The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Precious One Part 3

“Unto you, therefore, which believe He is precious” (1 Peter 2:7).

Yes indeed, Jesus is precious.

May we join John the Baptist in agreeing that we are unworthy to unloose the straps of His sandals.

May we continue to know more of His preciousness and our wretchedness.

May we know Him as our Prophet, Priest and King. May we love Him, glorify Him, worship Him and work for Him. He is of immense and incalculable worth. He is precious!

It is sad to say, however, that often our lives are focused on us and not on Him. Oh yes, we love Jesus, but we relegate Him to responsibilities of making us feel good and of sweeping up after us. But the Lord Jesus didn’t come here to make us feel good about ourselves. He came here to be Lord of All and Master of Everything.

“To you who believe He is precious.”

May I remind you, He is not only our redeemer, but He is the divine intention in human form. May we be reminded that all things shall be gathered under His headship, and He shall rule everything! (See Ephesians 1:10). Jesus has a right to be the center of everything and I mean everything. He is the Lord.

In Luke 2 we get a glimpse of Him as a boy of 12. There we find Him amongst the teachers in the Temple. The wisdom of the ages poured from their grizzled beards, but they were confounded by the questions of the young boy from Galilee.

Yet the Lord Christ was human, perfectly human. He was in some ways just the same as other boys of His age. If we could travel back in time to His boyhood days in Nazareth, we might hear things like Mary saying, “Jehesuah, run for water.” Or we might listen as one of the neighbours says, “Look there goes Jehesuah, Mary’s boy; He’s been a big help to his Mother since Joseph died

Or another asks, “Who’s that young boy?

The answer comes, “That’s Jehesuah, Mary’s boy, He’s so polite.”

But where is this same Jesus today?

Why He’s running the universe. Think of it … one of us is in charge. It’s Jesus up there … It’s not Napoleon, not Alexander the Great. It’s Jesus!

And He’s approachable, and He cares and He’s able to be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He is precious!

It’s Jesus the Nazarene up there, ruling and reigning and subduing all things unto Himself. He is the centre of everything … Look at Him now, Mary’s boy, Jesus of Nazareth seated in cosmic authority.

He is precious; He is everything that is glorious. We can never think highly enough of Him or speak well enough concerning Him but let us try, for “Unto us who believe He is precious.’

John Newton was a rough, dirty sailor with a foul mouth and an appetite for filthy living. He hated life and life hated him. He was captain of a slave ship and eventually became a slave himself. In due course, he escaped and was in a ship that hit an unmerciful storm and he ended up in the sea crying out “Lord Save me!”

The Lord saved him physically then saved him spiritually and made him into a great gospel preacher and hymn writer!

He preached for years and when he was well past his “retirement” age, he had to have an assistant stand in the pulpit with him on Sundays. He was nearly blind and spoke in whispers, but nothing could keep him from preaching while he still had breath.

One Sunday, while delivering his message he repeated the sentence: “Jesus Christ is precious.” His helper whispered to him: “But you have already said that twice.” Newton turned to his helper and said loudly, “Yes, I’ve said it twice, and I’m going to say it again.” The stones in the ancient sanctuary fairly shook as the grand old preacher said again: “Jesus Christ is precious!”

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com   

The Wednesday Word: Jesus the Precious One Part 2

“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious.”(1 Peter 2:7).

Jesus is precious. We especially see that His preciousness shone out in its brilliance from the darkness of Calvary. Watch it stand out in the placard of accusation Pilate attached to the cross, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (Matthew 27: 37).

What stunningly instructive words are the first three words … “THIS IS JESUS.” They compel us to look at our God hanging on the cross with men hurling their fury at Him. ‘This is Jesus!’ But when we look again, we see that He is not a pathetic victim. He is the Lord Jesus, the Victorious King. He’s the King of the Jews, yes, but He’s much more.

Consider how, at the Incarnation, we discovered that He was the Saviour King. The angel said, “Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Then, after His birth, Wise Men arrived inquiring “Where is He who is born King of the Jews? He was and is the King. So according to the angel and the Wise Men Jesus is both the Saviour and the King

When we fast forward to the cross, Christ again displays Himself to be both Saviour and King. As Saviour, He was punished for the accumulated sins of His people. As King, He decided who would live or die. Remember, there were also two thieves being executed on that day when the young Prince of Glory was crucified. To one Christ gave life, to the other, by His silence, Christ gave death. Life and death are the prerogatives of a King. He is precious.

Then consider how as the sovereign King He died. He simply bowed his head and dismissed His Spirit … how majestic! If you doubt the majesty of this act, just try it for yourself. And no, I’m not talking about suicide. Just simply, from where you are sitting, dismiss your spirit. Just try to die. Outside of taking your own life, you can’t instantly will yourself to die. None of us can. But in His majesty, Christ not only chose how He should die, but whether or not to die at all. He is precious!

The cross did not kill Him; the nails did not kill Him. He died by an act of His will. In John 10:18, Jesus clearly taught, “No man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up.” And there, at the cross, He voluntarily laid down His life and deliberately died for us. He is precious.

Before he was saved, Martin Luther, when visiting the city of Rome, began to climb Pilate’s staircase on his hands and knees. The Pope had said that if anyone crawled up these steps they would get closer to God and forgiveness of sins would be obtained. So, Luther, the good catholic monk, imprisoned by legalism, began to climb. Suddenly, he was arrested by the words “The Just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). He saw the truth of this scripture and instantly rose up and fled from the place. From that hour on, his motto was “Faith alone, in Christ alone, without works of our own justify a sinner before God. Indeed, from that time on the Lord Jesus became precious to him.

What manner of man is this man Jesus? He is amazing! He is precious!

That precious Saviour is now the center of the glory of God; and in a day to come, He shall be confessed by every tongue in the universe. All will declare Him to be Lord.

“Jesus is Precious says the word

What comfort does this truth afford?

And those who in his name believe

With joy this precious truth receive.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: Nada, Niente, Zilch! (Nothing)

I have often been told by professing Christian that we are not declared in right standing with God until our life is characterised by obedience. Accordingly, Christ’s death on the cross was essential for right standing before God, but so also is our life of obedience. To which I say, “What a hodge-podge of confusion twice confounded!”

Although we strongly believe that the believer’s life is characterised by obedience, our obedience is in no way part of the ground of our justification (acquittal before God). To teach that our obedience constitutes any part of our acquittal is to indirectly teach that Christ’s doing and dying are insufficient to take us to heaven.

Are our works and obedience as Christians the condition for receiving God’s ‘not guilty’ verdict?

No!

Do we yet need to add our obedience to Christ’s in order to guarantee our admittance to heaven?

No!

Does our Justification depend on our moral transformation?

No!

If these things were so, then Christ’s doing and dying would be rendered inadequate. But, if His doing and dying are inadequate, it means something is missing. If something is missing, it is incomplete. If it is incomplete, it is not finished! If it is not finished, it is not perfect. If it is not perfect, then Christ lied and we are not saved (John 19:30; 11:25).

Let me ask you, do you trust in Christ alone + nothing? Has he satisfied the demands of God’s holy requirements on your behalf? Is He alone your righteousness? Is He alone your acceptance in heaven? “Yes,” you say, “but I need good works in addition to that.” Hey, no one is arguing that good works are not a part of the Christian life (Ephesians 2:10), but can your good works compete with Christ’s good works on your behalf?

Good works are a fruit of our Justification, not the basis of it! Indeed, to add good works to the finished work of Christ is an anti-gospel error of the highest order (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; 2:21; 3:11).

But you say, surely Christ’s doing and dying are not enough, we also need faith. Yes indeed, we need faith, but faith does not create our acquittal before God. Faith receives our acquittal, it embraces that which has already been accomplished, but faith is never reckoned as the basis of our justification. (John 3:36).

“Ah but we need repentance,” says another. Yes indeed, ongoing repentance is part of our growth in grace, but repentance is nowhere counted as any part of our justification. Our justification is based on the doing, dying and rising again of Christ + nothing, nada, zilch

Let me ask, have you any other scheme for getting to Heaven other than resting entirely on the doing and dying of Jesus? Is your hope built on “nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”? But let me warn you, if you are trying to impress God with anything other than the shed blood of Jesus, give it up. You are in danger of adding a “damnable plus” to Christ alone! He doesn’t need our contributions to bring us to Heaven! He alone is our qualification for glory.

Ebenezer Wooten, an earnest English evangelist of another generation, was holding a series of tent meetings. The last service had been conducted, the crowd was leaving, and the evangelist was busy taking down the tent. A young man approached the preacher and casually asked, “Mr. Wooten, what must I do to be saved?”

“Too late!” said the evangelist, in a matter-of-fact way, as he glanced up at the inquirer. “You’re too late, my friend, way too late!”

“Oh, don’t say that Mr. Wooten!” said the young man, “Surely it isn’t too late just because the meetings are over?”

“Yes, my friend,” answered the evangelist, “it’s too late! You want to know what you must DO to be saved, and I tell you that you’re hundreds of years too late! The work of salvation is done, completed, finished! It was finished on the cross; Jesus said so with the last breath that He drew! What more do you want?”

The truth is, the Lord Jesus has perfected and finished the work of Salvation at the cross and nothing, nada, niente, zilch (nothing) needs to be added.

And that‘s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: More Light from Old Windows

It is an old story, but for some of us it will always be new. It’s the story of how Jesus died for His people. It’s the story of how He died for me. Is it your story too?

In heaven they sing about this story as they proclaim, “You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood,” (Revelation 5:9).

Redeemed by blood … His blood … what a stunning truth! And Peter tells us that it is precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). The blood is precious to the heart of God and is precious to every believer.

In the gospels, God gives us 4 different accounts of the death of the Lord Jesus.

Once we are told the story of Creation.

Twice we are told the account of Jesus’ birth.

But God, not wishing us to miss anything, gives 4 accounts of Christ’s death.

When Jesus died, the religious rulers had their way, but little did old Joe Caiaphas and the boys know that the Scriptures were actually being fulfilled while the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross (see Isaiah 53, Psalm 22).

Look at the cross. Pilate had affixed a notice over the Saviour’s head saying, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King, of the Jews.”

Good for you Mr. Pilate! We would congratulate you if we could but what you said was only a little … but not a lot. You see, Jesus was far more than King of the Jews. He was the King of kings, and Lord of lords, He was God manifest in the flesh.

Yet there He was hanging on a cursed cross. And listen, listen to the rabble as they mock Him. Look, look at the soldiers as they gamble for His clothes.

He was dying but He didn’t have to.

We have the sentence of death in us. We are sinners and sin brings death (Romans 6:23). That’s why if the Lord tarries we will all someday be corpses. The seed of death is in us. But one of the wonderful truths revealed in God’s Gospel is that the One on whom death had no claim actually died. He it was who alone had life in Himself (John 5:29), and that life He voluntarily laid down for us (John 10:11).

At the cross, Jesus took up “the question of our sin. He was mocked, ridiculed, betrayed by a false friend, denied by a true one, forsaken by almost all yet He bore His people’s sins and judgment as He satisfied the justice of the Father.

Then, at the end, as He bowed His head and gave up the ghost He declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Another gospel tells us that He yielded up the ghost when He had cried again with a loud voice” (Matthew 27:50).

Notice that His voice was loud. It was full strength. The person who dies after a time of suffering is usually exhausted when they eventually expire. You can tell it in their voice. But in Jesus, we see a man who gave up His life in His full strength, and in the moment of departure called out, “It is finished.”

What was finished? I can’t tell you everything; no one I know can fully answer that question. Here are but a few suggestions.

He had come to glorify God … “It is finished.”

He had come to break the power of Satan … “It is finished.’’

He had come to accomplish redemption … “It is finished,”

He had come to give His life as a ransom for many … “It is finished.”

He had come to fulfill the righteous demands of the Father … “It is Finished.”

The three greatest words in the English language are, “It is finished.” If we think we have something to do to gain salvation we have not yet learned that ‘it is finished.’ The truth is, Jesus got there first! We are saved by His doing and dying and rising again.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: The Greatest Speech God Ever Made Part 2

(For Part 1, see last week’s Wednesday Word).

Before we consider Isaiah 53:1-7, let’s stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance and think of John 12:41. There we are told that the enthroned King of Isaiah 6 is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Isaiah realizes that the despised sufferer in Isaiah 53 is the very same person he had encountered in Isaiah 6 … and he is stunned!

You can tell by the way Isaiah is writing chapter 53 that he is living in the events and vividly seeing them. He is writing with a sense of shock.

The one whom He sees as despised, deserted and dying in agonizing pain is the same One he saw high and lifted up in overpowering splendor.

Can we be unmoved when we read this passage?

Remember how in Mark 14:33 when Christ came near to Gethsemane the pressure of our sins intensified into a crushing horror. He was ‘sore amazed and very heavy.’

Literally, He was astounded, staggered, bewildered and utterly dumbfounded.

The hymn writer described it this way,

“Oh, never, never can we know,

That crushing weight of sin and woe.

When He our great sin bearer bled.

The Lamb of Calvary in our stead.”

But back to what Isaiah saw in that sacred chapter. In Isaiah 53:5 he tells us that Christ was wounded. The creator controller of the universe was indeed wounded. He was nailed to the cross by iron spikes … but why? For our transgressions … that’s why. For my sin … your sin … our sin. For Jesus, sin was the real horror of the cross … not the pain of the beating or the spikes.

I am disturbed when I realize that it was my sins that put Him on that cross.

Read these Isaiah verses with ‘I,’ ‘My’ and ’Me’ instead of ‘We,’ ‘Our’ and ‘Us.’ Let’s personalize this passage.

‘He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and I hid as it were my face from Him; He was despised, and I esteemed Him not.

4 Surely He has borne my griefs, and carried my sorrows: yet I did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my iniquities: the chastisement of my peace was upon Him; and with His stripes I am healed.

6 I, like a sheep, had gone astray; I had turned to my own way; and the Lord has laid on Him all my iniquity.

7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for my transgression was He stricken.

It’s no wonder that Isaiah was stunned! As the Hymn writer said,

“Was it for crimes that I had done,

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity grace unknown

And love beyond degree.”

See the crown prince of heaven hanging naked, mocked and pain racked on that cross for you. Observe the lacerations on His back. Notice the bruises from the wicked fist blows. Look at the iron spikes in His hands and feet. The one high and lifted up is oppressed and afflicted.

Does it not leave you speechless?

The king of kings takes off His crown and is baptized in blood.

The cross says something astounding about God. It is this – God is Just – Loving – Merciful and Gracious.

Calvary is God’s greatest speech, and it leaves me speechless.

Today He is calling us to follow Him.

Will you trust Him? … Today? …

Believe on Him.

Rest on Him.

He is wonderful.

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: The Greatest Speech God Ever Made: Part 1

Hebrews 1:1-2, “God … Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…”

History is riddled with wonderful and mighty speeches – Consider the Gettysburg address or any of the moving speeches Churchill made during the Second World War.

God is also a speech maker. He made many speeches through the ancient Hebrew prophets.

Yes, He spoke by the prophets but His finest speech was made in the person of His son … the God/man … the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s whole life was an articulate speech announcing to us exactly what God was like.

Indeed, the greatest speech God ever made about Himself was on that day 2000 years ago when our Master was impaled on a Roman gibbet. Unfortunately, we can become so familiar with this event that we cease to be amazed by it.

But what an astonishing speech Christ Jesus made at the cross! Isaiah the prophet had a vision of this event and was stunned.

To get the backdrop, read John 12: 38-41. Verse 41 says, “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spoke of him”.

There were two occasions when Isaiah saw the Lord.

The first was in Isaiah 6 :1-7. We read, “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

Let’s look at these verses,

V1 After 52 years on the throne Uzziah had died. This must have ushered in a time of national instability. The king is dead! But amid the crisis, Isaiah “saw the Lord.”

The King was dead, but Isaiah entered the temple and saw another king. The ultimate king who sat forever upon His throne – The Throne of glory, the Throne of government and the Throne of grace.

V2 the Seraphims – covered their faces.

They couldn’t look directly at Him.

Moses was like this… the glory of God was too intense for any human being (see Exodus 33), therefore, He was only allowed to see the Lord’s back. Yet, when He came down from the mountain, his face frightened the people – He had to wear a veil. Just the reflected glory of the Lord’s back was devastating to the people.

V3 Holy, Holy, Holy – this characteristic, Holy’ was repeated for emphasis. The Bible never says God is love, love, love or God has mercy, mercy, mercy or Justice, Justice, Justice, or even wrath, wrath, wrath. But He is characterized by intense holiness.

In Isaiah 6:4 the doorposts moved. Doorposts can’t hear, see or speak but they had the good sense to move when God showed up in His temple.

And they weren’t the only thing shaking!

When Isaiah saw the living God the reigning monarch of the Universe in all His holiness, He cried out ‘WOE IS ME!’

The word ‘WOE’ sounds a bit old fashioned. But it is the critical word here.

‘Woe’ means ‘absolute despair!’ or “I’m undone” or – I’m disintegrated.” In the silent movies we often encounter the poor young girl chained to the railway track with the train coming straight for her. She could say with all-honesty, “Woe is me.”

Well, that’s what Isaiah said when He saw the Lord. This man was a respected godly man – a paragon of virtue. But in the brief second, he was exposed to the gaze of the thrice holy God he felt spiritual annihilation.

Remember now in John 12 41 we read … “These things said Isaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.”

According to this, in the Temple that day, Isaiah saw Jesus!

But more about that next week

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: The Wonderful Cross

(see Romans 3:23-28).

“When I survey the wondrous cross,

On which the young prince of glory died;

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride.”

Watts

Christ in His death opened the way into God’s presence for us.

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

When Jesus said, “I am the way” (John 14:6) He meant, He was and is the only way to God. If you are looking for God anywhere else other than the Lord Jesus, you, according to the Master, are going the wrong way. To look for another way is a subtle attack on the Lord Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is not one of many ways, He is the way! He didn’t even say His teachings led to the way. No indeed, He boldly declared “I am the way.”

‘The way’ was a particularly important idea to Israelites.

Moses had instructed them, “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you” (Deuteronomy 5:32-33).

Isaiah had said: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21).

The Psalmist pleads, “Teach me thy way, O Lord” (Psalms 27:11).

Jesus was, therefore, claiming to be the fulfillment of their instructions and desires for the way. In Him and His cross the gates of Heaven are wide open.

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

The Christ and His Cross are the Way. At the cross we see the free grace of God. We see a sinless man dying for His people. Despite this, the critics of free grace make works not only the evidence of salvation, but salvation itself. “There is no salvation, they say, “apart from works.” Then they say, “You won’t find out whether you are justified until the Last Day when your works will be examined.” They have a different Way than we do.

To add works to the cross is another attack on the Lord Jesus. He has made peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20). Peace was not made when we added our two cents worth. Peace was accomplished at Calvary. The work was and is finished.

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

If the Way to God is by Christ plus our works, then works are one of our mediators. But the Scripture boldly asserts that there is but one mediator between God and man … not two (1 Timothy 2:5).

If our works mediate for us, then they are partly responsible for our salvation. But the scriptures know nothing of this way. Peace has already been made by the shed blood of Calvary plus nothing.

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

For a moment, let’s look at man’s contribution to the cross. When Jesus died at Calvary, it was man’s hand that drove in those nails.

It was man’s hand that planted the crown of thorns upon His brow.

It was man’s hand that plunged the spear into His side.

At the cross, man did his worst against heaven’s best and

when man had done his very worst against God, God did His very finest for us … He saved us!

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

At the cross, God’s righteous wrath fell on Jesus. He took it and was cursed on our behalf. Because of the cross, God can now in righteous grace save His people … apart from their contributions. Because of the cross, the vilest sinner who believes may be saved. We are saved by grace without our partnership.

Thank God for the Wonderful Cross!

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com  

The Wednesday Word: A Simple Word For Us All

Have you been called to minister? Whether you know it or not, you have, all believers have. We´re here to extend the claims and fame of Jesus. We’re here to help non-believers and believers alike to see how wonderful Jesus is.

As God´s servants, may we continually show each another that Christ is precious. May we be helped to know that our sins have been cast behind God’s back (Isaiah 38:17). May we continually remind one another that the Lord´s sacrifice at Calvary was so powerful that, although He is all-seeing, the Father will never again catch sight of our sins.

Consider this, God said that He beheld no iniquity in Jacob (Numbers 23:21). But there was iniquity in Jacob, lots of it! Was God lying? No, that would be impossible!(Numbers 23:19). But, here´s the thing, because Jacob´s sin was put away at Calvary, the Father could say I find no iniquity in Him. And He says the same about us.

Calvary! What a powerful sacrifice! Eternal glory is due to the lovely Lord Jesus Christ because of it! He is the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness! (Zechariah 13:1).

It is written, “Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound” (Psalm 89:15). In the Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God, we hear the ‘joyful sound’…here’s part of it.

Christ was made a curse for His people.

Under our sins, we can write in large, bold letters, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

The English/Canadian theologian, Arthur Custance, astutely observed, “Any one of a number of deaths were possible for a condemned man under Roman law. That they should choose crucifixion was no accident since it was one form of capital punishment wherein a man was not merely put to death but was also accursed in the sight of God (Galatians 3:13). In other words, they forced upon Jesus, who was innocent, not merely the condemnation of the court, but the condemnation of God also.” (Arthur Custance, Doorway Papers).

Christ took the death of His people, and now, death has no sting with which to wound God´s elect. May we hear this frequently when we fellowship with one another.

But, it doesn´t end there. Christ Jesus is now made the Righteousness of God to His people. And how is this done? It is done by imputation. The believer is now reckoned as having the actual, entire righteousness of Christ (see Romans 4:6-8; 3:21-22; 2 Corinthians 3:21).

Believers in their new identity in Christ have no sin, curse or death. That message will never grow old. We are declared not guilty for all eternity. As it is written, ‘Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condems? It is Christ that died; yea, rather, is risen again, and is rather at the right hand of God (the place of power and acceptance) who also makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

If our dear ministers in the pulpit made the gospel more prominent, it would be a blessing to their ministries. It would also encourage believers to build one another up in the most holy faith and to strive earnestly for the name and fame of the Lord Jesus.

And that´s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com 

The Wednesday Word: How God Got Rid of Our Sins

The gospel is wonderfully simple. It is the good news of the doing, dying and rising again of the God/Man. This gospel work was and is both finished and successful. As proof of this, we have, at this very moment, a glorified saviour seated in the place of cosmic authority (Hebrews 10:12).

So, let’s ask, how does God get rid of the believer’s sins? To answer this question, the Lord has taken great pains, in His Word, to show how completely He has done this. Watch how He employs word pictures that are so easily understood.

For example,

(1) In Psalm 103:12, we read, “As far as the east us so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Where is the East? Where is the West? No matter where we are on the globe there is always an east and a west. But who can tell us their actual location? If we begin traveling west, we will still be westward bound after many days of journey. Similarly, if we set out to discover the ultimate location of the east, we will never finally arrive.

As far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our transgressions from us. This is how God got rid of our sins.

2) In Isaiah 38:17, we read, “Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” What a precious passage to assure us that God no longer sees our sins. Who can see behind his back? No one. The good news is that He no longer sees our sins. He Himself hurled them behind His back…. And not just some of our sins, … all of them.

All our sins;

Every sin in thought, word, or deed;

Every secret sin;

Every presumptuous sin;

All our sin!

He cast our sins behind His back. This is how God got rid of our sin!

3) In Micah 7:19, we read “Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Again, we find it is His work. He Himself cast our sins there. Not simply into the sea, but into the depths of the sea. If a person on board a ship empties some coins over the ship’s side, how much of it he will get back again? Not a red cent! All the coins would go down into the depths. So also with our sins. God cast them, great and small, into the depths of the sea, never to be brought back again.

This is how God got rid of our sins!

4) In Isaiah 44:22 we read, I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.” Have you looked at the sky recently? There was a cloud there yesterday, an imposing one. Where is it today? … It is gone! And so it is with our sins. One day our sins rise up as a thick cloud between us and God, but God Himself blots them out because of the blood!

This is how God got rid of our sins!

5) In Isaiah 1:18, we read, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Scarlet and crimson are two of the most difficult colours to destroy, but God Himself took our scarlet sins, purges them, and, as it were, makes them white as snow.

This is how God gets rid of our sins!

It is our privilege to know, as David did, that we are, with reference to sin, made whiter than snow (Psalm 51:7). God has gone to amazing lengths to get rid of our sin! (See also Hebrews 10: 17, Ephesians 1:7 and Romans 4:7-8).

Is Jesus precious to you? He remembers our sins no more. He forgives us according to the riches of His grace. Who can compute this kind of love and mercy?

And that’s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com 

The Wednesday Word: Christ Lifted Up Part 2

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto Me” (John 12:32).

There is no doubt or hesitation in this statement. Jesus is saying, if He dies on the cross, multitudes of people will be drawn to Him. There is no hint or suggestion in this statement of any kind of failure in the cross. He MUST be lifted up and as a result He WILL draw all to Himself.

Because of His being crucified, there will be a great multitude which no man can number drawn to him. They will come to Him out of all nations, peoples, and tongues (see Revelation 7:9).

Of course, we must not read into the text (John 12:32) that which is not there. When the Master said He would draw all men unto Him, He didn´t mean all men without exception. That would be contrary to Scripture. That would mean that Hell is a monumental testimony of the failure of the cross. Plainly, the words mean that He will draw all manner of people to Him — Kings, Queens, high, low, rich, poor, moral, immoral and people of every description. All will be drawn to Him (Revelation 5:9).

If we read Acts 15:14, we will see that in the great Council of Jerusalem, James stood up and said that God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His Name.

And the truth is, God is yet calling out a people for His name, a people for His praise and a people for the glory of His grace.

If you are a believer, and I trust you are, let me ask, do you witness for Him and engage to some degree in His work? Is it not an immense encouragement to know that His death was not in vain? His work upon the cross has definite results —the results that He intended. Is it not an encouragement to know that Christ is not disappointed by the outcome of Calvary?

Every mansion in heaven will be occupied. There will be no empty seats. It is the great purpose of the Lord Jesus to, because of the cross, draw all kinds of people to Himself.

It is an immense comfort as we gossip the Gospel to know that there is no failure in the work the Lord finished. Christ is accomplishing His purposes and will continually accomplish them until He comes back again and welcomes all His believing people to Himself.

Hudson Taylor, missionary to China in the 1800s, said, if he had gone out to China with the idea that God was going to convert all the Chinese, he would have left China long ago. But he said he went there with the idea that God would call out a people for His name, and this purpose, he said, was accomplished. He said that in almost every province in China there were numbers ready to meet Christ when He returned.

And so, it is an immense encouragement, as we witness, to know that the Lord´s purposes shall be fully accomplished; His death was not in vain. He shall see, the travail of His soul and be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11).

Therefore, we should take Him at His word and believe Him when He says,

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto Me” (John 12:32).

And that´s the Gospel Truth!

Miles Mckee

www.milesmckee.com