lifted up his eyes, and looked, and
behold behind him a ram caught
in a thicket by his horns: and
Abraham went and took the ram,
and offered him up for a burnt
offering in the stead of his son
(Genesis 22:11–13).
4
Abraham had already put Isaac
to death in his own mind, and then
the answer came—a ram caught
in the thicket. Abraham would not
have found that answer if he had not
climbed up that mountain, but he did;
and he went back down the mountain
with his hand in the hand of his son.
At Calvary, the answer came for
all mankind when God furnished His
Only Begotten Son to be the lamb of
sacrifice for our sins. For Abraham,
God provided a lamb to take the
place of his son, but the Lord couldn’t
spare His own Son. Jesus had to
die as the answer to our salvation.
Unfortunately, many people will join
a church, give some offerings, be
baptized in water or do whatever
else they can think of; but they won’t
repent through the blood of the Lamb
and take God’s answer for salvation.
Jesus said, Except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish (Luke
13:3).
Once all your sins have been
washed away, you have to stay sinfree.
Many people and even preachers
today say that no one can live holy
and free from sin; but the Bible says,
Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
It also says, The soul that sinneth,
it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).
King Hezekiah Needed Answers
Answers came to the prophets of
old, and we have record of what they
received in the Old Testament. King
Hezekiah walked before the Lord with a
perfect heart, but he became very sick;
and the Lord sent Isaiah the prophet
to tell him, Thus saith the LORD, Set
thine house in order: for thou shalt
die, and not live (Isaiah 38:1).
That was not what the king had
expected to hear, so he turned
his face toward the wall, and
prayed unto the LORD, And said,
Remember now, O LORD, I beseech
thee, how I have walked before
thee in truth and with a perfect
heart, and have done that which is
good in thy sight (Isaiah 38:2,3).
The Lord looked at Hezekiah’s
record and saw that was true; so God
sent Isaiah to Hezekiah again to tell
him, Thus saith the LORD, the God
of David thy father, I have heard
thy prayer, I have seen thy tears:
behold, I will add unto thy days
fifteen years (Isaiah 38:5).
Isaiah was used to getting answers
from God. If he had not been, surely
he would have said, “God, this is crazy.
Make up your mind.” But Isaiah didn’t
do that. He knew he had God’s answer.
When you have the answers you need,
you will go the way of the Lord and do
what He has called you to do knowing
that He will stand by you.
The way of the Lord is perfect, and
you have to decide that you want His
perfect way. You must also know that
He can make you perfect in the love
and grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Some people say that no one
can be perfect, and it is true that no
one can be perfect within themselves;
but Jesus said, Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect (Matthew
5:48). You can be perfect in the things
of the Lord if you want to be.