Recently I’ve found myself thinking a lot about faith in the life of a believer. I think it’s easy to recognize that faith, complete reliance upon Jesus Christ, is necessary for salvation, but when it comes to sanctification, how often do I move away from simple faith in Christ and put stock in my own performance and judge God’s reception of me on the basis of how I’ve been doing? Since I have to deal with my flesh through this life, it can be a discouraging business to rate my standing before God on the basis of my performance. I was encouraged by two different articles I read by Thomas Brooks and Octavius Winslow today and thought I would share them.
“The Lord looks more upon your graces than he does upon your weaknesses. The Lord did not cast off Peter for his horrid sins, but rather looked upon him with an eye of love and pity: “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee!” (Mark 16:7) O admirable love! O matchless mercy! Christ looked more upon Peter’s sorrow than his sin, more upon his tears than his oaths. The Lord will not cast away weak saints for their great unbelief, because there is a little faith in them, or for their hypocrisy because of the little sincerity that is in them, or for their pride because of the rays of humility that shine in them, or for their passion because of the grains of meekness that are in them. We will not throw away a little gold, because of a great deal of dross that cleaves to it, or a little wheat, because it is mixed with much chaff, and will God? Will God? We do not cast away our garments because of spots, or books because of some blots, or jewels because of some flaws. Will the Lord cast away his dearest ones, because of their spots, blots and flaws? Surely no! God looks more upon the bright side of the cloud than the dark. God looks upon the pearl, and not the spot in it. Where God sees but a little grace, he does as it were hide his eyes from those circumstances that might seem to deface the glory of it. Ah! Weak Christians are more apt to look upon their infirmities than on their graces, and because their gold is mixed with a great deal of dross, they are ready to throw away all as dross. Well, remember this: the Lord Jesus has as great an interest in the weakest saints as the strongest. He has an interest as a friend, a father, a husband. Yea, though saints are weak, yea, very weak, he cannot but overlook their weakness and keep a fixed eye upon their graces. “ (Thomas Brooks)
I thought this was an encouraging thought! The Lord is not shocked when He sees a flaw in me, and He does not give up on me when I fail. I realize that the Lord does not look upon my graces as if they somehow emanated inherently from me – He looks at Christ at work in me, and any grace that is evident in me is simply proof of His working. AND, while my flaws are there, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” (Phil 1:6) Now, I don't have license to sin, for my sins…”may provoke him to frown upon you, chide you, correct you," BUT my sins "will never provoke Christ to give you a bill of divorce. “ (Thomas Brooks) The Lord still hates sin in the lives of His own, and I need to fight it with all my heart, BUT my right standing before Him is always based on the righteousness of Christ. I need to have my thoughts taken up more with the preciousness of Christ and His righteousness than with my own foibles and failings.
“How precious is the righteousness of Christ – a righteousness that fully justifies our person, completely covering all our deformity, and presenting us to God…and look at the preciousness of His sacrifice, which is as a “sweet-smelling savour” unto God. (Eph 5:2), ascending ever from off the golden altar before the throne in one continuous cloud of incense, wreathing the persons, perfuming the prayers, accompanying the offerings, and presenting with acceptance every breath of devotion, every accent of praise, and every token of love that His people here below lay at His feet. ‘By one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified’ (Heb 10:14). That “one offering,” offered once for all, was so divine, so holy, so complete, so satisfactory, it has forever perfected the pardon, perfected the justification, perfected the adoption, and will perfect the sanctification when it perfects the glory of all the elect of Jehovah. Beloved, is not this enough to check every sigh, to quell every fear, to annihilate every doubt, and to fill you with peace and joy in believing? What shouts of praise to Jesus should burst from every lip as each believer contemplates the sacrifice that has secured his eternal salvation…Believer, evince (show) your sense of the preciousness of this great sacrifice by bringing to it daily sins, by drawing from it hourly comfort, and by laying yourself upon it, body, soul and spirit a living sacrifice unto God.” (Octavius Winslow)
Faith does not end at conversion. I am to live by faith everyday – live believing that Christ is my righteousness and that on my best days I am only accepted on the basis of Christ, and on my worst days, I am still accepted because of Christ. As Elyse Fitzpatrick has said, “for every one look I take of myself, take ten looks at Christ.” Living daily by faith in Christ and what He has done for us motivates us to fight sin and live for Him not out of fear of being punished, but simply out of love and thankfulness for Who He is and all that He continually does on our behalf.
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
‘Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.
Jesus, be endless praise to Thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me –
For me a full atonement made,
An everlasting ransom paid.
-Nikolaus L. von Zinzendorf
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