“Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” Zechariah 3:4
Dear Ones:
There is basically one thing that hinders the Lord from hearing, and answering our prayers. It is “iniquity,” or sin. You might ask, “What about unbelief, or little faith?” Does not Paul write, “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin?” (Romans 14:23) What does he mean by this? From the moment when Adam was created, he was called upon to live by faith, a total confidence, and trust, in the Creator. But with the advent of sin, and a worldly system of unbelief, faith would no longer be the constant experience of the believer. James wrote that, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (2:10) He wrote this to show just how sinful we are, and that, sinful man can in no way justify himself before God, for his failure to obey the law entirely reveals that he is a sinner, and in need of salvation. Just under the surface of this truth is another one, and it has to do with sin and faithlessness. To not obey the law, is to not believe fully in the God of the Law. It is also, by Isaiah’s definition, every one turning to his own way. (Is. 53:6) Faith is at the same time an absolute trust in its object, but also, a deliberate alignment with the mind, purpose, and will of God. In summation, there is an attitude of trust, and an alignment to the truth. Iniquity, or sin, is a choice, either deliberately or carelessly, of not trusting wholly in God, but trusting in something or someone else. It is also, a choosing of one’s own way, that broad way of the world, where everyone basically does what is right in his own eyes. The forgiveness of God is the provision of God to rectify the law (principle), and the effect, of sin. When Jesus died on Calvary, he paid the debt for the wages of sin. It had to be paid in an absolute manner, and only in a way by which the Father could accept fully the sacrifice. So, when we see by faith, the Lord Jesus hanging on the tree of Golgotha, and hear the words, “It is finished,” we are brought face to face, not only with the awfulness of sin, and the wretchedness of sinful man, but also, with the overwhelming magnitude of a love which would go to such lengths to forgive the sinner. There has never been a greater manifestation of the motive in the heart of God, than the giving of His Son to die for us all, and individually, so that an answer to the destructive power of sin would be dealt with. That love would save the sinner from dying in his sin. It is God’s will, and purpose, for the sinner to be truly, wholly, and assuredly, forgiven of his sin. The separation that would separate sinful man has now been dealt with totally.
In the Old Testament, the Lord gave to Israel, and to us today, a picture of His way with regard to our approach to God, but also, with regard to the certainty of sins forgiven. In the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, a “mercy seat” was placed upon it. It was of pure gold, with a cherubim at each end, with wings outstretched, their faces looking toward one another, but down at the mercy seat. It would be concerning this mercy seat, that God would declare to Moses: “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat.” (Ex. 25:22) In the epistle to the Hebrews, we read that we are to have, “… boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” (10:19) This provision of God is extended to all who would come to Him by the blood of Jesus. It is a call to approach Him because of the certainty of His mercy. By the cleansing blood of Jesus we can come to God.
Dear Father, Make us clean to walk with Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad