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Building on the Atonement 10/09/07 |
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. . . present . . .
your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13 |
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I cannot save and sanctify
myself; I cannot make atonement for sin; I cannot redeem the world; I cannot
right what is wrong, purify what is impure, or make holy what is unholy.
That is all the sovereign work of God. Do I have faith in what Jesus Christ
has done? He has made the perfect atonement for sin. Am I in the habit of
constantly realizing it? The greatest need we have is not to do things, but
to believe things. The redemption of Christ is not an experience, it is the
great act of God which He has performed through Christ, and I have to build
my faith on it. If I construct my faith on my own experience, I produce the
most unscriptural kind of life— an isolated life, with my eyes focused
solely on my own holiness. Beware of that human holiness that is not based
on the atonement of the Lord. It has no value for anything except a life of
isolation— it is useless to God and a nuisance to man. Measure every kind of
experience you have by our Lord Himself. We cannot do anything pleasing to
God unless we deliberately build on the foundation of the atonement by the
Cross of Christ. The atonement of Jesus must be exhibited in practical, unassuming ways in my life. Every time I obey, the absolute deity of God is on my side, so that the grace of God and my natural obedience are in perfect agreement. Obedience means that I have completely placed my trust in the atonement, and my obedience is immediately met by the delight of the supernatural grace of God. Beware of the human holiness that denies the reality of the natural life— it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the trial or test of the atonement and ask, "Where is the discernment of the atonement in this, and in that?" |