that in Me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Christ our Substitute and Head
Author: Unknown
Tune: "O For A Thousand Tongues" (Carl G. Glaser)

1. God's wisdom formed the vast design
To ransom us when lost;
And Christ's own blood and righteousness
Provided all the costs.

2. Strict justice with approving look,
God's covenant was sealed;
When God incarnate undertook
To see the whole fulfilled.

3. Now sin appears deserving death
And would its curse impose;
But Christ our Substitute and Head
Has lived and died and rose.

4. Upon the merits of His blood,
Secure and saved by grace;
We dare approach the throne of God
In Christ who took our place.

A Sinner Saved by Grace
We must be very clear in telling the sinner that there is no hope for him anywhere else but in Christ. Nine out of ten of the arrows in a minister's quiver ought to be shot at the sinner's good works, for these are his worst enemies. That "deadly doing" that needs to be cast "down at Jesus' feet," that trying to be or to feel something in order that they may save themselves, this is the curse of many. O sinner, if, from the crown of thy head to the soles of thy feet, there is no sound part in thee, but thou art full of wounds; and bruises, and putrefying sores, yet, if thou wilt but believe in Jesus, He will make thee whole every whit, and thou shalt go thy way a sinner saved by grace. --C.H. Spurgeon

*****
"Be not conformed to this world;
but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).
The word "world" means the nature, the opinions, the goals, and the attitudes of natural men and women. The believer lives in the world, works and associates with worldly people; therefore, he faces constant pressure and temptation to be and do what the world is and does.
The world seeks the praise and favor of men; the believer seeks the praise and favor of God. The worldling thinks only of himself; and the believer considers others. The world cares only for the body, its desires and needs; and the believer is concerned for his soul. The world believes and is concerned only with what is seen (which is temporal); the believer believes and rests only in that which is unseen (which is eternal). The world cries, "What shall we eat, drink, and wear;" the believer cries, "Feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full and deny Thee, and say who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of the Lord in vain" (Proverbs 30:9). But above all, "That I may win Christ and be found in Him, clothed in His righteousness and washed in His blood." The spiritual walk and attitude can only be accomplished by "a renewing of your mind," or the regenerating work of God in mind and soul (Titus 3:5). --Henry Mahan

*****
On the Contrary
I am well satisfied it will not be a burden to me at the hour of death, nor be laid to my charge at the day of judgment, that I have thought too highly of the Lord Jesus Christ, expected too much from Him myself, or labored too much in commending and setting Him forth to others, as the Alpha and Omega, the Lord our righteousness, the sufficient atonement for sin, the only Mediator between God and men, the true God and eternal life. On the contrary, alas! My guilt and grief are that my thoughts of Him are so faint, so infrequent, and my commendations of Him so lamentably cold and disproportionate to what they ought to be. --John Newton