IN:Whitley vs Justification by faith

The countdown to IN:Whitley, the door knocking and social action programme that RFC are running over the next three days has well and truly started. Yesterday evening and early this morning people have gathered at the church office to pray, seek God's favour and worship Him in preparation for all that the next few days will bring. There is one ground for these meetings, one ground for our work, one ground for our hope. The cross. The bloody, the awesome, the ghastly, the glorious cross where Jesus died.

Why is this our hope? Because we're calling on a holy God, and we are bad. Not judt in the things we do, but in our hearts, in our very make up, we are bad. So why gather to seek the face of the Lord, why get up early to pray to a God who dwells in unapproachble light? What hope do we have when the feelings of condemnation come?

There are some great verses hidden away at the end of Micah that give us hope, that put oxygen into tired lungs, and fire into cold hearts:

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the LORD because I have sinned against him,until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication.

I love the way verse nine starts. There's no getting away from it. I am guilty, i have no appeal, no mitigating circumstances. In sin i despise the Lord, i dishonour and disobey Him. I will own the guilt, and bare the condemnation because i have sinned against Him, because i have done this thing, these things. I have no defence.

Or do i?

Look at the 9b. The Lord will plead my cause, the Lord will execute judgement for me! He shall vindicate me. Isn't that stunning. Who is on my defence team in the great court? Jesus. Who is the judge in the great court? Jesus. This is why, verse 8, the enemy is not to rejoice over us, this is why we can own the guilt, hold up our hands and admit it. Because the Lord, the Lord Himself, will bring us out into the light.

Here then is great ground for great endevour for the Gospel. Here is our confidence that the Lord, hears and answeres our prayers, that we need fear nothing and persue the Lord with our all. No matter what our sin, no matter how awful our rebellion, the Lord Himself will plead our cause, and execute judgement for us!