What does propitiation mean in Romans 3:25?
In Romans 3:25, propitiation refers to what God has done in setting forth Christ as the place of sacrifice and offering, where mercy and grace meet. It is appropriated through faith in His shed blood, the purchase price of redemption and atonement for sins.
Les teaches that Romans 3:25 follows verse 24, where Christ Jesus is the one God set forth. He explains propitiation as what God has done—the place of sacrifice and offering and mercy and grace. This is not apart from faith; it is through faith in His blood. If a person does not believe in the shed blood of Christ and its power for atonement, that person is lost. No one enters heaven unless redeemed by faith in the blood of Christ. Christ's blood was divine blood from God Himself, not merely human blood, and it is the only purchased price for redemption, which we must appropriate by faith—believe it and trust in it. The passage also declares His righteousness for the remission of past sins.
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;
More Questions
Who is the "whom" that God set forth in Romans 3:25?
The phrase "whom God hath set forth" in verse 25 refers to Christ Jesus named in verse 24, whom God set forth to be a propitiation.