Upon hearing them I get excited. Which is fairly ironic because I (mainly) read the NIV version of the Bible in which they are never found. Whatever. On a side note I have some serious quirks or what some would call contradictory tendencies. Example: At times I’m a word-smith, wielding a critical ear/eye for a miscast word spoken or written garnering meaning, double entendres and breaking down levels of potential definitions. But I read the NIV Bible, a phrase by phrase interpretation falling somewhere in the middle ground of literal biblical translation. Meaning, I really can’t word-smith the NIV. Bizarre I know but somehow it works. So please bear with these idiosyncrasies.
Back to the two words. Question: What did Christ accomplish on the Cross? Well, he died for my sins you might respond. To which I would ask “what do you mean FOR my sins?” “He died so I might be forgiven of my sins.” Ah, so forgiveness is part of his work. Your sins were EXPIATED by Christ. Your sins were forgiven. EXPIATE is word #1. To expiate is to forgive, to let go of, to remember no more.
Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
“But there must be more” I plead with you. “There is, you say. Christ died and took my punishment, the punishment I was due.” “Punishment? I ask. Aren’t I forgiven, aren’t my sins EXPIATED?” “Sure, but forgiveness and punishment are not mutually exclusive. Someone has to pay the penalty for your sin and you really earned it!”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death.”
“Ah, so the penalty of sin was PROPITIATED upon Christ?” “Yes, the punishment due us was upon him.”
Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
He was a PROPITIATION, a substitution who took the punishment that we deserved, on whom the wrath of God was satisfied. PROPITIATE is word #2.
“So what’s the scope of Christ’s work?” you ask. “That, my friend, is for another blog post.”
Love it Joe, glad to see you’ve started writing!!
Welcome to Blog!