Burning Coals

1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:1-7

We see that Isaiah repented. Then he realized his sin and turned from it. And the Seraphim flew to him and touched his lips with burning coals. This helps us to understand that repentance is painful. But this is heavenly purification. When we turn away from our sin, it is a painful turn. Because of our sinful nature, we desire to give into our sin nature. But you must remember that you have been made a “new creation” (2 Cor. 2:17) and you are an “Ambassador for Christ” (2 Cor. 2:20). This account in Isaiah ends with the Seraphim saying, “your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.”

After describing the sinfulness of man in Romans 3, Paul continues his explanation to the reader in verse 21 — “21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”

“there is none righteous; no not one.” “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” If we continue reading in Romans 6, we will see that “the wages of sin is death.” Meaning, the punishment for our sin is eternal damnation. This is the Just and Holy and Perfect requirement of the law. The requirement for reconciliation to God is that our sin must be atoned for. And this atonement MUST be perfect. It MUST be a perfect, spotless lamb. We see the demonstration of this all throughout the Old Testament. We see the sacrifices that are made on behalf of God’s people as a representation of what Jesus Christ has done for His people.

Romans 5:6-8 — “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This explains to us that God sent His Son “while we were yet sinners.” Meaning, that we did NOT do anything to deserve or to earn Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to die for us. This is the perfect substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Because of our sin, we deserved to suffer the punishment of eternal damnation. We deserved to experience the wrath of God poured out on us. But Jesus Christ was the perfect atonement for our sins.

Understand the whole Gospel. Understand the Biblical Gospel. This is not just some “say a prayer” and make yourself feel better Gospel. This is not just some religious ceremony of works to somehow get yourself to be a better person. This is not just some feel-good, do-good, emotion-driven religious movement

This is a Legal Justification to be made right before the Holy God! You are born dead in your trespasses and sins. You have no ability to be made right with God. You have NO HOPE of reconciliation to a Holy God. But God loved you so much that He sent His Son to be the perfect atonement — the sacrifice for your sins.

“21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21