p. 773 | God's Method of Saving by G. B. Starr

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 14, 1913

God's Method of Saving

By G. B. Starr

G. B. STARR

Because of his great desire to save us, and because for our sakes he can find no just ground to save us, God has planned for his own sake to blot out our transgressions and save us. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isa. 43: 25.

“For his sake” makes a sure ground of hope for every sinner. There is no room for doubt here. It depends not now upon our worthiness, but his; not upon our weak desire for salvation even, but upon his strong desire to save, his love that cannot let us perish. And in order to make a sure ground of salvation he has laid all our sins upon his own innocent, loving Son. “On him the iniquity of us all” has been made to meet. Isaiah 53. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor. 5: 21.

This is God’s sure method of dealing with sin,—to put it upon an innocent one, and destroy it, and put upon the sinner the righteousness of the innocent one. Wonderful redemption! How successfully great and grand, and how infinitely simple! Taken out of the hands of all who could only fail to achieve salvation and placed in the hands of one who could only succeed, and then presented as a free gift to us, this complete salvation!

“By faith I view my Saviour dying On the tree, on the tree; To every sinner he is crying, Look to me, look to me; He bids the guilty now draw near, Repent, believe, dismiss their fear: Hark! hark! what precious words I hear: Mercy’s free, mercy’s free. “Jesus, the Lord of life, hath spoken Peace to me, peace to me; Now all my chains of sin are broken, I am free, I am free. Soon as I on his name believed, His pardoning grace my soul received, And was from sin and death retrieved; Mercy’s free, mercy’s free.”

— “Christ in Song,” No. 83.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2: 9.

Do we, dear reader, see Jesus tasting death for us, personally? He tasted death for every man. Then it was for you, for me; in your stead and mine, he died, and it was by the grace of God that he died in our stead. Love, which planned our escape, put him where the arrow of death struck him in our stead. It is when we see and believe this that we are free. This is the ground of our emancipation. He signed our papers with his own blood, and we are free. Precious substitute! I love him, I love him!

At the late General Conference word came that a missionary (Lynn Bowen) had fallen in death at his post in Africa. Immediately another missionary (M. C. Sturdevant) arose in the great congregation and with broken utterance endeavored to tell us of his emotions. “Why,” he said, “that man died in my stead. He was filling my place while I came to this Conference.”

Another instance illustrating God’s method of saving, was related by Elder R. C. Porter in the closing Sunday night address. In France, in the time of Napoleon, a man was drafted for the war, but hired a substitute. In an engagement his substitute was killed. A few months later another draft was made, and this same man was again conscripted, but he refused to respond, either in person or by substitute, claiming that he was dead; that when his substitute died, he died, and so was free from the law. The military officers failed to see the force of this reasoning, and the case was appealed to Napoleon, who, after listening to the man’s argument, sustained him, and sent him home

free, stating that a man could die only once.

So we are free. We died upon Calvary, in the person of our Substitute. ‘Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.’ Safe from the attacks of Satan; safe, eternally safe!

Melrose, Mass.