Lesson 14 Lesson Focus: Romans 3: Review:

MESSAGE NOTES Lesson 14 Lesson Focus: Romans 3:21-31 1. Review: -Is anyone right with God apart from faith in Christ Jesus? No! None is righteous, no, not one 3:10 -Does anyone seek for God on their own? No one seeks for God, 3:11 -Can anyone be justified by keeping the Law, ie by being good enough to earn God s favor? No! by the works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight 3:20..no one does good, not even one 3:12 Note to Leaders: We have finally arrived at the place in Romans where Paul begins to explain the good news!! In the verses we are studying this week, he lays down the foundation of the good news and he will build on it in the coming chapters. There are several key words in these verses that we need to understand: justification, redemption, propitiation. Paul assumes his readers have a basic understanding of these words. Some in your group may have working definitions for these words but others may not. Definitions for these words (and others) are provided at the end of this lesson. We will be studying some of these words in more depth in coming chapters. The order of this lesson is different from the other lessons in our study of Romans. We will focus primarily on 2 concepts: propitiation and redemption. 2. Read Romans 3:21-31 as a group. Definitions for various words are provided at the end of this lesson. You may want to make copies of the definitions and diagrams for your group members to have during the lesson. 3. Redemption: -According to Romans 3:24, a person is justified by God s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. What does redemption mean? Redemption = to buy out of, to release by paying a price -Why do we need to be redeemed? What do we need to be redeemed from? Read Romans 6:17-18. Before salvation, every person is enslaved to sin and under the wrath of God. Note: The word redeemed was used when someone paid a price to buy another s freedom from slavery. -Justification means to declare righteous. What price was paid so you could be declared righteous? Did you have to do anything to earn salvation? Could you have done anything to redeem yourself out of slavery to sin? Copyright 2013, Providence Church Page 1

4. Propitiation: There are some passages in the Old Testament that can help us picture what propitiation means. In Colossians 2 Paul says there are shadows in the Old Testament. A shadow points us to a reality. In this case the reality is found in Christ. Looking closely at the shadows can help us understand what Paul meant in Romans 3:25: God put Jesus forward as a propitiation in His blood. -According v25, God put Christ Jesus forward as a propitiation by His blood. Propitiation means: to cover, to satisfy; an expiatory sacrifice (expiate = to put an end to) (note: propitiation is translated sacrifice of atonement in the NIV). 1. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, how did they try to cover up their guilt and shame? They sewed fig leaves to make loin coverings, Gen 3:7 -Did it work? Did the fig leaves cover up (hide) their guilt before God? No -How did God cover Adam and Eve before they left the Garden? He made garments of skin for them and He clothed them, Gen 3:21. -Where would that skin have come from? Evidently an animal died so that its skin could cover their shame. -What did Adam and Eve deserve after they sinned, according to Gen 2:17? They deserved to die. -What did they receive from God? -How does this account in Genesis relate to the concept of propitiation? In the opening account of God relating to man, we see God covering man s sin. Man deserved death but God allowed a substitute, an animal, to die and cover man s guilt and shame. 2. The mercy seat is a concept in the Old Testament that will help us better understand the word propitiation. In the Old Covenant system, God gave Israel the pattern for the tabernacle, where God s Spirit would dwell and where they would come to worship God. According to God s design, the holy of holies was a special part of the tabernacle which housed the ark of the covenant. (see diagram of tabernacle at the end of the lesson) The lid of the ark of the covenant was known as the mercy seat. The Hebrew word for mercy seat is kapporeth, which means place of atonement, cover. The Greek word for propitiation, hilastērion, can be translated mercy seat. The mercy seat was the focal point of the ark of the covenant. -Read Ex 25:17-22. This is where God initially gave Moses instructions regarding the mercy seat. -What was the mercy seat supposed to look like according to these instructions? (see picture provided at the end of the lesson) -What was supposed to go inside the ark when it was completed? The ark of the testimony which God would give them (think the tablets of stone where God wrote the commandments, ie the Law ), v 21 -Where would God meet with Moses once everything was completed? Above the mercy seat Copyright 2013, Providence Church Page 2

The mercy seat was where God met with Moses. God s Spirit would dwell above the place where atonement (covering) for sin would occur. Note: The mercy seat literally pictures mercy covering law. 3. No one could enter into the holy of holies, or into God s presence, except the high priest once a year on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement means the day of covering. But, even the high priest could not enter into God s presence because of his sins. So, God provided a way. According to God s instructions, when the high priest entered the holy place on the Day of Atonement, he had to take the blood of a bull and sprinkle the mercy seat 7 times with it.to cover up his sins for 1 year. He could not enter into God s presence without blood to cover his sin. He then returned a second time and sprinkled the mercy seat with the blood from another bull.thus covering the sins of the nation of Israel for 1 year. God s wrath against sin was satisfied for that year. (You can read more about the Day of Atonement in Lev 16 and Heb 9:6-7.) -Read Heb 9:6-14, 23-28. How does the Day of Atonement help us understand what Christ did for us? On the Day of Atonement, the blood of the bull covered their sins for 1 year. Christ s blood covers the sins of the person who places his/her trust in Him for eternity. God s wrath against his/her sin is satisfied for eternity. He paid the price that bought us out of our slavery to sin forever! -Conclusion: When Paul says that God put Christ forward as a propitiation in His blood, he meant that God s wrath against the sin of a believer was satisfied because his/her sin was covered by the blood of Jesus. 5. Possible Discussion Questions: Leaders: If you have time left, here are some possible questions to discuss. -If you have put your trust in Christ Jesus, are your sins completely covered? What about sins you will commit in the future are they covered? -Have you ever tried to cover or hide your sins.from another person, from God? -Is God still angry with you if you have put your faith in Jesus? -What did it cost God for your sins (past, present, and future) to be completely covered? Is grace ever cheap? Do you ever act like grace is cheap? -Have you ever had to forgive someone who sinned against you? What did it cost you? -Has the cost of forgiveness ever seemed too high and you struggled to forgive? -How does thinking about forgiving someone help you get in touch with the heart of God? -What is the most significant thing you have learned from this lesson? Next week s verses: Romans 4 Copyright 2013, Providence Church Page 3

Definitions: Manifested = to make visible, to expose to view, plainly known Justify (justified) = (verb) to declare righteous; (noun) the act of pronouncing righteous, acquittal Just = when said of God, it designates the perfect agreement between His nature and His acts. (Vine s) Justifier = the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God as Judge (Vine s) Grace = undeserved, unmerited favor of God Redemption = to buy out of, to release by paying a price Propitiation = to cover, to satisfy; an expiatory sacrifice (expiate = to put an end to) (note: propitiation is translated sacrifice of atonement in the NIV) An artist s rendering of the Ark of the Covenant: Copyright 2013, Providence Church Page 4