Faith is the step out of self and into Christ by which we enter eternal life. There is nothing simpler in the world than to believe in Jesus. Faith is simply trusting in Jesus, and rejecting yourself. There is nothing to be felt, done, or endured. Faith is ceasing from human effort, and resting completely on Christ's atoning blood. Sin makes a complete fool out of every man. Our ignorant minds cannot understand truth until the Holy Spirit comes, and takes the blindfold from our eyes. Do not believe in yourself at all. The very first lesson about Jesus is to believe in Him wholeheartedly. *Proverbs 3:5; Acts 8:37*
Faith is like hiding under the shadow of God's wings. *Psalm 57:1* There is a hawk in the sky, the mother hen sees it. She gives her "warning" cluck, and her little chicks understand and flee to her for shelter. The mother hen is crouching down on the ground, close to the earth. She calls the chicks fervently till every one comes and hide beneath her wings. There they are out of the hawk's sight, now the hawk will have to the attack the mother hen, and kill her to get to her chicks. The hawk's pecks and talons will have to tear at the hen now. *Ruth 2:12*
Now Christ Jesus is the Savior, He is our Shield. I hide myself under Him. The justice and wrath of God must smite me, or One who is able and willing to suffer in my place. The first law of the universe is that sin cannot go unpunished. Divine justice flies toward me, but Christ comes and interposes between me and the deadly sentence of God's law. The vengeance of God seeks me, but I hide away under Christ's wounds, and all the blows of God's wrath are dealt upon Jesus, and I am safe from harm. Christ Jesus was wounded, rent, and torn so that any sinner could hide beneath Him and escape the punishment their sins deserve. *Psalm 3:3; 91:4*
Faith is like hiding behind someone else to defend you. On the sides of the Alps, a mother mountain goat feeds, and an eagle spies out her kid. The ravenous bird seeks to pounce and devour the kid. Down soars the eagle, but the little kid runs and crouches low at its mother's side, and the mother warts off the eagle with her horns. She fights for the life of her kid. The little kid is hidden away behind its mother as she defends it to the death if need be. Just as the kid, we must hide behind the Savior. Put your defenseless soul behind the Savior. Say to God, "Deal not with me, deal with my bleeding Substitute. O God, interpose the atoning Sacrifice on the Cross between your just wrath and my guilty soul.
Faith is like resting in the shadow of a Rock on a hot day. *Isaiah 32:2* Travelers in the heat of the day hide beneath a rock. The heat of the sun is beating down and reflecting back from the sand. They are faint, weary, and thirsty. In the rock's shadow, the heat is not felt. They are ready to faint, but it is almost chilly inside the Rock. Christ is the Shadow of a Rock in a weary land. Come into Him, let His shadow come between you and the burning heat of divine justice. The heat will fall on the Rock, and not on you. You will be safe and refreshed, and He will screen you from all harm. Come and put Christ between you and God. Christ Jesus is the interposer between God and men. True faith gets inside side the Rock, and hides away beneath His sheltering shade.
Faith is like fleeing into a city of refuge. A manslayer seeks safety in the city of refuge. The next of kin of the man killed are seeking revenge. They follow hard after the manslayer, and the poor man's only hope of life and rescue is to hurry quickly into a refuge city, and once he is through the gate, he is sure of a fair trial. He could not be put to death. Once the city gate was shut behind him, he could breath freely, for he was safe. Come now guilty soul, run away into Christ. Jesus is the great Gate between you and the avenging wrath and justice of God. You are perfectly safe in Christ forever. Hide away in Christ from the pursuit of God's vengeance, from the righteous indignation of God. Only Christ can bring eternal Safety to the guilty soul. Safety is of the Lord Jesus Christ. *Numbers 35:25-27*
Faith is like hiding in a Rock. *I Corinthians 10:4* The badgers make their houses in the rocks. When they are sought after and in danger, about to be destroyed, the badger seeks sees an opening in the rock. He slips in the cranny and is perfectly safe, the wolf growls at him, but still he is safe and sound. He is safe there from hunters, hawks, and wolves. The badger's heart beats fast, the wolf looks up and down, but he cannot see the badger. The wolf can see the rock, but not the badger within the rock. He is hidden away from the one would destroy him. Right now, hide away in Christ who died for guilty sinners. Trust into Him, believe IN Him, believe that He will save you. Hide your defenseless soul in the Rock of Salvation. Squeeze yourself further back into the Rock, hide away there, place more and more faith in the Rock. You must believe on Christ for yourself. It is only personal faith in Christ that saves the guilty soul. Once you are safe in Christ, all is well with your soul. *II Samuel 22:47*
Faith is like dropping anchor in a storm. A ship in a storm hastens to the safe harbor, they enter the port, down goes the anchor, the rattle of the chain, the clank of the anchor is the sweetest sound to the sea sick sailor. The fear is all over. The ship may still rock and roll, but it is safe. Let your anchor down, trust Christ, lay hold on the Rock Christ. This is the welcome day of the Gospel. *Hebrews 6:19*
Faith is like casting a heavy burden off of your back onto another man's shoulders. *Psalm 55:22* Cast your burden upon God, roll it all onto Christ. Unburden your soul at the Cross. Jesus is the great Sin-Bearer. When a sinner believes in Christ, he shifts his sin burden from his own shoulders onto the shoulders of Christ. You are stooping down beneath the crushing load of your sins, and Christ comes to you, and says, "Lay your burden on Me." If you lay your burden on Christ, then you no longer bear it. Roll your burden on Him, and it is no longer upon you. If you are toiling under the load of guilt, come to Christ and be relieved of that heavy load. A thing cannot be in two places at one time. If you sin is on Christ, it is no longer on your soul. *I Peter 5:7*
Your sin burden will crush you lower than the lowest hell, lay it all on Christ immediately, this is the act of Faith. Do not take the sin burden up again. It is gone, as far as the east is from the west. Christ has infinite grace and mercy toward guilty sinners. God forgets all our sins, He casts them all behind His back forever. The greatest mercy of all is when God forgives an unworthy sinner for Jesus' sake. Under Jesus' Blood, our sin is gone forever, it ceases to be. Sinners groan under the great load of their sins every day. Tell them about Jesus. Jesus is willing to take your sins away. Jesus will blot out all the black record of sin against you, let it all go, and Jesus will take it from you.
Faith is like turning your case over to a defense attorney. Stop answering the devil accusations, for you have an Advocate. Don't try to do your legal business yourself, for you will fail. Refer every accuser to your Advocate. Say to them all, "Go and settle with Him!" The devil says, "You're a sinner, you deserve eternal death." I reply, "Yes, but there is a sinless Man who stood and died in my place, and that sinless Man is my Advocate. Go and settle my account with Him. He undertook my case completely, and He will plead my case with His own atoning blood. I must refer you to my Advocate, He can settle with you, I cannot." My Advocate says, "All the evidence against this man is inadmissible, for I have already paid His debts and penalties with my own Blood." *I John 2:1-2*
Faith is like staying upon God. *Isaiah 50:10* The word "stay" means to lean hard on someone. The more I feel faint, the more I lean. You must lean your soul wholly upon Christ, lean hard on Him with all your weight of sin, lean on Jesus Christ. Don't try to hold yourself up now, throw yourself completely on Him, rest on Him, let Him bear you up. Stay your soul upon Him. You must believe that the Lord Jesus is able to hold you up. He is God as well as man, well-pleasing to the Father, a mighty Savior. Trust Christ with your sins. He is able to save you to the uttermost.
You no longer have to support yourself. Come with all your sins, faults, weaknesses, doubts, fears - the harder you lean, the more you love Him. You do not need strength to lean on Christ. Christ will give you everything, it is all or nothing with Him. Full salvation and ease of mind are only found when you just give yourself up to Jesus. Resign yourself to Christ. Just like the sheep over the shoulders of the Shepherd, Jesus carries you home. *Luke 15:4-6*
Christ can save, He will save, stay yourself on Him. Perfect leaning on Christ. Both feet steady on the Rock. No confidence in baptism, sacraments, prayers, good works, or living it. No confidence but the finished work of Christ - that foundation can never be moved. I have no hope but in His blood and merits. Your good works are just as bad as your sins. Fling them all away, and cling to Christ alone. There is much in your works that is selfish and faulty, and no man can be quite sure that has ever done enough to satisfy divine justice. It is best to trust only to the merits and works of Christ Jesus.
Just trust in Jesus, and in Him alone. Have done with any reliance upon yourself whatsoever, have done with all your religiousness. Just come as you are, and depend on Christ who died for guilty and undeserving wretches. Bankrupt sinners, ruined wretches, hopeless rebels, come and stay yourself upon the immovable foundation of the atoning blood Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. You can ruin and damn yourself, but you can never help save yourself. Have done with trusting yourself. Put your soul out of your own hands into Christ's hands.
