Faith is Entirely Gratuitous - William C. Robinson

Finally, justification by faith, as far as the sinner is concerned, is entirely gratuitous. “We are justified freely by his grace.” It is gratuitous because even faith, the instrumental cause, is the free gift of God. Faith is our coming to Christ, but no man cometh save as the Father draws him. We only call Jesus Lord by the Holy Spirit. We come to recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, but flesh and blood reveals it not unto us, that is done by the Father in heaven. We know the Son only as he willeth to reveal himself. It is given unto us to believe on him, and our total salvation, even with reference to faith, is the gift of God. Further, while the process of salvation has been so worked out by the wisdom of the Trinity that God is justified in that process, and it is just to Christ to accept as righteous those who are in him; nevertheless, it is entirely gracious of God in relation to the sinner to justify him. God is declared just in his nature and government in justifying the ungodly by faith. But the whole plan of redemption is gracious as far as the sinner is concerned. It is pure, undeserved love that leads God to provide a Saviour for sinful men. It is grace that provides the Righteous One to work out in man's stead a righteousness for them. It is of his graciousness toward men that God the Son takes human nature and by years of humiliation and obedience and the depths of agony works out that robe of righteousness with which to clothe the sinner. It is gracious on the part of God the Father to willingly accept the righteousness of another in lieu of the righteousness which the sinner is unable to offer in himself. If justification as its basis be the man or his works, or his outlooks, it is of debt, not of grace. But with one accord, the Scriptures proclaim a salvation that is of the Lord and a justification by faith that is of grace, grace, grace to the utmost — grace to the unrighteous, whereby they are declared righteous in Christ — righteous as clothed in his spotless robes of righteousness.

Now as we cut away all centers, or subsidiary centers, of reliance on ourselves and our sinful hearts, and as we rest entirely and alone on the grace of God, and on the God of grace we place ourselves in faith's true attitude—we open our hearts for the streams of living water to flood our souls. As we see that we are saved entirely by the graciousness of God, that we rest entirely on Jesus Christ, and are accepted in toto for what he has done for us, the ocean of gratitude for this grace rises in a tidal wave that has real volume in lieu of the tiny, intermittent rivulets of thanks that have been trickling from our hearts. As we deny self and rest alone on Jesus Christ, we realize the appropriate relationship in which close fellowship may exist, we draw really close to him, we cling indeed, we hide in the riven rock ,we seek to be crushed to his bosom, and in the warmth and depth of living fellowship with the ever-present loving Redeemer we begin to live his life and manifest the reality of his power, the blessedness of his grace.