Romans: The Divine Exchange

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:6-11)

I think a little Greek word study would be helpful.

Without strength: (asthenes) weak, infirm, feeble, impotent, powerless

Ungodly: (asebes) people destitute of reverential awe towards God, condemning God, impious

Righteous Man: (dikaios) him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, approved or acceptable of God

Good Man: (agathos) him who is good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, of a good constitution or nature

Love: (agape) good will, benevolence, affection

Sinners: (hamartolos) devoted to sin, wicked

Justified: (dikaioo) rendered righteous, to declare, prounounce, one to be just, righteous or such as he ought to be.

Reconciled: (katallasso) returned to favour with.

Enemies: (echthros) hostile, hating, and opposing another

Saved: (sozo) to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment, to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

Wrath: (orge) indignation, anger exhibited in punishment, as inflicted by magistrates

Joy: (kauchaomai) rejoice, make boast of, glory in

Atonement: (katallage) exchange, adjustment of a difference, reconciliation

Now, using some of the definitions from our word study, let's paraphrase Paul's statements, in a sense making our own amplified version, only let's make use of the personal pronoun "I" whenever possible, instead of "we"….it's so easy for us to assign responsibility to anyone other than ourselves if given half a chance:

"Jesus Christ died for me even while I was condemning HIM by my thoughts, feelings and actions, because I was too feeble and impotent to be anything else other than completely destitute of reverential awe toward God. In this world, it is rare for a person to die for someone whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, yet occasionally someone will give his life for a man who is pleasant and of a good nature. But God proved and established his good will, affection and benevolence towards me in that, while I was still wicked and devoted to my condemnation of God, He gave His son, Jesus Christ to die for me. Thus, through the blood of Jesus Christ shed for me, I have not only been declared righteous, declared to be one whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and am therefore approved and acceptable of God; but I have also been amazingly rescued from the punishment of an angry and indignant God that had been reserved specifically for me, all because of Jesus' death for me. And if the death of Jesus Christ was able to return me to a position of favour with God even while I was hating God, and in much hostility opposing Him by my thoughts, feelings and actions; how much more then, now that I am in favour with God, I am able to count on the resurrected life of Jesus Christ to keep me safe and sound. And most important of all, I rejoice and even boast about my relationship with God made possible through my Lord Jesus Christ, through whom I have now received such a divine exchange:

Jesus Christ took my place before a rightfully angry and indignant God, bearing my punishment of His wrath, and in exchange gave me His place of righteousness and blessed favour with God."

Wow! If I am grateful for that, I will "boast about" what Jesus did for me to the whole world. I will not be ashamed of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

How about you?

 

Romans: Patiently Experiencing Hope

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:1-5)

Here is how the Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary describes patience:

"Patience is the quiet endurance of what we cannot but wish removed…"

In any of our lives there are either things we would like to be doing without (illness, disharmony in relationships, financial burdens…for example) or things we feel we should be enjoying but are not (excellent health, peaceful relationships, bigger income…you get the idea). In either case, we want the "experience" that we are dealing with to be removed and exchanged for something that would make us much happier….or so we think.

But God, in His wisdom, allows us to experience more than mere "happiness." There is happiness which is surface-shallow and fleeting, and then there is joy which is deep and long-lasting. His love for us desires that we experience "joy."

Some believe that "joy" is that which we experience when we leave the valley and arrive on the mountaintop. But I don't believe that is true.

I believe joy is that which we experience in the valley. In fact, I don't think we can experience joy without being in the valley, or in the midst of tribulation, whatever form that might take in each of our lives.

Tribulation, by the way, isn't always religious persecution. The word actually means "pressing, or a pressing together or pressure, oppression, affliction, distress, or being in straits."

Thus, whatever it is that is causing us distress, Paul says, is actually something we can "glory in" (meaning "to boast about"). Now that takes a different kind of attitude to be able to "boast about" the thing causing distress…in fact, I think it takes "fearlessness." And most of us find distressful situations to be full of fearful things, especially fear of how things are going to turn out, aka fear of the unknown. In fact, it is usually the distressful thing in the first place that causes us to be afraid which then causes us to become even more distressed. It can be a vicious cycle!

So why does Paul say we will "boast about" (which also means "rejoice in") distress?

What he actually is saying is that we will rejoice in it because of what we "know."

What is it then that we "know?"

Well, we "know" (we "understand, have regard for, discern, perceive, pay attention to") the fact that "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!" Knowing this is an attitude changer when it comes to fear.

"And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul: but, rather, fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

Is there really anything more fearful than the wrath of an angry God?

Yet, we know, because we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that God is with us and for us. Therefore what is to be feared?

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Well, what about fearing for a loved one who doesn't know God and who is dying? That is fearful to think of, if we agree with the Word that hell is a place of everlasting torment for those who reject Jesus Christ; His Son being God's plan for our salvation.

But you see, we also know that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him:

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

We have sought Him, we have found Him through Jesus Christ, and now we wait for the reward, the treasure at the end of the treasure hunt. That is faith. We have faith in His promises being true; we pay attention to His promises, His Word, we give more regard to His promises than we do to the distress, even though we are still distressed, it does not get our attention as much as God gets our attention. This is not denying the reality of the cause of distress; denial is simply replacing reality with a lie, a false reality. Denial does nothing for us or for our situation.

Faith instead is acknowledging the reality, but raising our gaze to God rather than leaving it focused on the reality, even as we, in our physical bodies, experience the distress of the reality. We continue to endure the distress, but we do so while waiting expectantly for the change in the reality that we know WILL happen!

In the midst of tribulation, we hope for (or wait expectantly for) God's promises to be manifested into and in the midst of our reality.

So, in the case of having an unsaved loved one, who might soon be standing before the Lord in judgment having no garments of righteousness through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ with which to cover himself, we wait for God's power that saved us, to save them as well…because God is with us, loves us, rewards us, gives us things that we ask when we ask in complete faith knowing that we have already received them because He is a good God. And we have asked, persistently, even with fasting prayers, for His promise to be manifested into our reality.

Thus, if we are in the valley, in a place of distress, we don't "deny" the distress…we don't pretend it is all ok when it isn't. God tells us to mourn with those who mourn and to rejoice with those who rejoice. There is a time to cry as well as a time to rejoice. It isn't showing a lack of faith to cry or to be in distress. It is the reality of the sin-laden world we live in. We mourn, rightfully so, over those who are not yet saved.

But even in the midst of our tears, in the very midst of the greatest distress we have ever experienced, we pay attention to or "look for" that which we "know" is coming: the manifestation of God's promise to reward us, to bless us, not because we have done something to deserve it, but simply because He is who He is: the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him; the One who blesses those who have sought Him through His Son, Jesus Christ, the only Way to the Father.

Thus, through patient endurance of that which we wish was removed from us, we experience that expectant waiting for, that hope that only God can give us, for His promises to be manifested in the midst of our reality; and when they do, for they MUST because God's promises are TRUE, we break out in rejoicing and boasting about the goodness of our God towards us and our loved ones!

What a triumph to boast about! Who remembers the pain in the midst of such triumph and rejoicing!?! God's Word is TRUE and we want the entire world to know it!

God gives us grace through the Holy Spirit to patiently endure the experience of tribulation all the while waiting expectantly for the truth of God's own glory!

That's what Paul is saying.

And that is what I am expectantly waiting for here in my valley of tribulation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romans: Self-deceived Surfers of the Faith

I'd like to take a rabbit trail today, one that begins with the scripture used in the last posting; one that isn't actually in Romans but which still adds to what Paul is telling us in his letter to the Roman church. These are the words of Jesus Christ:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18)

There have been great men of God who have done the things listed in this scripture, in fact, done them for most of their lives: Paul, Peter and all of those apostles and disciples who gave their lives for the early church, George Muller, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, Reinhard Bonnke.…just to name a few who come first to my mind….all men who were led by the Holy Spirit of God to do all that Jesus said that they would do in His name.

I have heard some say that the Holy Spirit moves in "waves". There are "waves" of revival; meaning, I suppose, that there are periods of time when the Holy Spirit moves men to repentance such that hundreds and thousands become saved. Thus, they say, there are also "waves" of healing ministers; periods of time when hundreds and thousands get healed miraculously in the name of Jesus Christ.

Supposedly then, when the Holy Spirit is not moving in these "waves" we all must just sit around and…what? Wait for the next wave, like spiritual surfers?

The great men of God didn't WAIT for a wave. They WERE the wave, whether it was of revival or of miracles and healings. They were the wave, because they submitted themselves fully to the Holy Spirit who was the wave of God in them. It changed their lives, and then they changed the lives of others.

They were able to do all that they did BY THEIR BELIEF in a God who NEVER CHANGES: who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The same Jesus Christ who spoke the words of the scripture listed above over two thousand years ago is the same Jesus Christ of today. He has not changed. Neither have His commands to us. These great men of God knew He never changes. They took His Word as just as true and complete for us today as it was for those in the early church days. They BELIEVED what God wrote and spoke. And their actions showed it!

He has given us power and authority, but we are not picking them up and using them. We are still "begging" God to MAKE something happen: "Please God, if it is your will, please heal this person."

Jesus DID what the Father told Him to do! He didn't ask, He commanded the demons to flee from the infirm and the demon-possessed. He took authority over the enemy.

And He is still waiting on US to DO what He has told us WE would DO!

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do…" (John 14:2)

"Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22)

Ahh…self-deception. We have convinced ourselves that just going to church every Sunday, and reading a few lines of scripture each day are OK. Oh! And the prayers that we mutter from time to time are all ok too.

And nothing changes in our life. And nothing changes in our family. And nothing changes in our church. Or in our neighborhood. Or in our cities. Or in our country.

But still we think we are OK; partly because that's all that we see going on all around us. I want to see something different.

Listen to what George Muller wrote in his journal:

"It had pleased God, in His abundant mercy, to bring my mind into such a state, that I was willing to carry out into my life whatever I should find in the Scriptures concerning [His] ordinance…I could say, 'I will do His will.' And I would observe here, by the way, that the passage to which I have just now alluded, John 7:17, has been a most remarkable comment to me on many doctrines and precepts of our most holy faith. For instance: 'Resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.' (Matthew 5:39-44) 'Sell all that ye have, and give alms.' Luke 12:33. 'Owe no man anything, but to love one another.' Romans 13:8.

It may be said, surely these passages cannot be taken literally, for how then would the people of God be able to pass through the world. The state of mind enjoined in John 7:17 will cause such objections to vanish. Whosoever is WILLING TO ACT OUT these commandments of the Lord LITERALLY, will, I believe, be led with me to see that, to take them LITERALLY is the will of God. Those who do so take them will doubtless often be brought into difficulties, hard to the flesh to bear, but these will have a tendency to make then constantly feel that they are strangers and pilgrims here, that this world is not their home, and thus to throw them more upon God, who will assuredly help us through any difficulty into which we may be brought by seeking to act in obedience to His Word.

…About the same time also my wife and I had grace given to us to take the Lord's commandment, 'Sell that ye have, and give alms' Luke 12:33, literally, and to carry it out. Our staff and support in this matter were Matthew 6:19-34, John 14:13-14. We leaned on the arm of the Lord Jesus. It is now fifty-one years, since we set out in this way, and we do not in the least regret the step we then took. Our God also has, in His tender mercy, given us grace to abide in the same mind concerning the above points, both as it regards principle and practice; and this has been the means of letting us see the tender love and care of our God over His children, even in the most minute things, in a way in which we never experimentally knew them before…"

George Muller never took a salary, never asked a person for help, never borrowed money, never took money from someone who was willing to give to his orphanages if they had not first paid their own bills and covered their own responsibilities. All his requests went to God and God alone. By faith in God alone, he built many orphanages and saved thousands of homeless boys from the streets of England, bringing them to the Lord on the way.

And as he says in his own words: "Whosoever is WILLING TO ACT OUT these commandments of the Lord LITERALLY will, I believe, be led with me to see that, to take them LITERALLY is the will of God."

Do we TRUST God's Word enough to do that? Do we trust God enough to do that?

Or are we content to just go to church every Sunday?

I, personally, am not content.

Romans: Faith by Grace

"And he [Abraham] is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring – not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed – the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "so shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old – and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words, 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." (Romans 4:12-25)

"Therefore the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by GRACE…."

The Greek word for "grace" is "charis" (the root word of charismata and charismatic). Strong's Concordance defines it as: good will, loving-kindness, favour (which means the charismata – the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we talked about in the last posting - are gifts of loving-kindness and favour from the Lord to us – something to be embraced and welcomed rather than shunned or neglected). We Christians like to define "grace" as God giving us that which we do not deserve, while "mercy" is God not giving us what we do deserve.

The point being that faith is an act of believing that God WILL do good things for us, even though we don't deserve them. That is sometimes the most difficult obstacle for Christians to overcome….that God promises (and wants to give) GOOD things to us who are so undeserving.

We live in a sin-ridden world, in which it is difficult to believe that good things happen to undeserving people. That is truly seldom the case in the world. The world likes to reward folks who are deserving, not undeserving; we describe those who expect something they haven't earned as having "an entitlement attitude." But we have to remember that this mindset and all like it, come from the world and cannot be applied to our God. And it is important that we learn how to overcome the worldly mindset that says we only get what we deserve….especially when it comes to God. That mindset can keep us from receiving the bounty that God has for us. If God says we are entitled to His favour as undeserving as we are (I am speaking of God's promises here, not social welfare benefits) then we are to agree with Him in that and be not just willing to receive them but anticipating those promises being fulfilled exactly as He says they will be….and all of this we should do with a humble and grateful heart.

Our deserving it would actually lessen the goodness of God towards us. It would instead become something "owed" to us and have little to do with God's generosity and loving-kindness to us; something that occurs for no other reason than that He is a good and loving God.

So our faith first has to believe AND trust completely that God is a good and loving God; even while recognizing that He is also a just God and not to be trifled with.

Secondly, our faith has to believe that what God says He will do, He will do for each of us, irrespective of who we are.

Thirdly, our faith has to believe that God is ABLE to do that which He says He will do.

The last item requires that we understand that it is God alone who "calls things that are not as though they were."

That last sentence bears an important distinction that must be understood: It is GOD who "calls things that are not as though they were." It is NOT US. We are called to BELIEVE that He "calls things that are not as though they were." In other words, that He is able to create something from nothing, such as He did when He created the universe and all that is in it. [See Genesis 1]

There is a 'Word of Faith' movement going on that is not about faith, it is about heresy. [http://www.gospeloutreach.net/whatwordfaith.html]  It says that we can claim things to be a certain way, and that simply by our claiming them to be so, they are. But it isn't about us. It's about God. It is God alone who creates; who "calls things that are not as though they were." We are not the Creator of anything that is not. Only God can do that.

All we are called to do is BELIEVE what He says He has done or will do….and to ACT upon it. That is FAITH. Faith is hearing the Father and acting in obedience to what we hear from Him, as Moses did:

"Hereby ye shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind." (Numbers 16:28)

And as Jesus did:

"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." (John 5:19)

God has accomplished ALL that needs to be accomplished for us. We have nothing to accomplish, other than to believe and to act as though we do believe. We are not called to works that attempt to finish something that is already finished. We are called to believe and these are the confirming signs that will prove that we do indeed believe:

"And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark 16:17-18)

For example, Jesus says that with faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, we can tell a mountain to be removed and it will be removed (Matthew 17:20). But it is not us doing that….it is the power of God within us that does it. It is our faith (our trust in God's promises) that allows us to command such things to happen, knowing all the while that it is Jesus in us doing it…it is the power of God in us doing it…it is not us.

Paul and Barnabas said this clearly to the crowds who wanted to worship them because of the signs and wonders done by their hands: "Men, why are you doing this. We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them…." (Acts 14:15) Paul pointed the crowds toward the true Creator of everything…trying to get them to see that he was capable of creating nothing because he was just a human being as they were. No different than them….except for grace.

It is important that we remember that "we too are only men, human" …especially when the Lord is working His signs and miracles through us!

And it is important to remember that Jesus said "nothing shall be impossible unto you."(Matthew 17:20)

All we need is faith in the promise that comes from God's grace. And all God's promises are wrapped up in "The Promise" that is Jesus Christ.

Romans: The Seal of God’s Ownership

"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." Is this blessedness only for the circumcised or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them." (Romans 4:1-11 NIV)

Circumcision, Paul says, was to Abraham "a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith." The faith came first, and by it the proclamation by God that Abraham was righteous, and then Abraham was circumcised. Paul stresses this to the Jews in the church at Rome so that they will understand that circumcision does nothing to make one righteous. And this he did so that they would stop comparing themselves to the Gentile Christians and thinking themselves superior even in righteousness to the Gentiles. Circumcision was only a mark that said to the world that Abraham (and his descendants) had been set apart, by a faith that led to righteousness; circumcision was the seal of the signet ring of the King (God Himself) that said "Abraham is mine."

The seal of the Lord is a permanent affixment. The seal of the Lord is given only to those who are righteous by faith; not to those who proclaim themselves righteous because of their own acts or their own works. It is placed only upon those who believe.

"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." (James 2:23)

When we take God's Word as absolute truth, and live in such a way that shows clearly that we believe what it says, then it is imputed to us for righteousness.

"Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Hebrews 10:38)

In the days of Moses and Aaron, one of the garments that Aaron was given to wear as the High Priest was a head covering, called a mitre, on which was placed a seal that was also indicative of being set apart for the Lord:

"Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD." (Exodus 28:36 NIV)

The seal was placed on the headpiece in such a way that the words "Holy to the Lord" were seen to be on the forehead of Aaron. Holiness means set apart. We who believe in Jesus Christ have become "Holy to the Lord." We have been set apart, even as Aaron was. We have become priests (1 Peter 2:9).

Since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there has been a new seal given in place of circumcision, that confirms our righteousness, that confirms we have been set apart for God:

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." (Ephesians 1L13 NIV)

The seal of the Holy Spirit confirms that we are "marked in Him" – in Jesus Christ, or belonging to Him.

We do not set out to get for ourselves the Holy Spirit; it is the seal that is given to us once we have believed in Jesus Christ, God's Word.

It behooves us then, as the church, to not neglect those parts of the Word of God that have to do with the Holy Spirit. Part of working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, as Paul advises us to do in Philippians 2:12, is in confirming that we have the Holy Spirit in us according to what the Word of God says the Holy Spirit in us looks like. If we find that we do not have the Holy Spirit in us as the Word describes, then it would be confirmation to us that we do not have salvation. And I do not mean that if we don't speak in tongues we don't have the Holy Spirit (although I do believe that speaking in tongues is a part of it…some receive that gifting immediately, while for some there is a delay. Nevertheless, it should never be forced. It is a real gift that WILL happen in time.) There are many aspects of the Holy Spirit; many confirming signs, besides tongues, that tell us whether the Holy Spirit dwells within us or not. The Holy Spirit is that seal set upon the headpiece of the priest that says "Holy to the Lord." Except now the seal is placed within us, written in our foreheads, even as it was worn upon Aaron's forehead.

But those Christians who neglect or avoid areas in the Word that deal with the Holy Spirit, either out of fear or pride (not wanting the "foolishness" of God), are neglecting the confirming sign or seal that lets them know once and for all that they are owned by God. Without evidence of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, we have no evidence that we are sealed unto righteousness.

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)

Faith, righteousness, sealed by the Spirit of God, redemption. That is the order of salvation in us through Jesus Christ.

Romans: From Propitiation to Expiation

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 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 He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law." (Romans 3:21-31)

I know the title of this posting is odd and difficult to understand…at least it was for me, and I'm the one who came up with it! I will confess that I had to look up the word "propitiation" in the dictionary. We Christians use it all the time, and we do have the general idea correct, but I thought it best to be specific rather than general in my understanding of this word, so I looked it up:

Propitiation: to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of; to appease; something that propitiates, specifically: an atoning sacrifice

And then I was reading a book called God's Empowering Presence, the Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul, by Gordon D. Fee, one of my favorite theologians, and he used another word in conjunction with propitiate (which I also had to look up):

Expiate: to extinguish the guilt incurred by; to put an end to

Using these two very important words in one sentence this is how I put it all together:

"Jesus Christ became the punishment for our sins on the cross, by becoming our propitiation [the atoning sacrifice that regained for us the favor and goodwill of a just a holy God, our Father
in heaven] and thus expiating our sins [extinguishing the guilt that was laid upon us by our own sin].

According to Paul, we receive the benefit of the expiation of our sins when we believe in or trust that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ was ENOUGH to be the complete and full propitiation that God required. Nothing more is required. Neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision; neither works, nor lack of works can accomplish what has already been accomplished for us once and for all.

"That He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

We trust that GOD is capable; not us. We trust that He is just, and that He DOES justify those who believe in Jesus. That is the gospel in a nutshell.

BUT, to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you must acknowledge that you have sinned in the first place, or else you will not be able to see that you need propitiation and expiation; you will not be able to see that you NEED Jesus.

So…one who acknowledges he is a sinner and turns by faith to God trusting that he has salvation through Jesus Christ, knowing that only Jesus can be his atonement (for there is nothing we can do of ourselves as all of our righteousness is as filthy rags) is expiated…found to be NOT GUILTY….by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for him. He must believe it. He must entrust his entire life to it. And it is only by this faith that he is justified. Now look at the heritage that belongs to all those who believe and are justified:

"You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification, say the Lord." (Isaiah 54:14-17 AMP)

What more could we hope for with such a heritage as this? There is nothing, for He has given us all that we need.

So then, Paul says, if faith placed in Jesus Christ is all that was needed, then what exactly was the whole point of having the law? Has faith voided the law, making it extinct? In fact, Paul says, our faith establishes the law.

How does that happen?

It also is a very simple thing. Our faith receives the righteousness of Christ as our own. And the righteousness of Christ was perfect righteousness that fulfilled every bit of the law. If He had not fulfilled every bit of it, He would have sinned. But, we know, of course, that He was sinless; for without being perfectly sinless, Jesus would not have been the "propitiation" for our sin and guilt – the perfect atoning sacrifice – the lamb without spot or blemish (without sin).

So…by faith in Christ's righteousness which we accept as our own….the law is established, or in other words, it is performed perfectly in us. We become perfect keepers of the law; not because we keep the law perfectly, but because Christ in us kept the law perfectly and still does.

Our spirit which was once dead because of sin, is now alive in Christ and in His righteousness. All we need to do now is command the flesh, by that authority of Jesus Christ which is within us, to follow along in obedient submission as we walk in the newness of the Spirit of God. But until the flesh is completely subdued, we still remain justified in God's eyes because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we "wear" by faith.

Knowing that it is by faith that we receive this righteousness of Christ, should free us from the expectations we put upon ourselves, or that others put on us, all of which are to no avail…for all has been accomplished in Christ Jesus.