When the Lord spoke to Moses
from the burning bush and said to him, The place whereon thou
standest is holy ground, he did not have reference to the particular
spot where the bush was located, but rather to the fact that the
one who spoke to Moses from this bush was inapproachable by sinful
flesh and completely separate from sinners. This is the exact
one of whom Paul speaks when he described him to Timothy.
Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
be honor and glory forever, which in his times he shall show who
is that blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light to which
no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see,
to whom be honor and power everlasting. It is impossible for a man in
his own power and will to approach unto Him who is high, holy, and
hidden from the gaze of the potsherds of the earth. Many modern-day
preachers indicate that God has changed His personality from
the days of the Old Testament. They tell us that he's been transformed
from a God of wrath and judgment and is now a cuddly friend who
so desires the fellowship of men that he can be summoned whenever
a man takes the notion to call upon him, and that he will come
running just like a faithful hound whose ears perk up at his
master's whistle. Yet we read his own declaration,
For I am the Lord, I change not. The psalmist says, But thou art
the same, and thy years shall have no end. The writer of Hebrews
reiterates this same fact when he describes the Lord in this
fashion. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever. Thus we are convinced that the
same God who created Adam is the same One who is seated on
the throne of His Majesty in the heavens throughout the ages
to come. This understanding is that which causes us to fall
upon our faces in adoring wonder when we consider that He has
taken on Himself the likeness of sun for flesh and did suffer
and die to redeem this race of unthankful and disobedient men.
Is there any wonder greater than this? It is indeed marvelous
to consider his conception in the womb of the Virgin and the
circumstances surrounding his subsequent birth, childhood,
and growth into a young man approved by God. Yet our most profound
amazement is manifested as we ponder the fact that he who is
separate from sinners actually became sin and suffered under
the guilt and consequences of that sin. He bore that sin in
the exact measure of wrath which was due to those guilty of the
very crimes which he came to expiate and cancel. The Lord
declared that he would by no means clear the guilty, nor would
he at all acquit the wicked. The soul that sinneth it shall
die. The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. If one should
ever doubt the determination and purpose of God to pour out
His wrath upon those who have transgressed His commandments,
he need look no further than that Judean hillside called Mount
Calvary to see its absolute proof. Just about every religious carnival
barker will declare that Jesus died on the cross, but it is
relatively rare to hear a faithful declaration of the extent and
purpose of what this man Jesus accomplished as the sin-bearing
substitute of His elect people. His intercession, suffering,
and ultimate death was not some generic sin offering which was
done in order to try and persuade the world to permit the Lord
to save them. Rather, he entered into that
holy place having obtained eternal redemption for that people he
came to save. He accomplished that redemption
when he condemned sin in the flesh, who his own self bear
our sins in his own body on the tree. Christ came to remove the
disease of sin and eradicate its power to destroy those for
whom he died. He did this by taking the actual
sin of his people upon himself and burying it before his Father's
face as a condemned sinner. The wrath of God was poured out
on him who, having no sin at all in his flesh, made the sin
of his elect bride his own and drank every dreg from the cup
of God's judgment which was due to them. When he sweat, as it
were, great drops of blood, he was both condemned and condemning
sin. When the lashes of a Roman whip
cut and mutilated his flesh, he bore it as a man suffering
under the lash of a broken law. When the crown of thorns was
pressed onto his bleeding brow, he was in the very ante room
of hell because of sin. Indeed, he condemned sin in the
flesh by becoming the object of condemnation for those which
were given to him before the foundation of the world. He became
an outcast that those for whom he stood as a substitute might
be given an entrance into the presence of God as those who
are completely sanctified and fit for the Master's use. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.