Men talk bravely of believing whilst whole and sound; few know it. Christ is the mystery of the Scripture; grace the mystery of Christ. Believing is the most wonderful thing in the world. Put any thing of your own to it, and you spoil it. Christ will not so much as look at it for believing. When you believe and come to Christ, you must leave behind you your own righteousness, and bring nothing but your sin: (Oh, that is hard!) leave behind all your holiness, sanctification, duties, humblings, and so on; and bring nothing but your wants [lacks] and your miseries, or else Christ is not fit for you, nor you for Christ. Christ will be a pure Redeemer and Mediator, and you must be an undone sinner, or Christ and you will never agree. It is the hardest thing in the world to take Christ alone for righteousness; that is to acknowledge Him Christ. Join anything to Him of your own, and you un-Christ Him. Thomas Willcox
Christ is the mystery of Scripture and grace is the mystery of Christ. This sets forth the heart of Scripture and does it with beauty and glory. Scholars and people can become quit enamored with Scripture in studying out certain details, but unless they see the glory of Christ in the Scriptures and the glory of the grace of God in Christ they have quite missed the main point. It is in light of grace and the Gospel of the glory of grace that believing (faith) is what it is. In the modern day many have twisted what it means to believe (faith) in one direction or other. Believing (faith) in Christ is not limited to just a factual information issue about Christ, but it is an actual faith/believing in the Person of Christ. It is believing in who He is and what He has done, most assuredly, but it is also believing/faith in what He is doing and will do.
Willcox writes if we put anything of our own to it (faith/belief), you spoil it. This is a point at which the Gospel of Christ ALONE and grace ALONE rests. If any human being adds one slight bit to believing/faith, that spoils grace ALONE because it is adding to it and grace is no longer alone. This is vital for justification, but also for the whole of the Christian life that we can think of as sanctification. Believers are to walk by grace each moment of each day and not by their own works. Believers are to live by grace and not by their own works. When believers sin, as they do virtually every second in some way, they should know that their lack of sanctification does not detract from what Christ has done to purchase His people and if they think that have some level of sanctification it does not add to what Christ has done in purchasing His people. Sinners are saved by Christ ALONE and grace ALONE and not by anything they do or can do.
Sinners are saved by Christ, but they are saved through faith. Faith is what receives Christ and faith is what receives grace, but sinners are not saved because they came up with faith on their own. No!!!!!! Romans 4:16 tells us that it is by faith in order that it may be by grace. At any point in the New Testament when the subject of true faith comes up, we must know that it is by faith in order that it may be by grace. It seems that so many in our day take the nature of faith and say that it must issue forth in works, which is quite true, but then they want to say that if there are works that the person has faith. No, true faith looks to grace alone for its salvation and for its sanctification. True faith does not look to itself or its works, but it looks to grace and grace alone. The whole teaching of faith seems to have been turned into a work itself. Faith is not a work of man, but of God. Faith cannot come from the human flesh as it is from the heart and is a spiritual matter. Faith (as a work of the flesh) cannot add to anything that Christ has done and cannot add to grace, but instead it destroys the very concept of grace. The only thing that true faith does is receive grace and Christ.
It cannot be trumpeted too loudly that anything the human being does to help to or add to grace is a work and as such it is no longer pure grace and it is no longer grace at all. Anything a human being does to add to grace is at odds with the sovereign God who gives grace as He pleases. As Romans 11:6 teaches, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Anything we try to add to grace ALONE makes grace no longer to be grace. For true believers who grow in the knowledge of the sinfulness of their own hearts, know that your sinfulness does not detract from your justification. The work of Christ on the cross was for ALL the sins of His people and from the vantage point of 2000 years ago all of your sins were future. He is not surprised at your sinful heart. The perfect righteousness imputed to a poor sinner is perfect for all the sinners life and for all eternity. True believers will grow in knowledge of their own sin, but that does not detract from the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. Our sanctification or lack of it does not add or detract from what Christ has done and we cannot add to what He has done. Look to Christ ALONE and to His grace ALONE. There is life and abundant life.
God Loves... Himself 
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