Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 3:25

"whom God set forth [to be] a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God;" — Romans 3:25 (ASV)

“God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement.” The emphasis on faith in this verse suggests that the force of “presented” is in the proclamation of the Gospel that makes Christ’s saving work central—a proclamation emphasizing that Christ, under God, has become “a sacrifice of atonement.” This phrase renders the Greek hilasterion (GK 2663). In LXX the first occurrence of this word is in Ex 25:17, where it refers to the lid on the ark of the covenant (“atonement cover”; KJV “mercy seat”). The only other occurrence of this word in the NT (Hebrews 9:5) also alludes to this atonement cover. Does Ro 3:25 have the same frame of reference? Perhaps not, for Hebrews is filled with references to the sanctuary and its ritual, whereas Romans is not. But the contrast should not be overdrawn (cf. Romans 12:1). And although the ark of the covenant was withheld from public view and access, Hebrews 9 emphasizes that the death of Christ opened up what had formerly been concealed and was inaccessible to the people. The word “presented” here in Romans is a signpost suggesting a similar concept here. God’s atonement has been set up before the eyes of the entire world. Christ has become the meeting place of God and humankind where the mercy of God is available because of the sacrifice of the Son.

The idea of atonement also relates to the context of Romans up to this point.

The first main section of the book (1:18–3:20) is permeated with the concept of

the divine wrath (cf. 1:18; 2:5, 8; 3:5), along with an emphasis on judgment. It would be strange for Paul to state the remedy for human sin and unrighteousness without indicating that this wrath of God has been satisfactorily met by his own provision. There is no other term in 3:21–26 that can convey this idea besides hilasterion.

The phrase “through faith in his blood” (v.25) poses a problem. This translation suggests that the believer’s faith is to be placed in the blood of Christ, and the sequence of terms favors this. However, Paul nowhere else calls for faith in a thing rather than in a person. Thus an alternative suggestion is to place a comma after “faith,” separating the clauses and making both of them dependent on hilasterion.

The remainder of v.25 deals with the necessity of Christ’s propitiation in terms of God’s “justice” (GK 1466; the same word in the original as “righteousness”). God’s character needs justification for him to pass over “sins committed beforehand”—i.e., in the ages prior to the cross. His “forbearance” (GK 496) must not be thought of as sentimentality or weakness but as an indication that meeting the demands of his righteous character would be accomplished in due season. This happened at the cross. The full penalty for sin was not exacted earlier, in line with God’s forbearance.