MEDITATIONS
FROM DANIEL
March 5 , 2008
Reading
"Many shall
be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly” Daniel
However you interpret these last words of the Book of Daniel, within
them lies a principle upon which we can all agree.
“The wicked shall do wickedly.” They always have and they always will. All they
time they remain in that category of persons they can do nothing but wicked
things. The most wicked of all things is that which is
not looked upon as a crime and for which no prison time is served; the sin of
rejecting the Son of God as their Savior. This is the wicked thing that keeps
persons in the wicked category. It is this thing that keeps the wicked person
doing wicked things because they cannot help it and are helpless to do anything
about it.
The wicked person or, as Paul puts it, those that are “without Christ …
having no hope and without God in the world” Ephesians
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are
accustomed to do evil” Jeremiah
The wicked shall do wickedly, the sinner will
sin because it is his nature to do so. Are any exempt from this category? No,
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” Romans
There is, however, by the grace of God, a
second category of persons—those who are “in Christ.”
“For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk
in them” Ephesians 2:10.
To be in Christ makes all the difference. It is the only thing that can
make a difference. Those in Christ are created for good works, not wickedness.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”
2 Corinthians
This is what God means when He says in the first part of our text
“Many shall be purified, made white, and refined” Daniel 12:10.
Those
who in Christ have two natures within them, the old nature and the new
nature—the old man and the new man; hence the strife (read Romans 7). Yes, the person who is in Christ can do
wicked things, but now he has a choice. He is now in a different category. As
he continues in Christ, so the Holy Spirit works in him to purify him, make him
white, and refined, The Bible calls it sanctification. This is the goal of
Jesus for all those who belong to Him, His Church, His Bride:
“Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might
sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might
present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any
such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” Ephesians 5:25-27.