Daily Devotional Readings
All who enter eternal glory will shed many tears before they reach their home. Here we weep much because of our sin, our bereavements and our afflictions. Physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual pain bring living men to weep. Child of God, do not expect to be free from tears here. But on the other side of the grave, we shall weep no more!
To be sure, there are many things which would cause us to weep in heaven, were it not promised, 'God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' Surely, we would weep over our many sins, the coldness of our hearts, our wasted opportunities and our indifference while we were upon the earth. But God will not allow it. Not one tear shall dim our vision of Christ over there.
The Lord our God will remove us from every source of pain and grief. He will remove us from all sin and remove all sin from us! Well may I cease to weep when I have ceased to sin. And he will give us all that our hearts desire. There will be no weeping over lost reward in that land to which we are going. Our reward will be full, perfect and satisfying. We shall see Christ! We shall be like Christ. We shall love Christ perfectly, serve him unceasingly, worship him without sin, know him fully, rest in him completely and enjoy him entirely! We shall have Christ! All that he is and all that he has will be ours! And we shall cease to weep for ever!
Will you be among that happy company? Not everyone will be there. No one deserves to be there. Yet we are told that there will be a great multitude there which no man can number. All who are washed in the blood of Christ and clothed in his righteousness will be there. All who are chosen of God, for whom the celestial city was prepared, will be there. All who trust Christ alone as Lord and Saviour will be there, but no one else. Will you be there?
Our Lord Jesus Christ was in the garden and the soldiers came to arrest him. When they came to take him away, our Saviouir gave this commandment to the soldiers concerning his beloved disciples: "If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.'
Do you see the love and care which our Lord manifested towards his people, even in the hour of his trial? His love is strong as death. He voluntarily gives himself up to the enemy, but demands that his people be set free as a condition of his surrender. As a sheep before shearers is dumb, he opens not his mouth for his own sake; but for the sake of his disciples he gives acommandment of sovereign authority. This is love, constant, free, self-denying, unchanging love. But there is far more here than is to be found upon the surface.
This is a beautiful picture of our great Substitute in his work of redemption. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, but the condition is this: those sheep for whom he died must therefore go free. Our Surety was bound and slain for us and justice demands that those for whom he stands as a Substitute must be set free to go their way. In the midst of Egyptian bondage, that voice rings out as a word of power: 'Let these go their way.' Out of the slavery of sin, out of the bondage of Satan, out from under the curse of the law the redeemed of the Lord Must Come. He says, upon the merits of his own infinite sacrifice, 'Let these go their way. 'With the eye of his justice upon the blood of his Son, the Lord God says of all his elect, 'Let these go their way. Deliver them from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom.' The thunder-cloud of divine wrath burst upon our Saviour's head as he hung upon the cross of Calvary, and God's elect, his chosen sheep, those sinners who, being called by his grace, believe on Christ, shall never be smitten by the bolts of the law's justice and vengeance. They must go free!
The essence of the gospel is substitution. The everlasting salvation of God's elect is in no way dependent upon, or attributed to, anything done by us. 'Salvation is of the Lord!' God's gift of eternal life, all the blessings of grace in this life and all the blessedness of eternal glory in the life to come are freely bestowed upon every believing sinner only as the result of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Substitute. We could never earn or merit everlasting salvation. But the Lord Jesus Christ has earned the eternal salvation of God's elect. God in justice, righteousness and truth must reward his Son with the salvation of every soul for whom he lived, died and rose again. 'For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.' As we were made sinners in the eyes of God's law and justice by the sin and fall of our father Adam, though we had not yet committed any actual sin of our own, even so we are made righteous by the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Substitute, though we have no actual righteousness of our own.
By his obedience in life as our Representative, Christ brought in all everlasting righteousness for us. God in his law required that we live in perfect righteousness, entirely without sin, loving God with all our heart, Soul, mind and strength, and our neighbours as ourselves. This is what Christ has done for us. In him all who believe have perfectly obeyed God's law. By his obedience in death, the Son of God satisfied the penalty of the law against sin as our Substitute. He was made to be sin for us by divine amputation. And, when he was made to be sin for us, our Substitute received the wages of sin - death. In him all who believe died under penalty of God's law. Now God imputes the righteousness of his Son to every believers. In exactly the same way as Christ was made to be sin for us and was rewarded with death because of sin, we are made to be the righteousness of God in him. Being righteous in Christ, we shall be rewarded for his perfect righteousness with eternal glory.
These are words of love and concern. They are the gentle words of our faithful Friend. But they are words of reproof. Our Lord is telling us that believing hearts ought never to be anxious, fearful and worried. He would have us cast our care upon him and trust him to provide for us and protect us in all things (I Peter 5:6-7). When our hearts are troubled there is trouble in our hearts. I know that whenever my heart is troubled with worry, anxiety and fear my trouble can be traced to some evil thing in my heart.
Pride is a terrible source of heart trouble, It is pride that causes us to rebel against God's providence. Most of our sorrows arise from within. 'When self is conquered, sorrow is to a great extent banished from the human heart' (Spurgeon). We shall find no comfort for our hearts until our pride is broken and our hearts are subdued (job 1:20-22; 2:9-10).
Unbelief is the root of all heart trouble. Worry, anxiety and fear are the fruits of unbelief. If I believe God there is nothing I can reasonably fear, worry about or anxiously consider (Matt. 6:25-34). One old preacher said, 'I dare not fret any more than I dare curse and swear.'
Covetousness is a real, though unacknowledged, cause of heart trouble. Our hearts are troubled because we want God to do what he has not done or give what he has riot given. That is covetousness (Phil. 4:11).
Envy, the desire of another person's ease, wealth or position, causes a believer's heart great trouble (Ps. 73:1-3). Envy is the most loathsome, vicious child pride ever sired. As a moth eats cloth, so envy eats a man. It is the most cruel, destructive passion of the human heart.
Self-pity is the sum of all these evils. Usually troubled hearts are peevish, self-willed, self-pitying hearts. The spirit of Christ is humility, riot pride; faith, not unbelief; contentment, not covetousness; peace, not envy; self-denial, not self-pity. If you would be free of heart trouble, believe Christ and walk in the spirit of Christ.
Believers are men and women who walk in the fear of the Lord. God's people do not have a slavish dread of God. We are not afraid to speak to him and about him. We are not afraid that he will become angry with us, disinherit us, or punish us for sin. Faith in Christ removes that kind of terrifying fear. Yet the believer does not think, talk about, or seek to God carelessly, flippantly, without reverence for his infinite, glorious, righteous being. A true heart knowledge of the triune God will produce godly fear in a man's heart.
The fear of the Lord is simply reverence for him. It is much like the reverence a son has for his father, involving both love and respect. God has won the admiration of his children's hearts, causing us to reverence him. We reverence his name, his being, his Word and his works. All that God is, all that has to do with him, all that he says and all that he does is held in high esteem by those who know him.
This fear of The Lord shows itself in many ways. To fear God is to hate evil. The man who knows God hates the evil of his own heart and life, hates the evil performed by others and hates the evil of false doctrine, which robs God of his glory. 'Those who fear the Lord are careful not to offend him. We cherish our fellowship with the eternal God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we take care not to grieve and offend him, because we want nothing to hinder the fellowship we enjoy. The heart that fears the Lord withholds nothing from him, no matter how dear and valuable, when he calls for it. To fear the Lord is to worship him. It is to worship God, as he is revealed in Scripture, in our hearts. Such fear of the Lord is progressive. Believers walk in the fear of the Lord. The more a man knows him, the more he fears him. God grant that I may be found 'walking in the fear of the Lord'. Amen.
The heart of the gospel is redemption and the essence of redemption is substitution. The deepest, most profound, most mysterious and most edifying subjects in all the Word of God is set forth in these words: 'He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him!' Substitution is the foundation truth of Christianity. This is the rock upon which our hopes are built. This is the only hope of the sinner and the only true joy of all saints.
The most marvellous thing that ever took place upon the earth, the most stupendous thing ever executed by the power of heaven was this: Jesus Christ, God the eternal Son, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him!
These two things, Christ being made sin and us being made righteousness, could only be accomplished by substitution. There was no possible way for the Lord of glory to be made sin, except by imputation. And there is no way by which any man can be made righteousness, except by imputation. It is a legal matter. At Calvary Christ became sin for us, and we became righteousness in him. As surely as Christ was made sin, all of those for whom he died are made righteous.
Of this we may be sure: for that, multitude of sinners for whom Jesus died there is no possibility of condemnation! "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ... For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.'
Child of God, we can never understand the depths of wisdom and grace revealed in the substitutionary death of Christ. But we who have seen him dying in our stead should never cease to worship, adore, love and trust our merciful Redeemer.
There is a terrible, unceasing struggle in my soul. Being born again by almighty grace, I believe a new heart and a new will, a new, heaven-bent nature created in me by the Spirit of God. I long for and seek after righteousness. Above anything in the world, I want to be perfectly free of sin and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the desire of every saved sinner. But I cannot do the things I would. I find a law in my members that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. I find in my soul iniquity, transgression and sin far more hideous and ignominious than the profane acts of ungodly men. Lying, theft, drunkenness, adultery and murder are only isolated acts of evil. But my sin is ever before me! I want to pray, but there is too much selfish lust in my prayers to call them prayers. I want to worship God in the Spirit, but there is too much pride in my worship to call it worship. I want to be completely free of all earthly care, trusting God in all things, but there is too much unbelief and selfish resentment towards God's providence to call my faith faith or my submission submission. I want to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and my neighbour as myself, but there is too much concern for self to call my love love.
Like all believers in this world, I am a man with two natures, two principles, warring against one another continually; and those two natures are the flesh and the Spirit. The flesh is evil, only evil, and ever seeks evil. The Spirit is righteous, only righteous, and ever seeks righteousness.
This constant warfare between the flesh and the Spirit makes me do three things: (1) I denounce all personal righteousness, for I have none, and confess my sin. (2) I trust Christ alone for all my righteousness before God. And (3) I live in hope of that day when I shall drop this robe of flesh and be like my Saviour, holy, blameless and unreproveable before God.
Divine election is a constant theme of thanksgiving and praise throughout the Word of God. The blessedness of being one of God's elect fills every believer's heart with praise to God. Those who were chosen by God in eternal love and given to Christ as his sheep in the covenant of grace have been redeemed by the Saviour's precious blood John 10: 11, 14,15,26). Divine providence rule; all things, sovereignly working all things together for the good of God's elect (Rom. 8:28-30). The Lord Jesus Christ prays and makes intercession for God's elect (John 17:9,20). Satan has no power over the souls and eternal destiny of God's elect, who are kept and preserved by the power of God (Luke 22:31-32; 1 Peter 1:5). Sin will never be charged to God's elect, because all God's elect have been perfectly justified by his grace through the blood of Christ (Rom. 3:24; 4:8). All of God's elect, without exception, will be glorified, presented before the presence of God himself, 'holy and without blame', being perfectly righteous through the imputation of Christ's righteousness to them (Eph. 1:4). In the last day, every one of God's elect will enter into and possess that kingdom prepared for them before the world began, as 'heirs of' God and joint-heirs with Christ' (Rom. 8:17). Yes, God's elect people will possess that eternal inheritance to which we were eternally predestinated (Eph. 1: 11). When David thought on all these things his heart broke out in praise to God for his eternal, electing love: 'Blessed is the man whom thou choosest!'
If you are one of God's elect all these blessings, and many more, are yours. If you are not among God's elect none of these blessings will ever be yours. All the blessings of grace flow down to men from the throne of God through the elective purpose of God (Eph. 1:3-6). If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you bow to Christ as your Lord in faith, trusting his blood and righteousness, you are one of God's elect. If you believe not, you are not elect John 10:26).
For some the answer to that question is not hard to find: you are condemned already! It is commonly thought that man is on a sort of spiritual probation. But such is not the case. Hear the Word of God: 'He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God...He that believeth not...shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him' (John 3:18, 36). You are condemned already because of your sin. You must be pardoned, or for ever die! Awake now and flee to Christ. He alone can pardon you and free you from condemnation.
There is no possibility of condemnation for those who are in Christ. There are many who would condemn the true believer if they could. God's people often meet with their enemies in this world and those wicked men would delight to sentence us to condemnation. Satan, that arch-enemy of our souls, would condemn us if it were in his power. Sometimes our own consciences condemn us. But, blessed be God, 'if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things!'
God alone has the power to condemn us, but he will not. He has declared that he will never condemn any who trust in his Son. He who has the power of condemnation is our Saviour. He knows that we are so perfectly justified that we cannot be condemned. We raise the bold challenge: 'Who is he that condemneth?' With confident joy we reply, 'No one can condemn us!' With unshaken faith we declare, 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.' Does anyone ask, 'What is the grounds of this confidence?' Paul states it plainly: 'it is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of the Father who also maketh intercession for us.' Christ died as our Substitute; we cannot die. Christ has risen for our justification; we are justified. Christ is seated at the right hand of God; the work of our redemption is finished and accepted. Christ makes intercession for us; he must prevail; we must be saved.
It is good to read the Bible regularly, learn the facts of Bible history, memorize as much of the Bible as you can and study the blessed doctrines of the Bible. But it is quite possible to do all of these things and yet gain no spiritual benefit from the Word of God. The Word of God will be of benefit to our souls only to the degree that we understand it. Such understanding in the Scriptures is, and can only be gained, by the gracious instruction of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:11-16).
A man has understanding in the Scriptures to the degree that he sees Christ in everything and sees everything in Christ. Philip gave the eunuch understanding in the Scriptures when he 'preached unto him Jesus'. He preached Christ, nothing but Christ, and that gave the eunuch understanding. In the Word of God, Christ alone is pre-eminent. The Bible is a book about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the whole counsel of God, and the whole counsel of God is Christ (Acts 20:26-27; 1 Cor. 2:2; 9:16).
I have understanding in the Scriptures to the degree that my understanding creates in me a humble, submissive, obedient, faith in Christ. This eunuch showed his understanding in the Word by his willing surrender to believer's baptism, the ordinance of Christ.
We have understanding in the Word of God to the degree that our understanding causes us to rejoice in Christ. Once this man understood the Scriptures, 'He went on his way rejoicing.' Spurgeon said, 'The faith of the Scriptures leads joy by the hand, and chases away despair.'
I have understanding in the Scriptures to the degree that my understanding causes me to seek the salvation of others. This eunuch carried the gospel with him back to Africa. Once a man learns the gospel, he has got to tell it to others.
And I have understanding in the Scriptures to the degree that I have a message for all people at all times. I have a message of salvation, life, comfort, peace and joy to all people, in every circumstance of life. My message to you is the message I have received – Christ crucified.
There is much talk today about the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many claim to possess these gifts. And some of God's people are confused about them. I want to answer briefly some questions you might have about the gifts oF the Spirit.
What miraculous gifts did the apostles possess by the Holy Spirit? As you read through the book of Acts you will see that the apostles had the ability to speak in tongues. (They could preach the gospel to men in foreign languages which they never learned.) The apostles cast out demons. They healed the sick. They did not try to heal the sick; they did it. Every time an apostle of Christ commanded a man to be healed, that man was immediately healed, no matter what his disease. Neither the poison of serpents nor deadly mixtures could harm them, as Paul demonstrated to the astonishment of men on the island of Melita. And they raised the dead to life. All of the apostles possessed all of these gifts. And they all exercised them with absolute efficacy. I defy anyone to find such a man today.
Why were the gifts given? These gifts were bestowed upon the apostles to prove and confirm them before men as the inspired messengers of the enthroned Messiah (Joel 2:28-32; Matt. 11:2-5; Acts 2:14-36; Heb. 2:3-4).
Is there any place for these gifts in the church qf Christ today? No, these miraculous apostolic gifts ceased with the apostolic age. In Acts 8:5-18 we read of the apostles coming to Samaria to communicate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the believers there. Philip, though he possessed those gifts, could not communicate them, because Philip was not an apostle. If the gifts could only be communicated by an apostle, they must have ceased when the last of the apostles died. There is no need for such gifts today. We have the complete inspired revelation of God in Holy Scripture (2 Peter 1:9-2 1). Since there are no forthcoming revelations from God, there is no need for miraculous signs to confirm such revelations. The Word of God is complete, final and sufficient.
So long as men are ignorant of the Lord Jesus Christ they cannot be saved. It is not enough that men and women be sincere. They must know Christ as he is revealed in Holy Scripture, or they will perish in unbelief. Our Lord himself declares, 'This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent' (John 17:3). In order to have true saving faith in Christ a man must have a true gospel knowledge of Christ. Gospel knowledge is essential to saving faith (Rom. 10:9-17).
True faith knows, acknowledges and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ in the supreme dignity of his person. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the infinite, incomprehensible, eternal God, who is moved by nothing and touched by nothing. He is also God incarnate, God in our nature, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, the man who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, because he was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.
Faith knows, embraces and trusts Christ, receiving the salvation done by his performance. Faith does not, in any way, accomplish salvation. Our salvation was accomplished entirely by the work of our Lord Jesus. Faith, trusting Christ, simply receives what he has done as our Substitute. We receive his righteousness, the righteousness which he performed for us, by faith. We receive redemption and the forgiveness of sins, that which he purchased by his precious blood, by faith.
Saving faith knows Christ as Lord and bows to him in the sovereign dominion of his position. Faith submits to the sovereign rule of the sovereign Christ, willingly. Faith does not rebel against sovereignty; it rejoices in it.
True faith knows Christ and rests in the sure deliverance of his power. He cannot fail. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. All power is in the hands of him who is our Saviour. Therefore our hearts safely trust him.
Though to many Paul's conversion, his experience of grace, might seem extraordinary, he tells its us that the method of God's grace with him was a pattern, revealing the method of God's grace with all his elect (I Tim.1: 16). The apostle also tells us plainly what the order and method of God's grace is: 'When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood' (Gal. 1: 15-16). This is the way God saves sinners. The order of grace never changes. The method of grace never varies.
Salvation begins in the will and pleasure of God: 'When it pleased God'. The source of saving grace is the will of God. The cause of salvation is not the will of man, but the will of God (Rom. 9:11-18). Having willed to save some of Adam's fallen race, God separated his own elect from the rest of mankind: 'Who separated me from my mother's womb.' This act of seperation is God's unconditional election of his people in Christ, before the foundation of the world (2 Thess. 2:13;2 Tim. 1:19). The phrase 'from my mother's womb' implies the fact that this election took place before we had done anything good or bad. It is teaching God's sovereignty in election (Jer. 1:4-5). Then, at the the time appointed, God calls all of his elect by effectual and irresistible grace: 'And called me by his grace'. Those who were sanctified in the womb of election are given life by the call of the spirit. This call of the Spirit is always effecttial because, in calling his elect to life and faith, God graciously reveals his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in his elect: 'To reveal his Son in me'. Salvation comes when Christ is revealed. As the result of this revelation of Christ in the heart, God makes his elect people willingly obedient servants to his Son. God's purpose was that Paul should willingly serve him, and serve him he did. Good works will never cause God to be gracious; but God's grace always causes his people to walk willingly in good works.
Read 2 Corinthiazis 5:1-11
Though today God is longsuffering with men and is giving the fallen sons of Adam space for repentance, there is a day of judgement and righteous retribution coming (Rev. 20:11-14). God does not delay his judgement because he lacks the will or the power to judge men, but because he has an elect people whom he has determined to save. As soon as he has saved the last of his elect, judgement will come (2 Peter 3:8-15).
According to the revelation of Holy Scripture, the judge of all men in that great day will be the man, Christ Jesus (Matt. 13:41-43; 25:31-32; John 5:22-29; Acts 10:42; 17:30-31; Rom. 14:9-12; 2 Cor. 5: 10). The Judge of the world in that last great day will be the Son of man who is the Son of God. This judgement of men by Christ will be both righteous and impartial. All men will receive the exact penalty or reward of strict justice. The wicked will be judged in strict righteousness according to their works and receive in a body the just reward of their evil deeds. There will be degrees of punishment in hell, because there are degrees of wickedness. Those who sin against greater light will receive greater condemnation (Matt. 11:20-24). The righteous will also be judged in strict righteousness according to their works and receive in body the just reward of their righteous deeds. There will be no degrees of reward for the righteous, because there are no degrees of righteousness. All righteous men are perfect men. These are God's elect, redeemed, justified and sanctified by Christ. There is no evil recorded against them because the righteous obedience of Christ to the law is imputed to them (Rom. 5:19). That same law and justice that demand the eternal punishment of every unbeliever also demand the eternal bliss and glory of every believer, whose names are written in the book of life, because in Christ, by his righteousness and shed blood, every believer is worthy of heaven's eternal inheritance.
The words are used throughout the Bible to describe the moral depravity of our race. God's judgement falls upon men because of iniquity, transgression and sin.
Iniquity is the perverseness of my righteousness. It is missing the mark, failing short of that which is required by the law of God. How far short do we fall? 'We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags' (Isa. 64:6). My best thoughts, best ambitions, best desires and best deeds are so polluted with sin that in the sight of God they are as vile and obnoxious as discarded menstruous cloths.
Transgression is the perverseness of my evil works. It is the contemptuous disregard of God's law, walking contrary to the law and violating the law by wilful rebellion. Every thought, word and deed that is contrary to the law of God is transgression. It is the breaking of God's law.
Sin is the perverseness of my being. This is what I am. This is the source of all transgression and iniquity. My heart by nature is a foul, polluted cesspool in which every manner of evil imaginable grows (Matt. 15:19). It is a garrison of enmity against God (Rom. 8:7). The evil I do is terrible; but the evil that I am is worse by far. I hate what I do; but I hate what I am more.
If we would obtain mercy from God, we must confess our sin. (Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9). This is more than merely saying, with Judas, 'I have sinned.' It is a heartfelt acknowledgement of our guilt and depravity. We must acknowledge the evil of our righteousness, the evil of our wickedness and the evil of our nature, so that we take sides with God against ourselves (Ps. 51:1-5).
I rejoice to know and to declare to you that through the merits of Christ's righteousness and shed blood God is faithful and just to forgive iniquity, transgression and sin. (Exod. 34:6-7; 1 John 1:9). This is the good news and glad tidings of the gospel. If we acknowledge and confess our sin God will forgive our sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin.
Almost all men have faith of one kind or another and there are many who profess faith in Christ. But it is evident that the faith produced by modern-day evangelism is not true saving faith, because it does not produce the same characteristics as that faith taught and exemplified in the Word of God. That faith which is produced by the power and grace of God the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel will always be distinguished from false faith by at least five things.
1. True faith produces a heart truly before God over sin. (Ps. 51:1-5, 17). Whenever a man sees himself in the light of God's glory shining upon him through the cross of Christ, he will cry out with the publican, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!' This is where repentance begins. Christ revealed in the heart breaks the heart (Zech. 12: 10).
2. True faith causes the heart, to bow willingly to Christ's absolute sovereignty and Lordship in all things. (Luke 14:25-33). The believer's submission to Christ is far from perfect; but it is a sincere, willing surrender of the heart to Christ. In our inmost being we voluntarily commit ourselves and all things to the disposal of our gracious Sovereign.
3. Truth faith looks to Christ alone for all things. True faith trusts Christ alone. Faith has two hands. With one hand she strips away all the filthy rags of her own righteousness; and with the other she puts on the righteousness of Christ. Faith sees 'Jesus only'. Faith wraps itself up in Christ (I Cor. 1:30).
4. True faith will persevere and continue to believe regardless of circumstances. (Heb. 11:13). False faith fluctuates. True faith is steady, continual and relentless. The rougher the storm, the firmer faith clings to Christ. True faith never gives up.
5. True faith produces a heart of sincere love for the people of God. (1 John 4:8; 5: 1). False faith strives to produce love and pretends to love. But love is natural to true faith. Love for the brethren flows as naturally from the believing heart as water flows from the spring.
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