The Sermon by W. H. Blaisdell

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 2, 1867

The Sermon.

By W. H. Blaisdell

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.

PREACH THE WORD. 2 Tim. iv, 2.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD'S LAW.

BY W. H. BLAISDELL.

“My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Ps. cxix, 172.

Mr. Webster gives the following definitions of the words, righteousness, righteous, rightness and right, respectively: “The quality of being righteous; conformed to the standard of right, or to the divine law; conformed to truth or duty; conformity to an absolute standard of truth and justice, or to the will of God.”

The signification of the several words is similar, and conveys the idea of a standard of right according to the principles of intrinsic justice and truth.

This, it is evident, is the true import of the word righteousness as here used by the Psalmist. That either of the other words, substituted in its stead, would have a similar meaning, and give us a correct understanding of the idea intended to be conveyed is plainly to be seen. All thy commandments are righteousness, or, all thy commandments are right. By this we are taught that God's commandments are just, that they are not tyrannical, and, perhaps, often useless, but are always needed by the persons to whom they are given.

Many persons seem to look upon God from a very different standpoint. They regard him as a being possessed with unlimited power, and commanding them only for the purpose of being obeyed, or that he may have a reason for punishing if he is not obeyed.

But God is not such a being. He does not give us commandments that we may break them and thereby sin—to give him a reason for punishing us; for, if he delighted in our sufferings, he could punish us without giving us useless commandments to transgress that he might have an excuse for so doing.

It would be neither an act of wisdom nor kindness, in a father or mother, to give their children certain rules, or commandments, only for the purpose of seeing them render obedience to such laws; and certainly, no parents who love their children, would give them commandments designing that they might break them, and receive punishment for so doing. A wise and judicious parent requires the observance of such rules only as are necessary for the peace and welfare of the family. And may we not expect that God will show as much wisdom and kindness in the government of the whole human family as earthly parents do in controlling their children?

The text is an answer to the question, inasmuch as it teaches us that all his commandments are right.

Some commandments have been binding on some men that have not been on others; and some commandments have been binding in some places that have not been in other places. The reason for this is, that God does not command anything to be done, or not to be done, unless there is some good reason for so doing. Certain facts which have existed in the history of this world have constituted a reason for certain commandments to be given to the inhabitants of the world. And as that which was a fact in the days of Noah is not a fact at the present time, so God might with propriety command him to do certain things which he does not require of us. In the days of Noah, it was a fact that a flood was coming to deluge the earth; so God commanded him to build an ark that he and his family might not be destroyed with the wicked. Gen. vi, 14; but as no such fact exists at the present time, there is no need for any such commandment to be given to God's people in this age of the world. As it was a fact that the children of Israel, in their journeyings through the wilderness, were in a warm country where they did not need any fires on the Sabbath, God could with propriety command them not to kindle fires on that day. Ex. xxxv, 3; but as no such fact exists in this part of the world at the present time, so God does not command us who live here to observe any such rules.

But if ever a fact existed which caused God to give certain commandments, and the same fact existed in all parts of the world, and among all classes of mankind, and has always existed through all generations of men, then we may expect those commandments have been binding on all men, through all generations, in all parts of the world.

Now let us see what commandments, if any, have been needed to govern all classes of mankind, in all ages, and in all parts of the world.

After our first parents, Adam and Eve, had eaten of the forbidden fruit and thereby had become sinners, was there any need of God's giving any further commandments to them and their posterity? We will examine the facts that existed after the fall, and see if there was not actual need for further restraint to be placed on the people of this world.

Adam and Eve, the representatives of the whole human family, had become sinners, and possessed with a disposition to sin—to do wrong. That they did possess such a nature after the fall, and that such a nature and disposition were transmitted to their posterity, are facts plainly to be seen from the course of wrong in which the human family has persisted from that time to the present.

Now, let us consider the evils in which mankind have ever been so desirous to indulge, and also the course of life in which they should have walked, and see if we can learn what commandments have been needed to restrain them in their actions.

Adam and Eve, the representatives of the whole human family had become sinners, and possessed with a disposition to sin—to do wrong. That they did possess such a nature after the fall, and that such a nature and disposition were transmitted to their posterity, are facts plainly to be seen from the course of wrong in which the human family has ever persisted from that time to the present.

Now let us consider the evils in which mankind have ever been so desirous to indulge, and also the course of life in which they should have walked, and see if we can learn what commandments have been needed to restrain them in their actions.

As God is the Author, the Creator, and Father of all, so it is reasonable and right, that we, the beings of his creation, should love and adore him above all; that neither worldly honors, friends, nor anything else, should be so much loved and so highly esteemed by us, as he by whom we have been created. Thus we see that love to God is a duty that has ever been incumbent on the inhabitants of this world. Another fact, also, we will notice, that has always existed in regard to mankind. It is this: that God is the Creator of all, that he has not created a portion of the inhabitants of this world, while the remainder have originated from some other source, but that it is through him that all persons live, move, breathe, and have their being. Therefore, when a person thinks of God, his Creator, and feels thankful that he has given him life, he should remember that others besides himself have also received life from the same source; and that as God looks upon all to whom he has given life with the same degree of respect, he should also in his dealings with, and conduct toward, his fellow-men, remember that they have the same right to life and its blessings that he himself has. In short, he should love his neighbor as himself. But we have to realize the sad fact, that the great mass have always gone in an opposite direction. They have loved other objects better than God, and themselves far better than their fellow-men.

Thus we see, that as mankind had a disposition and nature that would lead them to do wrong, it became necessary for God to give certain commandments to restrain them in their actions, and it was these two principles of right and justice, viz., love to God and love to man, that he intended to guard against violation, by giving his commandments to the people. In the keeping of those commandments they might form a character which would render them worthy to receive immortality in the world to come.

To protect these two principles of right, it was necessary to give a law composed of several articles, or sections, called commandments. If a State or nation wishes to give protection to its subjects in regard to their persons, their property, or their rights in any respect, it becomes necessary to make a law to restrain those who would otherwise trample on such rights. Such a law is generally composed of several different articles, by which those who are disposed to transgress can more easily be made to understand the whole demands of the law, than they could if the principles of the whole law were condensed into one short article. Just so it is with regard to God's law. He designed to protect these two principles of which we have already spoken, and to do this, gave a law consisting of several commandments, a part of which would guard the one, and the remainder the other, even the ten commandments of the decalogue. Ex. xx, 3–17.

As has been already stated, it is a fact that man has ever been inclined to love and adore other objects better than God; therefore we see the necessity of the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.”

Men have also had a disposition and inclination to make graven images, and worship them instead of the living God; hence the necessity of the second commandment, forbidding the making and worshiping of such images.

Though strange to say, it is yet a fact, that men have had a disposition to take God's name in vain, to use the name of the Creator of heaven and earth in a most shameful and disgraceful manner; thus making a necessity for the third commandment, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

It is also a fact that men have had an inclination to forget the true and living God, that created the heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and then rested the seventh day. They have been inclined to disbelieve the account of the creation, and to believe that the earth and mankind are the result of the workings of the laws of nature, or that they happened to come into existence by chance, or in some other way than the true and rightful one. Thus we see the necessity of the fourth commandment which points to the true and living God. By this commandment, infidels and image worshipers are reminded of the fact each week, that there is a living God, and that he is the being who created all things in the length of time specified in the commandment. So we see that the first four commandments have ever been needed to teach mankind their duty to God.

We will now examine some of the commandments which teach our duty to our fellow-men. It is a fact that children have often been inclined to dishonor their parents, and not to treat them with proper regard and respect; hence, the necessity of the fifth commandment, “Honor thy father and thy mother.”

A part, also, of mankind have a disposition to kill, to steal, to commit adultery, to bear false witness, and to covet those blessings which rightfully belong to their neighbor; hence the necessity of a commandment forbidding them to do each of these things respectively, which they are so much inclined to do.

The question now arises, When were these commandments given, and on whom have they been obligatory? That they were given on Mount Sinai, in classic form, and were to be observed by the Jewish people until the first advent of our Saviour, is a fact to which all agree.

It seems reasonable to suppose that they would be given just as soon as there was a necessity for them; and that there was actual need of them as soon as men began to multiply in the earth, is evident from the fact that they then possessed a disposition to do wrong; and that these same commandments were binding in the patriarchal age is a fact which can be very easily proved from the word of God.

Let us suppose that in the history of the Revolutionary War, we read an account of the execution of a man for committing an act of treason against the government. Is that not positive evidence that there was a law against treason at that time, notwithstanding the history does not inform us just when, and under what circumstances, such a law was enacted, and on what page of the statute books it was recorded? So in regard to God's law of ten commandments in the patriarchal age.

The first sixty-nine chapters in the Bible, consisting of the book of Genesis and the first nineteen chapters of Exodus, are only a very short and condensed history of events which transpired in the world and among the people of God during the long period of twenty-five hundred years prior to the giving of the law in classic form on Mount Sinai. And notwithstanding it was written a long time after the greater part of these events had occurred, yet in this history alone, together with a few other texts of scripture, which refer to the same period of time, we find an account of men's receiving the disapprobation of God for breaking these same commandments, and that God's people were very careful not to break them, while wicked men and women did trample on them with audacity.

These facts, which may be readily seen in the following texts of scripture, furnish us with the most substantial proof that God's law of ten commandments did exist in the patriarchal age. First, Gen. xxxv, 2. Second and third. Lev. xviii, 21, 26, 27, 28. Fourth, Ex. xvi, 23–30. Fifth. Gen. ix, 22. Sixth. Gen. iv, 8. Seventh. Gen. xxxix, 7–9. Eighth. Gen. xliv, 4–8. The tenth commandment was broken by breaking the eighth.

This was the law which condemned the men of Sodom; for we read that “sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John iii, 4. James teaches us, by referring to several commandments of the decalogue, what law it is that convinces men of sin. James ii, 8–12. And Paul tells us that “where there is no law, there is no transgression.” Rom. iv, 15. Therefore there could not have been any sinners in Sodom unless they became so by transgressing this law; and we read that “the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.” Gen. xiii, 13.

Having, therefore, seen that this law was binding during the patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations, the question arises, Has this same law been binding during the gospel age?

In answer, we first inquire if the reasons which caused God to give this law still exist? If so, then we may reasonably suppose that the same law is obligatory upon us. It seems consistent that God's commandments should bear even date with the principles of truth, and reasons for which they were given, and that they should continue just as long as they continue. But reason and consistency are not our only proof on the question. The Psalmist says, “They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.” Ps. cxi, 8.

A moment's reflection shows that mankind in the gospel age have had the same inclination naturally to transgress against God and their fellow-men, the same disposition to worship other objects besides God, to take his name in vain, to dishonor their parents, to kill, to steal, &c., that they did in the days of the Jews and patriarchs; therefore they need the same commandments to restrain them in their actions. They are as much as ever inclined to forget God, become atheists, infidels, and disbelievers in the account of the creation; therefore they need, as much as ever, the fourth commandment, to point them to the true and living God. God says he gave the Sabbath to the Jews that they might know that he was the Lord. Ezek. xx, 12. Do not we need the Sabbath for the same purpose now? We read of Jesus “that he should magnify the law and make it honorable.” Isa. xlii, 21. He himself tells us that he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. This he could do in no other way but by keeping it, which he says he has done. John xiv, 10. Christ's mission to this world was not to destroy the law, but that by believing on him, mankind might be justified from their transgressions against it; and that he might change their very nature, and bestow on them a disposition to love, instead of hating it, thereby enabling them to become transgressors no more.

That he came to justify men from their sins is evident from many texts of Scripture among which are the following: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Rom. iii, 25. “Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Acts xiii, 38, 39.

The law of Moses was that law which offered beastly sacrifices, the blood of which could not take away sins. Heb. x, 4. Therefore the poor sinner can be justified from his past transgressions only through faith in the blood of Christ, which can really and in fact take away sins. 1 John i, 7. Now let us see if God did not design that by believing on Christ a person should also have his disposition and nature changed, so that he would really love the law of God. “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Heb. viii, 8–10. The new or second covenant here spoken of consists of a new order of sacrifices from those which were offered by the Jews, as may be seen by reference to Heb. x, 5–9: “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offering and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second.” Thus we see, that by means of the new covenant, which was ratified by the blood of Christ, God intended to write his law in the hearts of those who would seek pardon for their transgressions of the law, through the blood of the new covenant or testament. “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matt. xxvi, 28. By reference to Ps. xl, 8, we learn that to have God's law within the heart is to love to do his will. Paul tells us that God's will is revealed in his law. Rom. ii, 18. Therefore, by means of the new covenant, a sinner can receive forgiveness for sins that are past, and have his conscience purged from dead works. Heb. ix, 14. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John i, 9. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” 2 Cor. v, 17. “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.” Rom. vi, 6.

There was no efficacy in the law of God to change the disposition of man. So, while the law was holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good, the mind and nature of man was exactly to the contrary. While the law was spiritual, mankind was carnal, Rom. vii, 7–14, “and the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. viii, 7. By the very law which man was so much inclined to transgress, he was condemned to death. Oh! in what a hopeless condition would mankind have been, had not the Saviour come to the rescue!

The law could not forgive the sinner for his transgressions against it, neither could it make him love the principles of the law so as not to continue in transgression. But through Jesus Christ, both these objects can be accomplished. He did not dishonor his Father's law by setting aside its claims, altering, or abolishing it. He magnified it and made it honorable by keeping it himself, and dying, that the transgressor might be forgiven, and that the forgiven might love that law, which made it necessary for the Son of God to die.

Jesus fulfilled the law by keeping it; we are required

to fulfill it in the same manner. He fulfilled not only the letter of the law, but also its righteousness, or rightness; we are required to do the same. Now let us consider the difference between the letter, and the righteousness of the law.

Suppose a man does not worship graven images, neither the sun, moon, nor any of the planets, yet he worships his horse, his money, his honor, or his friends, and loves them more than God; such a man does not fulfill the righteousness of either the first or second commandment.

Suppose a man does not take the name of God, the Creator in vain, yet he uses some other phrases as a substitute for the name of God, and often says, By Heaven, by Jerusalem, &c.; that man fulfills the letter, but not the righteousness of the third commandment.

Suppose, also, a man should refrain from his regular, daily labor on the Sabbath, yet he spends a part, or all the day in worldly conversation, and in doing certain chores which might be done the day preceding or following. He does not fulfill the righteousness of the fourth commandment, inasmuch as he does not use the Sabbath for the purpose for which it was designed.

Take the man who has it in his heart to murder, yet he dares not commit the act, for fear of being apprehended and punished by the laws of the land. It could not be said that the righteousness of the sixth commandment is fulfilled in him.

Suppose a person does not tell an absolute falsehood about his neighbor, yet he refrains from telling all the truth, and thereby the facts are misrepresented. Such a person does not fulfill the righteousness of the ninth commandment.

And thus it is with all the commandments. By examining them, we find that there is a principle of right, or righteousness, which each of them is designed to protect.

We often hear people say, “Hear Jesus,” “keep his sayings,” &c. With them we heartily agree; for he teaches the righteousness of the law. He says, “Swear not at all; neither by Heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath,” &c. Matt. v, 34–37. What did he teach in regard to the seventh commandment? Not that the letter was all they were required to observe, but that there was a principle of righteousness in it, which they must fulfill also. We may fulfill the letter of the law and not fulfill its righteousness; but we cannot fulfill its righteousness without fulfilling the letter also. Jesus taught the righteousness of the law, and fulfilled it before us; we are required to obey him, and walk in his footsteps.

Now, we inquire, How can the sinner fulfill the righteousness of the law? It certainly cannot be done by him so long as he possesses the carnal mind, and has it in his heart to do wrong. How, then, can it be done? The answer is evident: it can be done only by seeking forgiveness for past transgressions through the blood of Christ, and being made a new creature in him, thus having his very mind and nature brought into harmony with those principles of truth and right which the commandments are designed to protect. Thus he will be freed from the condemnation of the law, and enabled, in the future, to fulfill the very essence of the principles which it contains. Jesus says: “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” Matt. xii, 33. Let us hear Paul: “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. viii, 1–4.

We have already alluded to the fact, that Paul calls the law spiritual. Rom. vii, 14. Therefore, if we walk in the Spirit, it will be very easy to fulfill a spiritual law.

Peter gives us some instruction in regard to the course to be pursued, in order to come into possession of the Spirit. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts ii, 38. How consistent is the idea, that if we are led by the Spirit of God, we shall love his law! “Oh! how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” Ps. cxix, 97. “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man.” Rom. vii, 22. By partaking of the nature of Adam, mankind became possessed with a sinful disposition, which leads them to transgress God's law, and thereby come into condemnation; so by partaking of the nature of Jesus Christ, they may be freed from the condemnation of the law, and become possessed with a mind and disposition that will lead them to keep it.

We can now see when it is that a man can love God's law. It is when his mind and nature have been brought into harmony with those two principles of truth and right, viz.: love to God and our fellow-men, for the protection of which God's commandments were given, and on which hang all the law and the prophets. Matt. xxii, 36–40. May we be enabled to fulfill the righteousness of the law, because we walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.