by Pastor James Noriega

Centrality of the Cross in Counseling | Propitiation & Expiation from Mars Hill Church | West Seattle on Vimeo.

Continuing on from the previous weeks, we will talk about two more themes in the atonement and apply them to counseling. The themes are propitiation and expiation. Propitiation is God’s wrath satisfied, the payment of sin accounted for and God’s wrath turned into favor. (I John 2:2, I John 4:10, Romans 3:25, II Corinthians 5:18-19, Col 1:20) Expiation is the wiping away of sin. The debt of sin no longer stands against us. The debt is cancelled; the sin is removed. (Colossians 2:13-14, II Corinthians 5:18-19)

Propitiation and expiation are two sides of the same coin (says Dr. Bruce Ware). On one side of the coin, we see propitiation—appeasement of God’s wrath; on the other side—the removal of our liability to pay the penalty of sin. It’s a beautiful picture of the atonement. Because Jesus satisfied the wrath of God (propitiation), we are no longer responsible to pay the penalty of sin (expiation). What’s equally incredible is Jesus’ eagerness to please the Father by his death to satisfy that wrath.

In counseling, we see that one of the greatest distortions is that people understand God’s wrath satisfied, but for some reason, it stops there. They don’t see that their sin has been removed (John 1:29). It is phenomenally crucial to understand that our sin has not only been paid for but also removed. If we only understand our sin paid for and not removed, we are still struggling with the very thing that Jesus died for. We see in John 1:29, John proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God, the One who takes away the sin of the world.” So, what keeps us from experiencing the removal of sin?

If God has revealed to us propitiation—the wrath of God satisfied, the payment paid, why wouldn’t he reveal to us expiation—the removal of sin? Well, I believe he has. For some, all it takes is a reminder of God’s beautiful grace of not only paying for sin but removing it. The humble heart receives and rejoices because of the experience of that sin being removed from their soul. Thus, a once distorted view of God is restored, and that’s where transformation happens. Transformation happens through humility. To those who are still struggling with un-removed sin and shame, what is the problem? Is our problem lacking the capacity to understand? I would say, no, because in I Corinthians 2:6-16, God says that he has revealed to us the deep things of God, and not only that, but we have the mind of Christ. So, is it blindness or rebellion? We’re left with the possibilities of willful blindness (I Peter 1:9), being stiff-necked or hard-hearted (Hebrews 3:7-15).

In Isaiah 50:6-7, we read in the Messianic prophecy that the whole epicenter of the cross was to shame Jesus at every step of the way, from the arrest and make-shift trial to the beating and carrying of his own cross, plucking out his beard, hanging by nails, naked with spit hanging off of him. They could not shame Jesus because He knew who he was in the Father. We also need to know who we are in Christ Jesus. Once we understand who we are in Christ by the Holy Spirit, without doubt, we see and experience not only sin paid for but removed, leaving us transformed.

Pastor James is a Biblical Living Pastor at Mars Hill Church West Seattle. He currently oversees counseling for the campus, and is responsible for equipping and training volunteer biblical counselors and leaders at all levels.

If you are hurting and would like to speak with a counselor, please email westseattlecare@marshillchurch.org

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This was the fifth post in the series Bringing Counseling Back Into The Church
To read the other posts in the series click HERE.