“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
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Our Only Refuge!
Author: Unknown Tune: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus (G. J. Webb)
1. I see the blessed Savior uplifted on the tree.
The law holds Him its captive, that sinners might go free.
His blood poured out in mercy; it does for sin atone.
I hear Him cry, “It’s finished!” The work is fully done!
2. I see the mighty victor arising from the grave;
Death, hell, and Satan vanquished; this mighty God can save.
Christ took His place in heaven upon the throne above.
To Him all pow’r is given to save the souls He loves.
3. I trust You, Jesus, Savior; I bow before Your throne.
By sov’reign mercy saved me, and took me for Your own!
Your blood, my only cleansing; Your righteousness, my robe.
You are my only Refuge; I have no other hope.
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"Thanks be unto God for His Unspeakable Gift."
2 Corinthians 9:15.
The Atonement itself precludes all idea of human merit, and, from its very nature, proclaims that it is free. Consider the grandeur of the Atonement—contemplate its costliness: incarnate Deity, perfect obedience, spotless purity, unparalleled grace and love, acute and mysterious sufferings, wondrous death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of the Savior, all conspire to constitute it the most august sacrifice that could possibly be offered. And shall there be anything in the sinner to merit this sacrifice? Shall God so lower its dignity, underrate its value, and dishonor Himself, as to 'barter' it to the sinner? And if God were so disposed, what is there in the sinner that could purchase it? Where is the equivalent, where the price? "Alas!" is the exclamation of a convinced soul, "I am a spiritual bankrupt; I lost everything in my first parent who fell; I came into the world poor and helpless; and to the sin of my nature I have added actual transgression of the most aggravated character. I have nothing to recommend me to the favor of God; I have no claim upon His mercy; I have no price with which to purchase it; and if redemption is not free, without money and without price, I am undone." The very costliness, then, of the Atonement puts it beyond all price, and stamps it with infinite freeness. --Octavius Winslow
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“He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”
Psalm 103:10
O, my soul, think back upon your life and the countless acts of rebellion against God which might be rightly laid to your charge. Ponder the wickedness of them and, if you think you can, tally the number of them. And once you have arrived at some conclusion regarding your sin, consider for a moment what your existence would be like if God were to deal with you in justice and deliver to you the full measure of wrath owed to such sin. It is no wonder the Psalmist said, “If You, O, Jehovah, were to mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? (Psalm 130.3)
What a merciful Judge He was to us in the years of our unbelief. At any moment He could have rightfully called us into account for all we had done. But, in His great mercy, He waited, restraining the hand of justice.
And since that time, what a gracious Father He has been! Has there ever been laid on us a chastening or discipline too severe for the disobedience committed. Or must we confess that our Heavenly Father brought pain to us only in the measure necessary to correct or conduct and return us to Himself.
And, to magnify His grace and mercy, it is He, Himself, who paid the debt of our sin through the giving of His own Son for us. “He spared not His own Son,” so that He might spare us! Indeed, with the Psalmist, we must exclaim, “Bless the Lord, O, my soul; And all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name!” -Joe Terrell
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His Will
To receive Christ as our Lord is to bow to His will. To walk with Christ is to walk with Him “who worketh all things after the counsel of HIS OWN WILL.” To plan my day is to say, “If the Lord will, we shall do this.” To pray is to “ask anything according to HIS WILL.”
--Henry Mahan
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Who is the Gospel for?
The gospel is a salvation appointed for those who are ready to perish and is not designed to put them in a way to save themselves by their own works. It speaks to us as condemned already and calls upon us to believe in a crucified Savior that we may receive redemption through the blood, even the forgiveness of our sins. And the Spirit of God, by the gospel, first convinces us of unbelief, sin and misery; and then, by revealing the things of Jesus to our minds, enables us, as helpless sinners, to come to Christ, to receive Him, to behold Him, or, in other words, to believe in Him. --John Newton
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