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In God We Trust?
February 3, 2008 |
Posted by lisa robinson · Filed Under Christian Philosophy, Salvation
I’ve been thinking about what it means to live by faith, which is to be the hallmark of our Christian life. Most certainly, numerous passages point to the fact that by faith in Christ and the accomplished work on the cross, this is the foundation of our faith. So to say “I trust in God”, is to say “I trust in Christ”, is to say I put my faith in what He did on the cross.
I believe a crucial element of the work of the cross is the propitiation of Christ blood. Romans 3:23-26 lays the foundation for this requirement, that propitiation is needed to appease the wrath of God, which is a requirement for His righteousness. Wayne Grudem says this of regarding propitiation,
“The propitiation of Calvary thereby clearly demonstrated that God is perfectly righteous…therefore in the cross we have a clear demonstration of the reason God punishes sin: if he did not punish sin he would not be a righteous God, and there would be no ultimate justice in the universe” (Systematic Theology, pg 510).
What justification does positionally, propitiation does practically. The wrath of God has been satisfied on the cross. Through faith in this accomplishment, I can now come before a righteous God and cry Abba Father. Without this component of salvation, I would not have the ability to do this and therefore whatever I’m placing my faith in would be exclusive of a personal relational reconciliation.
After taking Soteriology last fall through TTP, I have discovered that there are some schools of thought that excuse the propitiation of Christ blood. So somehow there is supposed to be a faith placed in God through Christ that ignores 1) the character of God and 2) separation between man and God.
So this lead me to my question of what it means to live by faith. If there is no propitiation, then what am I trusting in? Can you tell another Christian who excuses the propitiation, to trust God, when by its very definition they cannot? And for that matter, could they even be considered christian?
I would love to hear you alls thoughts on this.
ps…regarding the book reference, ungrad was a long time ago so I’m not sure if I’m citing this correctly 
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You said, “The wrath of God has been satisfied on the cross”. Romans 1 18-19 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. This isn’t the world that holds the truth, this is the disobedent child of God. So I would say the wrath of God is still at work today.
Good question. I will have to think about it.
Lisa, I am unsure what you mean by “…schools of thought that excuse the propitiation of Christ blood.” How do they “excuse” it? Thanks.
Joanie D.
Joanie, this would definately be the more liberal branches. And by excusing, I mean a theology that says either there is no wrath or the wrath did not need to be satisfied. I would encourage you to watch that part of the video in the Theology Program, Soteriology - sections 4 and 5.
I should back up and say that the impetus for this thought process started with my observations and counsel to a friend who was going through a rough patch. But he has difficulty with the idea of that there is wrath and moreover, that what Jesus did on the cross perhaps did not include the element of propitiation. And just watching the way he handled his mishaps, I would wonder at times where his trust in God was.
It got me to thinking about what does live “by faith” really mean. There are so many passages that carry these 2 words but the one that jumps out at me is Gal 2:20…and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. What did he do? He paid a ransom. He provided justification so I can stand legally before God. His blood provided propitiation so in standing legally before a holy and righteous God, I can call him daddy. It first starts with the premise that there is wrath, and I believe that there is. But moreover, that Christ blood appeased the wrath of God. Without this, I think I would have to place my faith in something outside of that personal standing.
I hope that makes sense.
Thanks, Lisa. I have heard some folks say that God must be an “abusive Father-God” if it took the blood of his Son to free mankind. But, if the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three Persons in one God, then God himself gave himself for us. HE suffered for us. HE took our sins upon himself.
But I will say that I think there are people who would consider themselves Christians who don’t believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from the holy wrath of God. They would say that God became man to share fully in our human nature and that Jesus then became the “bridge” to God, the only bridge to God. Jesus died on the cross, only to be resurrected, to show us that it WAS really God who was speaking to us through Jesus and that God does love us and wants a relationship with us. Sin? Sin is something we must turn away from because it separates us from God. John the Baptist told the people to repent, to prepare the way of the Lord. So people needed to see that the way they were living was wrong and that they needed God to set them on the right path. And then along came Jesus telling and showing people that he was the Way, he was the path. So people did have to acknowledge their wrong standing and their need.
So…the faith that these kinds of Christians have would be faith that God is always there even when they are going through tough times and that God is guiding them and loving them through it all. They would have faith that at the end of their lives on earth, they would then go to see God in a more direct way than they do now. They would have faith that God would help them to leave their sinful ways behind. And their faith would not be that of other religions or New Age ways. It would be Christ-centered. Anyway, that’s MY two cents.
Joanie D.