“God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.”Romans 3:25 HCSB
Propitiation is a big word and one we do not use, except in scripture and except when talking about forgiveness of sin and usually the Old Testament. The mercy seat, the place on top of the ark of the covenant in the holiest of holiest in the Jewish temple, was where the blood of animals was sprinkled to atone for the sins of the people. This scripture presents Jesus as the sacrificed lamb who atoned (paid for) our sins.
Jesus’ sacrifice made a way for forgiveness of all sin for all time, past, present and future. When I came to Christ He forgave all my sins, those that weighed me down in my past, those I would do now and in the future. Sin is something we do easily until trained to walk in holiness and His righteousness. We do this by faith not self- effort. When we come to Jesus He gives us His Holy Spirit to counsel us, to guide us and to encourage us. He leads us to right ways and helps us stear away from wrong ways.
We have confidence that forgiveness is ours as we come in humble repentance. Jesus’ sacrifice is enough for all mankind for all time. He does not look for us to be good enough, for He knows we are unable. We are like sheep that have gone astray, yet He loves us.
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