HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2012 / SUMMER / WRATH BUT NOT FOR US
S U M M E R • 2 0 1 2
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2
Many scholars consider Romans 3:21-26 to be one of the most important sections of the entire Bible. Renowned New Testament scholar Leon Morris said this passage "is possibly the most important single paragraph ever written." The passage reads as follows:
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:21-26 NAU).
Before we examine this passage more closely, however, let's establish what we know about some of the key phrases Paul uses in this passage.
But now indicates a change of circumstances or administration. Paul has just completed a discourse about human depravity and the inability of anyone to keep the law, the purpose of which was to bring about a knowledge of sin. Paul moves us into a discussion of the new covenant with the words "But now". A radical transformation has taken place in salvation history. Things are different now. This phrase represents the dividing line between the old and new covenants.
Apart from law… any law—in fact, all human effort is excluded from contributing to righteousness or worthiness before God. As Paul will later say in Romans 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
The righteousness of God has been manifested. This clause refers to the disclosure of God's righteousness, a righteousness that is much higher than the righteousness of the law. God's righteousness is not the righteousness of the law. Paul is showing that the true function of the law was its prophetic nature in pointing to Christ and His perfect righteousness.
This newly revealed righteousness comes to us by our faith in Christ. That is the method of achieving this righteousness. The scope of God's righteousness is broad. It is for all who believe; whosoever will may come, and there is no distinction. There is no series of steps we have to take to qualify ourselves. When we hear the gospel, we can instantly respond in faith.
We have all sinned, and we all continue to fall short in personal righteousness.
Justification means to be declared righteous and to be acquitted of all wrongdoing. It does not mean to be made righteous. It is a gift by God's grace.
With these concepts in mind, we now turn to our study of redemption and propitiation—the reasons that we do not experience God's wrath.
Justification can never be an isolated event
Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus… (Rom. 3:24).
God always acts justly, so justification can never be an isolated event. One cannot just say, "You are declared righteous, period." The pronouncement of being declared righteous must rest on either one of two things: (1) It must be true that the person is righteous, or (2) there must be a legal way where justice is fully carried out in order to declare a person righteous when he is not. Paul carefully links justification with redemption and propitiation.
Redemption
What does Redemption really mean? It is a metaphor from the slave market. Here again we need a literal translation.
Romans 3:24 NAU (Updated New American Standard): "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus…"
Carefully compare the above translation with the one below.
Romans 3:24 NLT (New Living Translation): "Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins."
Is the NLT a true statement? Yes, but is it a correct translation? No, it does not capture or even allude to the full meaning of "redemption".
The NLT of this verse can be used to fit into the "moral influence" theology of the atonement. This theory of the atonement teaches that God is good, that He is not interested in the payment of a sacrifice nor in all this legal stuff of justification. All we have to do is just trust His character of love, and all well be well. He just frees us [or delivers us] from our sin. But the concept of redemption entails much, much more than just freedom or deliverance.
Quoting now from Leon Morris: "The actual usage of ἀπολυτρώσεως the Greek word from which we get redemption, shows 'ransoming' rather than 'deliverance' to be the essential meaning of the word".1
Redemption includes the idea of freedom or deliverance, but the concept of ransoming is much bigger than that. There are at least six concepts that are carried by the idea of redemption.
1. Redemption is for people in bondage.
Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, "I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments" (Ex. 6:6).
Redemption is for people who are in the bondage of slavery. Let's not leave this first concept too quickly. Perhaps you, the reader, may be in some kind of bondage. Is there some sin, abuse, or evil habit that is eating away your soul? If so, you need a Redeemer, and you qualify for redemption! Redemption is for those who cannot free themselves. You need Christ. In Mark 2:17 "Jesus said to them, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'" So the first concept included in redemption is that it is for slaves, sinners, and people who are in bondage.
2. Redemption requires a price to be paid.
If, however, an ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned yet he does not confine it and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death. If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him (Ex. 21:29, 30).
Here we see that the second idea in redemption is that a ransom price has to be paid for redemption to take place. Look again at our text in Romans 3:24; "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." We read in Matthew 20:28; "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Christ Jesus is the one who paid the redemption price so that He could justify us in a way that satisfied divine justice.
3. Redemption carries the idea of substitution.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the LORD. For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, you shall take five shekels apiece, per head (Num. 3:44-46)
"Instead of" the first born, Moses was to take the Levites. Substitution is a central theme of the gospel. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Thus we see that the third concept in redemption is the idea of substitution.
4. Redemption expresses a change of masters.
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians (Ex. 6:7).
Notice what God did with Israel. They were in slavery to the Egyptians; in essence they were owned by their slave masters, much like the slaves in our country were owned by their Southern cotton growers. What God did was to redeem Israel from Egyptian bondage, but he did not just send them out on their own. No, He purchased them for Himself. They were now owned by the Lord. Redemption gives us a new owner, a change of masters. Paul emphasizes this in Romans 6.
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:17, 18).
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:22, 23).
So the fourth concept in redemption is that we are now under a new owner; a change of masters has taken place.
5. Our Redeemer is a good Master and wants the best for us.
Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD (Ex. 6:8).
Our new Master is not like the old slave master wanting to use us for his benefit, but our Redeemer is good, and He wants the best for us. He has our interests in mind. He paid for our redemption and keeps providing for us, working all things together for good. Old Testament Israel was given the Promised Land; we are promised a better country.2 Jesus said in John 14:3, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." In Hebrews 12:28 we read, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe." We do not serve our new Master to gain His approval. He redeemed us while we were still helpless, ungodly sinners, even His enemies.3 Now we serve Him out of joy, reverence, and awe because of what He has already done for us and what He has prepared for us in the future!
Near the end of the book of Revelation, we get a glimpse of what our Good Redeemer has in mind for us.
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
We see that the fifth concept in redemption is that we have a good Redeemer, one who wants the best for us, one who has an unbelievably good inheritance waiting for us.
6. We have a "Kinsman Redeemer".
The concept of a kinsman redeemer is found in the Levitical laws. Once again we see the prophetic nature of the law as Paul said in Romans 3:21, "being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets". A kinsman redeemer is a beautiful Old Testament picture of Christ.
Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger's family, then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him (Lev. 25:47-49).
This passage shows us there were four qualifications for a Kinsman Redeemer:
a. He must be a blood relative. John 1:14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus took on real humanity demonstrated by the blood shed on the cross. Therefore He could serve as our Kinsman Redeemer, something an angel could not do.
b. He must Himself be free. One slave could not redeem another slave. Here we see the importance of the sinless human nature of Christ. 1 Peter 2:22 makes this clear; "who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth."
c. He must be able to pay the price.
Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ (1 Pet. 1:18, 19).
d. He must be willing to pay the price. We get a little glimpse into the passion of the cross as we contemplate His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane.
Then He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me." And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done." Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners" (Mt. 26:38-45).
Yes, our Kinsman Redeemer, knowing the price for our redemption, was willing to pay that price. So the sixth concept in redemption is that of a Kinsman Redeemer, a blood relative who is free, who has the assets to pay the ransom price, and who is willing to pay that price.
The redemption taught in the Bible is a beautiful thing. It is so much more than just "deliverance" or "being set free" as some of the modern translations render it.
Let us read again Romans 3:24-26:
…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:24-26).
Two additional problems
There are two additional theological problems Paul is addressing in this passage.
The first problem is that anyone who reads the Old Testament stories recognizes that sometimes the guilty seem to go free—or at least just get a slap on the hand. For example, in 1 Kings 11:3-12, we read that Solomon had some 700 wives, and when he was old they turned his heart away from the Lord to serve other gods.
This is what God said to Solomon; see if you think this is justice: "Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son." What kind of justice is that?
Paul recognized that many times God in his forbearance passed over sins without giving them their full due.
This section of Romans is not asking how a just God can allow people to go to hell. Rather, the issue here is how a just God can allow wicked people to go to heaven? It is as if we are seeing the gospel from God's perspective.
The second problem Paul must address is that there are a number of texts in the law that appear to be in direct contradiction to Paul's gospel of justification by faith. Consider the following:
You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty (Ex. 23:7).
Really? Does not Paul tell us how God justifies helpless, ungodly sinners who are enemies of God?4 Wouldn't that qualify one as guilty?
If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence… (Deut. 25:1-2).
However, Paul, in our passage in Romans, is stating that God justifies the wicked!
The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty… (Num. 14: 18).
But clearing the guilty is exactly what justification by faith does.
Woe to those …Who justify the wicked for a bribe (Isa. 5:23).
He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD (Prov. 17:15).
Propitiation
Do you see the deep issues involved? The heart of the new covenant gospel is justification by faith. This means that God declares that we are not guilty and also that we are declared to have the very righteousness of God. Yet, this declaration is exactly what God says in the Old Testament is an abomination! How do we reconcile all of this? The answer is found in the correct understanding of propitiation. What does this word mean? The Greek word group, ἱλαστήριον has been translated as propitiation, mercy seat, sacrifice of atonement, and expiation (the cancelation of sin). This word has been at the center of a heated debate among theologians. "In Classical Greek…When ἱλαστήριον (propitiation) is applied to the Deity it is a means of appeasing God or averting his anger and not a single instance to the contrary occurs in the whole Greek literature."5 In other words, the people to whom Romans was written would understand propitiation as appeasing God to avert His wrath.
In the last century a German theologian by the name of C. H. Dodd, building on earlier works, took issue with this meaning for two reasons: first, Dodd said God does not get angry. The wrath of God, he said, is really not His personal anger against sin; rather, God's wrath expressed in Scripture, he said, just represents the natural result of a person's wrong choice. God is not an active agent in wrath. Second, he also revolted against the idea that God needed to be appeased. Consequently, instead of translating ἱλαστήριον as propitiation, he used expiation which simply means the cancelation of sin. Dodd popularized this view which is called the moral influence theory of the atonement. A number of liberal scholars accepted this theory. I mention this because the Loma Linda School of Religion has been instrumental of fostering this view in Adventism.
However, leading evangelical scholars like Leon Morris and D.A. Carson as well as many others have argued against Dodd's conclusions. I believe Dodd is wrong for two reasons.
First, God's wrath is clearly taught in Scripture. There are over a dozen Hebrew words for God's wrath and anger. It is mentioned over 500 times in the Old Testament and about 36 times throughout the New Testament.
The wrath of God, however, is not God losing His temper. Rather, it is His hatred of sin. Can you imagine the sorrow—yes, anger, even burning anger, that the Creator has when He sees the sin, the wars, and the carnage that are taking place in our world? We think of what has happened in Libya and in Syria, of the Twin Towers, the videotaping of the beheading of Daniel Pearl, the terrorist attacks killing innocent people in the name of Allah. We abhor the many abductions of girls and women who end up murdered with mutilated bodies. God's anger against sin is real. God's wrath, however, can only be properly appreciated when we see it framed in His holiness.
The second reason I reject Dodd's conclusions is this: in the pagan world, it is man that propitiates, or appeases the gods. However, with our God, man has nothing to do with propitiation. Let's read our text again noting the highlighted words.
Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:25, 6).
When we speak of propitiation in His blood, theologically we are gazing into the holy of holies. We remember what Isaiah said when he saw the glory of God. "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isa. 6:5).
Could it be that the holiness of God demanded complete justice? Could it be that the love of God for us poor, helpless, ungodly sinners determined that we were not going to suffer the wrath of God that we deserved, but instead He would take that wrath upon Himself and we would receive the verdict of acquittal and justification?
As Mel Gibson tried to portray in his movie The Passion of the Christ, on that Friday afternoon of supernatural darkness when the life blood was dripping from our Lord's hands, feet, and head, the wrath of God against sin was propitiated. Our Kinsman Redeemer who was our brother in the flesh, who was free from the bondage of sin, who could pay the price for our redemption, chose to do it. We sense the terrible, unspeakable agony, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Could it be that Christ actually became an abomination for us so that God could justify us poor sinners?
We have been delivered from the slavery of sin and wrath. Our Redeemer is strong and good. He has purchased us for Himself and has given us a lasting inheritance. He took the wrath in our place.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:17).
…He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2).
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn. 4:10).
As we contemplate sin, justification, redemption, and propitiation, we get a sense of God's infinite love. In addition, considering the price paid for our redemption and justification, we get a new appreciation for our value in the sight of God. Paul will develop this idea of God's value of us later in his letter to Romans.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation (Rom. 5:8-11)
As we contemplate the fuller meanings of justification, redemption, and propitiation we get a life-changing, blinding glimpse into the glory of the most holy place of God's being. Let's read Romans 3:25, 26 again:
…whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:25-26).
I believe a thorough study of these verses excludes the possibility of translating "redemption" as "set free" or "deliverance" and "propitiation" as "expiation". Deliverance and expiation have nothing to do with justice which is a centerpiece in this section. Deliverance and expiation merely allude to the wiping out of sin and its consequences. The gospel is much more than a Monopoly "Get Out of Jail Free" card. It is faith in our Kinsman Redeemer who willingly gave his life to pay the price of our redemption and to free us from the bondages of sin and death. The gospel is more than just God wiping out our sin; it is God Himself providing the propitiation so that we could be reconciled to Him, and He to us in a way that proves once and for all God's infinite justice and love.
The gospel is not advice about how the last generation is going to justify God by our keeping the law; rather, the gospel proclaims a righteousness that is apart from law. It is the completed story of a finished atonement. It tells us how a just God can legally accept sinners into his family and ultimately change them into His likeness.
Our job is to proclaim that finished work of Calvary, knowing that we have the promise that our Redeemer will come to take us to the glorious home being prepared for us!6
Romans 3:21-26 deserves to be memorized, contemplated and accepted. When we understand this section thoroughly we may agree with Leon Morris who said this passage "is possibly the most important single paragraph ever written." †
Endnotes
- Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, p. 41
- Heb. 11:16.
- Rom. 5:6-12.
- Rom. 5:6-10.
- Morris, ibid., p. 145.
- "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Mat 24:14). "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also" (Jn. 14:2,3).
Copyright 2012 Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., Casa Grande, Arizona, USA. All rights reserved. Revised July 2, 2012. Contact email: proclamation@gmail.com
Dale Ratzlaff is the founder of Life Assurance Ministries, Inc., and owns LAM Publications, LLC. He served as an Adventist pastor for 13 years, seven at Monterey Bay Academy where he taught Bible. He and his wife Carolyn left the Adventist church in 1981 when he realized he could no longer teach the investigative judgment in clear conscience. He has authored Sabbath in Christ, The Cultic Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventists, The Truth About Adventist "Truth", and Truth Led Me Out. These are available through his website. The Ratzlaffs reside in Casa Grande, Arizona.
