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The love of Christ, manifested in His death on the cross, is the ground, not only of our hope of salvation, but it is the only rule for our daily life and conduct. Our Lord says clearly : "Ye should do as I have done." The love of Christ is my only hope of salvation. A walk in that love is the way truly and fully to enjoy that salvation."Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying; for even Christ pleased not Himself. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us" (Rom. xv. 2, 7). God will work the power within us to "receive one another, as Christ received us." He will do it for every upright soul, and for all who pray in confident faith.
"Be ye followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us" (Eph. v. 1, 2). Here, again, love is everything. We must realize that Christ loved us even unto death, and that we are now Gods dear children. It follows naturally that we should walk in love. Faith in Christs wonderful love, and in Gods inconceivable love resting upon us, makes it not only possible, but certain, that those who keep close to Christ will walk in love.
"Put on therefore, as Gods elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on lore, which is the bond of perfectness" (Col. iii. 12-14). What a blessed life in the love and the power that we have in Christ! What a blessed walk in His fellowship, when we are led by the Holy Spirit, and strengthened for a life in His likeness !
O God, the Father of love, the Father of Christ, our Father, wilt Thou indeed strengthen us each day to love one another in Christ, even as He loved us !
The Holy Ghost Himself cannot better glorify the LORD Jesus than by showing to us Christs own things. Jesus is His own best commendation. There is no adorning Him except with his own gold.
Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound. This morning it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so singular a rule. We, too, are lepers, and may read the law of the leper as applicable to ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen and felt it has received its death blow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are “nothing else but sin,” for no confession short of this will be the whole truth, and if the Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment—it will spring spontaneously from our lips. What comfort does the text afford to those under a deep sense of sin! Sin mourned and confessed, however black and foul, shall never shut a man out from the Lord Jesus. Whosoever cometh unto him, he will in no wise cast out. Though dishonest as the thief, though unchaste as the woman who was a sinner, though fierce as Saul of Tarsus, though cruel as Manasseh, though rebellious as the prodigal, the great heart of love will look upon the man who feels himself to have no soundness in him, and will pronounce him clean, when he trusts in Jesus crucified. Come to him, then, poor heavy-laden sinner,
Does Christ receive us when we come to him, notwithstanding all our past sinfulness? Does he never chide us for having tried all other refuges first? And is there none on earth like him? Is he the best of all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise him! Daughters of Jerusalem, extol him with timbrel and harp! Down with your idols, up with the Lord Jesus. Now let the standards of pomp and pride be trampled under foot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high. O for a throne of ivory for our King Solomon! Let him be set on high for ever, and let my soul sit at his footstool, and kiss his feet, and wash them with my tears. Oh, how precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of him? How is it I can go abroad for joy or comfort when he is so full, so rich, so satisfying. Fellow believer, make a covenant with thine heart that thou wilt never depart from him, and ask thy Lord to ratify it. Bid him set thee as a signet upon his finger, and as a bracelet upon his arm. Ask him to bind thee about him, as the bride decketh herself with ornaments, and as the bridegroom putteth on his jewels. I would live in Christs heart; in the clefts of that rock my soul would eternally abide. The sparrow hath made a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God; and so too would I make my nest, my home, in thee, and never from thee may the soul of thy turtle dove go forth again, but may I nestle close to thee, O Jesus, my true and only rest.
We are often in a religious hurry in our devotions. How much time do we spend in them daily? Can it not be easily reckoned in minutes? Who ever knew an eminently holy man who did not spend much of his time in prayer? Did ever a man exhibit much of the spirit of prayer, who did not devote much time in his closet? 
The psalmist Ethan recounted the testimony of the Lord concerning David. He said, ‘I have found David My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him…My arm also will strengthen him’. Likewise, Luke recounted the words of Samuel, ‘The Lord has sought out a man for Himself after His own heart and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people’. The Lord Himself spoke of David as a man ‘who will do all My will’. The prophet Jeremiah spoke on behalf of the Lord saying, ‘Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart who will feed you on knowledge and understanding’. As a result they would be multiplied and increased.
It is most certainly true that David sought to do the will of God. ‘David did what was right in the sight of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.’ Of course the matter of Uriah was a very serious incident involving adultery and murder. The thought that David was a man after God’s own heart is well known to all Christians. But how can it be that David, who made so many glaring mistakes, is reckoned as a man after God’s own heart? What is it about the Lord’s own heart that David was comparable to? The most well known passage of the New Testament is, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son’. David committed himself to this essential proposition and lifestyle of giving and offering. David was a man of offerings and altars.
The apostle Paul has exhorted us to have exactly the same mind and attitude as the Son. This is an attitude and willingness to empty ourselves. There is no doubt that the apostle was preoccupied with this thought. This became the central tenet of his ministry. He referred to this as ‘my gospel’. This is the testimony of Christ. God the Son did not count or command His equality with the Father, but emptied Himself to become a bondslave. The apostle Paul was preoccupied with a culture of offering throughout his whole ministry. He described himself as an ‘imitator of Christ’. And he likewise encouraged us, ‘Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ’.
We cannot be absolutely sure when Paul received the revelation of God the Son emptying Himself. Nevertheless, we are certain that it was his
preoccupation. In his letter to the Philippians, he identified the mind
of Christ to empty Himself. And in this very same chapter, he spoke of
his own commitment to be poured out on the sacrifice and priesthood
of others. We can be absolutely certain that Paul poured himself out to empower the life and priesthood of all of those committed Christians who earnestly desired to participate with him in a fellowship of offering. In this same letter, he referred to this as the ‘word of giving and receiving’. Our English translations say the ‘matter’ or ‘fellowship’ of giving and receiving, but this is more accurately translated the ‘word’. We can be sure that Paul heard this word from our Lord Himself. This ‘giving and receiving’ is not referring to the human activity of mutual exchange. It is not the exercise of kindness, one to another. It is referring to a life completely committed to the proposition of emptying.
The book of Proverbs says, ‘The mind of man [or a man’s heart] plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps’. We must ask ourselves, what is in our heart. The Scripture does say that the Lord gives us the desires of our heart. But that promise is prefaced with the statement that our delight needs to be in the Lord. ‘Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.’ We would all aspire to fulfil the will of God. Nevertheless, this desire to fulfil His will can be just slightly out of reach. We don’t always know how to measure ourselves to the will of God. The answer is found in planning our way, preparing these plans by consultation, and then allowing the Lord to direct our steps. The great apostle Paul was continually making plans. We read in the book of Acts, ‘Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome”.’ Until he breathed his last breath, Paul was proactive in making plans, but at the same time he was continually submitted to the Lord directing his steps. The wise man wrote that plans made without consultation are destined for frustration, but with many counsellors they will succeed. No one can go ‘solo’ and hope to do the will of God. All of us, no matter how individual or independent we aspire to be, will always need people to help us navigate through the various storms that we encounter. We must be proactive in finding and fulfilling the will of God. We must make plans by consultation, and then allow the Lord to direct our steps.
What does it mean to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ? First of all, Christianity is not a religious platform or position, from which we judge others. Nor is it a list of beliefs which we agree with in principle, and then try to live by in our own strength. The first word of the Christian gospel is this – God has given you the right to accept His call, and choose to become one of His sons. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘In love [God the Father] predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved’. What an amazing promise – we can become the sons of God! Many people think that the first word of the gospel is that our sins are forgiven. While it’s true that our sins can be forgiven, the first word of the gospel isn’t about sin; it’s about you being the son that God named you to be. You see, being a son of God is not just an option; it’s the very essence of Christianity. Christianity is a life lived as a son of God. It’s as simple as that. And that’s why our eternal salvation is totally dependent upon our continuing relationship with God. This relationship enables us to become His sons. We cannot choose to be called a Christian, but refuse to do the works that belong to our sonship. Nor can we choose to be called a Christian, without having a relationship with God, and living in His will for our life. When we do this, we have no power to live the Christian life. In fact, it is a great wickedness to claim eternal salvation, on the basis of Jesus’ offering, as a legal position before God, while rejecting relational obedience to Him. We must actually be sanctified to our sonship. ‘For this is the will of God, your sanctification.’ Our sanctification is our relational obedience -our willingness to submit ourselves to the Father and do the works He has prepared for us to do.
