"The Way"

Reflection

“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place?”

Ps. 24:3

This scripture poses the age old question: How does one make it to God? Historically the world has fashioned many religions in order to support notions of our own self-righteousness. Fantasies that lure us into believing we can, by our own good deeds, bridge the gap between us and God. The Bible tells a different story. The Bible shows us the way. However, we must first ascend the mountain of who God is before we hope to stand in His holy place. 

The inheritance we received from Adam (our first parent) was one of darkness. Conceived in iniquity, we were born in need. In need of a new heart, a new mind…a new nature. The story of humanity paints a graphic picture of a race marked by failure and unrighteousness. The gospel, however, tells a greater story. Jesus descended from above to be a Savior. For those who were “dead in sin” and whose “righteousness is as filthy rags”, he came to save (Eph. 2:1, Is. 64:6). He came for the weak, the fools, the sick, the unrighteous, the reviled, the ones who were regarded as nothing. He, too, appeared in the likeness of man and was not regarded as the Lord of glory. Rather, He was mistreated by those He created, hated by those He loved, stricken by those He came to save. He was crucified by those who, by killing Him, thought they were doing a service unto God (John 16:2). He was the sinless Savior and the lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. He died as an innocent man, punished for the sins of those He came to save. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Therefore, it is of great concern to every man and woman that they know the answer to the question posed in the verse above. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day went about trying to establish a righteousness of their own for they were ignorant to the righteousness provided by Yeshua, their long awaited Messiah (Rom. 10:3). They poured over the Scriptures because they thought that it would give them eternal life, yet they overlooked the very One of whom the scriptures testified (John 5:39). In modern times people seek salvation through worldly wisdom, consciousness, morality, money, etc. Much like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they seek in vain. 

The truth is that no human is equipped to ascend the hill of the Lord. No one is sufficient to stand in His holy place. No amount of striving or effort can create peace with God. Thus, it was necessary that One should come who would be worthy. Christ fulfilled the law and lived a life of perfect obedience. He died in our place and bore the wrath of God which was due to us, so that through faith in Him we could receive forgiveness and His perfect righteousness. He ascended the hill of calvary so that we could one day stand in His holy place blameless and full of great joy (Jude 24). Because of this, we know that no one will come to the Father but by Him. He is the truth. He is the life. Jesus Christ is the way.