Text:  1 John 4:10
Title:  "God's Demand for Satisfaction"
Subj:  God can only be propitiated by the death of Christ.

 Introduction: The Bible says, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day"  (Ps. 7:11)
     We live in a day when men have forgotten God.  We live in a day when even those who have not forgotten God, have forgotten His anger and His wrath.   Modern preaching has so over emphasized the love of God that sinners and saints no longer tremble at the thought of standing before a holy, righteous God in judgment! 

But the Bible says, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day" 
     But you protest, "I am not wicked!"  Then, if you are not wicked, according to your own testimony, just who are the wicked that God is angry with?  The Apostle John answers that question in 3:36 of his gospel, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).  Therefore, the wicked are those under the wrath of God "that believe not the Son."   No matter what you think of yourself, upon the authority of the Word of God, I declare that God  is angry with you every moment of every day until you repent toward God and place your faith in Jesus Christ for the full payment of your sins!  Without Christ, you are in the direct path of God's wrath, and the Bible says, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God"  (Heb 10:31).

The Bible says, "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day" 
  So the Bible says that God's wrath rests on all those that do not believe in Christ, but, on the other hand, those who believe in Jesus Christ have everlasting life.  The difference lies, not in the individual, but in their relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, what is it about Christ that has turned the wrath of God away from one group and not the other?  It is the little discussed doctrine called propitiation, or the satisfying of God's wrath by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.  This doctrine is the basis of our potential forgiveness in Christ.

 1 Jn. 4:7-11 -- "God's Demand For Satisfaction" -- prayer

     I. PROPITIATION DEFINED (v10)
       A. "Propitiation" = the turning away of wrath by an offering, satisfaction.
            1. Notice the 3 aspects of this definition
                a. God's wrath.  God's wrath/state of anger is directed at sin and sinners, because sin is in direct opposition to God's law, and sinners have broken His Law. 
Rms. 3:23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."   

Propitiation: the turning away of wrath by an offering, satisfaction

                b. The turning away of God's wrath.  God's wrath must be satisfied, it cannot be just ignored.  Both God's wrath and His justice demand punishment for sin.   Sin can never be forgotten nor excused.
                c. The offering.  What "satisfies" God's wrath is an offering which is acceptable to Him.  Sinner's offerings are not acceptable to God, for they are tainted by the sinner's sins--and your sin is the reason for God's wrath!
           2. God's wrath was satisfied on the cross of Calvary
               a. Christ's death on the cross went in two directions. 
                  1) It was first directed toward God. 

 Note:  God was angry at sin, and could not look with favor upon man the sinner.  God's wrath had to be satisfied before any man could even have the opportunity to be saved.  Jesus Christ's sacrificial death was sufficient to satisfy God's wrath toward sinners in general. Now God could look with favor upon man's response of repentance and faith.

"And He is the propitiation/satisfaction for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2)   But, though God's wrath has been satisfied, God's justice has not.  God will give every man/women/boy/girl exactly what they deserve.  John 3:18 says in part,  "...he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."  God's justice continues to condemn those that do not believe in Christ, even though His wrath toward sin has been satisfied.

                  2)The second direction of Christ's death is toward man.
                       a) The propitiation by Christ was sufficient to make salvation available to every man.  
" For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). 
                       b) The power of Christ is sufficient to save all who come to Him.
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God"  (1 Cor. 1:18).
                      c) The promise of Christ is sufficient for all who call
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  (Rom 10:13)
                       d) The persuasion of Christ calls to the sinner to come today
"(For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation)" (2 Cor. 6:2). 

   II. CHRIST'S PROPITIATION IS BASED ON LOVE (v10)
      A. God's Love Defined = agape, or self-sacrificing, self-denying love.  It is love that loves, not because of the object of the love, but because of the Person loving.  It is an attribute of God "...for God is love" (v8), or one of the characteristics that makes God, God.   THIS IS LOVE!

       B. God's Love Denied ("not that we loved God") (v10b)
 "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."  (Rom 3:11)

       C. God's Love Detailed (v10c)
           1. Contrasted ("but") against our lack of love
           2. Personified ("He loved")
               a. Love is not an emotion, it is action toward another
           3. Personalized ("loved us")

       D. God's Love Displayed (v10d)
           1. Displayed in His actions ("He sent")
           2. Displayed in His involvement ("His")
           3. Displayed in His commitment ("Son"; the best He had and the only One who could accomplish the task)

 Note: We can see in the doctrine of propitiation what seems to be two opposing forces.  God's anger at sinners and God's love for sinners!  But remember that these are not emotions in God, but characteristics of God.  God is a God of wrath and anger, and at the same time, God is a God of love.   That's why He is God, and not you.  You couldn't do it!

  III. CHRIST'S PROPITIATION IS BASED ON SACRIFICE (v10)

 Note: The propitiation/satisfaction of God depends on a Sacrifice.   This truth and practice began in the Garden of Eden, continued through the O.T. period, and was completed in the shedding of Christ's blood on Calvary.
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission"  (Heb 9:22)
For us to live, One had to die. 

        A. The Sacrifice was Sent by God
"And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me..."   (John 5:37)
           1. "Sent" = to send away, send forth, equip and despatch upon a certain mission

        B. The Sacrifice was His Sacrifice
            1. Abraham taking his son to be a sacrifice.
"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together".  Gen. 22:8
            2. God providing Himself a sacrifice
"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himsel..." (2 Cor. 5:19)

        C. The Sacrifice was the Son of God
"For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"  (Heb 9:26)

   IV. CHRIST'S PROPITIATION IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOUR SINS (v10)
        A. The scope of Christ's death covers all your sins
              1. No quantity of sins can withstand the infinite death of Christ
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses"  (Col. 2:13)
 
        B. The power of Christ's death covers the depth of your sins
              1. No matter the depth of sin, Christ's death reaches and cleanses
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"  (Isa. 1:18)

          C. The Person of Christ covers all of God's requirements
               1. Because of who Christ is, you don't have to be or remain what you are!
"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him"  (2 Cor. 5:21)

 Concl:  God demands propitiation/satisfaction for sin.  Jesus Christ fulfilled every demand of God that you might have the opportunity to be saved.  Though God is angry with sinners, God loves sinners, and proved it by sending His only begotten Son to die the cruel death of the cross.  The sacrifice of Jesus Christ has been made and accepted by God.   Nothing else needs to be done except the applying of Christ's death to your account.  Will you come today, trusting Christ and Christ alone for forgiveness of your sins. 

  Christian, do you understand the great of work of Christ in satisfying God's wrath on your behalf?    Do you appreciate and love Him more today than you did at salvation?  If not, you need to break down that wall of unforgiven sins that has broken your fellowship with God.   Or perhaps you just want to spend a few minutes praising and thanking God for His great mercy.