R omans 3:25 says that our propitiation is through faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches that we are redeemed by the blood of our Lord. Paul states that in Christ, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” [Ephesians 1:7; see also Acts 20:28]. We are also justified by the blood of Christ [see Romans 5:8–9]. The concept of substitutionary atonement runs through the doctrine of salvation. For a sinner to live, an innocent life must die. The writer of Hebrews states that “without shedding of blood is no remission” [Hebrews 9:22]. The wrath of God upon sin cannot be assuaged except by a qualified substitute who is willing to die in our stead. Animals cannot be our substitute because “it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” [Hebrews 10:4]. Neither are we “redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold” [1 Peter 1:18–19]. Redemption comes only by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. He is the only willing and qualified substitute in our place. He was set forth by God to “be a propitiation through faith in (Christ’s) blood”. What do we understand by propitiation through faith in His blood? Is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ a reference to His life, to His suffering and death, or to both? John Calvin says, “By mentioning blood only, [Paul] did not mean to exclude other things connected with redemption, but, on the contrary, to include the whole under one word.” The shed blood of our Lord Jesus is His life poured out, and only His poured-out life can atone for our sins. We must be humble to accept that if we are to be saved at all, it must be – and only be – by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
LESSON
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.
What can wash away our sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. – Robert Lowry
THOUGHT
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