Rom 3:23, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24, Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25, Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26, To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
What can we learn if we trust the exact English words exactly as they are written?
1. Look at the words Whom God in verse 25: Of whom is this speaking? In other words, who is the whom?
2. What did God set him forth to be?
3. The words, a propitiation through faith in his blood, are they one phrase? Or is it the word propitiation followed by a phrase? For example: I might say “I took a swim for a minute”. Swim for a minute describes what I did. It is a descriptive phrase. It is not just that I took a swim, I took a swim for a minute. I took a short swim. It does not explain my motive or how I went about it. If I were to say, “I took a swim for my health”. That would explain why I took my swim. If I were to say, “I took a swim by diving into the creek”. That would explain how I did it. Let’s make another example. I made Tim a king through my confidence in his honesty. We learn two things. We learn that I made Tim a king. We also learn about my motives. I have confidence in his honesty.
4. In the simple English of verse 25, is it reasonable to say that God (the Father) had faith in the blood of Jesus Christ and therefore made him to be a propitiation?
To be a Bible believer means a lot more than waving a King James Bible. It means submitting to what it says and trusting it to be exact. Last night I had the joy and honor of listening to a man from my ministry explain just how important the exact English words are to unlocking the Bible. He used the tabernacle to illustrate. Click the link below to listen.