The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Titus 2:13-14,
"We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
What Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross is breathtaking! In mission-statement fashion, he told his listeners, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10. Jesus' sacrifice of himself on that miserable cross paid the penalty for all our sins. Not some sins, but all sins. He "gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness." Not some wickedness but all wickedness. Some of us have a pretty big bucket full of sins we've committed. Some maybe not as many sins. Regardless the level, the amount, the nature of that wickedness, Jesus Christ has redeemed those who have embraced him in faith from it all.
We are told that he has done so in order to "purify for himself a people that are his very own..." How pure is "pure"? I have to think that when the Son of God purifies anything, it is as pure as pure can be. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Holy and blameless in the sight of God the Father is as holy and blameless as holy and blameless can be. In Jude's doxology we read, "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— " Without fault!
"We wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."
What Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross is breathtaking! In mission-statement fashion, he told his listeners, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10. Jesus' sacrifice of himself on that miserable cross paid the penalty for all our sins. Not some sins, but all sins. He "gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness." Not some wickedness but all wickedness. Some of us have a pretty big bucket full of sins we've committed. Some maybe not as many sins. Regardless the level, the amount, the nature of that wickedness, Jesus Christ has redeemed those who have embraced him in faith from it all.
We are told that he has done so in order to "purify for himself a people that are his very own..." How pure is "pure"? I have to think that when the Son of God purifies anything, it is as pure as pure can be. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:4, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Holy and blameless in the sight of God the Father is as holy and blameless as holy and blameless can be. In Jude's doxology we read, "To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— " Without fault!
I suspect if God had a notion, he could have decided to forgive us our sins and yet regard us as "those..." the ones he had to purify. Sort of with the "red-headed stepchild" perspective. Had God done so, we would spend an eternity in the environs of God with a stigma, "a blot" against us. In heaven, to be sure, but there with an asterisk by our name. However, as Paul told the Ephesian believers, God decided ahead of time, he predestined, that all that who would embrace him in faith through the gospel message, he would adopt as his sons and daughters as "holy and blameless in his sight."
Just as pure as the wind-driven snow! How wonderful is that?!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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