Daily Devotional Readings
I want you to picture the Lord Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, as he searches for his lost sheep. He leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and goes out to search for his one lost sheep. He knows the sheep that is lost. He has a picture of it in his mind. He thinks little of the ninety-nine who need no Shepherd. His heart is all wrapt up in that one lost sheep. This one thought seems to possess his entire being: 'My sheep is lost!' Immediately, the search begins.
It is an all-absorbing search. That one lost sheep consumes the Shepherd's tender heart. He can neither eat not sleep until he finds that lost sheep. The Poor, lost, wandering sheep has no thought of the Shepherd, but the Shepherd seems to think of nothing else except that one lost sheep. The sheep belongs to him. He purchased it with his own precious blood and he will not lose it. The sheep is his responsibility. His honour as a Shepherd is bound up in the welfare of that sheep. And he loves his sheep. He cannot bear the thought of its being lost. The Shepherd knows all the pits into which the sheep might fall and all the wolves which thirst for its blood. And he knows that his poor sheep is both defenceless and senseless.
It is a definite search. The Shepherd goes after his sheep. He is seeking one, definite, particular sheep.
It is an active search. No hill is too difficult to climb. No mountain is too high. No precipice is too rocky. No valley is to low. No distance is too far. The Shepherd must have his sheep.
It is a perserving search. He will search for his lost sheep 'until he find it'.
It is a personal search. The Shepherd himself goes after his sheep. It is a glorious thought to think of Christ himself on the trail of his sheep. Sinners who will not come to Christ are pursued by the Son of God, pursued by the eternal Lover of men, until he finds them!
And it is a successful search. Of this one thing you may be sure: the Shepherd will find his lost sheep! Not one of those lost sheep, for whom the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died will be lost for ever. He will find his sheep and bring it home rejoicing.
Picture that poor, lost sheep. He has fallen over the edge of a high cliff on a dark, stormy night. Overhead he sees the terrifying storm of God's wrath. The lightning seems to strike out at him, saying, 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' Below he sees the gaping jaws of hell opened wide to engulf him. He is losing his footing, slipping into hell. His very soul is terrified. That sheep is you and me. 'All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.' We were all lost and ruined by the fall of our father Adam (Rom. 3:12). We went astray as soon as we were born, speaking lies (Psa. 58:3). If left to ourselves, we would all surely perish. Silly sheep are helpless. They have no sense of direction. They have a will to roam and wonder, straying further and further away. But they have no will to return to the Shepherd.
Just when the sheep is ready to perish for ever, Christ finds his lost sheep! What does he do? Does the Shepherd say, 'Now I have done all I can for you, the rest is up to you. You take the first step, and I will do the rest. If you will let me I will save you?' Nonsense! Our dear Shepherd reaches down with the long arm of his almighty, irresistible grace and lays hold of his perishing sheep and 'He layeth it on his own shoulders, rejoicing!'
Now picture the sheep. The Good Shepherd has the sheep on his own shoulders, holding its four legs securely in the strong hands of his grace. This is a place of rest for the sheep. All the weight and burden of his soul is on the Shepherd's shoulders. And the sheep is secure. He is in the Shepherd's hands and upon the Shepherd's shoulders. He has nothing to fear (Deut. 1:30-31; John 10:27-29). Nothing can hurt the sheep until it first destroys the Shepherd. At last, the great, all-sufficient Shepherd brings his sheep home rejoicing. In that saved sheep, he sees of the travail of his soul and is satisfied. Imagine that - the Son of God rejoices in the salvation of sinners! This was the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross, despising its shame. Thank God for such a Shepherd as Christ is!
The apostle shows us in this text that it is the will, the pleasure and the determination of the Father's heart that his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, be pre-eminent in all things and above all things. God has so highly exalted, honoured and magnified his Son that the only way any creature can exalt, honour and magnify the triune God is by exalting, honouring and magnifying the Lord Jesus Christ. So determined is the eternal, triune God to make Christ pre-eminent in all things that God can only be known and revealed to men by the knowledge and revelation of Christ. The only way God makes himself known is through the Son. And the only way God deals with men is through the Son. 'The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand' (John 3:35).
We are Trinitarians. We worship the one true and living God in the trinity of his sacred persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There are three distinct and separate persons in the Godhead. Yet these three divine persons are one God. The Father is the Father. The Son is the Son. And the Spirit is the Spirit. They are three distinct persons. Yet they are one God. There is no way to explain the doctrine of the Trinity, or even illustrate it, in human terms. We simply believe it, because it is plainly revealed in Holy Scripture. In the baptism of our Lord (Matt. 3:16-17) we see the three persons of the Godhead: the Father speaks from heaven, the Son is immersed in water and the Spirit descends upon him. Believers are commanded to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19), three distinct persons. Yet our Lord says plainly, 'I and my Father are one' (John 10:30).'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father' (John 14:9). The Word of God plainly states the doctrine of the Trinity in I John 5:7: 'There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.' The Father, the Son and the Spirit are one in essence, one in purpose, one in character, one in power, and one in being. All true believers are Trinitarians.
We know, worship and serve the triune God only as we know, worship and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Thomas, with his hand in the pierced side of the crucified, risen Christ, said unto him, 'My Lord and my God' (John 20:28), and he was right in doing so. Paul says, 'In him dwelleth all fulness of the Godhead bodily' (Col. 2:9). What can he mean but this: in the God-man, Jesus Christ, all that God is - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - perpetually and eternally resides? 'You must know that you are never to separate in your thoughts God from Christ; always as you look upon Christ, so look upon God; or as you look upon God, look upon him no otherwise than as he is in Christ, not as if there were another God besides what Christ is; for there is no such thing' (Tobias Crisp). Jesus Christ our Saviour is God.
Everything God has ever done, is doing, or will ever do, he does through the mediation of his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The covenant of grace was made before the world was with Christ the Mediator. That solemn compact of mercy, ordered in all things and sure, was made with Christ (Ps. 89:3-4, 19-37; 2 Sam. 23:5; 2 Tim. 1:9).
The world was created by God through Christ the Mediator. When Paul says, Christ is 'the firstborn of every creature' (Col. 1: 15), he is simply declaring that Christ is the one out of whom creation was born. All things sprang from him. He is the original cause of all things, 'the beginning of the creation of God' (Rev. 3:14; John 1: 1-3).
God's providential rule of the world is by Christ the Mediator (Dan. 7:13-14; John 17:2). In time, as the reward of his obedience and death as our Substitute, Christ took his place of dominion as a man. But this world has always been under the mediatorial rule of the Lord Jesus Christ, 'whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting' (Micah 5:2). It is the mediatorial rule of the Lord Jesus Christ that preserves this world. He will not allow this world to be destroyed until all his elect are saved (2 Peter 3:9). Thanks be unto God, the God who rules this world is the pre-eminent Christ, the Friend of sinners!
Our Lord said, 'All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him' (Matt. 11:27). God reveals himself to men only in Christ (John 1: 18; 14:6). Christ is the Word, the revelation of God (John 1: 1-3). All that we know of God is Christ. He is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of his person. In the revelation of God, Christ is pre-eminent.
In the worship and service of God Christ is pre-eminent. God deals with men only in and through his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, 'No man cometh unto the Father but by me' (John 14:6; 10:9; Eph. 2:18; Heb. 7:25; 10: 19). 'God will not speak to, nor will he be spoken to by any man apart from the Lord Jesus Christ' (Scott Richardson). The whole of our salvation is in Christ. He is made of God 'unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption' (1 Cor. 1:30). And the only way we can approach God is in him. God will not receive any worship, prayer, sacrifice, or service offered to him by man, but through the merits and mediation of Christ (I Peter 2:5). Everything done for God and offered to God must be performed and offered in the name of Christ with a conscious realization that we have no access to or acceptance with the eternal God but by Christ. All that God does for us is in Christ, too. All the blessings of grace and glory are freely bestowed by God upon his sinful people for Christ's sake and through his merits alone (Eph. 1:3-14;4:32).
And when this world is folded up like a worn-out garment, when time shall be no more, and all men stand before God in judgement, Christ will yet be pre-eminent. Even at the bar of judgement God will deal with men only in Christ. The Judge who will sit upon the great white throne in that day will be none other than the God-man, Christ Jesus our Lord (John 5:21-22; Rom. 14:1-12; 2 Cor. 5: 10-11; Rev. 20:11-15). God has determined that in all things he must have the preeminence.
Throughout the endless ages of eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ will have the pre-eminence, When all creation is brought to bow at the feet of Christ and acknowledge him as rightful Lord of the universe, God will be glorified (Col. 1:20; Phil. 2:9-1 1; I Cor. 15:24-28). In fulfilment of his last engagement as our Surety in the covenant of grace, the God-man Mediator will present all the universe to the triune God, and in all the universe God will be glorified, God will be all in all as the enthroned Christ reigns for ever and ever in the infinite splendour and majesty of his righteousness and glory.
What the sun is to our solar system, Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, is to heaven and eternity. He is the centre of heaven, the light of heaven, the life of heaven, the strength of heaven and the joy of heaven. Withdraw the sun from our solar system, and everything would be darkness, destruction and death. Withdraw Christ from heaven, and heaven itself would be hell! In heaven Christ is, and for ever shall be pre-eminent, because for all eternity Christ is all! Christ is for ever all our reward, all our joy, all our peace and all our love. In heaven's eternal bliss, Christ alone will fill our vision and Christ alone will have our praise (Rev. 4:9-1 1; 5:9-13). This is the ultimate end for which God said in the beginning, 'Let there be light.' This world was created by God, so that 'in all things he [the Lord Jesus Christ] might have the pre-eminence'.
As God the Father has given the Son alone pre-eminence, so must we. Let us honour the one true and living God in all things. There is only one way for us to do so. We must honour the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:23-24). When I acknowledge my sin and my need of Christ, I honour him (Psa. 51:1-5; 1 John 5:7-10). When I trust Christ alone as my all-sufficient Substitute, I honour him (John 3:36). When I bow and surrender to Christ as my rightful, sovereign Lord, I honour him (Matt. 10:36-39). When I confess Christ before men, I honour him (Matt. 10:27-33). God delights to give his Son the preeminence. And God delights in those who give Christ alone preeminence in all things.
Christ alone has pre-eminence as the revelation of God, the Saviour of men, the Ruler of providence and the glory of heaven. God the Father gives Christ all pre-eminence. And God the Holy Spirit gives Christ alone pre-eminence. All the comfort, instruction and direction of God the Holy Spirit come to men from the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit, according to the disposition of the covenant of grace, is Christ's agent in this world. He does nothing of himself, speaks nothing of himself and receives nothing to himself. It is the Spirit's delight to do Christ's bidding in this world, even as it has been the Son's delight to do the Father's bidding. Christ is the Fountain of all grace. The Holy Spirit is the channel through whom all the blessings of grace come to us, but Christ is the Fountain. If you compare 1 Corinthians 12:11 with Ephesians 4:7-12 and Psalm 68:18-20, you will see that all the gifts of the Spirit are really the gifts of Christ, which he has bestowed upon the church for the glory of his own great name, for the furtherance of the gospel and for the spiritual welfare of his people.
Everywhere today men talk much about the Holy Spirit. We are told, 'This is the age of the Holy Spirit.' They talk much about the anointing of the Spirit, the baptism of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit and the presence of the Spirit, and say little about the person and work of the Son. This is all wrong. Those who preach the Holy Spirit and ignore Christ do not have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks only of Christ, and those who have the Spirit speak of Christ, only of Christ. Do not misunderstand me. Believers reverence, worship and honour the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. But the only way to honour the Spirit is to honour Christ. This is the age of the Son. This is the age of Christ. This is the gospel day. It began when the Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in his wings. And God has determined in this day that Christ must have the pre-eminence.
God the Holy Spirit speaks of and reveals Christ to men. He takes the things of Christ and shows them to us. In regeneration, he creates and forms Christ in us. He comforts our hearts by showing us what Christ has done for us and is yet doing on our behalf. He gives us assurance by applying the blood of Christ to our hearts and consciences. And he both reproves us for sin and leads us in the paths of righteousness by showing us the example Christ left for us to follow, When it was needed, the Holy Spirit even gave men the ability to preach the gospel of Christ in languages unknown to them. In the work of the Holy Spirit, Christ is pre-eminent. He is the centre and the object of the Spirit's ministry. He neither seeks nor receives any honour to himself. He promotes the Honour of Christ.
To be baptized in the Spirit is to be baptized into Christ's death, resurrection and life. It is to be translated from death to life in Christ (I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27). The anointing of the Spirit is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27; 1 John 2:27). The gifts of the Spirit are the covenant blessings of God's grace, promised in eternity, purchased by the blood of Christ and bestowed upon men by the royal authority of Christ our King through the agency of his Spirit (Gal. 3:13-14). To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the character of Christ (Eph. 5:18-21). The power of the Spirit upon men is the power of the enthroned Christ (Luke 24:49). The blessed presence of the Spirit is the presence of Christ, made known to us by the Spirit (Matt. 18:20; 28:20; John 14:18,23). To walk in the Spirit is to walk in Christ, with Christ, like Christ, towards Christ and for Christ by faith (Gal. 5:16-24).
It may seem that this is an over-simplification of the Spirit's work. I readily acknowledge that there is much more involved in the work of the Holy Spirit than I have mentioned. But whatever else may be included in the ministry of the Spirit, it is the Spirit's determination 'that in all things Christ might have the pre-eminence'.
The Lord Jesus Christ is everything to his Father. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand' (John 3:35). And his reason for doing so is that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him' (John 5:23). The Father loves, delights in, honours, exalts and magnifies the Son, having determined in all things to make the Son pre-eminent. Christ is to his Father what Benjamin was to Jacob, the Son of his love. His great love for his Son is seen in the place of preeminence over all things which the Son enjoys by the gift of his Father.
In his essential deity, as the second person of the holy trinity, the Father gives nothing to the Son, because the Son is in every way equal to the Father and possesses all things equally as God with the Father and the Spirit. But in his mediatorial character and office, its the Represenative of his people and as the reward of his covenant engagements, the Son was given all things by his Father (John 17:2) and has been given pre-eminence in all things. Christ is the pre-eminent object of his Father's affection (Prov. 8:30-31). Nothing is so dear to the Father as the Son. God delights in and is pleased only with his Son (Matt. 3:17). God is pleased with the righteousness of his Son and with the sacrifice of his Son, and he is pleased with believers in his Son and for the sake of his Son. Christ is the pre-eminent object of his Father's trust, too. The Father has entrusted everything to the hands of his Son: his people as a Surety (Eph. 1: 12), his creation as a King (Ps. 2:7-8), his glory as the ultimate end of his work (I Cor. 15:28). The Father has made Christ pre-eminent by giving him the place of highest honour, majesty, power and dominion (Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 1:3-9; 10: 12-13). And God the Father has made Christ pre-eminent, giving the Son everything he asks of the Father (John 11:22). God the Father has devoted himself, his heart, his creation, his very being to the glory and honour of his Son, because he is determined that in all things Christ might have the pre-eminence'.
As it pleases the Father to give Christ pre-eminence in all things, it pleases every believer to know that Christ is pre-eminent. Nothing can more effectually comfort and challenge the believer's heart than the knowledge of Christ's preeminence. In Colossians 1: 15-20, Paul gives us a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Redeemer, our Saviour, our Friend, our glorious King, holding in his almighty hand all of creation. He who loved us and gave himself for us holds the whole world in his hand. He who died on the cross knows the most distant star by name. He not only knows it, but also guides it. Better still, he so controls that distant star and all things in God's creation that he makes everything serve the interest of his people (Rom. 8:28). The fact that Christ is pre-eminent assures us of four things.
1. The Lord Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour. In Paul's day, as in ours, there were some who taught that Christ alone is insufficient, inadequate, incapable by his own merits and grace to save his people. To dispel that heresy, Paul says, 'Christ is pre-eminent. 'He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is a sovereign Saviour. He who died on Calvary now rules all things, and nothing can ever separate him from the people he loves. No harm shall befall his elect. No evil shall come upon his people. He will not allow even one to perish. To the trembling, fearful, anxious, fretful believer, Paul says, 'Let not your heart be troubled, Christ is pre-eminent.'
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is a rich and bountiful Saviour. He has all things, and he freely gives all things to his people as they need them. Paul says, to every believer, 'There is no need to worry about hard times or old age, Christ is pre-eminent.'
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Saviour worthy of our heart's trust and devotion. You can safely trust Christ in all things and give him the devotion of your heart, because he is pre-eminent. He to whom God the Father has given pre-eminence should have pre-eminence in the hearts of his people.
In God's creation the triune God said, 'Let us make man in our image, and after our likeness' (Gen. 1:26). And Christ is the image of God, in whose likeness we were made, and the one by whom we were made (Col. 1: 15). In the providential rule of the world Christ is pre-eminent (Col. 1: 16). All things were made by him and for him. He upholds all things, sustains all things, rules all things and will have the praise of all things.
Christ is pre-eminent in the book of God (Luke 24:27). The Bible is a book about Christ. It speaks only of him. The Old Testament says, 'He is coming.' The four Gospels and Acts say, 'He has come.' The epistles and Revelation say, 'He is coming again.'
God has made Christ pre-eminent in the church (Col. 1: 18). He is the Head (the seat of authority and the source of life) to his body the church. In salvation Christ is pre-eminent (Col. 1: 14). He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Christ is our salvation. His mediatorial possessions, as the God-man our Saviour, display his preeminence (Col. 1: 19). All the fulness of the eternal Godhead is in Christ. All the fulness of grace is in Christ. And all the fulness of the divine glory is in Christ.
In the resurrection Christ will be the pre-eminent one (Col. 1: 18). He was the first one to be raised from the dead, and all who believe will be raised in his likeness.
And Christ is pre-eminent in reconciliation (Col. 1:20-22). We have broken God's law and offended his justice. But 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them' (2 Cor. 5:19). By the blood of his cross Christ reconciled us to God. And in the ages to come Christ our Lord will reconcile all things to God (Isa. 45:22-25). He will clearly demonstrate the glory of God in all things. The whole creation of God will, in the end, show forth the praise of him by whom and for whom all things were created. 'Every creature' will say, 'blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever' (Rev. 5:13).
Why must Christ have the pre-eminence? Why must all things be put under his feet? Why should he have no rival? Christ must have the pre-eminence in all things, because God the Father said that he must (Ps. 89:27). Why was Joseph made the prime minister of Egypt? Because Pharaoh wanted it that way. Why did Mordecai ride through the city in pomp and pageantry, while Haman led the horse? Because King Ahasurerus said that he must. It is only right for Christ to be pre-eminent, simply because the sovereign God has so ordained it!
Christ was born unto the place of pre-eminence (Isa. 9:6-7). He is the Firstborn in the family of God. As such he has a right to the Father's inheritance. He is the only begotten of the Father. Therefore he has rightful possession of all the Father's property.
Christ must have the pre-eminence because he has paid for it (Isa. 53:9-12). Any man who buys and holds the title to an estate is lord of that estate. And Christ both bought and holds title to God's creation. Therefore, he is Lord of all.
Christ alone deserves the pre-eminence. He has earned the right of pre-eminence by his obedience to the Father's will, having fulfilled all that was required of him as the Surety of the covenant (John 17:1-4). And he has earned the right of pre-eminence in the hearts of his people (Ps. 116:12). Who else has loved us so freely? Who other than Christ has done so much for us? Who but Christ has given us so much? Who else but Christ has been a faithful Friend to our souls?
Let every redeemed, justified, forgiven sinner say, with God our Father, 'Christ alone must have the pre-eminence!' As John Gill puts it, 'Christ ought to have the pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest praises of our lips. 'He who loved us, bought us with his blood and saved us by his grace has a rightful claim to pre-eminence in our hearts!
Meditate today upon the faithfulness of God. It will be good medicine for your soul. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 'They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him' (Lam. 3:22-25). Child of God, in great faithfulness to us, the Lord our God has loaded us with all the benefits of his grace and mercy.
He chose us in eternal love. Before the world began, God loved us and determined to save us. He made for us a covenant. Through Christ Jesus our Head and Representative, God bestowed upon us all the blessings of his grace (Eph. 1:3-6).
In the fulness of time he redeemed us by the blood of Christ. 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins' (I John 4: 10).
Then 'According to his mercy he saved us' (Titus 3:5). At the time appointed, God sent his Spirit to us. He gave us life and faith in Christ. Yes, in Christ,
Here is another great benefit of grace: the Lord Jesus Christ is continually making intercession for us. The Son of God ever bears our names before the Father, pleading the merits of his own blood and righteousness for our eternal salvation. We need never fear wrath and condemnation from God, because 'We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins' (I John 2:1-2).
Now add to all of these things God's wise and adorable providence on our behalf. God our Saviour so rules all things in providence that all things are benefits of grace to our souls!
The Lord Jesus Christ bore all our sin in his own body on the cross (I Peter 2:24). Whatever my sins are, that I have committed in the past, that I am committing now, or that I ever shall commit in the future, Christ bore them all in his own body on the cursed tree. The blood of Christ is infinite. It is a boundless ocean, which swallows up and drowns all our sins. Many seem to think that some of our sins are under the blood, but others must be answered for by us at some future judgement. It is not so. All our sins were judged, condemned, punished and washed away at the cross.
Christ so completely bore our sins that he bore them away. He carried them up to the cross on his mighty shoulders and bore them until he bore them away. When his great work of redemption was done, our Lord had effectually put away the sins of his elect people. He annihilated them, so that they ceased to be. It is written: Christ has 'forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross' (Col. 2:13-14). 'And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins: and in him is no sin' (I John 3:5).
The Lord Jesus Christ bore our sins alone. It was Christ alone, 'who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree'. In order to redeem his elect and make atonement for our sins, Christ took our sins upon himself and bore them until he cried with a loud voice, 'It is finished!' Then and there our souls were redeemed. When the Son of God had finished his work, he had put away the sins of his people by the sacrifice of himself. 'This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified' (Heb. 10: 11-14). Our sins were put away. And Christ had done it all alone. Nothing is needed and nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ. His one sacrifice for sin is sufficient and effectual.
In order to be saved God requires that you must have a perfect righteousness. That righteousness which God requires of sinners he has supplied for sinners, by the incarnation and obedience of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As the Representative of God's elect, the Son of God perfectly obeyed the law of God as a man, establishing righteousness in the earth. This is the only righteousness there is in the world. If you would be saved, you must have the righteousness of Christ. Your own righteousness is filthy rags in the sight of a holy God. He will never accept your righteousness, but he does accept the righteousness of his Son. This perfect righteousness of the man Christ Jesus is imputed to every sinner who believes on him.
In order to be saved God requires that you must die. 'The wages of sin is death.' 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' That death which God requires of sinners he has provided for sinners, in the sin-atoning death of his Son, the sinner's Substitute. When Christ died as the Substitute for God's elect, bearing their sins in his own body on the tree, all of God's elect died in him. This sin-atoning sacrifice, which God has accepted, was made for every sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to be saved God requires that you must believe on his Son. You must rest your soul upon the merits of Christ's righteousness and shed blood for all your salvation. You must trust the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If you will trust Christ, you can trust him. If you can trust Christ, you will trust him. If you do trust Christ as your Saviour and Lord, even that faith by which you trust him is a work of his grace in your heart. It is 'the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast'.
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