Bulletin
Highway of Holiness
Isaiah chapter 35 prophesied of a time when mankind would “see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God” (v.2). It would be a time when the exhausted would be encouraged, the feeble would be strengthened, the eyes of the blind would be opened, the ears of the deaf would be unstopped, the lame would leap and the tongue of the mute would shout for joy.
Of course, Isaiah was foretelling the coming of Messiah about 700 years before Jesus of Nazareth was born and his descriptions of the appearance of Emmanuel (God With Us) were remarkable. But the most enlightening portion of this divine revelation is found in verse 8: “A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness.”
Isaiah informed us that the unclean, the fool, the vicious beast will not be on that road. Only the redeemed and the ransomed will walk there. Considering the Highway of Holiness is the only road to everlasting joy and gladness (v. 10), it is imperative that each of us understands what it means to travel that way.
Walking the Highway of Holiness is a lifestyle, not a status. Verse 8 says that the highway is “for him who walks that way.” God Himself admonishes us, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). While it is true that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), it is foolhardy to think that we should continue in sin that grace may abound (Romans 6:1-2). Christ has not only rescued us from sin, He has taught us a better way to live, a Highway of Holiness we must strive to walk every day.
Traveling the Highway of Holiness takes commitment. The unclean is not there because he has made the conscious decision to reject the cleansing Christ offers. The fool is not wandering on it because it is not possible to stumble blindly through life and inadvertently find oneself there. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Paul instructed Timothy to be diligent to present himself approved to God by accurately handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
Being redeemed by Christ’s blood will start you on that road. Every accountable person has become a slave of sin (Romans 3:23; John 8:34), but those who have been redeemed from that slavery were redeemed by the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of trespasses, “according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7-8). That redemption occurs when you are immersed into Christ, immersed into His death (Romans 6:3).
You must choose wisely. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus the Christ made the Highway of Holiness available to us. Now the choice is yours.
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