The Unclean Made Holy

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isaiah 6:3-5

I have been reading the book The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges and this past chapter describes the Transcendent Majesty of our Lord. In ancient Bible times, the lepers (sick people who were contagious) would have to stand at a distance from civilization and scream, “Unclean! Unclean!” in order for them to keep the people from being contaminated. Bridges says, “Isaiah uses [the words unclean] of himself. If leprosy typified sin, then Isaiah saw his sinfulness as moral leprosy.”

I went to a wedding last weekend, and I was amazed by the beauty of the bride. It made me think of my state before Christ. I was ugly and contagious in my sin. I can only imagine my pride which is viewed as leprous boils on me. My self-righteousness that is soiled rags attempting to cover my body. Every sin that I have and will commit is caked on me like mud.

Yet Christ, the Holy of Holies, chose me. He laid down His life for His bride. I can come to Him in white, radiant before the bridegroom, Jesus Christ. When I walk down to commit my life to Him, to love and cherish, honor and be faithful to Him, I can be pure and holy at His expense. I don’t have to wear rags any more. I don’t have to scream “Unclean!” before a Holy God. He makes me pure so that I can approach Him. What glorious love He has for us!

We are all sinful and have gone our own ways. We fall short of a holy and righteous God. We cannot approach Him, without the help of some outside force.

There is good news! Our savior has chosen to take upon our sin and shame. He made himself nothing taking upon not only our sickness and sin, but our death.

And there’s even better news! God not only became man to die the death we deserved, but he gives us life, righteousness, purity, cleanliness, holiness. He makes us a new creation. Glory to Him!