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Building on the Atonement
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| . . present . . . your members as instruments of righteousness to God —Romans 6:13 | ||
| 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?" |