Hosea 11:9-12 "I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city. They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord. Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints." This scripture reveals the gracious heart of God revealed in Christ. The chapter unfolds the astonishing contrast between Israel’s waywardness and the steadfast mercy of the LORD. Though His people have provoked Him to anger, He declares, “I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger… for I am God, and not man.”   Here shines forth the sovereign grace of the covenant God, Who, instead of consuming His guilty children, turns His wrath aside through the redeeming work of His Son. In Christ, Divine justice is satisfied, and mercy triumphs over judgment. This passage points us to that wondrous mystery—that God’s holiness is not compromised, but magnified, in His saving Love. Here we behold the faithfulness of the LORD Who calls His people to Himself, and the sure Hope that in Christ, His compassion never fails. When we consider God and His dealings with sinners, there’s something here that ought to stop us in our tracks. God is Holy. Perfectly Holy. And yet He puts Himself right in the middle of a sinful people. He does not stand far off. He does not leave the entire world to run its course and burn itself out. No, the LORD is in the midst of His people. That is both the most comforting truth and the most sobering truth we who are the LORD'S chosen, redeemed ones could ever hear. Think about this: when a man gets angry, he lets it fly. Our wrath is quick, it’s fierce, it’s often without measure. We explode, and then we try to clean up the mess afterward. That’s man’s way. But God is not man. His wrath is not like ours. His anger is never unhinged, never unjust, never wasted. His wrath is Holy. And that’s what makes it so fearful. Because when God unleashes His anger, it is perfect judgment. Look at the flood in Noah’s day—when the fountains of the deep broke open and the heavens poured rain, every living thing outside the ark perished (Genesis 7:21–23). Yet, even that is a small manifestation of the wrath of God. He destroyed an entire world, yet spared eight souls alive as a token of His grace for an elected remnant. Noah found grace, having been chosen and set apart by God in an otherwise wicked generation. He did not earn it nor deserve it. God set His favor on him as a remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 11:5). Here is the wonder of it: this Holy God, whose wrath is so fierce, so consuming, chooses to withhold it from some, all the while pouring it out on others. Why? Because He is God, and not man. Because He acts according to His sovereign purpose, not according to shifting passions. He holds back judgment, and in holding back, it's because He has purposed mercy for them in His forbearance (Romans 9:15). And that mercy is found in one Person alone—in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Ephraim was full of lies and deceit. They turned to idols, they rebelled against the LORD, and yet He said He would not destroy them. He spared them, not because they were worthy, but because His purpose in Christ had not yet been fulfilled. He preserved that nation so that centuries later, Christ would pass through Samaria and meet a woman at a well (John 4:4) . That is Holy Mercy. That is God's Sovereign purpose. Make no mistake— “we are by nature children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3). We deserve His anger. But here’s the Good News of the Gospel: God has already executed His wrath upon His Son. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10). Christ bore it, every bit of it, at the cross. He endured the judgment so His people never will. “ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). That’s why His mercy is Holy Mercy. His love is Holy Love. His grace is Holy Grace. God never lays aside His justice. In Christ Jesus, righteousness and peace kiss each other (Psalm 85:10). His holiness sets apart His people in election, in redemption, in calling. When He roars like a lion, His sheep hear His voice (Hosea 11:10; John 10:27) , and they come trembling to Him. That’s the work of a Holy God in the hearts of sinners. Here’s our confidence: “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). "The Holy One is in the midst of us still. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah" (Revelation 5:5). He is ruling, He is reigning, and He will bring all His people home. Christ crucified. His body broken, His blood shed, His wrath endured, His Righteousness imputed. He is our Redemption, our Justification, our Sanctification, and our Glorification. He is All in all. Thanks be to God for His Holy Love, Grace, and Mercy in Christ Jesus.

Philemon 1:17-19 "If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides." In Paul’s letter to Philemon, we are given a living picture of the Gospel itself. The apostle takes the case of Onesimus, a runaway servant with a real debt and real guilt, and he steps in on his behalf. Paul identifies with him, interposes himself as his representative, and pledges to cover whatever wrong has been done. In this, we see a vivid illustration of Christ and His saving work—substitution and imputation. Christ stands in the sinner’s place, and the sinner’s debt is laid upon Him. This is not theory, but the very heart of Redemption. It is Christ crucified, sovereignly accomplishing salvation for His people. Paul tells Philemon, “Receive him as myself.” That is substitution. Onesimus, the runaway servant, had no hope of being received back except through Paul’s intercession. And so it is with us. What hope would any sinner have to stand before a holy God on his own? None. But Christ says to the Father, “Receive them as Myself.” That is the Gospel—Christ crucified, the Substitute for sinners. “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one” (Hebrews 2:11). The Father receives His people as He does His Son, because the Son has stood in their place. And then Paul says, “If he hath wronged thee… put that on mine account.” That is imputation. All the wrong, all the debt, every injustice of Onesimus was to be transferred or reckoned to Paul. And Paul promises, “I will repay it.” How much more glorious is Christ! “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5). God imputed to Him the full debt of His people’s sins, and at Calvary Christ paid it in full. “He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). Notice it does not say, "was" but "is" (continual present tense) the Propitiation. The effects of His satisfaction continue. There will never be a time when God will cast away one for whom Christ died. This is the sovereign work of Christ. He did not come merely to make salvation possible. He came as God’s appointed Advocate, the Substitute and Surety for His people. He bore their sins in His own body on the tree, and His righteousness is imputed to them. It was purposed in eternity, accomplished at Calvary, and revealed by the Spirit when it pleases Him to reveal Christ in the heart (Galatians 1:15). When Paul told Philemon, “Receive him as myself… put that on mine account,” he was pointing us to the heart of the Gospel. Christ crucified stands in the place of His elect. He says to the Father, “Do not look upon them, look upon Me. Whatever they owe, put it to My account.” And He has repaid it. Therefore, “there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). The Father receives His people as He does His Son. That is substitution. Their sins are laid upon Christ, and His righteousness is laid upon them. That is imputation. This is Sovereign Grace. So we rejoice with Paul, knowing that in Christ, our Substitute and Surety, everything is finished. Our debt is paid. Our acceptance before God is secure. “ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit” (Philemon 25).

Acts 28:28 "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." In Acts 28, we find the apostle Paul in chains, a prisoner in Rome. Bound by men, kept by soldiers, yet preaching freely the kingdom of God. Though Paul was bound, the Word of God was not bound. Many in Paul’s day were concerned with freedom—freedom of religion, freedom of worship, freedom from the power of Rome. But Paul reminds us that true freedom does not rest in the hands of politicians or legislation. Promotion and direction come from the LORD, Who directs all things to His honor and glory. If He gives freedom, it is from Him. If He removes it, it is still His doing. And so it was that Paul, for preaching Christ and Him crucified, was bound with a chain. Yet, by the purpose of God, that very chain brought him to Rome where he preached Christ to many who would not otherwise have heard. Paul explains his imprisonment this way in verse 20: “For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” What was the Hope of Israel? It was the Messiah, the LORD Jesus Christ—foretold in the Law and the Prophets, Who came to fulfill the justice of God, to lay down His life for His people, to rise again, and to establish His everlasting kingdom. The Jews looked for an earthly kingdom, but Christ came declaring, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Paul, sent by God as the apostle to the Gentiles, proclaimed that this Hope was not reserved for Israel after the flesh, but for the true Israel of God—those chosen in Christ from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Galatians 6:16) . This was the scandal of his message: Christ crucified for both Jew and Gentile alike. And for this cause, he was bound. Yet Paul never considered himself a prisoner of Caesar. He writes in Ephesians 3:1, “For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.” Again in Ephesians 4:1, “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” What confidence! He knew his circumstances were not accidents. He knew the Hand of God had purposed it all. He belonged to Christ, and if Christ put him in chains, it was for the furtherance of the Gospel. This is why he could write in 2 Timothy 2:9, “I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure all things for the elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Paul’s body might be chained, but Christ’s Word ran free. The Salvation of God is unstoppable. Here we see the fruit of the Word (Christ) in the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Paul reasoned with the Jews, “ persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning till evening” (Acts 28:23). Some believed. Some did not believe in the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy: “ Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. " (Isaiah 6:9). “For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed...” (Matthew 13:15). Many thought themselves free, but they were bound in unbelief. But then comes the glorious declaration of verse 28: “Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.” Men may resist. Nations may oppose. Kings may rage. But God has decreed the salvation of His people, and it shall stand (Psalm 2). Christ did not shed His blood in vain. He is “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42) —not every person without exception, but all His people whom the Father gave Him out of the world (Revelation 5:9) . Jew and Gentile alike, from every nation, Christ will draw His redeemed. We see that some who are outwardly free are in reality bound as blind, deaf, and dead in sin. Yet those whom the world calls bound and narrow for looking uniquely to the LORD Jesus, come in the flesh as all their Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption—are despised, rejected, and opposed for Christ’s sake—yet truly free. Free in Him Who said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36) Here then is the comfort of the Gospel: Christ crucified has finished the work. He has paid the sin-debt of His people. He has risen in triumph. And now His Word goes forth, unstoppable, unbound, sovereign, calling sinners out of darkness into His marvelous Light. Those who are God's elected ones, redeemed and justified by the shed blood of the LORD Jesus unto death, need not fear chains, opposition, or rejection. We are not to fear when the world speaks against this message, for “everywhere it is spoken against.” Instead, let us rejoice that Christ reigns. Let us rejoice that Salvation is of the LORD and rejoice that the Word of God cannot be bound!

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" When we think of wickedness, we often point to the dark deeds of the world—murder, adultery, deception, and corruption. Yet God’s Word declares that wickedness is not first what people do, but who people are . It is the very nature of man’s heart since the fall of Adam: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). By nature, we are “children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:3). The greatest evidence of this depravity is not only in how man treats man but in how man approaches God. Outward religion abounds—many profess to worship God, many “make a show of religion,” but the Scripture reveals that the natural heart does not know, nor love, the God of the Bible. “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:10–11). People will gladly embrace a god of their imagination, but when confronted with the God Who is Holy, Just, and Sovereign—Who “doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35) —the carnal heart cries, “He is not my God.” Left to ourselves, we seek our own way. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Some pursue outward morality, some rely on religious duties, some rest in ceremonies and rituals. But the testimony of God’s Word is this: “To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). The heart is deceitful—it may appear good in man’s eyes, but it is separated from God. It may be zealous, but “not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2) . It may honor Him with the lips, but the heart is far from Him (Matthew 15:8). Here is the wonder of God's Grace in Christ: though we are dead, though we are deceived. Still, we are lovers of self and haters of God. The LORD Jesus Christ did not come to make salvation possible, nor to wait on the will of man, but to accomplish the redemption of His people. “Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him” (John 17:2). The Son of God laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11) —for those the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world. His blood was not shed in vain; it was poured out for “God’s elect” (Romans 8:33), that their sins might be forgiven, their condemnation removed, and their righteousness obtained upon completion of His death on the cross. The redeemed sinner's Hope is: “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:33,34). Do you see yourself in the deceitfulness of the heart? Do you see that left to yourself, you would never seek Him, never love Him, never bow to Him? Then see the glory of Christ’s sovereignty. Salvation is not in you opening your heart, but in God by His Spirit opening it: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). It is not you allowing Christ, but Christ giving you life: “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). It is not you clothing yourself, but God clothing you “with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10), in the precious blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Our hearts are deceitful, but Christ is Faithful. Our nature is wicked, but Christ is Righteous. Our will is bound, but Christ is Sovereign. And in His Mercy, He casts the sins of His redeemed ones “into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Look away from yourself to Christ alone. Rest in His sovereign grace.

1 Timothy 1:18-20 "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme." There is a charge laid upon us, and it is not optional. It is not a matter to be taken lightly, nor a mere slogan to be repeated. The apostle speaks of it as a solemn and weighty command: “Holding faith, and a good conscience.”  This is essential to the glory of God and to the well-being of our souls, as the children of God in Christ by His saving Grace. Paul charges Timothy to hold fast to the Faith and a good conscience, even in the midst of conflict. This charge rests not in Timothy’s own strength, but in the grace and power of Christ Who had called him. For the warfare of faith is spiritual, and he that "casteth away a good conscience maketh shipwreck concerning the faith." Herein we behold that Christ Himself keeps His own, yet He warns against the presumption of the flesh. Our confidence is not in our hold upon Him, but in His unchanging hold upon us. Think for a moment how easily people use the words “keep the faith.” It sounds noble on the surface, but it is often empty and shallow. Faith is not a trinket to hang on to when convenient. Faith is not sentiment. Faith is not a vague optimism about the future. Faith, as Paul declares, is " The Faith," that objective body of revealed Truth concerning Christ and His cross. To hold the Faith is to hold to the Gospel itself. It is to cling to Christ, convinced and persuaded that all of salvation is in the LORD Jesus, by Him, and to Him. The Faith is that God-given persuasion that His blood has truly reconciled and justified those the Father gave Him for whom He laid down His life. It is the persuasion by the Spirit of Grace that His Righteousness is perfect, complete, and forever, imputed by God the Father to each of the elect of God at the cross. So complete was that Righteousness that Christ accomplished that upon completion of His work on the cross, there remained nothing more to do than to declare righteous each of God's elect from the beginning of time to the end, (Hebrews 9:14-17). This is what makes the difference between a mask of religion and True Faith. Some put on a mask, like actors, pretending outwardly to believe. But that mask eventually slips. True Faith cannot be manufactured. God-given Faith always lays hold of Christ alone as its Object. It is not Christ plus something. It is Christ, and Him crucified alone. Paul tells Timothy to " war a good warfare." Gospel ministry is warfare, and every believer is enlisted under Christ, the Captain of Salvation. To war a good warfare is to not rely on human strength or carnal weapons. It is to fight with the Truth of Christ, to stand in His righteousness imputed, to resist the pull of the world, the deceit of false teachers, and the accusations of the enemy. Christ has already triumphed. His sovereignty assures the victory. We fight, because He has already overcome, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” ( Ephesians 6:12). Now, Paul ties faith to something else—a " good conscience." These two cannot be separated. A good conscience is not the natural condition of man. By nature, our conscience accuses us, or excuses us wrongly, because it is fallen and depraved. By nature, we carry guilt, shame, and dead works. But the Gospel declares that the blood of Christ purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). A good conscience, then, is one cleansed by Christ’s blood, one that rests in His finished work. It is the Spirit of God Who takes the sinner, purges him, and turns his heart away from self, away from vain works, and fixes it wholly on Christ and His righteousness. That is a miracle of grace, and it magnifies God's sovereignty in the salvation of His people. But Paul gives a warning. Not all who profess faith hold it. Some, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, "made shipwreck of The Faith". Outwardly, they professed to believe, but inwardly they never rested in Christ. In time, their teaching betrayed them. They turned aside from the Gospel, and Paul named them as examples. This was not cruelty; it was necessary, so the church would not be deceived. Even now, many preachers stand and speak of 'faith', but their message is empty because it is Christless. To commend such teachers is blindness. It is like sitting in a house without light and not even noticing—because there is no true sight. Beloved, how urgent then is this charge. To hold The Faith is to hold Christ, or rather Christ holding the sinner. To put it away is to put away Christ. There is no middle ground. The soul that clings to Christ has Life, Peace, and Hope. The soul that turns away can only result in ruin and shipwreck. Let's remember: holding the Faith is not about our grip on Him, but His hold on us. He is sovereign. He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. The Captain of our Salvation never loses one soldier. The Lamb Who was slain will not lose one for whom He shed His blood (John 6:39) . He commands us to hold faith and a good conscience, and by His Spirit He keeps us holding fast. So here is the charge for us today: " hold the faith, and hold it with a good conscience. " Cling to Christ crucified. Rest in His Righteousness. Trust in His finished work. Do not trade Him for empty religion. Do not put Him aside for the approval of men. Let every hope, every confidence, every assurance be in Him alone. For in Him there is no condemnation, in Him there is peace with God, and in Him there is God's sovereign Grace that holds us fast to the end.

Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Paul’s declaration is bold and unshakable: he is not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the Message of Christ Himself. This Gospel is not about man, nor is it rooted in human wisdom or effort—it is the Good News of the eternal Son of God, Who came into the world to accomplish salvation for His people. In Him the Righteousness of God is revealed, and through Him sinners are brought from death to life. The Gospel is Christ—His Person, His work, His glory. The Gospel is called both the Gospel of God and the Gospel of Christ . They are the same. It is the Good News purposed by the Father from eternity, accomplished in time by the Son, and revealed by the Spirit to elect redeemed sinners. From eternity, before time began, God purposed to glorify His Son as the Redeemer. There was never a moment when Christ was not appointed as Savior. Election itself is bound up with Him: “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). If any are elect, it is because Christ stood as their Redeemer, the One Who would come into this world, establish their righteousness, and save them by His shed blood unto death. The Gospel is, at its core, the work between the Father and the Son (John 10:30). This is why Paul can say he is not ashamed. There is much to be ashamed of in the counterfeit "gospels" of men—messages that add to or take away from Christ’s work, which are not the Gospel of God (Galatians 1:6-9). But the true Gospel is entirely of God’s grace in Christ . He alone is the Mercy Seat, the Propitiation. “ God hath set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past” (Romans 3:25) . Christ’s death is not merely a covering—it is the complete satisfaction of God’s justice, the turning away of wrath, the reconciliation of elected sinners to God. Everything begins and ends with Him. And yet, how offensive this Gospel remains to the natural heart! The Jews stumbled at a crucified Messiah; the Greeks mocked at the foolishness of the cross. Today, many still stumble because this message strips man of all glory and gives it wholly to Christ. To some, it seems unfair. To others, it seems too narrow. But Scripture is plain: “ It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Romans 9:16) . The Salvation of God is not by opportunity or chance—it is by God's sovereign will in Christ Jesus. Here is the Wisdom of God: that through the death of His Son, He could remain just and yet justify sinners. “That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). No human wisdom could ever devise such a salvation. The world’s wise men—religious leaders, theologians, and philosophers—feel around in the dark like blind men trying to describe an elephant. One touches the tail and says it is a rope. The other feels the side and says it is a wall. The other grabs the leg and says it is a trunk, etc. But in blindness, none can see what it is in truth. So it is with the salvation of God in Christ. Unless Christ is revealed, they see nothing. True Wisdom is found only in God’s Way of Salvation: “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23–24). This Gospel is unchanging. Whether preached in Jerusalem, Corinth, Africa, or America, it is the same Message: One Faith, One Hope, One LORD. The just shall live by Faith, (Christ the Object of Faith) not by works, not by feelings, not by experience, but by Christ Himself. Faith is not the ground or instrument of justification but the God-given eye to see that justification has already been accomplished in Christ’s death. By that Faith, the Spirit continually directs us away from ourselves and to Christ alone. Therefore, Paul says, “I am not ashamed.” Neither should we be. Though the world mocks, though religion scoffs, yet this Gospel remains the very Power of God unto Salvation. It is by this Message that blind eyes are opened, dead sinners are raised to life, and Christ is revealed in His glory. Those of us whom the Father elected, and the Son redeemed, we live by this Faith. It is not even our clinging to Christ that is our salvation, but rather Christ holding in His sovereign Hand each one that the Father gave from eternity and for whom He came and laid down His life. Our confidence is not in ourselves, nor in our works or will—but in Him. As Paul wrote: “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The just shall live by Faith. The just shall live by Christ. This is the message Paul was not ashamed to declare. And by God’s grace, neither are we whom He has taught by His Spirit.

Isaiah 6:1-5 "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. 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. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 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." Here, Isaiah, the LORD's prophet, is brought face to face with His majesty, holiness, and sovereignty. The earthly throne of Judah had been emptied by the sudden death of Uzziah, but the heavenly throne remained unmoved and forever occupied by the Eternal King. This vision is not merely historical; it is Christ Himself Whom Isaiah beheld, as John testifies, “These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him”   (John 12:41). Isaiah is laid low by this clear revelation of Christ in all His majesty as the Eternal God, before His appointed time to come to the earth to pay the sin debt of His people. So glorious is the LORD Jesus that the holy angels veil their faces before Him, declaring, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”   In the light of such holiness, Isaiah is undone, confessing, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.” This passage brings us to the heart of the Gospel: before the glory of Christ, every sinner is exposed, ruined, and silenced; but it is this same LORD, high and exalted, Who in sovereign mercy and grace reveals His cleansing work through the altar, pointing us to the finished work of Christ on Calvary's cross. Therefore, Isaiah’s vision is both a humbling revelation of the sinner's ruin in the fall of Adam, but also the gracious foreshadowing of redemption in Christ Jesus, the Last Adam, Who came and earned and established that Righteousness necessary for God to be just and justify those whom He ordained to salvation from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-7) as the King of glory. Earthly leaders rise and fall, seasons of life change, and even what once seemed strong and secure collapses—there is one reality that never changes: Christ is on the throne. He is not merely a figurehead king, with a throne of pomp and circumstance and empty ceremony or fragile power. It is the Throne of the Eternal Son of God, ruling in holiness, majesty, and grace. To see Him as He truly is shatters the sinner's pride, humbles the heart, and yet also gives Hope, because this Holy King is also the Merciful Savior. The death of King Uzziah marked the end of an era for Israel. He was a capable and prosperous ruler under God's providential Hand, but his story ended in pride and judgment. He presumed to take upon himself what only the priests were consecrated to do, and God struck him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16–21) . What a sobering picture: a man who began well, prospered greatly, and yet fell under the weight of his own pride. It is against that backdrop that Isaiah says, “I saw also the Lord.” When the earthly king fell, Isaiah saw the heavenly King—Christ Himself, high and exalted on His throne of glory. The glory that filled the temple was none other than the glory of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God. The scene around the throne is awe-inspiring. There stand the seraphim, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory”  (Isaiah 6:3). God’s holiness is not merely one attribute among many—it is His glorious attribute from which all of His other attributes flow, like the hub of a wheel from which all the other attributes are aligned: His Grace, Mercy, Justice, and Wrath. He is holy in His love, holy in His justice, holy in His sovereignty, holy in all that He is. He is so Holy that even the sinless angels hide their faces before Him. Job 15:15 tells us : " Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints [holy angels] ; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight" What happens when Isaiah sees this? He is not lifted in pride for having received this vision of Christ. Nor in response does He offer up any supposed "good works". No, he cries out, “Woe is me! for I am undone”  (Isaiah 6:5). This is always the result when God opens a sinner’s eyes to His glory. They are brought low, stripped of any pride, and all self-reliance crumbles. Like Paul, we will count all our works as loss and dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:8). This is the work of sovereign grace—God showing us Who He is, and in that Light, showing us who we are. But the vision does not end with despair. A seraph flies to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar and touches it to his lips, saying, “Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged”  (Isaiah 6:7). What mercy! What grace! The very holiness that should have condemned Isaiah now brings cleansing. That altar, with its burning sacrifice, points to the cross of Christ. It is there—at Calvary—that sin was purged, and every elect sinner justified before God (Hebrews 1:3). It is there that Christ, our Great High Priest, did not bring incense, nor the blood of animals, but His own blood. “Once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”  (Hebrews 9:26). Only Christ can make unclean lips clean. Only Christ can remove the guilt that overwhelms us before a holy God. Notice that Isaiah did not purify himself. He didn’t reach for the coal. He didn’t cleanse his own lips, nor appropriate it to himself. God sent the coal. God declared him clean. Salvation is of the LORD, from beginning to end. As Paul reminds us, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy”  (Romans 9:16). This is the Gospel: the King upon His throne is also the Lamb upon the altar. The One before Whom angels veil their faces is the same One Who humbled Himself to die for sinners elected by God and given to Him. The vision that undoes us is also the vision that delivers us from fear of condemnation, because Christ bore the wrath we deserved as His people and gave us His righteousness in return. What then do we do when we see Him? We bow. We confess. And we cling to Christ alone. Apart from Him, all our works are like King Uzziah’s incense—presumptuous, unclean, unacceptable. But in Him, we are accepted, forgiven, and clothed in a righteousness not our own but that which the Father imputed to our spiritual account upon completion of His work on the cross. Isaiah saw the LORD in majesty, and he saw himself undone. But then he saw redemption and reconciliation through the blood of the sacrifice. That is sovereign grace. That is the gospel of Christ. And that is our Hope today, tomorrow, and forever. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood… to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen”  (Revelation 1:5–6).

John 8:31-36 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." The LORD ordains our times and our seasons. Every moment, every turn of our path, every change of circumstance is governed by His wise and sovereign Hand. That truth alone brings rest to the souls of His elect, redeemed, justified, and called-out children. If we are His, then it is because He has set His love upon us, and even the winding roads, the ups and downs, and the unexpected detours are led by Him according to His eternal purpose. And the hub or center of that purpose is Christ—the One Who makes His people free indeed. When Jesus spoke to the Jews in John 8 , He met a people who thought themselves already free. They were Abraham’s natural seed, religious, privileged, outwardly prosperous. Yet our LORD exposed their bondage: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin… If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36). What men call freedom is often merely slavery in disguise. Wealth, health, pleasure, morality, even religion—all can bind the soul in chains. True freedom is not found in ourselves, nor in our works, nor in any earthly security. It is found only in the Christ, the Eternal Son of God Who came in the flesh to redeem His chosen spiritual Israel (Galatians 3:14). Christ Himself is the Truth that makes us free. To know Him is not merely to assent with the mind but to be taught of the Spirit in the heart. The Gospel is not an invitation to try harder or to add our effort to His. The Gospel is the Revelation of what God has accomplished in His Son—at Calvary, once for all, in "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The righteousness He earned and established is not ours by attainment, but God’s righteousness, worked out and obtained by Christ alone and His finished work on the cross, whereby He cried, "It is finished” (John 19:30). How freeing it is to rest in this! Religion tells us to keep striving, praying more, doing more, to clean ourselves up. But Christ declares, “It is finished.” The Truth sets us free from the endless treadmill of self-righteousness. It frees us from condemnation, from the burden of trying to make ourselves acceptable to God. In Him, the sinner finds peace—peace that cannot be shaken by shifting circumstances or stolen by the accusations of conscience. And this freedom is not abstract or uncertain. It is as real and solid as the death and resurrection of Christ. When He died, His people died with Him. When He rose, His people rose with Him. God has accepted His Son, and because He has accepted the Son, He has accepted all who are in Him. That is freedom. That is rest. Paul writes in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The liberty of the believer is not fragile, nor dependent on our feelings or our "faithfulness." It rests entirely on Christ’s faithfulness. He is the Son Who abides forever, and in Him we abide forever. This is why the Gospel is not a system of rules, ceremonies, or obligations. It is Christ Himself. It is His Person, His work, His finished redemption. Apart from Him, we would have remained slaves—slaves to sin, slaves to self, slaves to unbelief, slaves to dead works and the condemnation of the law. But in Him, we are adopted as sons, heirs of God, freemen in the household of Grace. This is the sovereign work of Almighty God. From all of fallen humanity, He appointed the salvation of a chosen people. He accomplished it through His Son, Who came in the flesh to fulfill every one of His just demands. In time, He reveals what was already obtained once and for all on the cross. The Son has made His people free— not half-free, not temporarily free, but free indeed. Let us then rest in Him. Let us not be drawn away by the noise of religion or the allure of this world’s false freedoms. Let us not build houses built on sand of our own works or morality. Instead, let us bow in thankfulness before the Son Who did it all. For in Him we are free—truly, eternally, and gloriously free. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Psalm 2 "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psalm 2 is a Gospel Psalm. In just twelve verses, the Spirit of God sets before us the glory of Christ the King, the certainty of His reign, and the vanity of all who oppose Him. If ever we needed a clear picture of our natural condition and of God’s gracious provision in His Son, we find it here. The Psalm begins with a question that echoes through every age: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” This is not an isolated rebellion, confined to one place or one time. It is the universal condition of fallen man. The kings of the earth, the rulers of nations, and the people themselves rise up together in defiance against the LORD. This is not merely history, nor is it only the story of “others.” It is our story. Apart from Grace, we are found in this very company — imagining vain things, resisting His rule, and refusing His yoke. But notice the futility of such rebellion. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." Men conspire, Satan rages, nations plot, but God is not unsettled. He is seated. He reigns in calm sovereignty. The defiance of the world does not move Him, nor does it frustrate His purpose. " And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Daniel 4:35) . Here in this Psalm He declares, “Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.” No matter the opposition, Christ shall reign. This Psalm lifts our eyes to see the decree of God concerning His Son: “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” These words cannot be confined to David or any earthly king. The apostles in Acts 13:33 understood them to speak of Christ Jesus, raised from the dead and declared to be the Son with Power. At Calvary, men thought to silence Him, but the Truth is that they were accomplishing the very will of God. All the while they were doing their will, they could do nothing more or less than what God had ordained should be done, Acts 4:28. In the resurrection, the Father vindicated the Son and gave Him elect sinners from all nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. The One Who was despised and rejected is now exalted and enthroned. The Psalm then gives us a sobering picture: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” This is the certainty of Christ’s rule. He will not be ignored, and He will not be set aside. Every enemy will be subdued, either in judgment or in grace. We see revealed here the unshakable authority and final triumph of Christ over all who oppose His reign. The imagery of the rod of iron  speaks of unyielding, irresistible power—Christ’s rule is not fragile nor uncertain, but firm, righteous, and invincible. The nations and kings that rage against Him are compared to a potter’s vessel , easily shattered and unable to resist His judgment. The contrast is striking: man’s proudest strength is but brittle clay before the dominion of the Lord’s Anointed. Spiritually, this verse warns every soul of the futility of resisting Christ’s authority. He is set as King upon the holy hill of Zion, and all rebellion will be crushed. Yet, for His people, this same iron rod is their security, for it defends them against every adversary and guarantees the final victory of His kingdom. Christ said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," (Matthew 16:18). Thus, the verse both terrifies the proud and comforts the humble: to those who are brought to submit by His Grace and Power, His reign is peace; to those who rebel, it is sure destruction. This brings us to the Psalm’s closing appeal: “Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Here the Gospel is pressed upon us with urgency. To “kiss the Son” is not to give Him a token acknowledgment, nor to offer Him a mere profession, but to bow in heartfelt surrender. It is to lay down our arms of rebellion, to take sides with God against ourselves, and to trust wholly in Christ — in His shed blood for the sins of His elect, in His perfect righteousness worked out on their behalf, and in His finished work that fully satisfied divine justice for them. How gracious of God to end this Psalm, not with wrath, but with blessing. Though the nations rage, though our hearts by nature are filled with enmity, yet the Spirit of God calls us to Christ. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.” Blessed, because in Him there is safety from judgment. Blessed, because in Him there is peace with God. Blessed, because in Him every promise of God is “Yea and Amen.” Here, then, is the heart of the Gospel: our rebellion exposed, God’s sovereign decree declared, Christ crucified and risen, and the call to Christ in faith and submission. The raging of man is real, but it is vain. The decree of God is sure, and His King reigns. And for poor, needy sinners like us, there is a Refuge: " Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." So let us bow today before this exalted Son. Not with the kiss of Judas, not with the kiss of empty profession, but with the kiss of Faith and Love, given from hearts that God Himself has turned from rebellion to worship. May Christ be precious to us again and again, and may we rejoice that He reigns as our Savior and our King.

Job 2:10 "But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." Job’s world had collapsed in a matter of moments. His wealth was gone, his children taken, his body covered with sores, and even his wife urged him to curse God and die. Yet in the midst of all this darkness, Job’s response was not bitterness or rebellion but a steady confession of trust in God and His sovereignty in every detail. His words cut against the natural thoughts of the flesh. Only by the God-given Faith in Christ can one see the sovereign Hand of God directing all things and do so with joy, no matter how difficult the hardship. Job’s suffering was beyond what most of us can imagine. He acknowledged that all things—both comfort and trial—come from the sovereign Hand of God. This echoes what we hear later in Scripture: “Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6). Even in affliction, Job teaches us that God’s purposes are never shaken. In  this, Job becomes a faint shadow of Christ Himself. Though a man, Job in his suffering points us to the One Who was more than a man. Jesus Christ, Who came in the flesh, and though He is God, He endured every kind of suffering. In His humanity, He hungered. He thirsted and grew weary. He was tempted by Satan, and He was afflicted not only in body but also in soul, as He bore the sins of His people. “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Like Job, Christ did not sin with His lips. In His greatest trial—the cross—He did not curse His Father but entrusted Himself to Him. Isaiah 53 tells us, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7) . Even when mocked, betrayed, and crucified, He held fast His integrity and remained the faithful Substitute for His people. Job’s words remind us that affliction is not outside of God’s hand . Satan can only go as far as God ordains. The boils on Job’s skin, the insults of his wife, the schemes of his adversary—none of these were outside the sovereign purpose and will of God. And so it was with Christ. The cross was no accident, no victory of Satan. It was the will of the Father: “It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). So where do we draw strength when trials come? The same place Job did, and the same place Christ did— in the fellowship of the Father, by the Spirit, and in the assurance that God’s purpose cannot fail. Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). That cry is all our Hope of salvation. Because He held fast till the end, we who are in Him will never be forsaken. As Paul reminds us, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). When we feel the weight of affliction, when our body is weak or our heart is weary, we remember this: Christ has already endured the greater suffering for us. Job could say, “Shall we not receive evil from the hand of God?” but Christ went further—He received the wrath of God that we deserved, so that we might receive grace upon grace. “ For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Let us then look to Him. In trials, He is the One Who holds us and keeps us, even when we are too weak to hold to Him. In suffering, we do not despair but by His grace draw near to Him. And in all things, let us confess with Job—and even more with Christ—that our God is faithful. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). That was the confidence that the LORD had in His Father in the crucible of God's wrath. And when He was completely tried to the satisfaction of the Father, He came forth as gold (Job 23:10) , and that for the salvation of His people. He Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, will surely work all things—whether in affliction or in abundance—for the everlasting good of His redeemed (Romans 8:32-35). May we then, like Job, rest our souls in the sovereign Hand of our Redeemer, knowing that His purpose is perfect, His mercy unfailing, and His glory certain.

Revelation 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”   What a beautiful Scripture that declares the majesty and mercy of the LORD Jesus Christ: Here, the Spirit sets forth the Person of Christ in ALL His glory. He is set before us not only as the Eternal Son in His Glorious splendor, but also as the Mediator Who has stooped in redeeming love to save those sinners that the Father elected and gave Him to save, even before the foundation of the world. We see Him here crowned as Prophet, Priest, and King. As Prophet, He is the faithful Witness Who perfectly declared the will of God; as Priest, He is the Firstborn from the dead who triumphed over the grave; and as King, He is revealed as the sovereign Ruler over every throne and dominion. Yet, beyond all His titles and honors, this verse presses into our hearts this sweetest truth: that the One enthroned in glory is the same Who loved us and delivered us from our sins by the costly price of His precious blood. Notice, the inspired Word does not say “and CAN wash away our sins,” but, “WASHED AWAY”  [past tense, once for all]. What comfort then can those for whom Christ died draw from this truth?   1.)    This is the grace of God through the death of the LORD Jesus. Those whose sins Christ washed away by His shed blood were loved from eternity and given to Christ for whom He came to earn and establish that righteousness satisfactory to God the Father on their behalf,   "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine" (John 17:9).   2.)    The washing away of sins is wholly attributed to the LORD Jesus alone. It is not a cooperation between Christ and the sinner, but “unto HIM that hath loved us, and washed away our sins…”   3.)    How and by what means He washed away sins was with His blood shed unto death. Christ’s blood and the sins of God’s elect went away together. They were not put away from eternity, because there was not yet any sin in eternity, and no body to shed the blood in eternity, contrary to those who preach ‘justification from eternity' as if the elect were always justified in God's decree. The Truth of Scripture is that their justification was purposed in eternity, but only accomplished in time, at the cross when our LORD Jesus cried victoriously, “It is finished.”   ( John 19:30 )   The whole of salvation (redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, and justification) is attributed to Christ’s blood shed unto death, because, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”  ( Hebrews 9:22 ) The sum of this is that Jesus Christ, by His one Offering on the cross, TOOK AWAY (put an end to, blotted out and destroyed) all the sins of His people forever, " By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" ( Hebrews 10:10). " For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). Those God the Father loved from eternity, HE JUSTIFIED COMPLETELY when the LORD Jesus paid their sin debt and presented them just and holy without spot before God when He arose from the grave and ascended on High, "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" (Ephesians 2:5).  This Truth reveals the perfections of the LORD Jesus through one radiant, glorious Light. As the Truth, He is the Faithful Witness. His triumph as the Firstborn from the dead, His sovereignty as Prince of the kings of the earth, and His tender, saving love in shedding His own blood for sinners shine forth in ALL His Glory. To behold Him as He is by the Spirit of God is to be drawn in worship, to rest in His redeeming grace, and to live under His royal dominion with joy. When the Spirit of God reveals Christ in the heart of each elect, saved sinner, it is not when they believe that their sins are forgiven, but rather when they believe on Him Who paid their sin debt, having put away their sin, and justified them already at the cross. Glorious Truth! Glorious Salvation! Glorious Redeemer!  Let every redeemed heart echo the song of heaven: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”

Daniel 9:25-27 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Here Daniel is told of the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One. Five hundred years before Christ walked this earth, God revealed that His Son, the Savior, would come—and not only come, but be “cut off, but not for Himself.” The Messiah would lay down His life, not for His own sin, but for His people. This is the meaning of Christ’s title—Messiah. In Hebrew, Mashiach means “the Anointed One.” In Greek, Christos. Jesus the Christ is Jesus the Anointed One—anointed as Prophet to reveal God’s Word, as Priest to offer Himself as the Sacrifice to God, and as King to rule forever. Notice in verse 25, Daniel is told: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince…” The Messiah is revealed as a Prince. Not just any prince, but the Prince of Life, the Prince of Glory. And Daniel is told that in the midst of His coming, the Messiah would be “cut off.” That is the cross. Christ crucified. But verse 27 says: “He shall confirm the covenant with many.” Through His death, He sealed the everlasting covenant in His own blood. He brought reconciliation for iniquity, and He made an end of sins. What no priest in the temple could do by endless sacrifices, Christ accomplished once for all by His own offering. This is why the woman at the well in John 4 could say: “I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” And Jesus answered her, “I that speak unto thee am He.” The Messiah foretold in Daniel was standing right before her. And He still comes near to us today, not waiting for us to climb up to Him, but meeting us where we are, revealing Himself as the great I AM. So when we read Daniel 9, we see God’s providence working from eternity. The cross was no accident, no tragic twist in history. It was the very heart of God’s purpose. Christ was cut off—but not for Himself. He was cut off for that people that God the Father had chosen before time and who, in the fulness of the time, God the Father sent forth to be His Sacrifice for the sins of elect sinners from every tribe, nation and tongue. Let us take comfort in this: our sins are finished, reconciliation has been made, everlasting righteousness has been brought in. This is the Messiah’s work. And so we bow before Him—Prophet, Priest, and King—and say with joy, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Let us honor Christ the Messiah: the One promised, the One revealed, the One crucified and risen, the One wWo will return to bring all things to their consummation. All Scripture points to Him. All of God’s promises are Yea and Amen in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).