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Mirrors have been around for thousands of years, and have undergone some improvements for a better and faithful reflection. The earliest mirrors were made of pieces of bronze, highly polished. But modern-day mirrors are usually coated with an extremely thin layer of silver or aluminum. Mirrors are very important tools. While in science they are used in many devices, in everyday life we use a mirror whenever we want to see our own face or catch a reflection of our whole body. For the latter reason, mirrors can be found in almost every household on earth today. For it is of the nature of man to care for his appearance. Before he steps out every morning, he takes a look at himself in a mirror. Some people, especially women, spend a big chunk of their time in front of a mirror, to array themselves with make-up.
There is nothing wrong with caring for one’s appearance. But my point here is that, while it is of our nature as fallen men to focus on the outside, to inspect our appearance in a mirror, this is not true when it comes to our heart. For the natural man, a sincere check-up of the state of his heart is never a matter of concern. He thinks all is well with his soul because he is good in his own eyes. For according to human standards, a person is basically good as long as his deeds do not fall into the category of what people commonly view as heinous. Furthermore, a common feature held by all natural men is the tendency to justify their own wickedness by considering those whose deeds denote a higher level of guilt. Therefore, the wicked, as per human principles, are those whose deeds are the most heinous. And because the heart of man is deceitful, it is not of his nature to acknowledge that there is something wrong with his heart, something that needs to be adjusted or purged for him to be pure in the sight of his Maker. After all, the natural man desires not to please God, his Maker, but himself or men. Hence he measures himself by human standards, i.e., by looking at the deeds of his worst neighbour.
Someone may ask: What problem is there if we examine ourselves by looking into our neighbour’s heart? I will answer them with these questions: Can a ruined and defiled earthen vessel get an accurate diagnosis of its flaw and unworthiness by looking at an equally filthy and broken vessel? What picture can you get if not a distorted reflection if you look at yourself in a cracked mirror? For “As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10). V. 23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Therefore we cannot use each other as a mirror. A defiled person cannot assess the state of his own soul by looking at his neighbour who is equally unclean. We are all filthy and broken earthen vessels; we are all sinners. Looking into the heart of another sinful man to evaluate your own heart can only reflect back to you a distorted image of who you truly are on the inside. It does not give you a faithful reflection of your whole being or a true picture of your own heart. Furthermore, as already mentioned, in order to justify our own wickedness, as natural men, we often pick those who are guilty of the most heinous acts as our mirror, and we evaluate ourselves as it pleases our own heart.
Never can we get a faithful picture of our own heart by gazing into our neighbour’s. For not only we are all sinners but also our own heart deceives us. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” A defiled and ruined vessel can become aware of its uncleanness and despicableness only by looking at that which is holy and unbroken. Mark 10:18 says, “No one is good except God alone.” “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
God alone is holy, and He is the mirror we should use to proper evaluate the state of our hearts. And He who made us all has said, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16). God has set the standard of morality we should all conform to, a standard of perfect holiness. And because He is holy, God Himself is our model. Man does not define and has not the right to define the standard of morality – only God has this prerogative. “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17).
God defines the standard to which all people must conform. And that standard requires that all our thoughts, all the words of our mouths, and all our deeds be without reproach, pure and holy. Thus declares the Lord in Matthew 12:36-37, “I tell you, on the Day of Judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Proverbs 15:26, “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.” Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
In view of all that has just been said, it is important to answer the question: Who then is good? Only he who lives up to the standard of perfect holiness that God has set and to which all people must conform. However, no one is able to keep all the requirements of the law of God perfectly. “As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18). By nature we are inherently wicked; our thoughts and words and works are evil. Therefore the Lord commands “the wicked [to] forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:7a).
God is the standard, the mirror, we must all use to examine ourselves. Just as God is perfect in nature, we also must be perfect – perfect in thoughts, in deeds, and in words. Sadly, the truth, as already stated, is that: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). We have all fallen short of the standard that God has set. For the Lord has said, “You shall be all, for I am holy.” But our thoughts are not pure, nor are our deeds and the words that come out of our mouths. And every evil thought, every evil deed, and every evil word is a sin against God, a violation of his perfect law. And “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), i.e. eternity in hell. Therefore, because we have all sinned against the Lord by transgressing his law, we all deserve to spend eternity in hell.
But here is the good news: the Lord is a merciful, gracious and loving God, who does not desire the death of the wicked. For thus declares the Lord through his prophet in Isaiah 55:7b, “Let [the wicked] return to the Lord, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Those who forsake their evil ways and turn to the Lord have their sins forgiven. “Though [their] sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool,” says the Lord in Isaiah 1:18. For they will purified by the precious blood of God’s own Son, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Everyone who repents of his sins is redeemed by the righteousness of Christ imputed to him. However, the tender mercies of the Lord do not impede his justice. For “rebels and sinners shall be broken together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” (V. 28).
There is hope for anyone who gazes upon the glory of our great God, and acknowledges their brokenness and unworthiness, and clings to the cross of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who alone can grant sinners access to the Throne of grace, where broken and defiled vessels are made whole and holy, where relief is granted to those who are burdened by sin, where forgiveness and eternal peace with God can be found, where inexplicable joy is graciously granted to the broken-hearted, and life eternal given to the spiritually dead. “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). “For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Ephesians 1:7, “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.”
Sinners find forgiveness, peace, joy, hope and life in Christ. For He has lived the perfect life we couldn’t live and died for our sins. He “was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25). And He imputes his own righteousness to everyone who repents of his sins and trusts in Christ alone for salvation. Christ is our hope, the Hope of glory. God’s own Son who died on the cross for sins that He did not commit, but that you and I are guilty of, is sinners’ only hope. For “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Every person who does not rely solely and completely on God’s own Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for forgiveness, remains under divine curse and will face the wrath of Almighty God, the Judge of all, who will by no means let the guilty unpunished.
If you spend your time looking into your neighbour’s heart to evaluate the state of your own heart, I plead with you to stop deceiving yourself. I urge you today to behold the glory of God shining in the face of his Son Jesus Christ, the God-Man, the only righteous person who has ever walked upon this earth. “He is the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15a). “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9). “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:22-24a).
Therefore do not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Recognize that you are not a good person but a sinner; that you are unable to live to the standard of perfect holiness that God has set for all to conform to. Recognize your guilt before the holy God and that you cannot save yourself; that Christ the Lord is your only hope for salvation. “But if you do not do so (to borrow to words of Moses), then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23). “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” (Romains 1:18-19). Psalms 37:38, “Transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.” Psalms 1:5, “The wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” Matthew 13:41, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers.” Psalms 145:20, “The LORD keeps all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.”
Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Confess your sins to God now and put your trust in Christ. For He died so that by believing in Him you may have your past, present and future sins forgiven, no matter how heinous they are. For thus says the Lord, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32). The Lord is standing at your door today with his hand of mercy stretched out to welcome you and relieve you from your burden, from the load of your iniquities, if you would put your trust in Him. Turn to Him now while his mercy still stands, lest his wrath should come upon you. “For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up – and it shall be brought low.” (Isaiah 2:12). “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6). For the Day of the Lord, the day of his wrath, is coming with haste. “And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when He rises to terrify the earth.” (Isaiah 2:17-19).
Therefore, entrust yourself to the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ now. Cast your yoke upon; for He is merciful and gracious. For thus says the Lord in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Isaiah 55:1-3a, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live.”
Therefore I plead with you. Do not turn your back on the grace of God. Be reconciled to Him. Turn to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today in repentance and faith, and He will graciously clothe you with his own righteousness – a righteousness you do not possess – and give rest to your soul. In Him you will find peace, forgiveness, hope and eternal life; and He will establish your heart in every good work and word, to the praise of his glory and for your fullest joy. You will be sealed by his Spirit, the Spirit of grace, into God’s love forever, and made heir of the Kingdom of God. Cling to God’s Beloved Son. For thus declares the Lord, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18). Romans 10:11, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
According to his mercy and grace, the Lord grants forgiveness and eternal life to those who humble themselves and seek refuge under his wings, and according to his justice He condemns those who refuse to abandon their evil ways. As it is written, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). Therefore, do not be deceived. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God today and He will raise you up. If you are willing and obedient you will find peace with God; but if you rebel against the Lord and refuse to turn away from your evil ways, He will unleash his wrath upon you. For thus says the LORD of hosts, “I will vent my wrath on my foes and avenge Myself on my enemies.” (Isaiah 1:24b). Therefore, call upon the name of Jesus today, that you may escape the wrath to come, the wrath of Almighty God.