Kissing each other!
(William S. Plumer, "The
Rock of Our Salvation"
1867)
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."
Romans 5:6
We are justly condemned. The single sin of not loving
God with all our heart, and mind, and soul, and strength
--is enough to blot out every hope of heaven. Our sins
have risen up like the mountains between us and God.
They are more than the hairs of our heads. We have
sinned against God. We are all wrong; we are wholly
wrong; we are terribly wrong. Our iniquities have
separated us and God. He is righteous--we are unjust.
He is holy--we are vile. He can do without us--without
Him we are undone.
Salvation by Jesus, is very humbling to man--the sinner,
the wrong-doer. It says to him, "You are unworthy and
unfit to come into the presence of God. You can neither
justify nor excuse your wicked conduct. You are rejected
by God. He utterly abhors all your works, all your pleas,
all your merits. You are condemned. You are vile!"
Salvation by Jesus, marks sin as very
evil--deserving
all the woes and wrath denounced against it.
A God all mercy--is a God unjust.
A God all justice--could not forgive a sinner.
In the cross, we see infinite mercy and
inflexible justice--kissing
each other!
Christ crucified has been the salvation of
millions,
many of whom were sunk in almost unparalleled
guilt, and shame, and ignorance, and misery!
God has filled the heavens and the earth; the sea and
the dry land with wonders; but above all His other works,
the plan of salvation by Jesus Christ is God's monument,
displaying His infinite skill and wisdom!