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Faith Baptist Church of State College, Pennsylvania Save To Be
Sent What’s next? Lying there on my bed in Room 242 of Gaige Hall at Millersville State College, I remember thinking that question during my first day as a freshman in the Fall of ’73. What’s next? What’s next after “being saved?” Let’s look at Isaiah 6:1-8.
There is some debate as to whether or not this passage deals with
Isaiah’s salvation or his commission. While it is very natural for us
occidentals to think in terms of either-or, I would assert that this is
a both-and situation. This passage is describing both Isaiah’s salvation
and his commissioning. Isaiah finds himself in the very presence of God and cries out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (vs. 5) He sees his ruination caused by his being a “man of unclean lips” (vs. 5) and confessionally cries out to the King, the LORD of Hosts. What follows next is wondrously awesome. He was saved by the thrice-Holy God. This salvation was experienced as one of the seraphim touched his mouth with a burning coal from the heavenly altar while declaring, “… your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven” (vs. 7). Isaiah was saved; what was next? Isaiah was sent. After hearing the voice of the Lord, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (vs. 8), Isaiah responds with these oft-quoted words, “Here am I, send me!” (vs. 8) Isaiah was sent (i.e. commissioned) to proclaim God’s message to men. Isaiah was saved to be sent. How about you? Are you saved? Have you
seen the holiness of God as revealed in His Word? Do you recognize that
you are unclean before Him, even crying out, “woe is me, for I am
ruined!”? Have you come to God’s altar of the Cross upon which Christ
bore your iniquity, as I Peter 2:24 says, “and He (Jesus) Himself bore
our sins in His body on the cross…”? Have you believed upon Jesus alone
to have your sin forgiven? Are you saved? In Christ,
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