Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. In his letter to Timothy, Paul
says, now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart
and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Now we're
quite convinced that there is no true faith which is feigned,
that is, faked or false, but he is contrasting this kind of
faith, which is of divine origin, with that which false disciples
produce as a substitute, which they purport to be true faith,
but is the mere product of human religion. He does the same here
in this passage when he speaks about those that love the Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity. True love is always sincere.
Charity never faileth. A mother loves her child in sincerity. That is, she does not do so because
she will gain anything, nor does she do so in order to be seen
as a good mother. She loves her child because she
can do nothing else. It is not a matter of choice,
but a matter of desire, which she cannot escape. Paul says
that grace is operable in all of those who love Christ in sincerity,
because the only way that a man or woman can do so is that grace
has constrained them to. That man who is a recipient of
the gift of the new birth cannot decide not to love Christ any
more than the mother can decide not to love her child. Those
who love him in sincerity are those who, first of all, delight
in his commandments. He said, if you love me, keep
my commandments, the things he has instructed us to do, which
are much more pervasive than the Ten Commandments, which is
the embodiment of the Old Testament law. You have heard that it hath
been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But
I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall
smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And
if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let
him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee
to go a mile, go with him twain. This law is much more difficult
than the Ten Commandments, which, when spiritually understood,
will slay all who look at them. even though we find no comfort
in the law, and it constantly reveals our innate sinfulness.
Yet we cannot help but delight ourselves in its beauty and rejoice
in its holiness. Those who love him in sincerity
are those who delight in his righteousness. I will go in the
strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. The stumbling block of religious
men is that they go about to establish a righteousness of
their own. Those who have been born of the Spirit are not only
quite satisfied with his righteousness imputed to their account, but
they are extremely displeased with any thought that would attribute
some acceptance with him based on any righteousness discovered
in them. A hatred of self-righteousness is evident in those who have
been given faith in Christ alone. That man who is a new creature
in Christ is well acquainted that in my flesh dwelleth no
good thing. Those who love him in sincerity
are those who delight in his redemptive work. For the preaching
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto
us which are saved it is the power of God. One cannot despise
what Christ has done and still love Him. He came to save His
people from their sins, and He has exactly accomplished that.
He has not provided some generic cooperative opportunity for salvation
for all men, but He has obtained eternal redemption for His elect,
and they shall never perish because of that which He has accomplished
for them. Those who love him in sincerity are those who delight
in his glory as the only true God. Jesus saith, Philip, he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then,
show us the Father? We wait for no greater revelation,
for he has revealed himself. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. He is the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. Those who love him in sincerity
are those who delight in his resurrection. The blessedness
of his resurrection is not just found in the promise contained
therein of the resurrection of our own bodies, but the fact
that he has raised us to the newness of life in the present
hour. So that Paul might say, according to my earnest expectation
and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that
with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified
in my body, whether it be by life or by death. For me to live
is Christ, and to die is gain. For whether we live, we live
unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. What great and
precious promises are delivered unto us. Those who love him in
sincerity delight in his return. Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
unto all them that love his appearing. He which testifieth these things
saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Do you look for him? For a free
CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to
forthepoor at windstream.net.