How to make Christ the Object of our Faith

If I am to make Christ Himself the object of my faith, what does that actually look like?  How do I apply that?

First, by belief, trust, faith itself.  I am to resolve myself to trust Him entirely, to rest in Him fully, to lay aside my hope and desire for anything else but Christ.  I am to be convicted that every desire I have will be satisfied by Him, with the single exception of my sinful desire for autonomy.  That desire must be renounced.  But that is precisely what I do when I rest in the conviction that all good things will come to me through my union with Christ.  To rest in that conviction is to renounce my ability to secure God’s blessings by my own efforts, on my own timetable, and for my own glory.

Secondly, in my life, everything I do becomes reflective of that desire.  When I work at the work God has put in front of me, no longer do I do it out of a belief that I can bless myself through my labors.  Instead, I do so in thanksgiving that God has already secured all blessings for me through His Son.  Through the labor God has given me to do, I learn what it means to be the perfect servant, as Christ was.  I am conformed to His image.

In my human relationships, I learn to forgive, to forbear, to put the needs of others ahead of myself.  I learn to be meek and mild and submit to others.  In all these things, I become more Christlike.  I learn to love others truly, as Christ did.

In entertainment I learn to be thankful for the salvation of Christ that has redeemed the world from slavery and misery, to free us to enjoy the good things of God’s creation, including art, music and the like.  All such things are an expression of what it means to be truly human.  In an unbelieving world all art will be distorted by sin, and the Christian must therefore be careful in his use of these things, but that is true of all parts of our lives.  Even that art which is done by unbelievers is nonetheless a reflection of God’s image and a testimony to God’s grace, and can rightly be enjoyed with thankfulness by the believer.  In the appreciation of God’s goodness, I become more Christlike, as I become more thankful and joyful in who God is and the good things He has made.

In my worship, I learn most directly who Christ was and is, what He has done and is doing for me, and how I can be more conformed to His image.  In worship I receive grace from His hand, and am fed by His life.  I learn the law of God, His precepts and judgments, which if a man does them (like Christ did), he will live by them.  I learn to pray, to talk to God in close fellowship, to learn how dependent I am on Him and how good God is to bless His people.  I learn to live in fellowship with His own people.  Through the worship and the life of the church, I draw closer to Christ.

So if I desire Christ above all, I will learn to pursue all these avenues for Christ to be formed in me.

 

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