] 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.

[15:55] That's Romans 1.18. So it's all over the pages of Scripture. It's terrifying. It should just... Man, I'm...

[16:05] 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.

[16:26] He put it this way, kind of like if we were... I remember when this happened, like Bush told Saddam, like, surrender now.

[16:37] 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.

[16:53] 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...

[17:09] 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.

[17:23] 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...

[17:34] Kind of moving along tonight. Alright. The third point is, Christ came to make atonement on our behalf. That's good.

[17:46] 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.

[18:05] 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.

[18:19] 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.

[18:37] 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?

[18:50] 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.

[19:09] 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.

[19:27] 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.

[19:41] 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.

[20:00] Isaiah 53, go to verse 4. Isaiah, Isaiah, as some of my Irish friends say.

[20:11] 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.

[20:30] 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.

[20:44] Notice the hours throughout this. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.

[20:56] But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace.

[21:06] 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.

[21:21] 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.

[21:32] 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.

[21:48] 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.

[22:02] 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.

[22:13] It says that He was stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, chastised, oppressed, and afflicted. Alright? Those are serious words.

[22:24] 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?

[22:41] 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.

[22:57] 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.

[23:11] 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.

[23:23] 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.

[23:35] 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?

[23:50] 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.

[24:01] 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.

[24:14] 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?

[24:29] 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.

[24:47] 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?

[25:00] 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.

[25:10] 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.

[25:25] 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.

[25:39] 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.

[25:50] 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.

[26:03] Blasphemy against God. And they were accusing Jesus for this. And, they accused him of treason. Right? Against Rome and against the state.

[26:15] 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.

[26:28] 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.

[26:41] 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.

[26:56] 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.

[27:08] 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.

[27:20] 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.

[27:38] 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?

[27:50] 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.

[28:01] 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, like, the Lord, the union between Christ and the Father is so close that if there was another way, he would have done it.

[28:18] 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.

[28:30] 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.

[28:42] 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.

[28:56] 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.

[29:19] 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.

[29:33] 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.

[29:53] 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.

[30:06] 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.

[30:27] And in the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sakpathini, which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[30:40] 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.

[30:55] 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.

[31:10] 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.

[31:23] 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.

[31:43] So then lastly, fourthly, Christ's atonement, the double cure. Okay, we'll talk about that in a second.

[31:55] 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.

[32:09] 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.

[32:22] 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.

[32:36] 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.

[32:49] 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.

[33:03] 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.

[33:13] 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.

[33:24] 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.

[33:35] 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.

[33:46] 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.

[34:01] We'll look at something else in a second. But, turn to Romans 5 real quick. Romans 5, go to verse 6.

[34:14] 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.

[34:26] 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.

[34:36] 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.

[34:52] 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.

[35:11] 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?

[35:27] 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.

[35:42] 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.

[36:06] 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.

[36:19] 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, bam. And I gave him a bloody nose one time.

[36:30] 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?

[36:46] 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.

[37:00] 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.

[37:19] 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.

[37:33] 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.

[37:48] 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.

[38:06] 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.

[38:30] 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.

[38:45] 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.

[39:00] 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.

[39:16] 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.

[39:31] 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.

[39:47] 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.

[39:59] 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.

[40:10] 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?

[40:23] 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?

[40:35] 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.

[40:52] 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.

[41:13] 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.

[41:23] More than that, we rejoice in God through whom our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom now we have received reconciliation. Great passage.

[41:35] 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.

[41:52] 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.

[42:14] 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.

[42:31] 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.

[42:45] 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.

[43:00] 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.

[43:16] 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.

[43:28] 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.

[43:47] 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.

[44:01] 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.

[44:11] 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.

[44:24] 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.

[44:35] 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.

[44:49] 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.

[45:04] 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.

[45:16] 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.

[45:29] 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 and over.

[45:49] 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.

[46:01] 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.

[46:16] 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.

[46:32] 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.

[46:46] 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?

[47:05] 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.

[47:16] 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.

[47:30] 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.

[47:47] 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.

[48:02] 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.

[48:14] 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.

[48:26] 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.

[48:41] 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.

[48:53] 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.

[49:08] 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.

[49:20] 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.

[49:31] 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.

[49:43] But 1 John 4, towards the back of your Bible, 1 John 4, verse 9. Okay?

[50:05] 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.

[50:17] 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.

[50:32] 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.

[50:42] 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.

[50:54] 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.

[51:05] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.