According to Almighty God's Mercy He saved us

"...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." -Titus 3:5 [KJV]

“Shew us a miracle, and we will believe you are inspired,” say carnal men. We can, but they have no eyes to see it. Blessed be God, miracles are not ceased. The Lord works miracles of grace daily. Every regenerate sinner is a miracle of God the Father’s mercy, of God the Son’s grace, and of God the Holy Spirit’s power. His humble language proclaims it. I stand forth and declare, that I was a vile sinner, condemned by the law of God, and justly deserving the damnation of hell; yet full of the pride of my own works, and confident of salvation by my own righteousness; but God, by an act of sovereign mercy, has saved me from the power of sin, and a vain confident hope of my own righteousness. 

“Not by works which we have done.” Our works are out of the question. For all boasting is excluded. Yet the notion of absolute mercy in God to any sinner, without respect to works of righteousness performed by man, to fulfil the law of God, is absurd and unscriptural. It is to be rejected as contrary to the attributes and perfections of the Godhead. Therefore, we are saved by mercy, according to works of righteousness: but not which we have done. 

No. But what Jesus our law-fulfilling Head hath done for us. He hath fully obeyed the commands of the holy law; perfectly satisfied the demands of strict justice, hence the mercy of the Holy Spirit flows to us. Jesus saves us from the curse of the law, and the sword of justice. The Spirit saves us from the blindness of our understanding, the rebellion of our will, and the carnality of our affections. 

Pause, O my soul! Fall down and adore His rich mercy, that snatched thee from hell, and saved thee to heaven. Yes, into the heaven of the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit. My soul is formed for it. I have suitable dispositions to it. How? “By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” 

As water separates the filth from the thing washed, and makes it clean; so the Spirit separates us from the love of sin, our pride, self-righteousness, and aversion to Christ and His salvation; begetting us again from our old natural false hope, to a new and lively hope of salvation, by the death and resurrection of Jesus, by the word through faith; renewing us hereby in the spirit of our mind, making us new creatures in Christ. 

So that salvation is not by reforming and mending our old nature. That is left just as it was. But begetting us anew in Christ, that we might live and walk in Him to the glory of God. Our old nature is subjected to grace. Christ is in us the hope of glory. -see Colossians 1:27 [KJV]

 

No works of ours have any share, 

God’s mercy to procure: 

It’s all by grace, we’re what we are! 

May grace make us more pure.

 

-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s
Read more

Encouragement in Christ JESUS ~ 04 October, 2023 A.D.

" All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient." —I Corinthians 6:12 [KJV] The constraints of love and jealousy of fear sweetly unite in the believing heart. Where the faith of Jesus prevails, love constrains. It holds and keeps us in our station and duty, as soldiers are kept together under a banner or ensign displayed. What cheerfulness and activity of soul do we experience, when we can say with the church in the Canticles (Songs of Solomon), ch. 2, vs4. "Jesus' banner over me was love!" Then how sweetly do we judge and determine our conduct by the law of Christ, which is LOVE!  This excites a godly fear lest we should allow ourselves a latitude in things in themselves indifferent, to the wounding and hurt of our souls or our fellow-soldiers. Though all things of an indifferent nature, which are innocent in themselves, are lawful to us; yet the cause and interest of our dear Saviour, and the good and edifying of His beloved memb
Read more

JESUS - Rock of Ages

Jesus remains the same in all ages. He is the One who is constant when everything and everyone else fails. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He is our R ock [I SAMUEL 2:2 ] . In the Old Testament, in Exodus 33, Jesus is pictured as the Cleft Rock. In that chapter, verse 18 and following, Moses desired to see the glory of the Lord, but was told, "You cannot see My face; for there shall no man see My face and live.” And the Lord said, “There is a place by Me, and you shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." Notice that as Moses stood upon the rock, the Lord hid him in the cleft. This wonderfully applies to us today! Believers are both standing on and hidden in Christ [COLOSSIANS 3:3 ] . We are both in and on the Rock. As life with its many bitter events presses upon us,
Read more