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Steps to Christ
but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”
Matthew 10:20
.
Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit
and do the same good works—works of righteousness, obedience.
So we have nothing in ourselves of which to boast. We have
no ground for self-exaltation. Our only ground of hope is in the
righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and in that wrought by His
Spirit working in and through us.
When we speak of faith, there is a distinction that should be borne
in mind. There is a kind of belief that is wholly distinct from faith.
The existence and power of God, the truth of His word, are facts that
even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says that
“the devils also believe, and tremble;” but this is not faith.
James 2:19
.
Where there is not only a belief in God’s word, but a submission of
the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed
upon Him, there is faith—faith that works by love and purifies the
soul. Through this faith the heart is renewed in the image of God. And
the heart that in its unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be, now delights in its holy precepts, exclaiming
with the psalmist, “O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the
day.”
Psalm 119:97
. And the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us,
“who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1
.
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There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ and
who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their
character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt
whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I
would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow
down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and
mistakes, but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome
by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God.
No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us. Said the beloved John, “These things write I unto you, that
ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1 John 2:1
. And do not forget the words
of Christ, “The Father Himself loveth you.”
John 16:27
. He desires to
restore you to Himself, to see His own purity and holiness reflected
in you. And if you will but yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun
a good work in you will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ.
Pray more fervently; believe more fully. As we come to distrust our