Experientially and practically, today I have sinned sufficiently to seal my condemnation. On any given day, at any given moment, I sin enough to prove that I deserve an eternity without God. I have entertained selfish thoughts. I have been lazy. I have not loved my Creator with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength. I have not rightly loved those around me, helped the needy, considered the poor, or blessed my enemies. I have sought my own glory and pursued my own desires. Whatever good I may have done is tainted, stained, and interwoven with self-centeredness. And pride. And short-sighted worldliness. And unbelief. And fear. Whatever sanctification I have attained is the sanctification of a sinner, by grace. This is what I'm like on my good days, my very best days. Day by day, moment by moment, the reality is - I fall short of the glory of GOD . . .
The glory of God, think of it! The One Who does justice, thinks justly, and IS just. The One Who does mercy, thinks mercifully, and IS merciful. The One Who acts with joy, thinks joyously, and IS eternally filled with joy. The One Who does what is good, thinks what is good, and IS good! Who alone is good. Who is the spring and fountain and source of all goodness. Who uses what is evil to reveal more of His goodness. Who unites Himself to humanity, takes in all the evil and sin of humanity, and thereby cleanses humanity! Who suffers because of love, Who dies in order to rise again, Who helps the helpless.
At any moment, on any given day, at any point in history, His blood is sufficient to cleanse the vilest of sinners. He redeems the most wretched of men. His sacrifice is enough to warm the coldest heart, to quell the strongest floods of rebellion. His propitiation turns away deeply deserved wrath, His purchase seals necessary redemption, His death and resurrection effectively secure the faith of His chosen ones and the welfare of His wayward children. His life is their life. His faith is their hope. His joy is their strength. But He only saves sinners who agree to all the charges levied against them by God's pure law of truth. The rest are far too righteous to be saved.
As believers, we are always in a world of blessed and cursed conflict. Blessed because the conflict is evidence of grace. Cursed because our bodies are not yet redeemed. On our best days, our sanctification is the sanctification of a sinner. This humbles us. And on our worst days, our sins are the sins of a saint. This gives us hope. Therefore let us always flee from self to Christ, and loathe everything in ourselves that is not God-given, God-breathed, God-conceived, God-inclined and God-honoring. Let us always repent, always trust, and always look to Christ - Who ALONE is our righteousness and all our holiness!
O Eternal Fount and Source of all good, be glorified in me!
But where sin did abound, grace did much more abound . . .
Mark 2:17 Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Galatians 2:17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
Solus Christus
In Christ Alone
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Mgmt.