Focal Passage: Isaiah 59:1-13
In a previous session, we recalled that because God created everything, He determines how everything works. Creator God is the One who determines what is holy and perfect. In fact, God Himself is wholly holy and wholly perfect. His holiness is the standard by which our character is measured. As sinful humanity, we are unlike God in this way. Our sin mars the image we were created in and separates us from God.
We are often tempted to believe that our sin is not as “bad” someone else’s. However, scripture teaches us that all sin is an affront to God. No matter how “small” we may think our sin is, it separates us from relationship with God. There is not even a small amount of sin in Him, and He cannot overlook sin in any form. This separation is the condition of all people because all people have sinned.
Even the good things we do cannot shroud our sin. It is so evil and offensive, that any good we try to do is like trying to jump from here to the moon. It’s impossible. No amount of good works can save us from the wage of death that we have purchased for ourselves with our sin. Our attempts to save ourselves are just mere acts of self-righteousness. Our “good works” cannot save us because there is no good in us.
Apart from God’s intervention, we are hopeless, without peace and without salvation. On our own, we cannot undo our sinful condition. We cannot bridge the chasm between ourselves and God. Our only hope to restore us to a perfect relationship with God is the mercy and grace of God Himself. We are helpless on our own and we stand in need of divine intervention to cleanse us from our unrighteousness.