Justified by Faith
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he may receive. When sincere desire prompts men to pray, they will
not pray in vain. The Lord will fulfill His word, and will give the
Holy Spirit to lead to repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ. He will pray and watch, and put away his sins,
making manifest his sincerity by the vigor of his endeavor to obey the
commandments of God. With prayer he will mingle faith, and not only
believe in but obey the precepts of the law. He will announce himself
as on Christ’s side of the question. He will renounce all habits and
associations that tend to draw the heart from God.
He who would become a child of God must receive the truth that
repentance and forgiveness are to be obtained through nothing less
than the atonement of Christ. Assured of this the sinner must put forth
an effort in harmony with the work done for him, and with unwearied
entreaty he must supplicate the throne of grace, that the renovating
power of God may come into his soul. Christ pardons none but the
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penitent, but whom He pardons He first makes penitent. The provision
made is complete, and the eternal righteousness of Christ is placed to
the account of every believing soul. The costly, spotless robe, woven
in the loom of heaven, has been provided for the repenting, believing
sinner, and he may say: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul
shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (
Isaiah
61:10
).
Abundant grace has been provided that the believing soul may be
kept free from sin; for all heaven, with its limitless resources, has been
placed at our command. We are to draw from the well of salvation.
Christ is the end of law for righteousness to everyone who believeth.
In ourselves we are sinners; but in Christ we are righteous. Having
made us righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ, God
pronounces us just, and treats us as just. He looks upon us as His
dear children. Christ works against the power of sin, and where sin
abounded, grace much more abounds. “Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by
whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (
Romans 5:1, 2
).
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins