God and Blood (8) Jesus

In Romans 3:24-25, Paul summarises the achievements of Jesus’ death on the cross.

They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as a propitiation in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint, God passed over the sins previously committed.

There four main points in this passage.

• In forbearance, God passed over sins previously committed (passed over, not punished). He did not need bloodshed to be able to forgive.

• Declaring those who trust in him to be righteous. This is a gift. Being justified by his blood saves us from the accusations of the accuser (Rom 5:9).

• Redemption that is in Jesus the anointed (setting us free from the bondage of the spiritual powers of evil).

• God set forth Jesus as a propitiation (not for himself, but for the spiritual powers of evil who demanded death and blood for sin).

God was happy to forgive human’s sin, because he is gracious and kind, and willing to give his people another chance. It was the spiritual powers of evil who demanded blood as a condition for letting the people go free.

God did these things to demonstrate his righteousness. He was generous and forgiving. In contrast, the powers of evil were cruel and unforgiving. They demanded the shedding of human blood.