SAVING FAITH IN CHRIST
1Timothy 1:15-16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves
full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am
the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst
of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for
those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
When Christ is presented to lost men in the proclamation
of the gospel, it is as Saviour he is presented, as one who ever continues to
be the embodiment of the salvation he has once for all accomplished. It is not
the possibility of salvation that is offered to lost men but the Saviour
himself and therefore salvation full and perfect. There is no imperfection in
the salvation offered and there is no restriction to its overture – it is full,
free, and unrestricted. And this is the warrant of faith.
The faith of which we are now speaking is not the belief
that we have been saved but trust in Christ in order that we may be saved. And
it is of paramount concern to know that Christ is presented to all without
distinction to the end that they may entrust themselves to him for salvation.
The gospel offer is not restricted to the elect or even to those for whom
Christ died. And the warrant of faith is not the conviction that we are elect
or that we are among those for whom, strictly speaking, Christ died but the fact
that Christ, in the glory of his person, in the perfection of his finished
work, and in the efficacy of his exalted activity as King and Saviour, is
presented to us in the full, free, and unrestricted overture of the gospel. It
is not as persons convinced of our election nor as persons convinced that we
are the special objects of God’s love that we commit ourselves to him but as
lost sinners. We entrust ourselves to him not because we believe we have been
saved but as lost sinners in order that we may be saved. It is to us in our
lost condition that the warrant of faith is given and the warrant is not
restricted or circumscribed in any way. In the warrant of faith the rich mercy
of God is proffered to the lost and the promise of grace is certified by the veracity
and faithfulness of God. This is the ground upon which a lost sinner may commit
himself to Christ in full confidence that he will be saved. And no sinner to
whom the gospel comes is excluded from the divine warrant for such confidence.
Redemption
Accomplished and Applied by John Murray, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955, pg.109.