The root of Saving Faith is trust, reliance, dependence on the Christ of God. Fling away every other confidence of every sort, save confidence in Jesus. Jesus' heart was crushed for our sins. The heart of the Gospel is Redemption, and the essence of Redemption is the substitutionary Sacrifice of Christ. The carnal mind is enmity against God. The carnal mind cannot endure the being of God for He is holy and good. His holy character and nature is the object of the carnal mind's hatred. Trust ascribes all salvation to Jesus alone. Faith never honors self - faith is a self-denying grace. Faith is depending upon Christ alone for everything.
Salvation leads to holiness, sanctification is the final result of salvation. Substitution is the soul, life and essence of the Gospel. Justification by Faith in Jesus' blood alone is the vital essence of the Gospel. Trust in Christ's finished work is the pith of saving faith. Only the Lamb of God can take away the sin which now burdens you. You must believe in Christ for yourself, know Him and take Him for yourself. Human feebleness seeking divine omnipotence, nothingness begging the all-sufficient One is the essence of prayer. Substitution is the very core of the Atonement. Self-atonement is self-righteousness.
Lean upon the sure word of God and the perfect work of Jesus. Wholly trust yourself with God in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit quickens and then Christ forgives. *Colossians 2:13* To reject Christ is the greatest of sins, to neglect Him is the essence of sin. The atheist wants a utopia on earth without Christ coming back. Jesus Himself took all our sins upon Himself by His sinless Substitution. The root of false theology is belittling God, and the essence of sound doctrine is greatening God, magnifying Christ, and enlarging His majesty and glory to the utmost degree. You first and greatest need is the Lord Jesus Christ and the cleansing of His Precious Blood. You must be renewed in heart by the Holy Spirit. God gives, and we take.
You are a condemned sinner, and only fit to die. Lay hold on eternal life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ now. Take Him to be your Savior. Accept Him to be your Sin-Bearer, who bore the curse, wrath, and shame that was justly due to you. Make the great exchange with Christ - your sins for His Righteousness. Christ took your sin and death; you take His Righteousness and life. He bore your sins, you take His goodness. Appropriate Him for yourself freely. Lay hold on eternal life at the foot of the Cross. Hold to Jesus, constantly stay yourself upon Him by childlike faith.
The old, old story of Jesus and His bleeding love to guilty sinners is the Gospel Message. God so loved sinners like us that He was willing to forgive, but He could not forgive without an Atonement for our sins. His divine justice could not pass by without punishing someone. What was to be done? God's own Son left His heavenly home, and came down to earth in human flesh as a Jewish man, and stood in the sinner's place. He took my sins upon Himself. Knowing that my sin deserved eternal death, He willingly died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring me to God. God is well pleased with the sinless bloody death of Christ as the vindication of His divine justice, and for Christ's sake, God saved me by His grace.
God says to you now - I can redeem you, come to my Son for mercy. God must punish sin - it is not optional with Him, it is an inevitable law of the universe. If you transgress God's laws, punishment must follow. But God has punished sin on Christ. When Jesus was nailed to the Cross as the sinner's Substitute, God the Father hid His face from Him, because Jesus became Sin for us. Jesus died a felon's death in the place of guilty men. Sin has been punished for Christ has died. If my friend pays a debt of mine, the debt is gone. I owe no man anything after the debt is paid in full. Christ paid all my sin debts, He suffered for them, and took them away with His Precious Blood. I can never be condemned for my sins ever again, because of what Jesus die for me.
The Gospel is the essence of wisdom, the epitome of truth, Christ is All. Believe and live. The Gospel is all Mercy, and divine Love undeserved. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is my portion and inheritance. Look to Christ and live. Jesus is the essence of Mercy's message. Lift up Christ on high, extol and honor Him. Whatever Christ has done pleases God. The Gospel is the sum and substance of the doings of Jesus. Divine justice was executed upon the Great Substitute for our sake. To know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent is the sum total of wisdom. Let Jesus be the core of all your teaching and preaching. Look to the Divine Spirit to purge and cleanse you from sin. Faith is the vitality, the essence of true godliness.
The Lord is risen indeed. Jesus Christ became God in human flesh, so that He could redeem us from all the evils of sin. He that believeth on Him is not condemned. *Acts 16:31* *Romans 3:25* The Gospel is the gold ring, but Jesus is the diamond set in it. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith, the top and bottom of it all. This is the sum of the whole matter - Come just as you are, trust Christ as your Savior, leave your sins, seek after holiness. Have done with your own pride and willfulness, seek the meek and lowly Savior. Come and humble yourself at Jesus' feet. Trust Christ, trust Him now, trust Him only and wholly, and you are eternally saved. You are safe for time and Eternity in Christ.
The atheist trusts darwin's words and perishes, the Christian trusts Christ's words and is forgiven. The just shall live by faith. *Romans 5:9* Spend your time on earth wisely - direct lost sinners to the Lamb of God. By grace ye are saved. The sum total of wisdom is to fear the Lord, to please Him. Christ Himself, who is God manifest in the flesh, bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Trust the Lord Jesus, serve Him, seek to be like Him, follow Him, adore Him. Love the Lord thy God. The incarnate God is all my confidence; He is precious to me. Get to the Christ of the Scriptures, the Word of God Himself. Jesus fully atoned for my sins, He suffered everything I deserved to suffer. Christ, Christ, Christ is All I need. God has set forth Christ to be a Propitiation for my sins.
The Gospel is wrapped in one word - Substitution. Christ Jesus living and dying in the place of sinful man. You deserve to be lost and ruined. You cannot enter heaven unless you have a perfect Righteousness which pleases God. It is certain that you shall never have a righteousness of your own, for you sin every day, but Christ has a perfect Righteousness He will give you freely by faith in His Blood. Christ says to you, "Here's My Garment, put it on, you shall stand before God as if you were Me, and I will stand before God as if I were the sinner; I will suffer in your place, and you shall be rewarded for my works which you didn't do, but which I did for you." Christ says to God, "Consider Me to be the criminal, pass his sins' death sentence on Me, and let me suffer your wrath instead on him. Reckon the criminal to be Myself. I have lived a sinless life and deserve reward for what I have done, but in Mercy reward the guilty one as if he had done good, and punish me as if I had committed his crimes. The sinner deserves to die, but let Me die in his place, and let him be clothed in My Righteousness forever."
