Romans 3:22-26 is a cornerstone of the Pauline Gospel. Many feel *the* cornerstone of his Gospel.

22 There is no difference; 23 for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 25 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; 26 to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

I'd like to start a study of this passage by posting some comments by E. J. Waggoner:

A Propitiation. A propitiation is a sacrifice. The statement then is simply that Christ is set forth to be a sacrifice for the remission of our sins. "Once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." Heb. 9:26. Of course the idea of a propitiation or sacrifice is that there is wrath to be appeased. But take particular notice that it is we who require the sacrifice, and not God. He provides the sacrifice. The idea that God's wrath has to be propitiated in order that we may have forgiveness finds no warrant in the Bible.

It is the height of absurdity to say that God is so angry with men that he will not forgive them unless something is provided to appease his wrath, and that therefore he himself offers the gift to himself, by which he is appeased.0 "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death." Col. 1:21, 22.

Heathen and Christian Propitiation. The Christian idea of propitiation is that set forth above. The heathen idea, which is too often held by professed Christians, is that men must provide a sacrifice to appease the wrath of their god...

Righteousness Declared. To declare righteousness is to speak righteousness. God speaks righteousness to man, and then he is righteous. The method is the same as in the creation in the beginning. "He spake, and it was." "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph. 2:10.

God's Justice in Redemption. Christ is set forth to declare God's righteousness for the remission of sins, in order that he might be just and at the same time the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. God justifies sinners, for they are the only ones who need justification. The justice of declaring a sinner to be righteous lies in the fact that he is actually made righteous. Whatever God declares to be so, is so. And then he is made righteous by the life of God given him in Christ.

The sin is against God, and if he is willing to forgive it, he has the right to do so. No unbeliever would deny the right of a man to overlook a trespass against him. But God does not simply overlook the trespass; he gives his life as a forfeit. Thus he upholds the majesty of the law, and is just in declaring that man righteous who was before a sinner. Sin is remitted sent away from the sinner, because sin and righteousness can not exist together, and God puts his own righteous life into the believer. So God is merciful in his justice, and just in his mercy.

"There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in his justice,
That is more than liberty."

We now come to the close of the third chapter of Romans. We found that righteousness is the free gift of God unto every one who believes. It is not that God gives a man righteousness as a reward for believing certain dogmas; the gospel is something entirely different from that. It is this, that true faith has Christ alone as its object, and it brings Christ's life actually into the heart; and therefore it must bring righteousness.

This act of mercy on the part of God is eminently just, because in the first place the sin is against God, and he has a right to pass by offences against him; and, further, it is just, because he gives his own life as an atonement for the sin, so that the majesty of the law is not only maintained, but is magnified. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Ps. 85:10. God is just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. All righteousness is from him alone.

This is from articles which Waggoner wrote in 1895-1896 for Signs of the Times, which is during the time period when Ellen White was endorsing him.

Comments?

This is a good post.
If I am correct you can also find this in Waggoners book or Romans.

Peace and Grace
David

Yes, that's right. Actually, Waggoner didn't write the book himself, but the Signs of the Times articles on Romans were gathered together posthumously in a book. These articles can be found on line.

Of course the idea of a propitiation or sacrifice is that there is wrath to be appeased. But take particular notice that it is we who require the sacrifice, and not God. He provides the sacrifice. The idea that God's wrath has to be propitiated in order that we may have forgiveness finds no warrant in the Bible.

Any comments on this statement regarding propitiation?

For those looking at the latest posts view, this might be so buried that it might not be seen, so I'm bumping this in case there's any interest in discussing this.

Hey Tom, Great, Great, Great Quote from Waggoner!

Quote:

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By Waggoner: Heathen and Christian Propitiation. The Christian idea of propitiation is that set forth above. The heathen idea, which is too often held by professed Christians, is that men must provide a sacrifice to appease the wrath of their god...

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If the heathen view of propitiation is true then the Jews and the Romans were, in essence, offering the perfect lamb of God at the cross. God should be very pleased with them. I can just see God smelling the fresh blood and sitting back in his reclining throne saying, "Ahhhh".

In Christ, scott