THE SUPREME REVELATION OF GOD'S HOLINESS
“Being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might
be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” -- Romans 3:24-26
The supreme revelation of
God's holiness is the sin-atoning, substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus
Christ upon the cross. There, and there alone, "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed
each other" (Psa. 85:10).
When I see the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, with my sin upon him, suffering the horrible wrath of
God without mercy, I see that God is indeed holy. God is so infinitely holy
that he will not allow his own dear Son to escape his unmitigated wrath when
sin has been imputed to him.
God is so immeasurably holy
that he will sacrifice his only, darling, well-beloved Son to save sinners
before he will sacrifice his transcendent character! No wonder the seraphim,
looking on the mercy-seat (the symbol of Christ's atonement) cried one to another,
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!"
What is holiness? If ever
men and women find out the meaning of Christ's substitutionary sacrifice at
Calvary, if ever we learn what happened on the cross, we will know the meaning
of holiness. We may not be able to define it in words, but we will be able to
identify it in our hearts. Viewing Christ upon the cross as my Substitute I
know that...
1.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO
BE JUST AND THE JUSTIFIER OF SINNERS APART FROM THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST. God's holiness,
righteousness, justice, and truth would not allow him to forgive any sin
without satisfaction. Justice must be satisfied before God could forgive sin.
2.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR MAN TO
KNOW THE TRANSCENDENCE OF GOD'S HOLINESS WITHOUT THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF CHRIST. The angels in heaven know
God's purity. Adam in the garden knew his uprightness. The devils of hell know
his anger with sin. And guilty sinners, under the terror of the law, know his
intolerable hatred of evil. But only the cross of Christ reveals the perfection
of his holiness.
3.
EVERY SINNER WHO BELIEVES ON
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS PERFECTLY HOLY. We are holy before the law, made (declared to be)
holy in justification. We were given a holy nature in the new birth. And we are
promised a holy life in glory. We are complete in Christ, perfect, lacking
nothing!
"With His
spotless garments on
We are as holy as God's
Son!"
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #794
2734 Old Stanford Road -
Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net