It’s all gotta change

Hey Joel, sorry I didn’t reply to your reply, we left for several days to go Backpacking at Pictured Rocks NP. Yes my 27 week pregnant wife and I met some friends up there, it was awesome!!!
So, it is already 11:45, so I don’t think I want this to be very long, and I am not sure that it needs to be, although it could be. I think that your quotation of Isaiah in this post perfectly proves my point. We can talk about not being full of sin, we can say “I won’t go down that road and beat myself up over that” and that can be our choice. I pray to God that I never come to the place of beating myself up for all of my sin, but even more so than that I pray that I will never in this life try to forget my sin and “move on”. If we live in the Glory of God, we are going to live with a continual awareness (in this life) of our DESPERATE NEED of CHRIST and His substitutionary atonement. Joel, you are right. It has already been paid, there is no more price to pay, in fact there is only one price that could pay it.
What was Isaiah’s response when he encountered Christ? That should be our continual response. Isaiah new the promises of Christ as well or better than any other person that lived under the Old Covenant. He new Christ was coming: “59:20- And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, declared the LORD.” So I can I state this….. We are being sanctified. We are all being changed “Eph4:22-24 -…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt thorough deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness….” So we put off the old self, but the exact same person who said this said earlier in the same letter”3:7,8 -Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of this power. To me, THOUGH I AM THE VERY LEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS, THIS GRACE WAS GIVEN, TO PREACH TO THE GENTILES THE UNSEARCHABLE RICHES OF CHRIST,…” These are not just petty words that Paul was throwing in to make the Ephesians feel better about themselves. Paul had a VERY REAL sense about his own wickedness even though he was walking with Christ. Why? I will let Paul answer this: “1 Corinth 12:7 So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelatIons, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to KEEP ME FROM BEING TOO ELATED.” The wonder of all of this (and let me insert here that the greater of an understanding that I have of this, the greater the deep Joy of Christ is in my life) is that we glorify Christ all the greater through it just by understanding better who He is, His PERFECTION. Sherry, this does not lead to perfectionism. It only leads to that when we think we can add something to Christ’s sacrifice. He just wants us to see ourselves as who we are so we can begin to understand better who He is; His atonement for us, His work of substitution is made all the more GLORIOUS!!!!! the better we understand our complete ineptitude at being perfect. So we weep with Isaiah, with Paul, David, Peter, Hezekiah, etc… “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in a midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King the LORD of hosts…..Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.–We have this treasures in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.–Humble your selves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time HE may exalt you casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
There is this wonderful mixture of “Woe is me, interwoven with AH the riches of the Glory of Christ. He has set me free, I am but a jar of clay, given to breaking. I am the least of all, the greatest of sinners, and yet God to make himself look glorious and good (which his is manifestly both) has REDEEMED ME! What an awesome God! Why? Why do you love me, I am a worm! Oh you are good! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Ok, one last thing. When we forget who we are, and choose not to think about our sinful self which is continually being sanctified unto that GLORIOUS day when we are glorified we become like someone else mentioned in you post Joel. Uzziah, God have mercy on this clay pot because I know it is my heart to be like Uzziah. It is natural for us to end up like Uzziah. Only by God’s hand on my/your reckless hearts prone to wander will we not end up like Uzziah. I pray God keeps us from that road. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us to think of ourselves more lowly than we aught, if we keep in mind how wonderful the work of Christ is, and how he has freely given and how He carries it to completion, not us and our pathetic/worthless efforts for self improvement. “Galations 2: 15-3:29 …For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor…
Side note and last thought (an hour later argh!) I still don’t see how Cook’s quote has any value at all. What is missing in the relationship/experience is exactly what is wrong with us. What is not missing is exactly what he provides. The more I think about that quote the more deadly/misleading I think it is. if Christ/God is perfect and something is missing in a relationship, how is that not something wrong with us? Even after you take into account Christ’s substitution. If there is anything missing after that (a different discussion) how is that not something wrong with us? Is it something with Christ? Impossible!
Ok, I’m done now or I will be soooo dead tomorrow. I appreciate that we can have these discussions Joel. I have appreciated our friendship in Christ for more than a decade now, and continue to. May the grace and peace of jesus rest on you