There is a Redeemer: Jesus, God's own Son. Precious Lamb of God, Messiah! Holy One

This morning's message from Sunday school and the sermon opened my eyes to a new understanding of what it means for Christ to have come to fulfill the Law.

We're studying worship in Sunday school right now and have been searching out the foundations: the concepts, for lack of a better word at present. *worship is ALL of our lives, every part, not just singing on Sunday mornings - it is a God-entranced life, showing the worth of God in everything *engaging God, loving Him, praising Him, serving Him, loving each other, eating, drinking, brushing our teeth... doing all for Him and through Him with our whole hearts, out of sincere love *worshiping not only sincerely, but truthfully according to His pleasure, His word.

Today Andy spoke about Christ as the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Three purposes of the OT, when looking at the Bible as a whole:

1) To show the depravity of man
2) To illustrate God's unattainable standard
3) To point to the need of an ENDURING redemptive work (Christ)

God did not give the Law so that His people would obtain righteousness, but to show them their unrighteousness, their inability to be righteous, and their need of an enduring redeemer to be righteousness for them. That redeemer - the Messiah - was, and is, Christ Jesus, and in being the Perfect, Atoning Sacrifice He fulfilled the Law. We stand before God righteous because we are clothed with Christ's righteousness.

Likewise, we stand before God holy as He is holy because we stand in Christ's holiness. I was thinking about God's holiness on my lunchbreak (well, dinnerbreak) today at Shaw's. I pulled out my lovely journal and began writing my scattered thoughts.

"Looking around me outside here I see the busyness of the cars, the people exiting and entering, and all this manmade clutter of sorts... and then I see the trees. Tall, noble, still, quiet and peaceful trees. Behind them the sky rests - a calm, soft blue. This reminds me of the peace of God's holiness."

Wait a minute. Is His holiness peaceful, or is His peacefulness holy? Is His holiness pure, or is His purity holy? It becomes obvious when you pair His wrath with holiness. Of course, His wrath is holy, but His holiness is not always wrathful. Now, God's holiness is His "set apart-ness." What sets Him apart? What is He that no one else is? Perfect. His perfection is what sets Him apart. Perfection in all things.

God says, "Be holy as I am holy." He doesn't say "Try to be" or "Be almost as" - no, He says, "Be holy as I am holy." Be perfect like Me. In all things. How? We can't possibly. Christ must be our holiness. We will all die eventually. Maybe today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe years from now. Or else Christ will return to be our Ultimate Redemption (or Condemnation if you've not surrendered your heart and life to His glory - if you condemn Him now, He will condemn you then. Surrender to Him now, and He will raise you as a joint heir to the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity!). Whether by death or by His return, we will face our Maker; holiness and righteousness will be required of us to enter the narrow gate to Life. God will ask where yours lie, and only One answer will satisfy: Jesus is my righteousness! Jesus is my holiness! He is IT. He is enough.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling.