ISAIAH 43:25 – I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
THEME OF THE DAY: NEVER ABOUT US. It is likely the most important Bible verse in the entire pages of scripture and may not be easily recognized as such. It is the opening one – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
Why would Genesis 1:1 stand out among the rest? It establishes the priority of all things in heaven and earth; God not man. Pay attention to how God’s Word opens. It does not start “in the beginning man” and that makes all the difference in a world that is consumed with selfishness. And the danger even exists among Christians. The Bible isn’t first about us, but God. In approaching the scriptures, the storyline is about God and that includes our salvation.
In today’s scripture, the Lord is speaking through the prophet Isaiah language that is emphatic – “I, I am He”. God is saying, “It won’t be your sacrifices, your efforts, or anything else of yourself that will blot out your transgressions. It is Me, and only Me, so that no one may boast, and I am not doing this for your sake, but My own honor and glory.”
The Apostle Paul would also emphasize this concept in the New Testament when it comes to the believer being put in Christ (which is the essence of salvation) – And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).
Salvation, like everything else in the Christian life, is never about us. Yes, we are the objects of God’s love in salvation but the ultimate purpose of salvation is for God’s grace and glory in Christ Jesus to be on display now and forever. The first chapter in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians emphasizes this truth. Slowly read this one long sentence in the Greek and take note of the praise of God’s grace and glory . . .
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:3-14).
Let’s ask the Lord to help us not be influenced by the godless culture that makes all of life about self. Instead, may we remember, “In the beginning God” and continue to make all things about Him!
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me for the times I make life all about me and not You.”
QUOTE: “The Bible contains many promises for us, but its primary focus is on the Promiser.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim