Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. When men reduce the gospel, as
they call it, to a formula which can only be ultimately fulfilled
by the free will of men, then they have to differentiate between
those who have permitted the Lord to save them and those who
have not. So a convenient phrase of having
a personal savior was coined to describe gaining salvation,
in much the same fashion as if a man purchased his own puppy
from the pet store. The difference being that a man
gains possession of the puppy by paying a sum of money, whereas
a man gets his own savior by deciding to let him come into
his heart. The notion that Christ Jesus has shed his precious blood
in a futile attempt to save all men gives rise to the concept
that salvation must be made complete by the decision of a man to be
saved. Therefore, in making the decision to be saved, he supposedly
enables Christ to be his Savior. This is actually a very blasphemous
notion and flies in the face of the scriptures which declare
him to be the Savior of sinners and not the offerer of salvation. As the angel told Joseph, And
she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Not by
works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to
His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Christ has
never attempted to save anyone. He has, however, accomplished
completely the salvation of everyone for whom He poured out His precious
blood as a sin offering. If the blood of Christ is accepted
in heaven as a perfect payment for sin, then that sin is of
necessity forever cancelled and forgotten. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Augustus' top lady wrote
these words. If thou hast my discharge procured,
and freely in my room endured, the whole of wrath divine. Payment
God cannot twice demand. First at my bleeding surety's
hand, and then again at mine. Paul speaks of the mutual faith
of the children of God. He never mentions a personal
faith, and most assuredly not a personal savior. He clearly
means a particular faith that is shared by all who are said
to possess it. It is mutual faith because it has the exact same
origin. Paul in writing to the Ephesians says, For by grace
are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. True
faith has but one source. It is not the product of man's
will, nor does it spring from his ability or reason. Rather,
it is clearly a gift which is bestowed upon the objects of
God's mercy, and being a gift affords them no grounds upon
which to boast, either of possessing it or having received it. Apart
from this gift of faith, a man will remain in the darkness of
unbelief. When given this gift, he cannot do anything else but
believe." It is mutual faith because it has one object. That
faith which saves the children of God is not concerned with
degrees, levels, or kind, but rests solely on its object, which
is Christ Jesus the Lord, and Him crucified, risen, and ascended
into the heavens, where He ever lives to make intercession for
those who come unto God by Him. Paul declared this sort of faith
when he said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day. Faith will not save men, but
seeing Christ as the object of faith is the evidence of the
gift of faith. It is mutual faith because it
causes rejoicing in all those who have fled to Christ for refuge
and forms the very basis of true Christian fellowship. Religious
men may fellowship with one another around many different doctrines,
practices, and customs, some glory in their ancient heritage,
others in their miraculous signs, wonders, and prophecies, some
in their baptisms and ordinations, or their adherence to holy days,
law-keeping, and Sabbaths. Yet the true sons of God can
only find complete satisfaction in the clear declaration of Christ
alone as the sum of their salvation. They identify with Paul who said,
but God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The basis of their fellowship
is the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. While there
are gospels abounding, there is but one which is true. There
is one Christ and one salvation which is found in him. That's
where the sons of God desire to be found. And it's here alone
that they can rejoice together and edify one another by mutual
faith. There is one Lord, one faith,
and one baptism. Christ is all. He is the Savior
of sinners. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.