The Wednesday Word ~ 10 July, 2024 A.D.

GOD IS SATISFIED, AND SO AM I.

by D.G. Miles McKee

There’s a wonderful verse in Romans 4:5 … “To him that worketh not but believes (trusts) on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

 This amazing statement tells us that God acquits the ungodly, not the godly.

But how can He do it, and yet remain righteous?  After all, He is, "… of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13).

 Has God changed?

 Impossible! (Malachi 3:6).

But, as Romans 3:21-26 teaches us, God is just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus.

This is an amazing truth!  Through the blood-shedding of our Lord Jesus Christ, God can now, in perfect consistency with Himself, justify the ungodly. And this blessing comes to those that “work not,” but believe.  Therefore, the way to be saved is neither by our good works, nor by becoming good and certainly not by deserving it.  If those ways were true, we would not have salvation by grace but salvation by debt (Romans 4:4).

The way to be saved, however, is by trusting on Christ alone. We are called to rest entirely on Him and not on any supposed goodness we may have. This is what Scripture calls grace and grace is not debt (Romans 4:5).

By the way, are you looking forward to the time when you will find yourself face-to-face with God?  However, before you answer  this, consider that the Scripture says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31).  That should strike fear into the most stalwart of hearts.  So, what are we to do?  As sinners, wrath should be our just reward. We deserve it. We have earned it. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. But this is where the good news comes in.  Because of our inability to save ourselves, God came into this world in the person of the Lord Jesus and lived and died, the just for the unjust (1 Peter 3:18). At the cross, He endured the wrath due to His people. He died, He was buried but rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Heaven is satisfied with what Christ has done.

 Are you?

When explaining what the cross means for believers, Scott Richardson said, “The voice from the cross did not summon men to do, but to be satisfied with what has already been done:

“It is finished.”

“The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only perfect thing which has ever been presented to God on man’s behalf. “It shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein” (Leviticus 22:21).

The Father is satisfied with the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus … are you? What a blessing to know that the Father is satisfied and glorified in what Christ has done. Since that is true, we can be at rest.

We can be satisfied with the gospel because God is satisfied. Never, never, never will we be satisfied until we have believed that God has found infinite satisfaction in the doing and dying of Christ for us.

“My God is satisfied

His welcoming voice I hear

He owns me as His Child

I can no longer fear

With confidence I now draw nigh

And Abba Father, Abba cry.”

 

And that’s the Gospel Truth!