Words, Even Big Ones, Matter

Dionne and I participated in a conference a while back, with Christian leaders from around the country. During a break I got acquainted with one of the participants, a denominational leader. His name tag said he had a PhD.

Since we were both preachers, our conversation turned toward public speaking, about which the good doctor said the following, “In my sermons I use a lot of self-defecating humor.”

Yes, he really said that. I had about a dozen funny rejoinders floating in my head, but instead I just nodded.

The point is, I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to use that word. He was thinking of another word that sounds like it. Probably “self-deprecating.”

Words matter. And one of the ways we admire Christ is to learn some of the big ones that describe His matchless character and works.

Like “propitiation,” a term used to refer to Christ’s death in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2 and 4:10. In Romans 3:25 Paul says that the Father put forth the Son “as a propitiation by his blood…”

Theologian Wayne Grudem describes propitiation:

“a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath to the end and in so doing changes God’s wrath toward us into favor.” Paul tells us that “This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:25-26). God had not simply forgiven sin and forgotten about the punishment in generations past. He had forgiven sins and stored up his righteous anger against those sins. But at the cross the fury of all that stored-up wrath again sin was unleashed against God’s own Son.” Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 575.

Jesus “propitiated” God’s wrath—turned it away from His children, bore it Himself. And changed the Father’s wrath toward us into favor. Wow.