Christ's estimate of His redeemed people!

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"You are altogether beautiful My love. There is no spot in you!" Song of Solomon 4:7

What an astonishing assessment! What a declaration of infinite love! What a testimony to the triumph of God's saving grace! The lips that once pronounced the sentence of condemnation against us for our sins, now speak words of unspeakable tenderness over those whom He has redeemed. Jesus looks upon His beloved people and declares them to be altogether beautiful, flawless, without spot, and precious in His sight!

How can this be? Has not the believer discovered enough of the plague of his own heart, to make him loathe himself in the dust? Does he not find within himself pride, unbelief, coldness, wandering affections, and a thousand shameful inclinations? Does he not lament that, even when he desires to do good, evil is present with him? How then, can Jesus declare such a sinner to be spotless and altogether beautiful?

The answer is found in the glorious work of salvation! Jesus does not behold His people as they are in themselves, but as they stand clothed in His perfect righteousness. He has borne their sins, endured their condemnation, and satisfied the demands of divine justice on their behalf. He has washed them in His precious sin-atoning blood, and covered them with the spotless robe of His perfect righteousness. Every sin for which justice could condemn them, has been laid upon their Substitute. Every requirement of righteousness necessary for their acceptance before God, has been fulfilled by their Redeemer.

Oh, wondrous exchange! Their guilt was laid upon Jesus, and His righteousness is reckoned to them! He was wounded for their transgressions, that they might be accepted before God. He was made a curse for them, that they might inherit eternal glory. Their salvation rests not upon their personal worthiness, but upon the perfect sin-atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Their standing before God does not depend upon their personal merits, for they have none; but upon the unchanging perfection of their Savior!

Behold, then, the secret of their beauty!
It is not the beauty of their natural character, for by nature they are sinful and defiled.
It is not the beauty of their religious performances, for their very holiest duties are stained with imperfection.
It is not the beauty of their attainments, for the most mature believer has abundant cause to mourn over his remaining sin.
Their beauty is the beauty of Jesus, imputed to them; the beauty of a perfect righteousness which no accusation can invalidate, and no condemning sentence can overthrow.

Does this truth make sin a trifling thing? God forbid! The person who uses the grace of God as a pillow upon which to sleep comfortably in his sins, has gravely misunderstood that grace. Those whom Jesus justifies, He also sanctifies. Those whom He cleanses from the guilt of sin, He teaches to hate its pollution. The believer who rejoices that there is no condemning spot upon his standing with God, will grieve over every defiling spot in his daily walk. He will long for holiness, not to purchase the favor of Jesus; but because he has already been made the particular object of His redeeming love.

Here then, is a searching question for every professing Christian: Do you desire to be holy because you love Jesus, or do you merely desire to escape the consequences of your sins? Do you mourn over the evil of your heart, or only over the loathsome consequences of your conduct? Can you find your deepest consolation in the righteousness of Jesus, while earnestly longing to be delivered from everything that dishonors Him? Saving grace does not render the conscience insensitive to sin; it makes the heart increasingly sensitive to the holiness of God.

And when the believer sees the depth of his remaining corruption, let him not conclude that Jesus has ceased to love him. His sin is hateful, his failures are grievous, and his need of daily cleansing is great; yet his acceptance with God rests upon the spotless righteousness of Jesus. He knew the full extent of the corruption of His people, before He set His love upon them. Nothing in their sinfulness has surprised Him, nor exhausted the sufficiency of His grace.

Dear believer, never measure the love of Jesus, by the poverty of your spiritual attainments. Measure it by the cross! Never estimate your acceptance with God, by the fluctuations of your feelings. Look to the perfect righteousness of your Redeemer! When Satan accuses you for your sins, then answer his accusations with the greater truth of your Savior's sin-atoning sacrifice. When conscience condemns you, then flee anew to the cross of Jesus. When death approaches, then let your hope rest, not upon what you have accomplished for Jesus, but upon what Jesus has accomplished for you. Where our sin abounded, God's grace has super-abounded!

Soon, the last trace of indwelling sin will be removed. The believer who now groans beneath the burden of remaining corruption, will stand before the throne, perfectly conformed to the image of Jesus. Then the beauty that is now his by imputation, will be displayed in the complete transformation of his character. Grace will have triumphed, and the redeemed will forever adore the One whose sacrificial death purchased them, and whose righteousness made them acceptable before God.

Oh, the wonder of being loved by Jesus! He sees every hidden infirmity, knows every secret sorrow, and understands every inward conflict. Yet His boundless love does not fail. He will not abandon the work of His hands. His redeemed people are precious to Him, not because they are lovely in themselves; but because He loved them, gave Himself for them, and is determined to bring them safely home to Heaven.

Let every weary believer take comfort in this glorious truth: In myself, I am altogether undeserving, ill-deserving, and Hell-deserving. But I am altogether beautiful in His sight, because He has chosen me, redeemed me, justified me, and clothed me in His perfect righteousness.

This glorious truth should humble every believer, and kindle a deeper love and gratitude for the One who first loved you!
(The above article was AI generated.)