Expiation

Expiation refers to the removal of guilt and defilement through the payment of a penalty or the offering of a substitute — the objective aspect of atonement focused on dealing with sin itself rather than satisfying divine wrath (which is termed propitiation). In the biblical sacrificial system, sin was expiated when the blood of the offering was applied in the manner God prescribed, covering or removing the defilement of sin. The Hebrew kipper (to cover, to atone) underlies the Day of Atonement rites (Leviticus 16). Modern translations often render the Greek hilasmos and hilastērion as "expiation" (RSV) or "propitiation" (ESV, NASB), a longstanding debate reflecting the question of whether Christ's atonement primarily removes sin's defilement or turns away God's wrath — most Reformed scholars arguing the two are inseparable in biblical theology. See also Atonement.