APPEASEMENT AND ACCESSIBILITY

(Jesus) is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. ??“ 1 John 2:2 (NLT)

            In pagan religions the gods were often angry with their supplicants because of something the person had done or said. In order to appease the wrath of their gods the people would offer gifts of produce, animals, or even humans as a sacrifice. Sometimes they would have to perform some type of a ritual that would bring pleasure to their god. If the gift and/or ritual were acceptable, the god??™s anger would be satisfied and the person was free to go on living his or her life. At any time the god??™s anger might be stirred again and the supplicant would need to offer another gift of appeasement. The gift was known as a propitiation (Greek hilasmos).

In our translation the word sacrifice would be better translated propitiation. God??™s justice demanded that His wrath be poured out on all who have rebelled against Him as punishment. But God??™s grace demanded that He would be the object of His own wrath. Two aspects of God??™s nature came together at the Cross ??“ justice and grace ??“ in that His wrath was poured out, but it was poured out upon His own Son.  Unlike the pagan gods, the true God??™s wrath was completely satisfied in this one act, never to be repeated again. And through this propitiation, forgiveness for sin is offered to every person that chooses to accept God??™s offer of payment for every wrong that has ever been committed against Him.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Father, thank You for grace.

100 DAYS TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE!

If you will dedicate yourself to 100 days of reading, prayer, and meditation, using AN INWARD JOURNEY as your guide, your life will be transformed. Using the Gospel of John, along with devotional commentary by the author, you will receive guidance for an inward journey that will help you to better understand your relationship with Christ, your life's purpose, and how to effectively communicate with God. The devotions and prayer thoughts provided are meant to be a jumping off point for your own personal input, not serve as a replacement for your prayer life. In addition, the short book "Life Stages: Growing Toward Spiritual Maturity" is added as bonus material.

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