In our consideration of great words in the gospel, we have been arrested by such words as propitiation, forgiveness, redemption, justification, reconciliation, and sanctification. All the words have to do with what is called by the writer of Hebrews, "so great a salvation," each one presenting a different aspect of that salvation.
For example, propitiation refers to the satisfying of all the righteous claims of God; forgiveness (or remission) refers to the sending away of sins and the subsequent deliverance from them; redemption presents the price that was paid and the release from bondage that was effected when that price was paid; and justification refers to our being cleared from every charge of guilt. Reconciliation presents to us a change in a relationship. When reconciliation occurs, peace prevails where once alienation and enmity existed.
