A Peculiar People.
- The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself, and this consecration to God and separation from the world is plainly declared and positively enjoined in both the Old and New Testaments. There is a wall of separation which the Lord himself has established between the things of the world and the things he has chosen out of the world and sanctified unto himself. The calling and the character of God's people are peculiar. Their prospects are peculiar, and these peculiarities distinguish them from all people. All of God's people upon the earth are one body, from the beginning to the end of time. They have one head that directs and governs the body. The same injunctions rest upon God's people now, to be separate from the world, as rested upon ancient Israel. The great Head of the church has not changed. The experience of Christians in these days is much like the travels of ancient Israel. Please read 1 Corinthians 10, especially from the 6th to the 15th verse. "Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. . . . Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say."
1 John 3:1: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."
1 John 2:15-17: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 2 Peter 2:20: "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." James 4:4: "Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 1:27: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Titus 2:12-14: "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Romans 12:2: "And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
John 17:14, 15, 17: "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. . . . . . Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth."
Luke 6:22, 23: "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for behold your reward is great in Heaven; for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
John 15:16-19: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."
1 John 4:4, 5: "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them."
1 John 2:5, 6: "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked." 1 Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." As we read the word of God, how plain that God's people are peculiar and distinct from the unbelieving world around them. Our position is interesting and fearful; living in the last days, how important that we imitate the example of Christ, and walk even as he walked. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." The opinions and wisdom of men must not guide or govern us. They always lead away from the cross.
The servants of Christ have not their home or their treasure here. Would that all of them could understand that it is only because the Lord reigns that we are even permitted to dwell in peace and safety among our enemies. It is not our privilege to claim special favors of the world. We must consent to be poor and despised among men until the warfare is finished and the victory won. The members of Christ are called to come out and be separate from the friendship and spirit of the world, and their strength and power consists in their being chosen and accepted of God.
The Son of God was the heir of all things, and the dominion and the glory of the kingdoms of this world were promised to him. Yet when he appeared in this world it was without riches or splendor. The world understood not his union with the Father; and the excellency and glory of his divine character were hid from them. He was therefore "despised and rejected of men," and "we did esteem him smitten of God and afflicted."
Even so the members of Christ are as he was in this world. They are the sons of God and joint heirs with Christ; and the kingdom and dominion belong to them. The world understand not their character and holy calling. They perceive not their adoption into the family of God. Their union and fellowship with the Father and the Son are not manifest to the world, and while they behold their humiliation and reproach, it does not appear what they shall be. They are strangers. The world knows them not, and appreciates not the motives which actuate them. The world is ripening for its destruction. God can bear with sinners but a little longer. They must drink the dregs of the cup of his wrath unmixed with mercy. Those who will be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ to the immortal inheritance will be peculiar, yes, so peculiar that God places a mark upon them as his, wholly his. Think ye that God will receive, honor, and acknowledge, a people so mixed up with the world that they differ from them only in name? Read again Titus 2:13-15. It is soon to be known who is on the Lord's side--who will not be ashamed of Jesus. Those who have not moral courage to take their position conscientiously in the face of unbelievers, and leave the fashions of the world, and imitate the self-denying life of Christ, are ashamed of him, and do not love his example.
Growing up in Christ John 3:3-5 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Romans 6:5-7 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
2 Corinthians 4: 16. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.
The Assurance of Salvation in and Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Can one who holds Seventh-day Adventist views have the assurance in his soul of present salvation, of sins forgiven, and of full acceptance with the Lord? Or does he have to live in uncertainty, pending whatever decision might be rendered in the investigative judgment? And is not this uncertainty reflected in the writings of Ellen G. White? One who truly understands and accepts the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church can assuredly know that he is born again, and that he is fully accepted by the Lord. He has in his soul the assurance of present salvation, and need be in no uncertainty whatsoever. In fact, he may know this so fully that he can truly "rejoice in the Lord" (Phil. 4:4) and in "the God of his salvation" (Ps. 24:5). As the foregoing questions touch the whole plan of God's salvation for man, we would call attention to the following provisions. I. God's Plan and Provision of Redemption 1. The Initiative in the Plan of Salvation Is From God, Not From Man.—"All things," we read, are of [Gr. ek, "out of"] God" (2 Cor. 5:18). We know that He "hath reconciled us" (verse 18); that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (verse 19); that it was not we who first loved God, but He loved us (1 John 4:9, 10); that Christ is the "propitiation for our sins" (1 John 2:2); and that, "we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Rom. 5:10). All this comes to us "according to the gift of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:7). And inasmuch as the writings of Ellen G. White have been mentioned, we shall quote a number of her statements that are clear and consistent on the fundamental principles of personal salvation and Christian experience. For example, on this point: Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it. but it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to bestow His grace upon us, not because we are worthy, but because we are so utterly unworthy. Our only claim to His mercy is our great need.—The Ministry of Healing, p. 161. 2. Christ Is the Only Saviour of Lost Mankind.—There is, and can be, no other Saviour. This thought was long ago brought home to God's ancient people. Said Jehovah, "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour" (Isa. 43:11); "There is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour. . . . Look unto me, and be ye saved" (Isa. 45:21, 22). (See also Isa. 60:16; Hosea 13:4.) Jesus Christ our Lord is the only foundation (1 Cor. 3:11); His name is the only name "whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). This thought—that there is salvation in no other—was highlighted in the statement made to Joseph concerning the work of Jesus, "He shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). The literal rendering of the Greek text is, "He himself shall save his people." "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15); He alone "is able also to save them to the uttermost" (Heb. 7:25). That understanding is basic. Only in and through Christ can we be saved. 3. Man Cannot Save Himself, in and of Himself He Is Hopelessly Lost.—(a) There is no salvation in man for man. No man can "redeem his brother" (Ps. 49:7). (b) Without the salvation provided in Christ Jesus our Lord, man would be hopelessly lost. "There is none righteous, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10); "There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (verse 12); "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (verse 23). There is therefore no hope outside of Jesus the Saviour. Isaiah graphically describes the natural condition of man: "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores" (Isa. 1:5, 6). Jeremiah adds, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). The apostle Paul declares that the man who is "without God" has "no hope" (Eph. 2:12). He is even "dead in trespasses and sins" (verse 1). Consequently, if man is to be saved, help—divine help—must come to his aid. 4. Since Man Is Dead in Sin, Even the Initial Promptings to a Better Life Must Come From God.—Christ is the true light, who "lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). This light, in some way known only to Divine Providence, penetrates the darkness of human hearts and kindles the first spark of desire after God. If the soul begins to seek for God, then "the Father which hath sent me [Christ]" will "draw him [the seeker]" (John 6:44). Again, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32). So even the desire to repent comes from above, for Jesus our Saviour gives "repentance" and grants "forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). The complete change thus wrought in the human heart is not by an act of our own wills, certainly not by ethical uplift or social reform endeavor, but wholly by the new birth. We are to be "born again ["from above," margin]" (John 3:3); "born of God" (1 John 3:9); born of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5, 6); born through the Word of God (1 Peter 1:23, R.S.V.). Truly then, this is a work of divine grace. In a very real sense we are "his workmanship" (Eph. 2:10). In the act of "regeneration" God saves us; it is He who sheds on us the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5, 6). 5. Nothing We Can Ever Do Will Meet the Favor of God.—Salvation is of grace. It is grace that "bringeth salvation" (Titus 2:11). It is "through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved" (Acts 15:11). We are not saved by "works" (Rom. 4:6; Eph. 2:9; 2 Tim. 1:9), even though they be good works (Titus 3:5), or even "wonderful works" (Matt. 7:22). Neither can we be saved by "law" (Rom. 8:3), nor by the "deeds" or the "works" of the law (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 3:2, 5, 10). And neither the "law of Moses," nor the Decalogue can save us (Acts 13:39; Rom. 7: 7-10). The law of God was never designed to save men. It is a looking glass, in which, when we gaze, we see our sinfulness. That is as far as the law of God can go with a sinful man. It can reveal his sin, but is powerless to remove it, or to save him from its guilt and penalty and power. But, thank God, "what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh" (Rom. 8:3), God did—in the person of His Son. In Him a fountain is open "for sin and for uncleanness" (Zech. 13:1). And into this fount all may plunge and be "washed" from their sins by Christ's own blood (Rev. 1:5). Wonderful as it may seem, the redeemed can rejoice now that they "have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14). True it is that by His grace (Eph. 2:5, 8), His mercy (Titus 3:5), His gift (Eph. 2:8), His gospel (Rom. 1:16), and according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28), we are saved. 6. While Salvation Is of God, a Surrender of the Will Is Called For.—After the primary promptings of the Spirit of God, and the magnetic drawings of the love of God, the soul must accept, and must yield to, its great Deliverer. This act of surrender, prompted by divine grace, makes it possible for God to extend to the soul all the wonderful provisions of His bounty. This act, or attitude, of the soul is expressed in various ways in Holy Scripture: We are to believe—whosoever believeth in him" (John 3:16); to yield—"yield yourselves unto God" (Rom. 6:13); to submit—"submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 4:7); to "mortify the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8:13)—literally this means "put to death"; to present our bodies to God—"present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Rom. 12:1); to reckon ourselves dead to sin—"reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin" (Rom. 6:11); and to die unto sin—"if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin" (Rom. 8:10). Whatever is represented by these acts of the will is certainly not in the nature of "works," and does not in the least degree add to the efficacy of salvation. No! It rather denotes the attitude of the soul, responding to the overtures of God's free grace in making possible the application, to our hearts, of the boundless bestowal of the grace of God. 7. Christian Life and Experience Is a Growth in Grace.—The Christian life is more than the initial act of faith, or that act of surrender in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord. By that act we pass "from death unto life" (John 5:24) and are "born again" (John 3:3); but from there on we must grow. It is the same in physical human life. Birth is one thing. It is the beginning of life. But none would find satisfaction in a child that did not grow. It is similarly God's purpose that we should "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). As spiritual babes we are to partake of "the sincere milk of the word" (1 Peter 2:2), but there must be growth so that we may partake of needful "strong meat" (Heb. 5:12, 14). II. Believing in Jesus Our Christian life is to be a constant attitude of believing in Jesus. We begin by believing, and by grace we are to keep on believing. We are not only to "yield," but to keep on yielding. We are to "submit," and keep on submitting. We are not only to "die" to sin, but we are to "reckon" ourselves dead unto sin, and keep on reckoning. We are to "present" our bodies to God, and keep on presenting them to God. All this is a work of grace. The Christian life calls for constant surrender, constant consecration, constant yielding of the heart and life to God. We, who were dead in sin (Eph. 2:1), are now dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). We have identified ourselves with Jesus in His death, and so have died with Him (Col. 2:20); in fact, our "life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). This thought is beautifully expressed through the Greek tenses in the New Testament. In John 3:18, 36, where we read "he that believeth," the Greek form is the participle in the present tense, the idea being that "the one believing on Him who continues to believe" and who "makes it a life habit" will be saved. The present tense with the idea of continuance is also seen in the phrase "mortify the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8:13). The idea is that of a continuous attitude of putting to death the lusts of the flesh. Ellen G. White stated it this way: It is not safe to be occasional Christians. We must be Christ-like in our actions all the time. Then, through grace, we are safe for time and for eternity.—Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, p. 487 Again: Divine grace is needed at the beginning, divine grace at every step of advance, and divine grace alone can complete the work. . . . We may have had a measure of the Spirit of God, but by prayer and faith we are continually to seek more of the Spirit.—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 508. III. Have No Confidence in the Flesh In the Christian life there is a constant warfare. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). One who lives after the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8), for he who sows to the flesh will reap corruption (Gal. 6:8). Living according to the flesh means death (Rom. 8:13). The fact is, that in our flesh is no good thing (Rom. 7:18) . So we are to "have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). While here in this vale of tears our hope lies solely in Christ our Lord. If we "walk in the Spirit" we shall not "fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). And even here and now, victory may be ours if we enter into the experience of the apostle Paul: "I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). IV. Growth in the Christian Life Growth in the Christian life means intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord. It means joy and assurance; and it means constant gratitude to God for the wonderful deliverance He has wrought for us. But there is a serious side to this experience. Observe: It calls for daily self-denial—"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). It calls for daily sacrifice—"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1). It calls for daily surrender—"Yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness" (Rom. 6:19). "Yield yourselves unto God" (verse 13).
And again Mrs. White attests: It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Therefore there needs to be a continual reaching out of the heart after God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and humbling of the soul before Him. Only by constant renunciation of self and dependence on Christ can we walk safely.—Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 159, 160. V. Complete Distrust of Self Imperative There is no place for pride in the Christian life. We have nothing of which to boast (Eph. 2:9). Well might we all learn the lesson of humility seen in the life of Paul: "I am the least of the apostles" (1 Cor. 15:9); "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given" (Eph. 3:8). After all, we can do nothing of ourselves. Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). We know nothing of ourselves (1 Cor. 4:4; 2 Cor. 3:5). Well might we cry out, "Who is sufficient for these things?" (2 Cor. 2:16). But in the Scripture we are assured that "our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5). And this sufficiency is all-sufficient. Our faith is to "rest . . . in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:5, R.S.V.). The power in our life and ministry is to be "of God, and not of us" (2 Cor. 4:7). We live "by the power of God" (2 Cor. 13:4), for it is His "power that worketh in us" (Eph. 3:20). "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), "working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ" (Heb. 13:21). Once more Mrs. White attests: None of the apostles or prophets ever claimed to be without sin. Men who have lived nearest to God, men who would sacrifice life itself rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God had honored with divine light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their own nature. They have put no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ. So will it be with all who behold Christ.—Ibid., p. 160. VI. Hungering and Thirsting After God "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness" (Matt. 5:6). This will be the mark of the true child of God. Having none of his own, he longs for the righteousness of God. Thank God for the assurance, "Ye shall be filled" (Luke 6:21). Christ was here emphasizing the experience of David of old: "My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee" (Ps. 63:1); "My soul thirsteth for God" (Ps. 42:2); "My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God" (Ps. 84:2). This is the true hunger of spirit, the longing of the human heart to be made like unto Christ. It is under such conditions that God "satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Ps. 107:9). 1. There Will Be Genuine Fruitage in the Lives of God's Faithful Children.—There will be genuine progress in the bearing of fruit in the Christian life. And this will develop as we go on from faith to faith. In John's Gospel we read of "fruit" (John 15:2), "more fruit" (verse 2), then "much fruit" (verse 5), and finally that "your fruit should remain" (verse 16). So we are to go on "from strength to strength" (Ps. 84:7) and from victory to victory, because it is God who "giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57). "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ" (2 Cor. 2:14). Then there are the "fruits of righteousness" (Phil. 1:11; compare James 3:18). "The fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Eph. 5:9). The fuller outline appears in the epistle to the Galatians—"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22, 23). What a wonderful portrayal! The paramount fruit of the Spirit is love. All that follow are but aspects of this divine quality. Just as various colors make up sunlight, so these graces together constitute love. Thus, joy is love exulting; peace is love in repose; long-suffering is love untiring; gentleness is love enduring; goodness is love in action; faith is love in confidence; meekness is love under discipline; while temperance is love in self-control. This fruitage is to be seen in the life of the Christian. These graces do not grow by any effort of our own, but they are manifested in our lives because Christ dwells in our hearts by faith (Eph. 3:17). These graces are in Christ; and when Christ dwells in us, He lives out in its the wonderful qualities of His own perfect character. Works as a means of salvation have no place in the plan of God. We cannot be justified at all by any kind of works. Justification is wholly an act of God, and we are but the recipients of His unbounded grace. But works as the fruitage of salvation do have a definite place in the plan of God. This is seen in the spiritual graces to be manifested in the children of God, as already noted. We are to "work the works of God" (John 6:28). There is the "work of faith" (1 Thess. 1:3); and every one that is "born of him" "doeth righteousness" (1 John 2:29). "Good works" are referred to many times in the New Testament (see Eph. 2:10), but it is to be borne in mind that in all our work of faith (2 Thess. 1:11), our faith must be activated by the love of God (Gal. 5:6). So, in all things "the love of Christ" is to constrain us (2 Cor. 5:14). Ellen G. White writes: No outward observances can take the place of simple faith and entire renunciation of self. But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul.—Ibid., p. 159 It will be noted that the "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22, 23) is in full harmony with the law of God, for against the manifestation of these graces in the life "there is no law" (verse 23). In other words, the person in whose life these graces are seen, will fulfill the commandments of God. He cannot do this of himself; he is not expected to. But with Christ dwelling in the life, Christ's own righteous life (John 15:10) is both imputed and imparted to the child of God. Thus David exclaimed, "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them" (Ps. 119:165). Hence the beloved apostle could write: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him" (1 John 2:3, 5). And, "by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments" (1 John 5:2). We are to keep a balanced view of the plan of God. His purpose is that His people be righteous. They are not naturally righteous. But in the gospel of the grace of God there is provision "that the righteousness of the law might be fullfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4). So, "circumcision is nothing; and want of it is nothing; but to keep the commandments of God is everything" (1 Cor. 7:19, Twentieth Century). 2. The Child of God May Have Confidence and Assurance.—It is our privilege, and really our heritage as the blood-bought children of God, to have "full assurance" (Col. 2:2), to enjoy "full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10:22), and to know the "full assurance of hope unto the end" (Heb. 6:11). We have confidence in Him (1 John 5:14), "confidence toward God" (1 John 3:21). To the true children of God, this experience is not hearsay; it is not veneer or make-believe; it is a real, genuine experience. They can say with all confidence, yet with humility, "We know that we have passed from death unto life" (1 John 3:14); We know "that we are in him" (1 John 2:5); We know that he abideth in us (1 John 3:24). VII. Three Tenses in Salvation Salvation from sin is set forth in three "tenses"—past, present, and future. It is a progressive work. The child of God may properly say, "I have been saved from the penalty of sin"; also, "I am being saved from the power of sin." And he can also say, with truth, "I shall be saved from the very presence and possibility of sin." Concerning the first expression, "I am saved," Paul wrote to Titus, "According to his mercy he saved us" (Titus 3:5); likewise, "We are saved by hope" (Rom. 8:24). In both instances the Greek verb is in the aorist form. For example, this last text could more accurately read, "We were saved" (R.S.V.), or "We have been saved" (Weymouth). This stresses an aspect of salvation that is an accomplished fact. But it is also true that as sincere believers in Christ we are being saved. This is something in process of being accomplished day by day. We read, "Unto us which are saved" (1 Cor. 1:18). But again the better rendering of the Greek is "to us who are being saved" (R.S.V.). This same thought is seen in Acts 2:47 where the correct translation is "those who were being saved" (R.S.V.). Then there is the expression, "I shall be saved." We also read, "We shall be saved" (Acts 15:11; Rom. 5:9). This is the threefold way in which the work of salvation touches human hearts. Thus we have been saved—justification; we are being saved—sanctification; and we shall be saved—glorification. VIII. God's People Delight to Rejoice in the Lord When God forgives our sins and gives us the assurance in His Word that they are forgiven (Eph. 4:32), we have no need to worry and concern ourselves about the future. It is true that there will be a judgment where the sins of men will be dealt with. But that need cause no concern to the child of God, for as a Christian he now abides in God, and God abides in him (John 14:20). "Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake" (1 John 2:12). Faith lays hold of His word and rejoices in the knowledge of sins forgiven. The one who has truly passed from death unto life, and maintains an attitude of constant surrender, does not live his life in uncertainty. Having placed his case in the hands of his mighty Advocate, he has no fear for the future. Christ is his surety, and he lives his life in an atmosphere of complete trust in God, rejoicing that "perfect love casteth out fear." In the light of such great salvation, ought not the lives of God's people to be lives of rejoicing? Even the Israelites long ago in Old Testament times knew what this meant. Note their expressions of joy and gladness: "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous" (Ps. 33:1); "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God" (Joel 2:23). And the psalmist said, "Let thy saints shout for joy" (Ps. 132:9); "Let them ever shout for joy" (Ps. 5:11). Over and over again came the refrain, "Praise ye the Lord," and the people took this to heart, for we read, "I will be glad and rejoice in thee" (Ps. 9:2); "My soul shall be joyful in the Lord" (Ps. 35:9); "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God" (Isa. 61:10); "I will declare what he hath done for my soul" (Ps. 66:16). In the New Testament there is the same note of rejoicing. "Joy" is one of the great words of the New Testament. Indeed, the gospel itself is declared to be "tidings of great joy" (Luke 2:10). And Jesus, the author of eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9), wished His disciples to partake of His joy, that in and through Him their joy might be full (John 15:11; 16:24). The great apostle to the Gentiles expressed the same thought, when he exhorted the saints to "rejoice in the Lord" (Phil. 3:1); to "rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice" (Phil. 4:4). Thus we may unite our voices with the celestial choirs, "saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8, 9.
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
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The divine favor, the grace of God bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ, is too precious to be given in exchange for any supposed meritorious work on the part of finite, erring man. Man has nothing in himself. The most exalted talent does not originate from man, but is the endowment of his Creator, and can purchase nothing from God. Gold and silver cannot buy the favor of God; for the wealth of the world is the entrusted talent of the Lord. Let no one think that costly offerings to benevolent enterprises will elevate him in the sight of God, or purchase for him the favor of Heaven, or procure for him a place in the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare for those who love Him. The precious blood of Christ is wholly efficacious. . . . The resurrection of Christ from the dead was the Father's seal to the mission of Christ. It was a public expression of His entire satisfaction in the atoning work. He accepted the sacrifice that Jesus had made on our behalf. It was everything that God required, perfect and complete. No human being by any work of his own could piece out the work of Christ. When on the cross Jesus uttered the cry, "It is finished!" glory and joy thrilled heaven, and discomfiture fell upon the confederacy of evil. After that triumphant cry, the world's Redeemer bowed His head and died,. . . but by His death He was a conqueror, and He has opened the gates of eternal glory so that all who believe in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life. The sinner's only hope is to rely wholly upon Jesus Christ. . . . Our acceptance with God is sure only through His beloved Son, and good works are but the result of the working of His sin-pardoning love. They are no credit to us, and we have nothing accorded to us for our good works by which we may claim a part in the salvation of our souls. Salvation is God's free gift to the believer, given to him for Christ's sake alone. The troubled soul may find peace through faith in Christ. . . . He cannot present his good works as a plea for the salvation of his soul. {Our High Calling page 118}
Redemption and Forgiveness -
By Mrs. E. G. White.
- In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:7. The grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without merit or claim on his part. Justification is a full, complete pardon of sin. The moment a sinner accepts Christ by faith, that moment he is pardoned. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is no more to doubt God's forgiving grace. There is nothing in faith that makes it our saviour. Faith cannot remove our guilt. Christ is the power of God unto salvation to all them that believe. The justification comes through the merits of Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for the sinner's redemption. Yet it is only through faith in His blood that Jesus can justify the believer. The sinner cannot depend upon his own good works as a means of justification. He must come to the point where he will renounce all his sin, and embrace one degree of light after another as it shines upon his pathway. He simply grasps by faith the free and ample provision made in the blood of Christ. He believes the promises of God, which through Christ are made unto him sanctification and righteousness and redemption. And if he follows Jesus, he will walk humbly in the light, rejoicing in the light and diffusing that light to others. Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." . . . When we see Jesus, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, working to save the lost, slighted, scorned, derided, driven from city to city till His mission was accomplished; when we behold Him in Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, and on the cross dying in agony--when we see this, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. Looking unto Jesus, we shall be ashamed of our coldness, our lethargy, our self-seeking. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing, so that we may do heart service for the Master. We shall rejoice to bear the cross after Jesus, to endure trial, shame, or persecution for His dear sake. Faith I Live By page 107
September 5, 1892 Righteousness Through Christ
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By Mrs. E. G. White.
- The holy law of God is both brief and comprehensive; for it is easily understood and remembered; and yet it is an expression of the will of God. Its comprehensiveness is summed up in the following words: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." "This do, and thou shalt live." "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord." "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen." "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 1}
If the transgressor is to be treated according to the letter of this covenant, then there is no hope for the fallen race; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. The fallen race of Adam can behold nothing else in the letter of this covenant than the ministration of death; and death will be the reward of everyone who is seeking vainly to fashion a righteousness of his own that will fulfill the claims of the law. By his word God has bound himself to execute the penalty of the law on all transgressors. Again and again men commit sin, and yet they do not seem to believe that they must suffer the penalty for breaking the law. They parade their good intentions before the Lord, and soothe their consciences by pleading his mercy; but the only ground of hope for the fallen sons and daughters of Adam is to turn from their sins and accept the righteousness of Christ, giving up all hope of salvation on the ground of self-righteousness. The Lord can save no man because of his good works. {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 2}
In the gospel of Christ Jesus, proclaimed by the angels as glad tidings of great joy, the terms of salvation were fully revealed. The law stands in all its original force and purity; not one jot or tittle was to be set aside or altered; for the law is the transcript of the character of God. But the Lord made a covenant of grace whereby his mercy is extended to fallen man, and provision is made so ample and powerful that souls ruined by the fall may be uplifted to glory, honor, and immortality. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Encircling the throne of God is the rainbow of the covenant, a symbol of the pledged word of God that he will receive every sinner who gives up all hope of eternal life on the ground of his own righteousness, and accepts the righteousness of the world's Redeemer, believing that Christ is his personal Saviour, able to save him from his sin, and to keep him from falling. Unless Christ is the ground of our hope, we shall not inherit eternal life. {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 3}
The provision made for the salvation of men through the imputed righteousness of Christ, does not do away with the law, or lessen in the least its holy claims; for Christ came to exalt the law and make it honorable, to reveal its exceeding breadth and changeless character. The glory of the gospel of grace through the imputed righteousness of Christ, provides no other way of salvation than through obedience to the law of God in the person of Jesus Christ, the divine substitute. In the old dispensation believers were saved through the grace of Christ, as presented in the gospel, as we are saved today. The only means of salvation is provided under the Abrahamic covenant. {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 4}
The condescension of God in extending his mercy to the sinner is described by Zacharias as a salvation come unto us "through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." This salvation comes to us not as a reward for our works, not bestowed because of the merits of sinful man, but it is a gift unto us, having its foundation for bestowal in the spotless righteousness of Christ. It is when the sinner realizes that he is without hope, lost, condemned to eternal death, incapable of doing anything to redeem himself, and believes in Jesus as his righteousness and salvation, that the word of God is fulfilled toward him. The Lord says, "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 5}
The Psalmist says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." The apostle declares, "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Then for what reason should the Lord set aside his law to provide an escape for the sinner, or to make it possible for him to transgress with impunity? There is no reason, and the law of the Lord "endureth forever." In his sermon on the mount Jesus said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 6}
Under the covenant of grace God requires from man just what he required in Eden,--perfect obedience. The believing sinner, through his divine Substitute and Surety, renders obedience to the law of God. Christ kept the law perfectly, and through him the believer shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He says, "I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." Mercy granted to man is the reward of the merit of Christ, "who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Through the plan of salvation, God can be just, and yet be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 7}
The apostle says: "The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Now mark what the apostle says of those who cherish this hope. He continues: "Faithful is the saying, and concerning these things I will that thou affirm confidently, to the end that they which have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." (Revised Version.) Good works will follow as the blossoms and fruit of faith. Appropriation of the righteousness of Christ will be manifested in a well-ordered life and godly conversation. |