In just a few moments we are going to be eating and drinking the good news of our salvation. Before we do that, let us hear the good news of our salvation.
Our salvation, the whole thing, is God’s gift to us. He is our righteousness, our justification, and our sanctification. He gives Himself to us completely, and so it is that we are saved. We do not commend ourselves to Him on the basis of our performance. Rather, He gives us all things, including our performance.
The Puritan William Bridge said it this way: “He will require no more than He gives; He will give what He requires, and He will accept what He gives.” This is complete grace; this is secure salvation. We might protest there is chaff with our wheat. There most certainly is, but do you not think that God knows about this? And don’t you think that He knows how to keep the wheat and get rid of the chaff? He certainly doesn’t it do it the other way.
In Revelation 8, after the 7 angels are mentioned, “another angel” comes, and I take this angel to be the Lord Jesus—because of what He is described as doing. The prayers of the saints are incense and they ascend up to God from that angel’s hand (Rev. 8:4). If our prayers ascended from our own hands, we would be in trouble. If our prayers were their own smoke and that alone, we would all be lost. But our prayers are presented to the Father from the hand of Christ.
This means that you don’t need to come to this Table cringing, wondering if “it” is good enough. In your own name, of course it is not good enough. But if you are here in the name of Jesus, then everything you show up with is part of what God gave you to come here with. And if He gave it to you, of course He will receive it back from you. So hear these blessed words. Come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.