should both be and do. He enables us to see what He
requires of us. It shows us also how imperfect we are. It shows us our
sins. It reveals to us the importance of doing something in order to get
rid of our sins.
It is just like a man whose face is all dirty. When he goes to the
looking-glass and looks into it he sees the dirt upon his face. If he
did not look into the glass, other people might see that his face was
dirty, but he would not see it himself. But when he looks into the
glass, he sees for himself that his face is all black and dirty.
Now, when the man finds that his face is all dirty, he does not take the
looking-glass with which to wash his face. The looking-glass was not
made to wash our faces with. It was only made to show us that our faces
needed to be washed. And then, instead of using the looking-glass to
wash our faces, we go and use soap and water.
Now, the looking-glass did not make the man's face black, neither will
it wash his face. It simply shows him that his face is dirty.
So it is with the law of God. The law of God does not make us sinful. We
are sinful, whether there be any law or not. The law is simply designed
to show us that we are sinners, and that we are wicked, and that we need
a Saviour. And when this law reveals to us our sin, and shows us our
need of a Saviour, it purposes, as we are told in the Scriptures, to
lead us to Christ (Galatians iii:24.) No man can cleanse or wash away
his sins by the aid of the law. But the law plainly shows him his sins,
and then leads him to Christ--to the fountain which has been opened for
sin and uncleanness. It is all very beautifully expressed in that hymn
which, I trust, you all know:
"There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains."
Now, I want to tell you the effect of coming to this fountain and
washing. When we come to Christ our sins and guilt are washed away, and
we become more like Christ. And then we grow up into His likeness and
into His image. (Eph. iv: 13.) We become more and more like the Lord
Jesus Christ from day to day. This change which takes place in our
hearts and in our lives is very wonderful. We cannot understand it, but
we cease to be intentionally wicked. More and more we become holy. It is
this wonderful change which is referred to in Second Corinthians, third
chapter and the
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