"Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you" (Isaiah 35:4). So often we read these words as part of a section describing the Kingdom and we don't necessarily concentrate on the meaning of "vindication" and "recompense."
If we are vindicated for a crime, we are found not guilty. We are innocent. God sent his son Jesus to die for us that we might be declared not guilty, justified, innocent. As those who believe in Jesus and who appropriate for ourselves what he accomplished, we are vindicated, not guilty. The divine recompense was the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. The debt owed because of our sins has been paid. There is no mortgage on our lives.
That's not to say that we don't need to be sorry for our sins against God and others. Repentance is still necessary. But what we owed God, the amount due, was paid in advance. Jesus "picked up the check."
For reflection: Have I been thankful for this great gift of vindication? Is there someone in my life who needs to hear "not guilty" from me?
Let us pray. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm 108:3-5).
If we are vindicated for a crime, we are found not guilty. We are innocent. God sent his son Jesus to die for us that we might be declared not guilty, justified, innocent. As those who believe in Jesus and who appropriate for ourselves what he accomplished, we are vindicated, not guilty. The divine recompense was the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. The debt owed because of our sins has been paid. There is no mortgage on our lives.
That's not to say that we don't need to be sorry for our sins against God and others. Repentance is still necessary. But what we owed God, the amount due, was paid in advance. Jesus "picked up the check."
For reflection: Have I been thankful for this great gift of vindication? Is there someone in my life who needs to hear "not guilty" from me?
Let us pray. I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm 108:3-5).
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