One of the pages on my "They Said..." section is "The Inner Life", by Octavius Winslow.  In the chapter entitled "The Fresh Oil", he wrote (and I am paraphrasing it here for clarity for "modern" readers):

"I shall be anointed with fresh oil." -Psalm 92:10.

"The Lord's anointed" is the title given to all the Lord's people.

It is this anointing that marks them as a "chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people" (as God later describes them, in 1st Peter 2:9).

It is God's own, unique mark, and it is that mark which distinguishes them as his own and separates them from the world.  All who do not have this mark - this annointing - are outside of the grace of God, and are not included in the calling of the Holy Spirit.

Though such strangers to grace may demonstrate much spiritual knowledge, and make a profession of faith... Even though they openly and outwardly claim to be Christians, and even though they may exhibit great excitement in their religion, they are yet lacking this annointing - this mark. 

But without this mark, all the spiritual knowledge... all the profession... all the claims of being a Christian... all the church excitement and zeal... it means nothing to God who looks at none of these things, but is looking at the heart.

 

And what is it that He is looking for?  He is looking for that "mark."

What's notable about this mark is how it gets there.  Notice that there is nothing that the saved of God do to put that mark on themselves.  God puts that mark on them. 

He is looking for a mark - not that YOU have made.  But that HE has made.

This changes things dramatically when you really begin looking into it.

I was thinking this week about how to best explain the Gospel quickly, and in as short a presentation as possible.  Part of that inner dialogue led me to say, to myself:

"The true believer is the one who sees a holy - utterly and completely holy God, and who sees himself as a sinner, through and through.  Not sinners in some former life.  But sinners right now.  I mean, like, I'm not talking about things I did in my 'former life.'  I'm talking about things I did yesterday.

"The more you see the truth about God, and about yourself, the more you understand that God is not like us in any way.  And the farther down that road you go, the bigger God gets.  And the smaller you get.

"Now, lots of Bible passages will make much more sense to you.  Like, for instance, 'I must decreased that He may increase.'  See how much help there is in a right understanding of the nature and character of God?

"When we insist on thinking of God as 'pleading with us to believe' (as opposed to commanding us to believe); and when we think of God as being somehow pained by our actions, and taken by suprise by our choices, then all we have done is reduce Him by exaulting Him.  Under the guise of exaulting God, we have in fact lowered Him to being someone like us, just on a higher plane.

"But that is not nearly the case.  God is uniquely, and utterly unlike us.  Again, you will see the scripture, now, in a better light: ye are not saved because you chose me, but because I chose you.  The race is not won because you willed yourself to run harder, but simply because I chose you out to be a peculiar people - a chosen generation. 

"It is not your claim on me.  It is MY mark on you."