About the Author

Thomas Ray Floyd was born in 1953 in Simpson County, Mississippi, the son of Roy Thomas Floyd and Lina Sue Shows Floyd. Thomas Ray's mother was a member of a Primitive Baptist church, and he cut his teeth on the doctrines of distinguishing grace.

When he was a small boy, his father was converted to Christ and became a member of a Missionary Baptist Church. Thomas Ray joined the church of his father when he was 13 years old, and thought of himself as a Christian. The doctrines of grace that he had heard as a child continued to be precious to him and when he became an adult, he joined a Primitive Baptist Church. When he was 27, Thomas Ray made his first effort to preach the gospel in public and was ordained to the full functions of the ministry in 1985. In 1986 he was convinced under the preaching of Rolfe Barnard (by tapes from Mt. Olive Tape Library), the written sermons of Spurgeon, and the ministry of Elder Zack Guess that he had been a false professor and cried out in agony of soul to the Lord Jesus Christ to have mercy and truly save him. And He did! Floyd then began to preach the gospel as he had been taught of the Lord.

Floyd has pastored churches in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee and until recently was pastor of a church plant known as "Particular Baptist Fellowship." He and his wife Brenda presently attend Zion Baptist Church at Polkville, Mississippi, pastored by Elder Glen Hopkins. The pulpit ministry of Zion Baptist Church can be heard at Sermonaudio.com.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

God’s Wrath Appeased

(Article for publication week of 7-27-2011 AD)

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood…” (Romans 3:23-24b). In our recent series of articles on the attributes of God, we have been declaring the wrath of God. God is justly angry with the wicked.

Our text this week tells us how the wrath of God is turned away from the believer in Christ. It is through the propitiation of Christ.

Propitiation is a very delightful word, and a Biblical concept with which every believer should be well acquainted. Most modern Bible translations do not use this wonderful old word, and that is one of many reasons why you should avoid them. Many of the people that have been involved in modern translations are infidels themselves, and deny such truths as propitiation. It is my understanding that the word propitiation came into the English language with William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament

Propitiation means that God’s wrath has been appeased by the atoning death of Christ. God’s wrath has been vented against a holy Victim that suffered Divine vengeance once for all. Propitiation means that Christ made an atoning sacrifice to pay the penalty due for sin, and against sinners.

Remember God is perfectly holy and perfectly just, and so He must punish sin. God will not allow any sin to go unpunished. Unless God’s wrath against the sinner is appeased and Divine justice satisfied, then the sinner must and will be punished for his own sins. This is where every sinner without Christ now stands. The sinner without Christ must answer directly to God for His sins. Poor sinner, can you bear the thought of having to pay the awful penalty for your sins? Unless the sword of God’s vengeance be turned away from you, it will cut you in pieces forever.

But now hear the gospel news! Christ was made a propitiation for all who would ever believe in Him! God made His eternal and coequal Son the victim of His wrath so that His elect people would not have to suffer the penalty for sin. The believer in Christ has a Substitute! God is not angry with the believer, for His wrath was fully appeased by the death of Christ. God is perfectly holy and perfectly just, and so He will not punish sin twice. God will not punish the Surety, and the one for whom the Surety stands good. This is what Christ is for His chosen people- their Surety (Hebrews 7:22).

Those in hell (and there are billions there at this moment, many with whom you were once familiar) have no substitute, and so they are suffering the eternal vengeance of God. You will soon be there also, unless a Fit Substitute be found for you. I beseech you by the mercies of God to flee to Christ, the only Fit Substitute.

Believer in Christ, here your comfort stands. Salvation is all of the Lord from first to last. Christ has made satisfaction for sin. He has died an atoning death. Never can any charge be brought against one who has Christ (Romans 8:33). The believer’s sins are all taken away! Therefore a just and holy God will never exercise His wrath against the sinner who is in Christ. May the Lord give you grace to believe this glorious gospel of salvation by God’s free and sovereign grace.

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