The Wednesday Word ~ 16AUG23 A.D.
The Much-Needed Mediatorby D.G. Miles McKee‘For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.’ (1 Timothy 2:5).
The
truth of salvation could scarcely be more beautifully expressed than in
this one scripture, 1 Timothy 2:5. What a verse! If we were to
meditate on it, we would find that it contains a vast volume of truth in
a very little space. For example, it declares that God is One and that
we need a mediator to get through to Him. Then it tells us that there
is only one mediator, not two, not three … only one. We find more truth about the mediator throughout the Bible. Take for example the Book of Job.
Do
you remember how Job’s friends were convinced that the evil things that
had befallen him were because of Job’s sin? Job was having none of it
and made himself busy by justifying himself, saying things like, “My
righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go” (Job 27:6). However,
he could not hold out indefinitely. Eventually, he is obliged to
admit, " Behold, I am vile" (40:4). Job, therefore, because of his
vileness, urgently needed a mediator. In this
story, Yahweh basically said, “Job, you must get rid of those filthy
rags which you consider to be your righteousness. Give up your
righteousness. I’ll give you Mine instead, “So,
Job eventually came to realize the fullness of his depravity and made
the grand confession “Behold, I am vile." What a declaration! Let me
ask, have you ever stood before God and admitted your inherent vileness?
If you have, you will have realized your need of a mediator. But back to our story. Job then says in chapter 42:5-6, ” I
have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee:
wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” One
of the strongest words in our language is "Abhor!" Have you ever said
with truthfulness, "I abhor myself?" Have you let go of your own
righteousness? Have you come to a place of repentance? A sight of God
produces repentance. And where do we get such a sight? We get it in
the mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the mediator who brings us
to God and God to us.Only
the Lord can enable any of us to let go of our own righteousness … not
that we really ever had any to let go of in the first place (see Romans
3:10). We only thought we had. But when we come to this place … the
place where we ‘abhor’ ourselves, then what a comfort it is to turn
around and find we have a mediator. What immense joy there is to
discover that God loves us. And how do we know that He loves us? One
look at Calvary will tell us that. There we see the Mediator in His
splendid glory. Is it not wonderful to find that the all-holy One is revealed as God our Saviour, not as God our Judge? Job
eventually saw it was no use contending with God. He realized that
however much he might try to justify himself before his friends, he
could not stand blameless before the thrice holy God. But grace came in
and showed him a much more satisfactory righteousness.
Just to be clear on the matter let’s ask, does the salvation of sinners rest on what they can do? No! Does Salvation rest on what Christ will do? No! Salvation rests on what Christ has done. On
the other hand, maybe you are doubting your salvation? If so, let me
urge you to look to the mediator, Jesus. Stop trying and start
trusting. He has finished His work on your behalf. He has accomplished
Salvation. Christ can do nothing more, for He has already done
everything. Rest on the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy being saved.And that’s the Gospel Truth!
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