As of today, All Nicked Up will be in vacation mode! From now until the middle of July, there will be no new posts featured.
As you may know, I will be getting married in the middle of June. Because of this, I am taking a break from writing and producing content here on All Nicked Up, so that I can help my soon-to-be-wife with anything for the wedding and reception, enjoy our big day, and take time to relax on our honeymoon. Rather than worrying about the production of new blog posts three times a week, I will be ablt to focus on wedding plans (until the day arrives, of course) and relax with my bride thereafter.
Like I said, All Nicked Up will be back! Let me be clear: the site is not terminated, it is merely on sabbatical. I will be back in July with a renewed mind, revived passion, and fresh content. Until then, I ask for your support in prayer as my fiance and I step into a new season of life together!
Thank you so much; enjoy your summer!
A Refreshing & Thought Provoking Blog
Monday, May 27, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
2 Atonement Terms You Need To Know
I have been reading an excellent book on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul; in this short book, Sproul does a wonderful job explaining the many different aspects of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection in relation to our salvation. One of the interesting sections I have stumbled upon thus far is one in which Sproul discusses the difference between two words that come up frequently in discussions regarding the atonement: expiation and propitiation. I hope the following excerpt will give you a greater understanding of Jesus’ saving act.
When we talk about the vicarious aspect of the atonement two rather technical words come up again and again: expiation and propitiation. These words spark all kinds of arguments about which one should be used to translate a particular Greek word, and some versions of the Bible will use one of these words and some will use the other one. I’m often asked to explain the difference between propitiation and expiation. The difficulty is that even though these words are in the Bible, we don’t use them as part of our day-to-day vocabulary, so we aren’t sure exactly what they are communicating in Scripture. We lack reference points in relation to these words.
Expiation vs. Propitiation
When we talk about the vicarious aspect of the atonement two rather technical words come up again and again: expiation and propitiation. These words spark all kinds of arguments about which one should be used to translate a particular Greek word, and some versions of the Bible will use one of these words and some will use the other one. I’m often asked to explain the difference between propitiation and expiation. The difficulty is that even though these words are in the Bible, we don’t use them as part of our day-to-day vocabulary, so we aren’t sure exactly what they are communicating in Scripture. We lack reference points in relation to these words.
Let’s think about what these words mean, then, beginning with the word expiation. The prefix ex means “out of” or “from”, so expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away. In biblical terms, it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of an atonement. By contrast, propitiation has to do with the object of expiation. The prefix pro means “for”, so propitiation bring about a change in God’s attitude, so that He moves from being at enmity with us to being for us. Through the process of propitiation, we are restored into fellowship and favor with Him.
In a certain sense, propitiation has to do with God’s being appeased. We know how the word appeasement function in military and political conflicts. We think of the so-called politics of appeasement, the philosophy that if you have a rambunctious world conqueror on the loose and rattling the sword, rather than risk the wrath of his blitzkrieg you give him the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia or some such chunk of territory. You try to assuage his wrath by giving him something that will satisfy him so that he won’t come into your country and mow you down. That’s an ungodly manifestation of appeasement. But if you are angry or you are violated, and I satisfy your anger, or appease you, then I am restored to your favor and the problem is removed.
The same Greek word is translated by both the words expiation and propitiation from time to time. But there is a slight difference in the terms. Expiation is the act that results in the change of God’s disposition toward us. It is what Christ did on the cross, and the result of Christ’s work of expiation is propitiation – God’s anger is turned away. The distinction is the same as that between the ransom that is paid and the attitude of the one who receives the ransom.
Together, expiation and propitiation constitute an act of placation. Christ did His work on the cross to placate the wrath of God. This idea of placating the wrath of God has done little to placate the wrath of modern theologians. In fact, they become very wrathful about the whole idea of placating God’s wrath. They think it is beneath the dignity of God to have to be placated, that we should have to do something to soothe Him or appease Him. We need to be very careful in how we understand the wrath of God, but let me remind you that the concept of placating the wrath of God has to do here not with a peripheral, tangential point of theology, but with the essence of salvation.
Photo Credit: mugley / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Photo Credit: mugley / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
Monday, May 20, 2013
Forever Young?
I’m sure you’ve heard Avril Lavigne’s new song, "Here’s to Never Growing Up". If not, you haven’t missed out on much; the song isn’t very profound – and the basic point is understand without hearing anything more than the song’s title. However,I want to share a little snippet of the lyrics with you (don’t worry, there’s a point to this).
We live like rock stars, dance on every bar
This is who we are – I don’t think well ever change.
The say just grow up, but they don’t know us,
We don’t give a [explicit] and we’re never gonna change.
Say, won’t you say forever, stay
If you stay forever, hey,
We can stay forever young!
Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs
With the boom box blaring as we’re falling in love.
I got a bottle of whatever, but it’s getting us drunk,
Singing, here’s to never growing up!
You may be wondering why, if I find the song underwhelming, I am sharing some of the words on today’s blog post. The reasoning is simple: I feel the need to point a major flaw in the predominant worldview of our culture. Yes, believe it or not, this intellectually lacking song does speak profoundly of a social trend – namely, the pursuit of youth.
This is rampant in our culture. Thirty-year-old men are sitting in their basement playing Xbox 360 games, while middle-aged woman are taking selfies at the local nightclub. Twenty-somethings all over the country can’t seem to muster up the nerve to leave home and establish a life. Plastic surgeons and skin cream companies make billions of dollars every year by selling youthful appearance to the masses. Youth is one of the most worship idols in our society – there is no denying that.
Interestingly enough, the Word of God has some very different things to say about the matter.
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.
Proverbs 16:31
It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.
Ecclesiastes 4:13-14
Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
Ecclesiastes 11:9
We live like rock stars, dance on every bar
This is who we are – I don’t think well ever change.
The say just grow up, but they don’t know us,
We don’t give a [explicit] and we’re never gonna change.
Say, won’t you say forever, stay
If you stay forever, hey,
We can stay forever young!
Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs
With the boom box blaring as we’re falling in love.
I got a bottle of whatever, but it’s getting us drunk,
Singing, here’s to never growing up!
You may be wondering why, if I find the song underwhelming, I am sharing some of the words on today’s blog post. The reasoning is simple: I feel the need to point a major flaw in the predominant worldview of our culture. Yes, believe it or not, this intellectually lacking song does speak profoundly of a social trend – namely, the pursuit of youth.
This is rampant in our culture. Thirty-year-old men are sitting in their basement playing Xbox 360 games, while middle-aged woman are taking selfies at the local nightclub. Twenty-somethings all over the country can’t seem to muster up the nerve to leave home and establish a life. Plastic surgeons and skin cream companies make billions of dollars every year by selling youthful appearance to the masses. Youth is one of the most worship idols in our society – there is no denying that.
Interestingly enough, the Word of God has some very different things to say about the matter.
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.
Proverbs 16:31
It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice. Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.
Ecclesiastes 4:13-14
Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
Ecclesiastes 11:9
Scripture doesn’t necessarily bask in the glorious magnificence of exciting youthfulness. David and other writers do allude to longing for youthful health – but that is about the full extent of their longing. Rather, the Word of God elevates maturity over youthfulness; it points out that, if anything should be sought, it should be wisdom (not foolish revelry).
The Bible consistently urges young men to make wise decisions and resist "youthful lusts" (2 Timothy 2:22) or imprudent behavior. Simultaneously, the Lord praises the wisdom of maturity and its accompanying gray hair; in fact, even the youthful wise are praised – for wisdom does not belong solely to the aged, as there can certainly be foolish elders just as there can be foolish youth. The theme of utmost importance is maturity, not age! Of course, maturity typically comes with age (as hinted in Proverbs 16:31) – but, as that is not always the case (see Ecclesiastes 4:13-14), clearly maturity itself is the most important component.
While our culture seeks youthful arrogance and "innocent" foolishness, the Word of God encourages maturity and understanding amongst all ages.
God is looking for wise followers, but our culture is raising young-hearted fools. So ask yourself this question – am I listening to the right message and pursuing the proper course of action? Are you looking to be forever young or incomparably wise?
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