Now that means that since sin separates us from God, all of us have been separated from God! That means there must be a reconciliation. Paul speaks of this at length in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 19 and following. But before there can be a reconciliation, there has to be a propitiation [Propitiation: an offering, or atonement, to win the good will of; to appease]. How many of you used that word yesterday or Friday or Thursday or Wednesday? How many first-grade teachers used that word with their first graders? How many men out at Sandia Laboratories used it? How many men out at Kirtland Air Force Base used it? It’s a word that isn’t even in the vocabulary of most of us. It’s found only a few times in the whole Bible. It’s found in 1 John 2:1 and 2; and the word “propitiation” is found in 1 John 4:10; and it’s found again in Romans 3:23 to 25. But while it’s found only a few times in all the Bible, that word is very basic. [Propitiation: an offering, or atonement, to win the good will of; to appease] That word ties in with what we are talking about this week: “By grace have you been saved through faith, that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast,” Ephesians 2, verses 8 and following.

Well, all of us have sinned—“None righteous, no, not one,” Romans 3:10—therefore, we’ve all been separated. If we want to be reconciled, there has to be a propitiation. But, you see, man didn’t give God what he owed Him in the first place. Every creature owed God perfect obedience, but nobody gave that to God, so that means nobody gave what he should have given. Therefore, nobody has anything extra to give. But until there is extra, there can’t be any such thing as propitiation, or an atonement. Well, if we didn’t give God what we owed Him in the first place, then we don’t have anything extra. And yet, without “the extra,” there can’t be a propitiation. Without that, there can’t be a reconciliation. Without that, there can’t be salvation. That’s why the Lord said to go to the Lord for help, Psalm 46, verse 1, “for vain is the help of man,” [Psalm 108:12], and, Psalm 3:8 says that “salvation belongs to the Lord.”

So that means that man is doomed, unless some outside help is provided! We know that Jesus came “to seek and to save” the lost, Luke 19:10, but why did He need to come to earth for that? We know that “Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” 1 Timothy 1:15. His very Name, “Jesus,” means Savior, Matthew 1:21. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came that men might “have life, and…have it more abundantly,” John 10:10. He came to call “sinners, to repentance,” Matthew 9:13, but why did He have to come? He’s called the “captain of our salvation,” Hebrews 2:10, but why do we need a captain? He’s the only “mediator between God and man,” 1Timothy 2:5, but why do we need a mediator? He’s called the “Prince of Peace,” Isaiah 9:6; the “Prince of life,” Acts 3:15; a “Prince and Savior,” Acts 5:31, and the “Prince of the kings of the earth,” Revelation 1:5. He’s said to be “our hope,” 1 Timothy 1:1, “our life,” Colossians 3:4, “our peace,” Ephesians 2:14. But why do we need all of that?

Beloved, if you fail to get [understand] this, you have missed the real heart and core of the Gospel story! Maybe in failing to understand, we haven’t fully appreciated the grace of God. This morning we learned that grace is not a license to sin, and it’s not freedom from responsibility, and it doesn’t promote carelessness, and it’s not an amnesty. It doesn’t repeal the judgment day, and it doesn’t declare moratorium on the punishment of sin. It doesn’t discredit God’s justice. It doesn’t do away with a need for obedience. But before there can be grace, there has to be something that is un-repaid, undeserved, and unearned. Well, this is where Jesus comes in. You see, other than Jesus, we would be doomed to an eternal torment, because we don’t have anything extra. We don’t have anything extra because we didn’t give God what we owed Him in the first place! Without Jesus, there’s no propitiation, and with no propitiation, there is no possible reconciliation—that means no salvation at all!

Well, Christ became a man, Galatians 4:4. He came as man and for man, and He gave God perfect obedience. That’s what Ishould have done—that’s what youshould have done—that’s what every living personshould have done, and NOBODY did! Christ gave God perfect obedience. He said, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?”John 8:46. Nobody! In 1 Peter 2:22, there was no trace of “sin” at all in Jesus; in Hebrews 4:15, He was “without sin;” and Hebrews 4:15 and 9:28, He is “without sin.” Three times old Pilot said, “I find no fault” in Him, Luke 23:4, Luke 23:14, Luke 23:22. Herod found no fault in Him, Luke 23:15. And then Pilot’s wife said, “Have nothing to do with that just Man,”, Matthew 27:19; and then one of the thieves said, “this Man has done nothing wrong” (in Luke 23, verses 39 to 42); and then there was Judas, Matthew 27, verse 1 and following; and then the Centurion, who said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:54. So that was Herod, Herod’s wife, Pilot, and the Centurion, Judas, and one of the thieves—all on the side of the enemy—that said this Man did nothing at all wrong. He never did sin! He never did go against God’s Will!

And then over and above—here’s the extra!—over, above, and beyond what everybody owed God and nobody gave God, 2 Corinthians 5:21—underscore that Scripture; put some exclamation marks out in the margin—that’s Gospel!— 2 Corinthians 5:21, He…was…made…“to…be…sin…for…us.” What? Don’t misread it! He was not made to be a sinner—He never did sin! He was not made to be sinful—there was no trace of sin at all in Him! But, He was made “to be sin.” Whatever sin did, whatever sin called for, whatever predicament sin put man in, Jesus took the sinner’s place [Jesus exchanged places with the sinner]. That means He provided something that we could not possibly have provided for ourselves. That’s grace! We cannot deserve it, or it wouldn’t be grace. We cannot earn it, or it wouldn’t be grace. We cannot repay it, or it wouldn’t be grace. So Jesus, then, was made “to be sin for us, that we,” in turn, “might become righteousness to God.”