Soli Deo Gloria

My Father,
When Thou art angry towards me for my wrongs I try to pacify Thee by abstaining from future sin; but teach me that I cannot satisfy Thy law, that this effort is a resting in my righteousness, that only Christ’s righteousness, ready made, already finished, is fit for that purpose; that Thy chastening for my sins is not that I should try to reform, but only that I may be more humbled, afflicted, and separated from my sin, by being reconciled, and made righteous in Christ by faith; that a sense of my sufficiency and ability in Him is one means of my being immovable; that I can never be so by resting in my own faith, but by trusting in Thee as my only support by faith; that if I cast away my faith I cast away Thee, for by faith I apprehend Thee, and as Thou art very precious, so is my faith precious to me; that I fall short of the purity Thou requires, because in thinking I am holy I do not seek holiness, or, believing I am impotent, I do no more.

Humble me for not being as holy as I should be, or as holy as I might be through Christ, for Thou art all, and to possess Thee is to possess all. But to make the creature something is to make it stand between Thee and me, so that I do not walk humbly and holily. Lord, forgive me for this.

From Valley of Vision – A Collection of Puritan Prayers

O Lord,
Bend my hands and cut them off, for I have often struck Thee with a wayward will, when these fingers should embrace Thee by faith. I am not yet weaned from all created glory, honour, wisdom, and esteem of others, for I have a secret motive to eye my name in all I do.

Let me not only speak the word sin, but see the thing itself. Give me to view a discovered sinfulness, to know that though my sins are crucified they are never wholly mortified. Hatred, malice, ill-will,vain-glory that hungers for and hunts after man’s approval and applause, all are crucified, forgiven, but they rise again in my sinful heart.

O my crucified but never wholly mortified sinfulness! O my life-long damage and daily shame! O my indwelling and besetting sins! O the tormenting slavery of a sinful heart! Destroy, O God, the dark guest within whose hidden presence makes my life a hell.

Yet Thou hast not left me here without grace; The cross still stands and meets my needs in the deepest straits of the soul.

I thank Thee that my remembrance of it is like David’s sight of Goliath’s sword which preached forth thy deliverance. The memory of my great sins, my many temptations, my falls, bring afresh into my mind the remembrance of thy great help, of Thy support from heaven, of the great grace that saved such a wretch as I am.

There is no treasure so wonderful as that continuous experience of Thy grace toward me which alone can subdue the risings of sin within: Give me more of it.

From Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

Titus 2:11-14

“That opinion that personal holiness is unnecessary to final glorification is in direct opposition to every dictate of reason; to every declaration of Scripture.” -Augustus Toplady

By our fall in Adam we not only lost the favor of God but also the purity of our nature, and therefore we need to be both reconciled to God and renewed in our inner man, for without personal holiness “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (behavior); because it it written, Be ye holy for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15, 16). God’s nature is such that unless we be sanctified, there can be no communion between Him and us.

But can persons be sinful and holy at one and the same time? Genuine Christians discover so much carnality, filth, and vileness in themselves that they find it almost impossible to be assured they are holy. Nor is this difficulty solved, as in justification, by recognizing that though completely unholy in ourselves we are holy in Christ, for Scripture teaches that those who are sanctified by God are holy in themselves, though the evil nature has no been removed from them.

None but “the pure in heart” will ever “see God” (Matt. 5:8). There must be that renovation of soul whereby our minds, affections and wills are brought into harmony with God. There must be that im impartial compliance with the revealed will of God and abstinence from evil which issues from faith and love. There must be that directing of all our actions to the glory of God, by Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel. There must be a spirit of holiness working within the believer’s heart so as to sanctify his outward actions if they are to be acceptable unto Him in whom “there is no darkness”. True, there is perfect holiness in Christ for the believer, but there must also be a holy nature received from Him. There are some who appear to delight in the imputed obedience of Christ who make little or no concern about personal holiness. They have much to say about being arrayed in “the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness” (Isa. 61:10), who give no evidence that they are “clothed with humility” (1 Pet. 5:5) or that they have “put on . . . bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forebearing one another and forgiving one another” (Col. 3:12 & 13).

How many there are today who suppose that if they have trusted in Christ, all is sure to be well with them at the last even though they are not personally holy. Under the pretense of honoring faith, Satan as an angel of light, has deceived and is now deceiving multitudes of souls. When their “faith” is examined and tested, what is it worth? Nothing at all so far as insuring an entrance into heaven is concerned: it is a powerless, lifeless, fruitless thing. The faith of God’s elect is unto “the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness” (Titus 1:1). It is a faith which purifieth the heart (Acts 15:9), and it grieves over all impurity. It is a faith which produces an unquestioning obedience (Heb. 11:8). They therefore do but delude themselves who suppose they are daily drawing nearer to heaven while they are following those courses which lead only to hell. He who thinks to come to the enjoyment of God without being personally holy, makes Him out to be an unholy God, and puts the highest indignity upon Him. The genuineness of saving faith is only proved as it bears the blossoms of experimental godliness and the fruits of true piety.

In Christ, God has set before His people that standard of moral excellence which He requires them to aim and strive after. In His life we behold a glorious representation in our own nature of the walk of obedience which He demands of us. Christ conformed Himself to us by His abasing incarnation; how reasonable therefore it is that we should conform ourselves to Him in the way of obedience and sanctification. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). He came as near to us as was possible for Him to do; how reasonable then is it that we should endeavor to come as near as it is possible for us to do. “Take my yoke upon vou and learn of me” (Matt. 11:29). If ”even Christ pleased not Himself” (Rom. 15:3), how reasonable is it that we should be required to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24), for without so doing we cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:27). If we are to be conformd to Christ in glory, how necessary that we first be conformed to Him in holiness: “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself so to walk even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19): Let him either put on the life of Christ, or drop the name of Christ.

- By A.W. Pink

This evening, while my wife is recuperating from surgery on her shoulder, I was doing a study on Exodus chapter 22. As I read through this chapter, I see the utmost care God takes to protect those who could easily be taken advantage of and the helpless.  I see also the sobering reality that His law demands that all must answer to Him in both what they do maliciously as well as heedlessly. This of course draws me to rejoice in the grace and love of my Savior knowing that by His grace through faith I am clothed in the perfect righteousness of God. How humbling and how exhilarating. May the Word of God and His perfect Law cut us like a knife, piercing the heart and draw us more and more to the beauty, magnificence, mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His glorious cross-work.

While doing a search on Exodus 22:31, the last verse in that chapter, my good ol’ Bible software pulled up Matthew Henry’s great commentary entry. I paused at the last sentence of Henry’s entry and took a moment to reflect on the precious truth that “there is enough in Him to satisfy all the desires of our souls.” Oh how the world and our own flesh tempts us to temporary pleasures that pale in comparison to the infinite fountain of joy that is in Christ our All in all. May we see the lusts of the flesh as but dung compared to the infinite pleasure and joy found only in Christ our Savior, King and Prophet.

“Let these scriptures lead our souls to remember, that if the grace of God has indeed appeared to us, then it has taught us, and enabled us so to conduct ourselves by its holy power, that denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, Titus 2:12. And the grace of God teaches us, that as the Lord is our portion, there is enough in him to satisfy all the desires of our souls.” - Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Exodus Chapter 22 

Father, I pray that my eyes be opened more and more to Your glory in the face of Your Son Jesus Christ. Help me to always remember that Your grace is sufficient and that I am called to be holy as You are holy. May I, through the power of Your precious Spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh and always look to the sweet joys of walking in the Spirit. Grant me always to look to the cross of Christ and look upward to Your throne and see my Great High Priest living forever making intercession for me. Oh the joys of Christ. Forgive us of our foolish ways dear Lord and Father of mankind. May we always set our eyes and minds on things above and not on things of the earth. Amen.

“Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Saviour will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.”

- Charles Spurgeon