Come Clean

“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:5

It was because Isaiah had just seen the holiness of God that he realised his own exceeding sinfulness.  That is how it always will be for people. We tend to think we are pretty good until the Lord allows us to see His holiness. That is when we become aware of our exceeding sinfulness. We are inclined to turn away from that which makes us aware of our sin but that is the very opposite of what we should do. It is the realisation of our sinfulness that is meant to drive us to the foot of the cross of Jesus and His shed blood for cleansing and forgiveness.

Isaiah was cleansed with a live coal from the altar. The live coal represented the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Isaiah still had knowledge of his sinfulness but now he also knew that he had been washed clean by the free grace of God. Now he was ready to serve the Lord.

Isaiah is given a mission; a message to speak to Israel. It isn’t one that they will like and he is told that they won’t receive it in the short term. Not surprisingly he asks how long before they will receive it. His message will be preached in Israel until they respond to the Lord’s chastisement (vv 11-12). It is being preached in Israel today although the key chapter 53 is neglected except among the believing remnant. That day is still future.

Within the professing church there are those who hear the Gospel of Christ over and over but because they believe they are good enough they refuse to accept that they are sinful and need Christ’s forgiveness and cleansing. Even in difficult times they will often remain stubborn and unteachable. When the holiness of God draws near through the preaching of God’s word or the presence of one already cleansed they feel unclean. Instead of welcoming Christ’s cleansing they build a barrier in an attempt to remove the sense of guilt. They miss the blessing that Isaiah received, “Your iniquity is taken away” (v 7).

Only Jesus can take away the guilt of sin and that is because He became sin for us. How foolish to turn away from the Lord’s holiness when He is both willing and able to make us as He is, holy (cf. 1 John 3:2). That is why He draws near to us.

Partakers of His Holiness

“God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten.” Hebrews 12:7

The men and women of the Old Testament have parts of their lives recorded for us as witnesses to us of God’s ways and the sinful nature within us. This is for our benefit not amusement. The key phrase in chapter eleven is “By faith.” Their experiences were as diverse as ours will be. We should never expect that God will take us along the same disciplinary path as someone else or that they will travel the same disciplinary path as us.

God’s grace may also be revealed in quite different ways. For some the grace of God in response to their believing His word brought about wonderful and miraculous miracles (11:33-35a). For others God’s grace in response to their believing His word brought horrendous trials, suffering and persecution (11:35b-38) but He delivered them out of them all. Under threat of fiery furnace Daniel’s three friends said, “… our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand” (Daniel 3:16-18). Whether by burning or preservation they knew they would be delivered from the King’s hand.

The writer exhorts us to lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us. Anything that drags us back from realising God’s purpose, revealed in 12:10, should be cast off. The sin that so easily ensnares us is no mystery. This whole part of Hebrews deals with it. If believing God’s word is faith then unbelief is the sin that turns us from faith. The fact is that we become ensnared in the sin of unbelief all too easily and may thereby invoke a disciplinary action from God. This action demonstrates that we have a special Father – son relationship with Him. The absence of it may seem good but it may also reveal that we are not sons of God.

There is a huge consequence to us individually and corporately (church) when we do not take God at His word and act upon it. Matthew tells us this consequence: “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).

Ignorance of God’s word will produce the same effect but love for Jesus will compel us to study the Bible for ourselves. No one enjoys discipline even though the outcome is good. We also know that discipline can be avoided if we study God’s word, believe it and act upon it (the evidence that we believe it).

God’s wonderful purpose in this is that His holy Divine Nature given to us (2 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 12:10) may be worked out in our experience for His glory. The O.T. record shows us many examples of God achieving this in the lives of men and women just like us.