Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas

NT Framework - It's not about Salvation

• Jeremy Thomas • Season 6 • Episode 165

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Christ’s substitutionary atonement is primarily Godward, showing how propitiation satisfies divine justice and opens the way for real living. 

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01:

So when I'm saying this, I'm saying this is a key. This is a key to all modern theology. I've never seen anyone ever make this argument. Doesn't mean nobody's made the argument, but this is a key. Okay? The substitutionary blood atonement of Christ was primarily directed toward God. What am I saying? Why am I saying that? Well, it's also directed toward sin because Christ is paying the sin penalty for the world. It's also directed toward mankind because mankind are saved by Christ's atonement. But primarily, it is directed toward God. The Bible actually does teach this. When I I was discovering as I was going through the series here and doing my research on propitiation, Elasmas, Halesterion, these words. I told you there's no words in the New Testament that are atonement. We don't have the word atonement in the New Testament. That's an Old Testament word. Cleanse, whatever. Okay. But but I said this word gets the closest. It's the word translated propitiation. For he's the propitiation for our sins and not ours only, but for the sins of the whole world, right? 1 John 2.2 and 1 John 4.10. Now, this becomes a key. You start to realize how important the propitiation word is. Because the propitiation is God word. It's directed towards satisfying God. What is Christ doing on the cross? He's satisfying the Father. Remember, Christ even is reluctant to go to the cross? He says, Yet not my will, but thy will be done. Right? He's reluctant to go, but he primarily wants to fulfill the Father's will, and the Father's will is that the Son satisfy God's perfect justice by paying the sin penalty for the whole world. So it's primarily directed toward God. It's a satisfaction that has been made. Okay, that's why I say Christ accomplished this entirely. In other words, the atonement entirely accomplished something. But the question is, what did it accomplish? That's the question. Well, it didn't save anybody. Christ's work on the cross did not save anybody automatically, did it? But it did totally accomplish God's point, which was to satisfy his wrath. So he fully accomplishes this satisfaction of God's justice. Now, what this does here is it sets God free to justify anybody who has faith. That's what it does. Romans 3, 21 to 26, especially verse 26. I really think this is, and I've said it before, I'll say it again. I really think this is the key, this is the key passage on this whole discussion. Romans 3 and verse 26. You'll notice, by the way, Ron, as interest in verse 25, he passed over those sins. They weren't covered, but he did pass over them. It's a there's a different thing going on there. But it's all in the lessons. Verse 26, for the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness, that's God's righteousness, at the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. See what happened is Christ died on the cross, he paid the penalty in full, so that God is just to justify anyone who has faith in Christ. It sets him free. If Christ had not paid the sin penalty and satisfied the Father, the Father couldn't justify people. He wouldn't be free to do that. It'd be a violation of his holiness and unrighteousness. So he is freed by Christ's work to justify anyone who has faith in Jesus. Secondarily, after that, the atonement was manward, okay? And it did accomplish the reconciliation of God to the world. God is not mad at the world. God is not counting the world's sins against them, is he? It says this in the Bible. But the world, it says, needs to be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5. Let's look at that real quick. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 through 21. The satisfaction has been made. There's nothing there. God is satisfied by Christ. He justifies anyone who has faith. He doesn't just automatically justify people because they're elect. That's that's that's a weird idea. Oh, if you're elect from the foundation of the world, then you're justified. Well, independent of belief? No, that can't be. Notice the role of the ambassador in verse 20, 2 Corinthians 5.20. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ be reconciled to God. See, people, unbelievers are not reconciled to God. Okay, but God is, verse 19, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation. So God is reconciled to the world, but the world is not reconciled to him. They're still enemies. So we're supposed to be ambassadors to go out to the world to give them the message of Christ, and when they receive it, when they believe, right, then they've been reconciled to God. But they've got to believe, they've got to be reconciled, and that's the only way, through faith. Um, those who do not believe, John 3.3.18, remain unreconciled to God, and they remain under his wrath. John 3.36. Might as well look at it. John 3, everybody loves John 3, right? Can't get enough of John 3.16. Well, we'll get a little John 3.18 here. And then we'll we'll finish pretty quick here. John 3.18. We know. I'm sorry, 16, we know God so loved the world. In other words, in this way, this is how he demonstrated his love for the world, that he gave his only begotten son, the unique one. Whoever believes in him will shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Doesn't that have a sort of unlimited sense to it, like God wants people to be saved? Sure it does. Of course, God does. He who believes in him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already, because he's not what? Believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. So they're unreconciled to him. They're standing under judgment. Look at John 3.36, a few verses later. Very similar, John 3.36. He who believes in the Son has eternal life. I mean, can you know that you're saved? Oh, of course. The Bible says if you believe, you know it, you have it, you have eternal life. This is good news. But he who does not obey, patho, different word, ah patho, does not obey the sun, will not see life. So people say, well, see, you gotta have works, you've got to obey to see life. No, it says the previous part, if you believe, you have eternal life, right? Not if you work. So what does he mean by obey? Obey the command to believe. This is not rocket science, people. I'm not talking to y'all, I'm talking to people out there who do crazy stuff with these verses. Obey what? The command to believe. What did Paul say to the Philippian jailer when the Philippian jailer said, What must I do to be saved? He said, Believe. This is not hard. Okay. So he who does not obey the command, obviously, to believe the Son, so you can have eternal life, that person will not see life. But what abides on him? Wrath, the wrath of God. He's still under the wrath of God. Well, I thought Jesus died for all the sins of the world. He did, he accomplished fully the satisfaction of the Father. But these people have refused to accept the payment. God accepted the payment, they refused to accept the payment. Therefore, they remain under the wrath of God.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.