The politics of expiation and propitiation

Don’t be put off by the title of this column.

As an old headline writer, I should know better than to use two spiritually significant words that most people can’t define atop, if I do say so myself, a very profound article.

So, let’s begin with definitions:

expiation – “the means by which atonement or reparation is made, as did Jesus atone for the sins of the world”

propitiation – “a change in attitude as when were are reconciled with God through repentance and Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection”

These are not necessarily dictionary definitions, but take my word for it – no one uses these words to mean anything else.

To make a very long story short, God created a perfect world populated with two seemingly perfect people in a paradise called Eden. But they fell to temptation from Satan, the adversary of God, the Evil One, Lucifer, an angel who fell from favor of God because of the sin of pride. Ever since that time in the Garden, men and women have longed for expiation and propitiation in some way. It’s built into our DNA – by God, by the way, not evolution.

Some of those who came before us honored God as best they could and looked forward to the coming Redeemer, whom God promised the very day of the fall in Genesis 3:15. Long ago, even before Moses’ time, the long-suffering Job said: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)

But some people decided to seek their own form of expiation from guilt and sin. And this is where politics comes into the picture – something you can witness with your own eyes and ears during this midterm election season.

Some people seek to remake the world in their own image. Rather than to seek expiation and propitiation the way God planned it for them, they look for a second chance by redefining human nature itself. They live in a make-believe world in which God is not relevant, or, again, is defined in their own image.

Have you ever wondered why Adam and Eve ate of the one forbidden fruit? Just ask someone. The answer would probably be, “Because it was there – and it was forbidden.” Or maybe they would say, “It was arbitrary; it wasn’t fair.” But the real answer is because they want to be their own god.

That’s why some people like to make laws contrary to God’s design – whether it’s obscuring borders, which God loves, or stealing, which God hates.

But all people still have a built-in nature that longs for expiation and propitiation. We can’t get around it. We can’t be truly happy or fulfilled without them. So, they seek these things artificially. They devise new ways, false ways, to achieve this reconciliation that can only come from God, the Creator of all things, including human beings.

For instance, God created man and woman. While it should be self-evident to all, not so to the Democrats. For them, there are now, and presumably always have been, an infinite number of genders. You can be anything you want, do anything you want, ignore reality and sell it like soap. They are convincing people they can expiate themselves and achieve propitiation through reinvention of themselves and the world around them.

But it’s not enough that they live in this fantasy in which people can expiate themselves and achieve propitiation on their own. No, they seek to make government their savior, their god, their redeemer – one that will approve of all they think, do and imagine.

And this is where it gets really ugly. They compound sin upon sin upon sin and call it liberation. If they knew what the words meant, they might call it expiation and propitiation. But they are not that sophisticated.

Look, God’s given us a way out of this fallen, depraved world. He’s given us a road map called the Bible. He gave His only begotten Son because He so loved the world. The road map is consistent, reliable and the same from the beginning. Follow Me. He gave his Commandments so we would know what he finds offensive.

And He gave us instructions about what to do if we fell short, or missed the mark.

Seek the Truth. Repent. Turn away from evil.

It’s really that simple. It always has been.

“The Gospel in Every Book of the Old Testament” by Joseph Farah is available in both hardcover and e-book versions.

ALSO: Get Joseph Farah’s book “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians, and the End of the Age,” and learn about the Hebrew roots of the Christian faith and your future in God’s Kingdom. Also available as an e-book.

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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.