RESTING IN THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST

The Christian life does not begin with our work for Christ but with Christ’s work for us. Before we ever believed, before we ever prayed, before we ever sought Him, the Son of God climbed Calvary’s hill and completed the work the Father had given Him to do.

As He bowed His head He declared, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Those words sounded through heaven and earth as the proclamation that redemption had been accomplished.

Faith does not add to that work. Faith simply enters into it.

The soul that sees this truth lays down the heavy burden of self-effort and finds rest in the Savior. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

How slow we are to believe that God truly means what He says. We imagine that His acceptance rises and falls with our feelings.

On days when our prayers seem warm, we think He must be pleased. On days when our hearts feel cold, we fear He has turned away.

But the Father’s love is not anchored in the changing tides of our emotions. It is anchored in His beloved Son. “He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).

If our standing depended upon ourselves, we would have no peace for even a single hour. But because our standing rests upon Christ, the weakest believer may approach the throne with confidence.

The cross is not merely the doorway into salvation. It is the foundation upon which the whole Christian life is built.

Too many begin by trusting Christ and then spend the remainder of their lives trusting themselves. They look inward for strength, inward for holiness, inward for assurance. But nothing good has ever come from gazing continually upon self.

The more we inspect our own hearts, the more reasons we discover for discouragement. The Holy Spirit gently lifts our eyes from ourselves and fixes them upon the Lamb of God.

There is healing in that look.

There is peace in that look.

There is victory in that look.

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

Faith is not an achievement. It is surrender. It is the quiet “Amen” spoken by the soul to everything God has declared concerning His Son.

God says the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin, and faith replies, “Amen” (1 John 1:7).

God says there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and faith replies, “Amen” (Romans 8:1).

God says we have been raised with Christ, and faith bows before that truth even when feelings argue otherwise (Colossians 3:1-3).

Faith is simply agreeing with God.

There is a subtle pride hidden within religious striving. We imagine that if we pray longer, discipline ourselves more, or suffer enough, then perhaps God will receive us more fully.

But what greater acceptance could be given than to be united with His own Son? Shall the Father love the members less than He loves the Head? Shall He reject those for whom Christ shed His precious blood? Never.

The believer stands beneath the shelter of a righteousness that cannot be improved because it is the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21).

This is why the conscience finds no lasting peace until it rests entirely upon the cross. Every attempt to establish our own righteousness leaves the soul exhausted.

We climb one hill only to discover another before us.

But at Calvary every hill of guilt meets its end. Every accusation finds its answer. Every demand of divine justice has already been satisfied by the obedient life and sacrificial death of the Son of God.

“Having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). What God has settled, let no trembling heart attempt to reopen.

And remember that the finished work of Christ does not produce carelessness. Rather, it awakens love.

When the believer realizes the greatness of the mercy shown to him, obedience ceases to be slavery and becomes delight. We no longer serve in order to gain favor. We serve because favor has already been freely given.

Love accomplishes what fear never could. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Grace is not the enemy of holiness. Grace is its birthplace.

The greatest obstacle to holy living is often not weakness but self-confidence. So long as we believe we possess strength in ourselves, we will continue drawing from an empty well.

God allows us to discover our poverty so that we might draw from the riches of Christ.

Our failures, though painful, often become the doorway through which we finally abandon confidence in the flesh.

Then the words of our Lord become precious beyond measure. “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

But because He lives within us, all things necessary for life and godliness are supplied through Him (2 Peter 1:3).

The branch bears fruit without anxiety because its life flows from the vine. It does not struggle to manufacture grapes. It simply abides. So it is with the believer.

Christ never intended us to imitate His life by our own strength. He came to impart His life to us. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

The more we rest in Him, the more His character quietly appears through us. Patience, gentleness, purity, humility, and love are not the products of human determination. They are the fruit of His indwelling life.

When Satan accuses, point him to the cross. When your conscience trembles, point it to the cross. When your heart condemns you, remember that “God is greater than our heart” (1 John 3:20).

The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than every accusation. Our hope has never rested upon the strength of our repentance but upon the perfection of His sacrifice.

The empty tomb declares that the Father’s justice is forever satisfied. Christ has been raised, and therefore every believer who trusts in Him stands justified before God (Romans 4:25).

One day faith will give way to sight. The redeemed will gather around the throne, and not one voice will boast of personal achievement.

Every song will magnify the Lamb who was slain.

Every crown will be laid at His feet.

Throughout eternity we shall never outgrow the wonder of those triumphant words spoken from the cross: “It is finished.”

Heaven itself will be the everlasting celebration of a completed redemption. The saints will forever rejoice that their salvation rested not upon the frailty of man but upon the unchanging work of the Son of God (Revelation 5:9-13).

Therefore cease striving to accomplish what Christ has already accomplished. Lay down every burden of self-righteousness. Stop measuring God’s love by your changing emotions.

Believe His testimony concerning His Son.

Rest where God rests.

Stand where God has placed every believer, at the foot of the cross and in the power of an empty tomb.

There the soul finds peace that cannot be shaken because it is founded upon a work that can never be undone.

BDD