Bible glossary

What Does ‘Propitiation’ Mean in the Bible?

Propitiation means the turning away of God's righteous anger against sin, satisfied and removed through the sacrifice of Christ.

Propitiation is an old and weighty word for a mercy that runs deep. It means that the just wrath a holy God rightly holds against evil has been fully addressed and turned aside, not by our appeasing God with gifts, but by God Himself providing the offering.

This matters because a God who did not care about evil would not be good. His anger against what destroys and defiles is part of His love. Propitiation is how that anger is genuinely satisfied so that peace, not fear, defines our standing with Him.

Key verses

“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins.”
Romans 3:25

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
1 John 4:10

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 2:2