Your Daily Devotional for May 14, 2006

May 14, 2006

 

The Payment for Our Sins

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“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.”

 

Romans 3:25

 

As we look at this verse today, we see the word “propitiation,” which refers to the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The mercy seat is mentioned in Leviticus 16:2, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”  The High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and come to the Ark of the Covenant once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and would sprinkle the blood of a lamb on the mercy seat to ask forgiveness for the sins of Israel. The New Testament word “propitiation” has a similar meaning to the word used for the mercy seat in that it pictures the atonement of our sins.

 

This verse also states that our forgiveness is through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. It is only through our complete faith in the blood of Christ that we can have eternal forgiveness of our sins.

 

The term “forbearance” near the end of the verse literally means “to pass by” or “to come over.” How many of us have sinned since we have been saved? Once a person is saved, the Lord “passes by” our sins because of the shed blood of Christ on Calvary. Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t hold that sin to our account anymore?

 

It is as if Jesus Christ is standing at the right hand of the Father, when Satan comes as the accuser of the brethren, and He pleads with the Father on our behalf. He reminds the Father of the blood that He shed and of His perfect atonement for our sins, thus satisfying the just demands of a Holy God. The Apostle Paul said it perfectly when he penned 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

 

Friend, if you have never accepted that free gift, I challenge you to accept Him today. Trust in the finished work at the cross, the precious blood that He shed to save you from your sins. Christian, may we never forget all that our Saviour went through to pay for our sins. Never become so routine in your Christian walk that you forget what the Lord has saved you from, and what He went through to give you eternal life. Let us thank God daily for saving us from the death of eternal hell. Have you thanked God for His gift or have you not even thought of where you would be today had He not saved you?

 

 

 

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