CHRIST’S SAVING PERFECTION

Jesus Christ was the greatest man who ever lived. Yet that statement, as bold as it sounds, comes nowhere near touching the actual truth of the matter. To say he was the greatest man who ever lived, while true, is to suggest that the greatness of his life is found in comparison to other men. But that is far from the truth. Jesus’ greatness is not derived from how much better he is than the rest of us, but from the same perspective our sinfulness comes from—from the perspective of God’s holy standard. And this is the same standard by which Christ is to be measured. True, compared to us, he is the greatest man ever and we are not worthy to be compared to him. But that means little because we mean nothing when viewed from the perspective of performance.

 You and I are not wretched and evil in comparison with other people. By that standard, most of us would be found at least average. But the standard is God and his holiness. Measured against God and his holiness, we are as bad as can be. And measured by that same standard, Jesus is good in the absolute sense, not just the comparative sense. That is how the life of Christ Jesus shines.

Christ’s perfect life counts for us. He lived and obeyed God for us (Rom. 5:19). The heart needs continuous reminding of this, for the spirit of the disciple is very prone to look at self and become discouraged at our lack of perfection and completeness when it comes to obeying God. Keeping the work of Christ in proper focus will deliver us from such shackled thinking. Throughout all eternity it will be observed that the law of God has been kept. Jesus demonstrated how holy God is by his observance of God’s law.

The person of faith is one who looks to the cross. To every seeking sinner the promise comes, “Look to me and be saved.” “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).

No one who answers the call of Christ will be disappointed. We must accept that truth as a settled fact. Christ saves anyone who wants to be saved by him. He said, “The one who comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). His promise is unfailing. He has never lied. He has never failed to save anyone who came to him to be saved and you will not be the first. He has sufficient grace to cover every sin, more than enough to redeem the vilest sinner. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant” (Romans‬ ‭5:20‬). There is no disappointment with Jesus.