| Looking To Jesus By R. A. Torrey (1856-1928) |
If we are to run with patience the race that is set before us, we must always
keep looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3). One of the simplest and yet one of
the mightiest secrets of abiding joy and victory is to never lose sight of Jesus.
1. First of all, we must keep looking at Jesus as the ground of our
acceptance before God. Over and over again, Satan will make an attempt to
discourage us by bringing up our sins and failures and thus try to convince us
that we are not children of God, or not saved. If he succeeds in getting us to
keep looking at and brooding sins, he will soon get us discouraged, and
discouragement means failure. But if we will keep looking at what God looks at,
the death of Jesus Christ in our place that completely atones for every sin that
we ever committed, we will never be discouraged because of the greatest of our
sins. We shall see that while our sins are great, very great, indeed they have all
been atoned for. Every time Satan brings up one of our sins, we shall see that
Jesus Christ has redeemed us from its curse by being made a curse in our place
(Galatians 3:13). We shall see that while in ourselves we are full of
unrighteousness, nevertheless in Christ we are made the righteousness of God,
because Christ was made to be sin in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). We will see
that every sin that Satan taunts us about has been borne and settled forever (1
Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6). We shall always be able to sing,
Jesus paid my debt,
All the debt I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
If you are this moment troubled about any sin that you have ever committed,
either in the past or in the present, just look at Jesus on the cross; believe what
God tells you about Him, that this sin which troubles you was laid upon Him
(Isaiah 53:6). Thank God that the sin is all settled, be full of gratitude to Jesus,
who bore it in your place, and worry about it no more. It is an act of base
ingratitude to God to brood over sins that He in His infinite love has canceled.
Keep looking at Christ on the cross and walk always in the sunlight of God's
favor. This favor of God has been purchased for you at great cost. Gratitude
demands that you should always believe in it and walk in the light of it.
2. In the second place, we must keep looking at Jesus as our risen Savior,
who has all power in heaven and on earth and is able to keep us every day
and every hour. Are you tempted to do some wrong at this moment? If you are,
remember that Jesus rose from the dead, remember that at this moment He is
living at the right hand of God in the glory; remember that He has all power in
heaven and on earth, and that, therefore, He can give you victory right now.
Believe what God tells you in His Word, that Jesus has power to save you this
moment "completely" (Hebrews 7:25). Believe that He has power to give you
victory over that sin that now besets you. Ask Him to give you victory; expect
Him to do it. In this way, by looking unto the risen Christ for victory, you may
have victory over sin every day, every hour, every moment. "Remember Jesus
Christ, raised from the dead" (2 Timothy 2:8).
God has called every one of us to a victorious life, and the secret of this
victorious life is always looking to the risen Christ for victory. Through
looking to Christ crucified we obtain pardon and enjoy peace. Through looking
to the risen Christ we obtain present victory over the power of sin. If you have
lost sight of the risen Christ and have yielded to temptation, confess your sin and
know that it is forgiven because God says so (1 John 1:9), and look to Jesus, the
risen One, again to give you victory now, and keep looking to Him.
3. In the third place, we must keep looking to Jesus as the One whom we
should follow in our daily conduct. Our Lord Jesus says to us, His disciples
today, as He said to His early disciples, "Follow me." The whole secret of true
Christian conduct can be summed up in these two words "Follow me." "Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6). One of the commonest
causes of failure in Christian life is found in the attempt to follow some good man
whom we greatly admire. No man and no woman, no matter how good, can be
safely followed. If we follow any man or woman, we are bound to go astray.
There has been but one absolutely perfect Man on this earth--the Man Christ
Jesus. If we try to follow any other man we are surer to imitate his faults than his
excellencies. Look to Jesus and Jesus only as your Guide.
If at any time you are in any perplexity as to what to do, simply ask the question,
What would Jesus do? Ask God by His Holy Spirit to show you what Jesus
would do. Study your Bible to find out what Jesus did do, and follow Him.
Even though no one else seems to be following Jesus, be sure that you follow
Him. Do not spend your time or thought in criticizing others because they do not
follow Jesus. See that you follow Him yourself. When you are wasting your time
criticizing others for not following Jesus, Jesus is always saying to you, "What is
that to you? You must follow me" (John 21:22). The question for you is not
what following Jesus may involve for other people. The question is, What does
following Jesus mean for you?
This is the really simple life, the life of simply following Jesus. Many perplexing
questions will come to you, but the most perplexing question will soon become as
clear as day if you determine with all your heart to follow Jesus in everything.
Satan will always be ready to whisper to you, "Such and such a good man does
it," but all you need to do is to answer, "It matters not to me what this or that
man may do or not do. The only question to me is, What would Jesus do?"
There is wonderful freedom in this life of simply following Jesus. This path is
straight and plain. But the path of him who tries to shape his conduct by
observing the conduct of others is full of twists and turns and pitfalls. Keep
looking at Jesus. Follow on trustingly where He leads. This is the path of the
righteous, shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18). He is the
Light of the world, anyone who follows Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life all along the way (John 8:12).
FURTHER READING:
Running The Christian Race
Bible Cure for Doubting Christians
Trust in God, Hope in God
The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ
God Is Our Shield
To Be Like Jesus
keep looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-3). One of the simplest and yet one of
the mightiest secrets of abiding joy and victory is to never lose sight of Jesus.
1. First of all, we must keep looking at Jesus as the ground of our
acceptance before God. Over and over again, Satan will make an attempt to
discourage us by bringing up our sins and failures and thus try to convince us
that we are not children of God, or not saved. If he succeeds in getting us to
keep looking at and brooding sins, he will soon get us discouraged, and
discouragement means failure. But if we will keep looking at what God looks at,
the death of Jesus Christ in our place that completely atones for every sin that
we ever committed, we will never be discouraged because of the greatest of our
sins. We shall see that while our sins are great, very great, indeed they have all
been atoned for. Every time Satan brings up one of our sins, we shall see that
Jesus Christ has redeemed us from its curse by being made a curse in our place
(Galatians 3:13). We shall see that while in ourselves we are full of
unrighteousness, nevertheless in Christ we are made the righteousness of God,
because Christ was made to be sin in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21). We will see
that every sin that Satan taunts us about has been borne and settled forever (1
Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6). We shall always be able to sing,
Jesus paid my debt,
All the debt I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
If you are this moment troubled about any sin that you have ever committed,
either in the past or in the present, just look at Jesus on the cross; believe what
God tells you about Him, that this sin which troubles you was laid upon Him
(Isaiah 53:6). Thank God that the sin is all settled, be full of gratitude to Jesus,
who bore it in your place, and worry about it no more. It is an act of base
ingratitude to God to brood over sins that He in His infinite love has canceled.
Keep looking at Christ on the cross and walk always in the sunlight of God's
favor. This favor of God has been purchased for you at great cost. Gratitude
demands that you should always believe in it and walk in the light of it.
2. In the second place, we must keep looking at Jesus as our risen Savior,
who has all power in heaven and on earth and is able to keep us every day
and every hour. Are you tempted to do some wrong at this moment? If you are,
remember that Jesus rose from the dead, remember that at this moment He is
living at the right hand of God in the glory; remember that He has all power in
heaven and on earth, and that, therefore, He can give you victory right now.
Believe what God tells you in His Word, that Jesus has power to save you this
moment "completely" (Hebrews 7:25). Believe that He has power to give you
victory over that sin that now besets you. Ask Him to give you victory; expect
Him to do it. In this way, by looking unto the risen Christ for victory, you may
have victory over sin every day, every hour, every moment. "Remember Jesus
Christ, raised from the dead" (2 Timothy 2:8).
God has called every one of us to a victorious life, and the secret of this
victorious life is always looking to the risen Christ for victory. Through
looking to Christ crucified we obtain pardon and enjoy peace. Through looking
to the risen Christ we obtain present victory over the power of sin. If you have
lost sight of the risen Christ and have yielded to temptation, confess your sin and
know that it is forgiven because God says so (1 John 1:9), and look to Jesus, the
risen One, again to give you victory now, and keep looking to Him.
3. In the third place, we must keep looking to Jesus as the One whom we
should follow in our daily conduct. Our Lord Jesus says to us, His disciples
today, as He said to His early disciples, "Follow me." The whole secret of true
Christian conduct can be summed up in these two words "Follow me." "Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6). One of the commonest
causes of failure in Christian life is found in the attempt to follow some good man
whom we greatly admire. No man and no woman, no matter how good, can be
safely followed. If we follow any man or woman, we are bound to go astray.
There has been but one absolutely perfect Man on this earth--the Man Christ
Jesus. If we try to follow any other man we are surer to imitate his faults than his
excellencies. Look to Jesus and Jesus only as your Guide.
If at any time you are in any perplexity as to what to do, simply ask the question,
What would Jesus do? Ask God by His Holy Spirit to show you what Jesus
would do. Study your Bible to find out what Jesus did do, and follow Him.
Even though no one else seems to be following Jesus, be sure that you follow
Him. Do not spend your time or thought in criticizing others because they do not
follow Jesus. See that you follow Him yourself. When you are wasting your time
criticizing others for not following Jesus, Jesus is always saying to you, "What is
that to you? You must follow me" (John 21:22). The question for you is not
what following Jesus may involve for other people. The question is, What does
following Jesus mean for you?
This is the really simple life, the life of simply following Jesus. Many perplexing
questions will come to you, but the most perplexing question will soon become as
clear as day if you determine with all your heart to follow Jesus in everything.
Satan will always be ready to whisper to you, "Such and such a good man does
it," but all you need to do is to answer, "It matters not to me what this or that
man may do or not do. The only question to me is, What would Jesus do?"
There is wonderful freedom in this life of simply following Jesus. This path is
straight and plain. But the path of him who tries to shape his conduct by
observing the conduct of others is full of twists and turns and pitfalls. Keep
looking at Jesus. Follow on trustingly where He leads. This is the path of the
righteous, shining ever brighter till the full light of day (Proverbs 4:18). He is the
Light of the world, anyone who follows Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life all along the way (John 8:12).
FURTHER READING:
Running The Christian Race
Bible Cure for Doubting Christians
Trust in God, Hope in God
The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ
God Is Our Shield
To Be Like Jesus
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