When the Lord spoke to Moses
from the burning bush, He told him to put off the shoes from
off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. He did not have reference specifically
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 said, which in his times he shall show who
is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of
lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no
man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to
whom be honour and power everlasting. It is impossible for a man in
his own power and will to approach unto Him who is 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 has 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. This same fact is reiterated
in the book of Hebrews in these words, Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Thus we are convinced that the
same God who created Adam and walked with him in Eden, and
then drove him from that garden, destroyed the inhabitants of
the world in the flood, called Abraham, and gave the law to
Moses from the burning of Mount Sinai, is the same One who is
seated on the throne of His Majesty in the heavens in the present
time and throughout the ages to come. 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. 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 in general to permit
the Lord to save them by believing it. 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. He did this not by decree
nor by example, but by taking the actual sin of his elect children
upon himself and bearing it before his father's face as a condemned
sinner. Thus was the wrath of God 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. 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. He says to them, I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine. This concludes another broadcast
of Morsels for Zion's Poor. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at winstream.net.