What is impossible with men is possible with God. There is One, infinitely greater than the fairest of men, who purposed in His heart to save. He became man that He might redeem man. When the fullness of time had come, he was born of a woman, born under the law. He came to live the perfect life that we could never live and pay the ransom that we could never pay. When His time came to be delivered up, He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem to endure death, even the death of the cross. He fulfilled what was spoken of Him more than seven hundred years earlier: "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).

By what means is this salvation is received? By believing in Him. We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God--not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9). "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law" (Rom 3:27-28). Dear reader, have you believed in the person and work of Christ? If not, you are still in your sins. You may live with some morality. You may despise much of the evil that you see in the world. You may even be quite religious. But in the end, none of those things can save you. It is no more possible for you to meet God's standards than it is for a leopard to change his spots. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be" (Rom 8:7-8).  Were you to judge rightly, you would find the demands of God's law to be a crushing weight under which you cannot stand. Your eyes would be opened to see that your salvation requires nothing less than the perfect work of Jesus Christ. And your heart would believe that any who cry out to Him in sincerity, saying, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner" (Luke 18:13), will be saved.

But while we must believe in the work of Christ alone for our salvation, we must learn from Daniel that we are able--yes, even required by God--to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age (Titus 2:12). These are not contradictory, but complementary, just as the tail of the coin is as much a part of it as the head, and just as necessary to make it genuine. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:3-6). A person, though not sinless, may be blameless, and though not perfect, may be righteous. So be encouraged, dear believer, that you can be more than a conqueror through Him who loves you. Apart from Him you can do nothing, but with Him, you can do all things (John 15:5, Phil 4:13). "…As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:15-16).

But a holy man, because he is holy, will lament the imperfection of his holiness. Therefore, dear believer, be not surprised at your battle with sin. Your flesh battles against your spirit and your spirit against your flesh, for these are contrary to one another. You have an internal conflict, much like the wrestlings of Jacob and Esau in the womb, a conflict that will last as long as you live this life. Do not think it strange, then, when the battle rages long. The outcome is certain. You will win the war, and your end will be glory--if you do not lose heart. But the strength required for this must come from God Himself. You must learn to say, like Joseph, "it is not in me" (Genesis 41:16), and like Paul, "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" (Romans 7:18). Peter and the Apostles all insisted that they would never forsake Christ, even if they had to die with him--but they all forsook him. They needed to learn that their sufficiency was not in themselves, but only in God. And with such a sufficient God, can we not have confidence that though the war is fierce, God will enable us to win? In The Pilgrim's Progress, we read of a battle between Christian and Apollyon that took place in the Valley of Humility[1]. It was a long and fierce struggle, in which Christian fought using both sword and shield. When the day was more than half past, Christian became quite weakened. Apollyon took advantage and threw him to the ground, causing Christian to drop his sword. It appeared that this would be the end of that poor fellow. But just as Apollyon was about to vanquish him, Christian grabbed his sword again and delivered a deep wound to Apollyon, causing him to flee. Dear friend, like Daniel and Christian, you too must purpose in your heart to win the battle. Do not ever let your lack of perfection be an excuse for a lack of effort. Endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ (2 Tim 2:3), and run with endurance the race that is set before you (Heb 12:1). Take up the shield of faith, and wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With these, you will find your strength to win against the forces of evil.

"A more unequal match can hardly be:

Christian must fight an angel; but you see

The valiant man, by handling sword and shield,

Doth make him, though a dragon, quit the field."[1]