Propitiation (Part 2)

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Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ. Based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

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Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

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In short, if you like smooth, watered down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you.

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By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her

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King. Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, ministry.

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My name is Mike Abendroth. And I cannot believe last time, not yesterday, but last week, we do these things on the week basis, the weekly basis.

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I was starting to talk about propitiation in Luke chapter 18. I never even got there. It's kind of par for the course, isn't it?

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I never got there. Well, here's the quick background if you have not been listening to the show.

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Propitiation, the assuaging of God's wrath, placation, sovereignly initiated by the triune

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God Himself, both the Father and the Son, loving sinners. The Father doesn't become, doesn't love people because of what the

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Son has done. No, you have to think about the eternal love. Think in a triune way. Penalty substitution is often rejected by people because it's boorish, uncouth.

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They like the ransom theory instead. It's too gory. It's too foolish.

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There's a lot of reasons why people don't like it. And I was thinking the other day that if you understand propitiation, you will understand penalty substitution.

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It'll be simple. And those that want to say propitiation is nothing but expiation, a removal of sins, then of course it makes sense what they would try to do.

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They would try to deny penalty substitution and propitiation because they really go together.

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The penalty, right, God's wrath is against sinners, and there's a penalty for that.

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It's the death penalty, the eternal death penalty in hell. So, what we are doing here in the show this week, and probably next, and we started last week with some introductions, we are talking about propitiation.

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And there are six passages in the New Testament with the Halasch word group where we get the word propitiate, appeasement, satisfy.

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Sometimes probably it's translated in your New Testament, I don't know, maybe NIV as atonement or satisfaction.

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I can't remember how 1 John 2 is done. Six passages. We're going to just walk through all six passages because once you get propitiation, then you're going to have no problem with penalty substitution.

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You get one, you get the other, no problems at all. And so last week I tried to emphasize, the main thing

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I emphasized was that propitiation is something that God does. In paganism, you got a

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God that's mad at you through a commercial transaction, i .e. bribery, you try to get the

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God to no longer be mad at you. You're the one doing it. You the congregant. You the one who are the worshiper.

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But in God's dealings with people, he's the one that came up with propitiation.

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He's sovereignly initiating the appeasement of his wrath.

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The son is the one who's doing something, not the person. So it's something done for us, not something that we do.

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All right? So that was what we were talking about. And we were talking in Luke 18, the first illustration, first usage of our propitiation word group, first out of six, that we have a

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Pharisee and a tax collector and they go to the temple to pray, right? Jesus is talking about the attitude of prayer.

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He uses this parable and you've got the Pharisee and when he ended up praying, not for anything.

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Why? He doesn't need anything. And he's comparing himself to everybody else. So he thinks he's pretty good.

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Problem is you have to be perfect as your heavenly father's imperfect. You have to be holy in all your behavior to use

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Matthew 5 and 1 Peter 1. And the Pharisee is judging himself against the outcasts, the

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Jerry Springer guests. And so he thinks he's pretty good. He mentions

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God once in his prayer, verse 11, God, I thank thee that I'm not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.

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And he mentions God and then it's off to the races who needs God after that. I don't find any confession.

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I don't find any guilt. I don't find sense of sin. I don't find humility. I don't find a sufficiency found in God alone and not in himself.

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You don't get that at all. And it is a prayer that is protracted, an ongoing prayer, imperfect tense, praying, praying, praying, praying, praying.

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It is a self soliloquy. Can we say that? Is it just a soliloquy? It is a monologue with his own self.

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He's praying to himself, literally. I'm thankful that I'm me. It's not a group hug.

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It's a self hug. God, I don't really need your grace.

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I'm not thankful for your grace that I haven't fallen into some hideous sins like swindling, being unjust, or committing adultery.

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It's crazy. He didn't ask for anything. Hmm. I fast twice a week, verse 12.

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I pay tithes of all that I get. This is my resume. I'm a good person.

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I know Levitical law requires one fast, Day of Atonement, but I fast twice a week.

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It's a Monday, Thursday deal for me, above and beyond the law, more than what the law requires.

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I haven't just kept the law. I go beyond the law. I outdo the law, over and above the law.

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Gee, what a good boy am I. No, he wouldn't call himself a good boy.

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Gee, what a good boy am I. But the tax collector standing far off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying,

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God, be merciful. There's our word group right there. Halas word group. Be merciful to me.

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I have no idea why translators translated a sinner. I have none. Zero, yet, null.

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It's awful. It's God be merciful to me, the sinner. So this tax collector, notice the text, standing far off.

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Now, maybe because he's a Gentile. No, I don't think so. But I think he's on the other side of the court.

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So the publican is standing close. He's far away. And he is ashamed.

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He realizes who God is, and he realizes who he is. And one commentator talks about him blushing.

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He recognizes he's not good. He has nothing to bring to God. There's no self -trust, no self -righteousness.

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God be merciful to me, the sinner. That article there, the sinner.

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I am the sinner. It's a word that makes it like there's nobody else that exists.

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I just stand before you, God, openly. I know what I deserve. I'm ashamed of my sins.

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I'm aware of what I've done. I am the sinner. He's not thinking bell curves.

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He's not thinking there are people worse than him. And he's begging. He knows he's lacking something.

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He's needy. It's not congratulations. It's not God, you owe me. God, I'd like your mercy.

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My debt is so large, I'm going to need your mercy. I could never pay back all these things.

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The debt from cheating people and swindling as a tax collector is one thing. The debt alone for sins.

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How unpayable is that? Where could you go? Prayer. To God in prayer.

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That's it. He's not even really sure how to pray. He's just coming to God. I have nothing in my hands that I bring.

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Simply to your mercy that I'm clinging. And he asked for mercy.

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Now literally the word is to be propitiated. God be propitiated. I know you're angry because I've sinned.

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Your holiness demands it. Your law demands it. And let your anger be removed.

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It is a passive tense. God, please do it. You are the one who's going to have to be propitiated.

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I can't propitiate. The only thing I could do is pay for my sins in hell forever.

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That would uphold the law of God. But that's not going to give me any mercy. So he appeals to the mercy of God.

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Someone has to propitiate his sins. He can't propitiate them himself. And remember, this is different than the pagan religions where man is somehow capable in his mind, his distorted mind, to placate these false gods.

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Well, how can you satisfy God's justice outside of going to hell?

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God is going to have to propitiate. God is going to be the one who's going to have to do it.

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Everywhere we look at this, we sense, we feel, and we think there's wrath.

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God has wrath against sinners. The wages of sin is death. And there's got to be a blood atonement for forgiveness of sins.

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You begin to look at a passage like this and you think, you know, God is more than a God of love. I'm thankful he's a

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God of love because without the triune love of God and eternity past, and at Calvary and during our lives, there'd be no hope.

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There'd be no propitiation. So we have a work of God himself.

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He has to take the initiative to do the propitiation. Packer, the idea that the kind son changed the mind of his unkind father by offering himself in place of sinful man is no part of the gospel message.

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It is a sub -Christian, indeed an anti -Christian idea, for it denies the unity of the will in the Father and the

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Son, and so in reality fails or falls back into polytheism, asking us to believe in two different gods.

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So make sure you think Trinitarianly when you think of propitiation.

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Now back in the old days, you'd have, even now, a pagan god, and those gods were angry.

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They flew off the handle. They were bad -tempered and they were in bad moods.

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They probably should have, you know, been diagnosed with some kind of anger to get anger management.

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They just were easily perturbed and bugged.

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And what people would do is they would look at their lives and their lives would be messed up, and they'd say, well, the gods are angry. How can we placate the god?

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How can we get him to do something good for us?

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But this has to be done by God himself. Can any good thing or clean thing come out of an unclean thing?

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Can we actually propitiate? Can we uphold

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God's justice by doing something outside of going to hell? No, God is going to have to give a substitute.

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God is going to have to give one who pays. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission.

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So there's going to have to be a substitute. And this particular tax collector smotes his breast.

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He smote upon his breast. That's actually, I think, King James. And he is beating his breast.

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He's repenting. This isn't bravado. This isn't Tarzan. He's sad. He's convicted.

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His conscience bothers him. He's not even looking around, let alone lifting holy hands, 1 Timothy 2.

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No blame for anyone else, totally aware of his sinful nature, and he is throwing himself on the mercy of God.

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It says, but the tax collector, standing some distance away, was unwilling to lift up his eyes.

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He beat his breast saying, God, be merciful, the sinner. God, be mercy seated to me, the sinner.

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God, be propitiated. Treat me on the basis of blood sprinkled on the mercy seat.

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So when you hear that kind of language, of course, you're transported back to the temple, to the mercy seat, which covered the ark in the

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Holy of Holies. So we're going to need our sins blotted out by Jesus, and propitiation discusses the appeasing of God's wrath that God legitimately has because of man's sin.

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So when you think of the mercy seat, the cover of the ark of the covenant, this is the place where the high priest sprinkled the blood of the slaughtered animal on the day of atonement to make atonement for the sins of the people.

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John MacArthur. James Boyce, what is symbolized here?

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Now as God looks down from between the outstretched wings of the cherubim, he does not see the law of Moses that we have broken, because remember that was in the ark, but instead sees the blood of the innocent victim.

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He sees that punishment has been meted out. Sorry. Propitiation has been made.

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This is what happens when you record four shows in a day. Boom, boom, boom, boom. I try to talk myself out of it.

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I just knew I would feel better if I went home and recorded four shows. See how that works?

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I had to force myself, and then I'll feel. I felt like not doing it, but I'm going to overdo those, override those feelings.

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So, of course, but the mercy seat hidden back there with the holy of holies and secluded, but then, of course,

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Jesus is the one sacrificed out in public. Jesus said,

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I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

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So, Mike Abendroth here, No Compromise Radio. We're talking about propitiation. And if we understand these six passages that discuss propitiation, it will be super easy for you to grasp, uphold, teach, relish in, revel in the doctrine of penalty.

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Substitution. And a side note here, I have a book in front of me. Soledad Gloria Publications, Worthy is the

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Lamb. I paid five bucks for this. Puritan Poetry in Honor of the Savior.

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Compiled and with introductions, written by Maureen Bradley, edited by Don Kistler and Joel Rochelle.

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I think it is, let's see, 2004. And so we have page 95 is the gospel.

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Let's see what it says here, because I like this book with poetry. I'm not the best poetry reader, but I'm a poetry man.

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I hated that song growing up. All right, the glorious gospel of the blessed salvation recovered by the man

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Christ Jesus. The word was God. I was looking for something here about propitiation.

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That's what I was looking for. Okay, the golden chain of grace.

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The blessedness of gospel times. Chords of love.

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This is pretty bad radio. Oh man, so I'm not going to read it,

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I guess. I thought I was going to read it, but I'm trying to find the propitiation one. Can't. Number two, Romans chapter three.

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We're going chronologically, talking about propitiation. Propitiation found six times.

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If I were to ask you in the middle of the night, propitiation found how many times? Six times in the New Testament. He'll ask a group of words.

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Let's see if I can, I'm not looking down at my notes. Luke 18, Romans three, Hebrews two,

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Hebrews nine, first John two, first John four. Those are the six times used, okay?

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Now we're at number two, Romans three. Now before we pick it up early, without context, let's just set it in context, verse 19.

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Now we, Romans three, 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

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And the end game, as God wills, for the law is people now have no defense.

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Their mouths are shut, no excuses. They're not trying to exonerate themselves. They don't mince words.

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They don't spin the words. Every mouth is closed. I don't have anything to defend myself.

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I can't make up anything. Guilty, guilty as charged. Silence is the silence of confession,

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Haldane said. That's pretty amazing. Standing before the judge of the universe and God reads out the charges.

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What do you say? You don't say anything. Guilty as charged.

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Lloyd -Jones, you do not begin to be a Christian until your mouth is shut, is stopped, and you are speechless and have nothing to say.

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You put up your arguments and produce all your righteousness. Then the law speaks and it withers to nothing, becomes filthy rags and dung, and you have nothing to say.

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This is Job. I lay my hand on my mouth. This is

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Job. Once I've spoken, I will not answer. Even twice, I will add no more. Verse 20, Romans 3,

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For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

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And a key set of words right there is the phrase, in his sight. Well, in other people's sight, fine, you might be okay.

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But in God's sight, no wonder Psalm 143 says,

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In thy sight no man living is righteous. How can you be innocent before the law of God?

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I mean, people want to say, well, I never committed adultery. What about looking on a woman with lust?

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I am the lawbreaker. I am the sinner.

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But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it.

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And many scholars would talk about the light of the gospel shining forth now. Chapter 3 and chapter 1 and chapter 2.

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Here we have God to the rescue. God deliver me from myself. And God, because He loves sinners.

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It's going to happen. How can we have salvation?

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God is going to have to work. He's going to have to act. And He's not going to just say, I'll let bygones be bygones.

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Let's just lower the requirements of my righteous standard in the law. No, not love at the expense of justice,

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John Murray said. It's not that at all. No wonder Luther called this the chief point right here.

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God's righteousness not achieved by works of the law. There used to be wrath, but now. There used to be sin, but now.

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There used to be doom, but now. There's a hope. There's a flicker of hope for the righteousness of God, verse 22.

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Through faith in Christ Jesus for all who believe, there is no distinction.

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For all have sinned and continue to fall short of the glory of God.

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And are justified by His grace as a gift to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

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Contrary to condemnation, we have justification. And you can either get there the legal method by perfectly obeying the law.

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Or by faith, that's called the gospel method. Whom God, and here's our verse.

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Whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.

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This was to show God's righteousness because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.

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God displayed publicly. He put forward openly.

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He brought them forth before the public, not behind the scenes. Before the eyes of all.

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The Ark of the Covenant behind the scenes. Now we don't have that for Jesus. It was not secret.

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It was public. Demonstrated. No inner circle stuff.

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No Gnostic stuff. God demonstrates His righteousness by the sacrificial death of Jesus.

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And there's propitiation. Crucifixion is bad. But appeasing the wrath of God in place of sinners, that's even worse.

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This is more than physical punishment. This is called propitiation.

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Christ's sacrifice is an appeasing sacrifice. A placating sacrifice.

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We have sinned. We offend God. In thought, word, and deed we offend His holiness.

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And God now assuages, the Son assuages the wrath of the

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Father. Because there's all a triune plan. Redemption found in Christ.

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Some people say with propitiation there's an injured party. And you've got to make that injured party favorable now toward the offender.

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Okay, I think that's not too bad. That's what the blood of Christ accomplished. It should have been our blood, but it was the

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Son's blood. And then God's holy, righteous law is overlooked?

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No, it's upheld. And it's a public answer to what's going on.

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Penalty substitution. You can recognize it when you think, okay, God just let people off the hook?

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No, the penalty must be paid. And God now, the Son, pays the penalty because the

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Father sent Him to go do that very thing. Well, my name is Mike Avendroth. This is No Compromise Radio.

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And we're going to have to do the other four passages next time. We'll probably go a little faster.

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The new book, Sexual Fidelity, comes something like that. Called something similar to that.

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30 chapters, about 30 ,000 words. Talking about how should we think of that topic.

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How to avoid sexual sin. How does the gospel apply to people who have sinned in that area, that arena.

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And it's been around for a few years, just on my computer. And I thought I would put it out on NoCo Media, so you could get a copy.

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It would be good for men's group. It's good for ladies. How do you talk to your kids about the topic of sex?

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And Danny Akin wrote the foreword to it. And so that's coming up soon. My name is Mike Avendroth. This is

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No Compromise Radio. You can write me at info at NoCompromiseRadio .com. And we appreciate those that listen.

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I know many listen every day. Appreciate the feedback. Appreciate the encouragement. And if you think about it, would you pray for us today?

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No Compromise Radio. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Avendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

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Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's Word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

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Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

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You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.