Propitiation - an appeasement offering?

[Jonaitis]

I want to branch off from David's thread about substitutional sacrifice/atonement.

How does the Orthodox understand these verses?

"...Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." - Romans 3:22-23

How do you understand the last sentence of this passage?

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:21

What does it mean for Christ to be made sin?

Then there is this passage:

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36

ArmyMatt said in the other thread the following...

He sacrificed Himself to the Father, but it was to destroy sin and death, not because the Father required an appeasement.

If Jesus destroyed sin and death, does this also mean that the wrath of God spoken in the verse above is also removed for the believer? Is there a connection to Jesus destroying sin and death, and God's wrath being removed when we obey? It almost seems as if no one wants to see these two statements together.

Thanks for your time.

 

[ArmyMatt]

1. I dunno what exactly you wanna know about your first question.

2. He hung from a tree, which was a curse. and by willingly accepting the worst kind of death anyone (especially a Jew) could die, He destroys it.

3. yes, the wrath of God is removed but not because God's wrath needed to appeased or because God changed. the wrath is removed in the sense that we no longer experience His presence as wrath and judgment (which is what happens when sin confronts love), but as illumination and blessing.

hope this helps!

 

[All4Christ]

Regarding # 1, the translation of hilasterion really should be expiation, not propitiation. Christ isn’t an appeasement to an angry God, but a way to annul guilt. This work of the atonement is the reparation for sin by means of God’s self offering in Christ. FWIW, the Septuagint uses the word hilasterion to mean expiation, not propitiation.

Hilasterion - New Testament Greek Lexicon - New American Standard

 

[Not David]

@Jonaitis Are you arguing that "righteousness" means the cross was done to satisfy God's justice?

 

[Jonaitis]

Thanks for answering, everyone.

 

[Jonaitis]

@Jonaitis Are you arguing that "righteousness" means the cross was done to satisfy God's justice?

"This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins."

I was curious to know what many thought of the whole of this sentence, not just 'righteousness.'

I wasn't curious to know what other meaning 'hilasterion' has, but what it means in the context of Romans 3:24-25. Obviously, it appears to refer to appeasement when used there.