Now Faith Is (2)

Faith is the eyeball of the soul whereby we see Christ Jesus.  Looking to Jesus is a very simple childlike act of faith in His precious blood.  Faith is the mouth of the soul whereby we spiritually feed upon the person of Christ.  Christ Jesus is first spiritually digested and assimilated, and then our soul lives upon Him.  A spiritually dead man cannot eat, for he has no appetite for Christ.  The living God of Calvary is full of love, holy and pure, good and kind, true and faithful.  The object of true faith is the work which the Lord Jesus Christ accomplish upon the Cross for sinners.  Faith is the golden wedding ring and is the token of the marriage bond between the soul and Christ.  Faith is the soil in which the fruits of the Spirit grow.

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, that is, whatsoever you cannot do with the confidence you are doing right, that is Sin.  Contend with your besetting sins, through the Holy Spirit fight against them, have done with your old ways.  After the new birth, a Christian enters into conflict with his lusts and besetting sins.  Take your sins to the Cross, only the Blood of God Incarnate can cleanse you from your sins, from your sins' guilt and power.  Go directly to Jesus with your sins, for no one else can help you with your sin problem; you are powerless against sin without Jesus.

As you do conflict with your inward evil, let the Holy Spirit be your strength.  The best works are done sincerely out of love and gratitude to Jesus and in dependence upon the Holy Spirit.  Stick to the Gospel - the Gospel is the man Christ Jesus.  Tell out the gospel of good news, the person of Christ, Christ virgin born, crucified, risen, ascended, glorified, interceding, coming again.  My Salvation's justness and security depends not on my attainments; all of my Salvation comes from Christ Jesus Himself.  My faith is resting sweetly upon the crucified and risen Redeemer.

The energy and joy of your spiritual life depends mainly upon your faith in Jesus' Blood.  My faith is simply hanging upon Jesus.  Depend upon the Holy Spirit for divine guidance.  The most real thing about us is our sinfulness and our childlike dependence upon Jesus.  True and genuine faith is fixed on the Rock of Ages, built firmly on His substitutionary, atoning sacrifice on Calvary's Cross.  No man is living as close to God as he should.  Live as good a life as you can, but do not make that your trust - Make Christ's life, death, and resurrection your soul's only trust.  Helping the poor, bringing up your family well, working hard, paying your bills, abiding by the law, honest hard work are all well and good; but if you are not trusting in Christ alone, you are going about to establish your own righteousness, you have spent your energy in vain, and all your efforts will be a failure.

Faith is heart trust, reliance, dependence, recumbency, leaning all your weight on Christ the Lord.  Be wise, give up your own righteousness, and depend only on the Lamb of God.  Fainting into the arms of Christ, that is Faith.  Just give up doing, and give up depending upon anything that you are, or do, or ever hope to be, and depend completely upon the finished work, merits, and precious blood of Christ.  If you do this, your soul is saved; remember, anything of your own will spoil it all.  Your reliance is to be on nothing but that which is in Christ Jesus.

Look only to the Savior's wounds, pangs, griefs, blood, tears, and death - these were the punishments for your sins.  God's divine wrath spent itself on Christ while He was bearing our sins on the Cross.  Faith in Jesus' blood is counted to us for Righteousness.  Genuine faith comes to God resting upon what Christ has done, depending alone upon the Propitiation and Atonement of Christ.  Stay full of ardent love to Christ and the souls of men.  Love to God, consecration to His cause, seeking to save the lost souls of men.  New converts have fervor, simplicity, and childlike confidence in Jesus.  No good works, ceremonies, or attainments are demanded of you, only a childlike faith is the royal highway to Jesus.

The fear of God is a fear of offending so good a God, a godly fear of grieving the Holy Spirit with our sinful thoughts, harsh words, or selfish actions.  Keep close to Jesus in all that you do.  Rest in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, firmly fix all your reliance upon Him.  The coming to Jesus which saves the soul is a simple reliance upon His Precious Blood.  If you are sensible of your guilt, rely upon Christ's atoning blood.  The work of the Spirit - a sincere hatred of your sins, a true sense of sin's evil, a conviction that you cannot save yourself, and a simple reliance upon the work and blood of Jesus.  Simply trust Jesus' works, not yours.