A shout out to Craig for his reminder a week ago at the WT Spain retreat that the Gospel calls us to remember three theological truths: justification, redemption, and propitiation.
Justification. God chooses, based on the work of Jesus Christ, to declare us not guilty; to credit the righteousness of Christ to our account in exchange for Christ taking on our sins upon Himself. To put it another way, He restores honour to the creature who had shamed the Creator. And for the purpose of God being glorified for His work on behalf of His people.
Redemption. As one writer put it: “The language of redemption is the language of purchase and more specifically of ransomed.” Sin had enslaved us in spiritual bondage. Jesus went down into the marketplace of sin (see Hosea 3) and bought us back, securing for us liberty and freedom from the power of sin in our lives.
Propitiation. “Propitiation presupposes the wrath and displeasure of God, and the purpose of propitiation is the removal of this displeasure.” Jesus Christ became the perfect sacrifice needed, so that when God turns His face from all His creative work in the world and sets His gaze upon us, He sees Christ.
What Craig did in several short teaching sessions was to focus our hearts and minds on the depth of the Gospel. He pushed us to consider the amazing grace of the Gospel. And to take time to plunge ourselves further into understanding the Gospel and considering the application of the Gospel to what happens in our lives and ministries.
Feeling more the weight of our sin in light of God’s holiness; the damage of the shame we bring to Him by our actions, heightens our appreciation of the wonder of His love toward us (Romans 1-8).
Thanks Craig! But more importantly, thank you God for your steadfast love and mercy shown to thousands; and for that love and mercy which continues to reach across time from generation to generation to generation!
Thoughts Along The Journey 
Thank you, David and Craig, for this good exposition of Christ’s work on the cross. I was impressed that you shared the honor vs. shame aspect of our justification in Christ. I usually only see teaching on justification being explained in legal terms, which is equally biblical, but that is not the only biblical aspect of our justification, as the Book of Hebrews testifies, among other NT passages. Thank the Lord for the salvation blessings that Jesus procured for us on the cross and then made certain through his resurrection!
Glad you saw that effort to expand our understanding of the implications of the Gospel. Thanks to you and your insights over the years!