A Change of Raiment

[Thompson, Darryl]

Christ Our Peace and Righteousness 

     Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a
Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts
5:31.  

     He who has the spotless robe of righteousness, woven in the loom of
heaven, in which is not a thread that sinful humanity can claim, is at
the right hand of God, to clothe His believing children in the perfect
garment of His righteousness. Those who are saved in the kingdom of God
will have nothing of which to boast in themselves; the praise and the
glory will all flow back to God. . . .  

     It is not now the work of the sinner to make peace with God, but to
accept Christ as his peace and righteousness. Thus man becomes one with
Christ and one with God. There is no way by which the heart may be made
holy, save through faith in Christ. Yet many think that repentance is a
kind of preparation which men must originate themselves before they can
come to Christ. They must take steps themselves in order to find Christ
a mediator in their behalf. It is true that there must be repentance
before there is pardon, but the sinner must come to Christ before he can
find repentance. It is the virtue of Christ that strengthens and
enlightens the soul, so that repentance may be godly and acceptable. . .
. Repentance is as certainly a gift of Jesus Christ as is forgiveness of
sins. Repentance cannot be experienced without Christ, for it is the
repentance of which He is the author that is the ground upon which we
may apply for pardon. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that men
are led to repentance. It is from Christ that the grace of contrition
comes, as well as the gift of pardon, and repentance as well as
forgiveness of sins is procured only through the atoning blood of
Christ. Those whom God pardons He first makes penitent.  

     When the sinner accepts Christ and lives in Him, Jesus takes his
sins and weaknesses and then grafts the repentant soul into Himself, so
that he sustains the relation to Christ that the branch does to the
vine. We have nothing, we are nothing, unless we receive virtue from
Jesus Christ.  

>From That I May Know Him - Page 109