Author of Our Faith
“ Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith” Hebrews 12:2 NASBS
How wonderful it is to be a Christian, that is, to be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, and to know that all of my sins have been forgiven. I mean this not merely from an open confession of the mouth, but that which is wrought within the deepest affections of my heart, crying out to Him, “Abba, Father.” Thanks be to God that Jesus Christ came into this darkened world as a man to achieve a righteousness approved by God by perfectly keeping the full demands of God’s holy law. Christian, never forget, this is not a righteousness that you have attained by attending worship, being baptized, or by participating in any other ceremonial ordinance. Know, this is a righteousness which God the Father imputes to you, by faith, because of the work which Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross when He took to Himself your sins and bore its punishments on your behalf. This alone is the greatest of all gifts that could have ever been bestowed upon you, that is to know the living God and have Him grant to you, by grace, eternal life. This knowledge has been woven into the fabric of your heart by the Holy Spirit, impressing it upon your mind, engaging your will, and moving your emotions to love Him. And not only this, but to know He loved you before the foundations of the world were ever laid and He had written your name in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The truth is, we should condition our hearts in such a way to never forget such a love as this, but unfortunately, we all like sheep go astray, each of us has turned to our own way. Sadly, this is true, there are times in our lives when we forget the God who loves us and gave up His Son for us. So we must continually be aware of the distractions of this world, and the cleverness of the serpent of old, who enticed Eve, lest we too find ourselves indulging in the vanities of this world. Tragically, we often find ourselves living in this world like a ship caught in a mighty tempest with no instrument panel, being tossed to and fro with no sense of direction. The world has a way of leading the children of God into a world of bliss that breeds discontentment in a heart that once found its greatest joy in just spending time with Jesus. But praise be to God, though our love fails Him, His love for us is unchanging and will never fail us, but leads us through the corruption of this world into His eternal kingdom to dwell with Him forever. “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”