25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
through faith,
The phrase “through faith” connects to the fact that God is satisfied (propitiation) with Christ’s sacrifice for our sin. The idea is that God is propitiated by the blood of Christ received by faith. We direct our faith toward a living person who shed His blood.
Faith in the blood of Christ saves our souls. “Through faith” is the means by which we engage our redemption or freedom. It is the link to our justification. We appropriate God’s grace by faith (3:22).
Faith is a non-meritorious system of action. Faith receives something, not gives something. It is the object of faith that is important, not the action of faith. Faith in faith is of no value biblically. Exclusive reliance on the sacrifice of Christ is at the heart of becoming a Christian—that is, reliance on His propitiatory sacrifice. This is something done for us, not by us. God’s acceptance of us is by something outside of us.
There is no ability in us to do anything to merit salvation. The only entity that satisfies God is our faith in the sacrifice of Christ.
PRINCIPLE:
Faith in itself does not justify, but faith placed on the right object does.
APPLICATION:
Faith is the means of appropriating what God provides. There is no intrinsic value in faith; the value of faith rests in its object—the sacrifice of Jesus’ life for our sins. Under biblical principles, Christ and His sacrifice for our sins is the proper object of our belief. Jesus made that possible through redemption.
