Faith In The Blood Of Jesus Essential To Salvation

T IS OUR BELIEF of God's testimony concerning His own grace and Christ's work that brings us into possession of the blessings concerning which that testimony speaks. Our reception of God's testimony is confidence in God himself, and in Christ Jesus His Son; for where the testimony comes from a person or regards a person, belief of the testimony and confidence in the person are things inseparable. Hence it is that Scripture sometimes speaks of confidence or trust as saving us, (see the Psalms everywhere, such as 8:5, 52:8 ; also 1 Tim. 4:10, Eph. 1:12), as if it would say to the sinner, "Such is the gracious character of God, that you have only to put your case into His hands, however bad it be - only to trust him for eternal life - and he will assuredly not put you to shame." Hence, also, it is that we are said to be saved by the knowledge of God or of Christ; that is, by simply knowing God as He has made Himself known to us, (Isa. 5:3, 11; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 2:20); for "this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent," (John 17:2). And as if to make simplicity more simple, the apostle, in speaking of the facts of Christ's death and burial and resurrection says, "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you," (1 Cor. 15:1, 2).

God would have us understand that the way in which we become connected with Christ so as to get eternal life, is by, "knowing Him," or "hearing" Him - "trusting" Him. The testimony is inseparably linked to the person testified of ; and our connexion with the testimony, by belief of it, thus links us to the person. Thus it is that faith forms the bond between us and the Son of God, not because of anything in itself, but solely because it is only through the medium of truth known and believed that the soul can take any hold of God or of Christ. Faith is nothing, save as it lays hold of Christ, and it does so by laying hold of the truth concerning him. "By grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God," (Eph. 2:8).

Faith then, is the link, the one link between the sinner and Gods gift of pardon and life. It is not faith, and something else along with it; it is faith alone; faith that takes God at His word, and gives Him credit for speaking the honest truth when making known His message of grace - His "record " of eternal life concerning "the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world," (John 1:29).

If you object that you cannot believe, then this indicates that you are proceeding quite in a wrong direction. You are still laboring under the idea that this believing is a work to be done by you, and not the acknowledgment of a work done by another. You would fain do something in order to get peace, and you think that if you could only do this great thing, 'believing' - if you could but perform this great act called faith - God would at once reward you by giving you peace. Thus faith is reckoned by you to be the price in the sinner's hand by which he buys peace, and not the mere holding out of the hand to get a peace which has already been bought by another. So long as you are attaching any meritorious importance to faith, however unconsciously, you are moving in a wrong direction - a direction from which no peace can come. Surely faith is not a work. On the contrary, it is a ceasing from work. It is not a climbing of the mountain, but a ceasing to attempt it, and allowing Christ to carry you up in His own arms. You seem to think that it is your own act of faith that is to save you, and not the object of your faith, without which your own act, however well performed, is nothing. Accordingly, you bethink yourself, and say, 'What a mighty work is this believing - what an effort does it require on my part - how am I to perform it?' Herein you sadly err, and your mistake lies chiefly here, in supposing that your peace is to come from the proper performance on your part of an act of faith, whereas it is to come entirely from the proper perception of Him to whom the Father is pointing your eye, and in regard to whom He is saying, "Behold my servant whom I have chosen, look at Him, forget everything else - everything about yourself, your own faith, your own repentance, your own feelings -and look at HIM!" It is in Him, and not in your poor act of faith, that salvation lies, and out of Him, not out of your own act of faith, is peace to come.

Thus mistaking the meaning of faith, and the way in which faith saves you, you get into confusion, and mistake everything else connected with your peace. You mistake the real nature of that very inability to believe of which you complain so sadly. For that inability does not lie, as you fancy it does, in the impossibility of your performing aright this great act of faith, but of ceasing from all such self-righteous attempts to perform any act, or do any work whatsoever, in order to your being saved. So that the real truth is, that you have not yet seen such a sufficiency in the one great work of the Son of God upon the cross, as to lead you utterly to discontinue your mistaken aimless efforts to work out something of your own. As soon as the Holy Spirit shews you have this entire sufficiency of the great propitiation, you cease at once from these attempts to act or work something of your own, and take, instead of this, what Christ has done. One great part of the Spirit's work is, not to enable the man to do something which will help to save him, but so to detach him from his own performances, that he shall be content with the salvation which Christ finished when He died and rose again.

But perhaps you may object further, that you are not satisfied with your faith. No, truly, nor are you ever likely to be. If you wait for this before you take peace, you will wait till life is done. The Bible does not say, Being satisfied about our faith, we have peace with God; it simply says, 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, (Rom. 5:1). Not satisfaction with your own faith, but satisfaction with Jesus and His work - this is what God presses on you. You say, I am satisfied with Christ. Are you? What more, then, do you wish? Is not satisfaction with Christ enough for you, or for any sinner? Nay, and is not this the truest kind of faith? To be satisfied with Christ, that is faith in Christ. To be satisfied with His blood, that is faith in His blood. What more could you have? Can your faith give you something which Christ cannot? or will Christ give you nothing till you can produce faith of a certain kind and quality, whose excellences will entitle you to blessing? Do not bewilder yourself. Do not suppose that your faith is a price, or a bribe, or a merit. Is not the very essence of real faith just your being satisfied with Christ? Are you really satisfied with Him, and with what He has done? Then do not puzzle yourself about your faith, but go upon your way rejoicing, having thus been brought to be satisfied with Him, whom to know is peace, and life, and salvation.

You are not satisfied with your faith, you say. I am glad that you are not. Had you been so, you would have been far out of the way indeed. Does Scripture anywhere speak of your getting peace by your becoming satisfied with your faith? Nay, does it not take for granted that you will, to the very last, be dissatisfied with yourself, with your faith, with all about you and within you, and satisfied with Jesus only? Are you then satisfied with Him? Then go in peace. For if satisfaction with Him will not give you peace, nothing else that either heaven or earth contain will ever give you peace. Though your faith should become so perfect that you were entirely satisfied with it, that would not pacify your conscience or relieve your fears. Faith, however perfect, has of itself nothing to give you, either of pardon or of life. Its finger points you to Jesus. Its voice bids you look straight to Him. Its object is to turn away from itself and from yourself altogether, that you may behold Him, and in beholding Him be satisfied with Him; and, in being satisfied with Him have 'joy and peace."¹

1) "Words for the Inquiring," by Horatius Bonar, D.D.