Read the lyrics to “In Christ Alone” or download the song from iTunes here

Read Isaiah 6

Expiation (big word for Forgiveness). Yesterday’s time of private worship focused on confession. Confessing our sins may seem like something we would rather avoid. And truthfully, we probably would rather avoid having to lay ourselves bare like that. But I’m convinced that the fact that we carry around the heavy burden of falling short of the mark God has set before us is one of the major reasons the American church is so anemic right now. We’ve forgotten how to cleanse our hearts. But it’s so amazing that when we do confess our sins to God, He is faithful to forgive us, to purify us. Isaiah experienced this cleansing in his vision. One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah and touched his lips with a red hot coal, signifying that Isaiah’s “guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah carried the weight of his sin no more.

What a relief that must have been for Isaiah! We have that same grace extended to us. (For more on this, see one of my earlier posts here.) Imagine the spiritual freedom we experience after we have confessed our sins and He replies as lovingly as possible, “You are forgiven!” I don’t think it’s coincidental that we’re looking at this topic today, Independence Day for Americans. As a nation we are celebrating our freedom and all that encompasses that freedom. I’m as patriotic as anyone else. In the decade and a half that I’ve been eligible to vote, I can’t remember missing a single election. Even during my seminary years, when I kept my residence in my home state, I was faithful to send away for absentee ballots just so I could participate in the election process. For years, I was on the organizational level of major citywide patriotic concerts, complete with fireworks choreographed to Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” I love being an American! But I’m so much more grateful for the freedom I have in Christ, and given the option of celebrating one or the other, I’ll choose to celebrate the freedom I have in Christ every time.

True and eternal freedom comes with the forgiveness Christ provides through the Cross. Once we’ve been granted that forgiveness, we have eternal life. But that doesn’t mean we get to live any way we want to. No, God calls us to a higher standard, His standard of pure holiness. Each and every day we have to put ourselves aside and focus on Him and His beauty. That means a daily repentance. And remember, God is always faithful to follow our repentance with a gracious . . .

You are forgiven!