It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ.
He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus."
All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all."
Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee- it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee-it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument-it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith.
We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."
~Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Hebrews 12:2
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1 comment:
"Look not so much on thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ but to Christ." A good distinction but one that brings to my mind an ongoing difficulty I have with certain...hmmm....let's say "homiletic language." What does "look to Christ" mean? "Look," obviously, is being used figuratively here--in the sense of directing attention & inner being towards, but, it seems to me that there are so many different ways you can direct attention and inner being, and none of them, it seems to me, are decisively "to Christ." For example, does it mean, deliberating between A & B, I choose what Christ would want me to choose? But, in that case, you're directing your attention to a decision and letting that decision be...magnetized/polarized...by a Christian thought process (the hand not the object). Does it mean read about Christ in the Bible? Meditate about Christ? Talk about Christ? I think the orthodox answer is "no, those are all action not essence." But, if it's not any of those things, what are you talking about? And how do you answer this question without resorting to Christianese on top of Christianese?
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