Studies in the Gospel Message
THE subject of the Sabbath-school lesson for Sabbath, September 27, is, The Message of Justification by Faith Will Establish the Kingdom. In the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great image, Daniel declared that there would be four kingdoms, one after the other, represented by the different parts of the image, and that “whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided.” The prophecy of the seventh chapter shows that ten kings would arise in the territory of the fourth kingdom, “and in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom5shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” This kingdom will be set up in connection with the second coming of Christ. The reading of three passages of Scripture will make this clear. “And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.” The events connected with this announcement are then mentioned: “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great.” The time of giving the reward is definitely stated in the third passage: “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me.” It follows plainly that the time of the announcement that “the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ,” is at the time of the second coming of Christ. The end of the world and the second coming of Christ occur at the same time. This is taught in the explanation of the parable of the tares: “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Previous to the end of the world, and as the preparation for it, the gospel message must go to all the world. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” From all this it follows that the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, which is to prepare the world for its end and for the second coming of Christ, will also prepare the way for the setting up of the fifth kingdom, which “shall stand forever.” The gospel of the kingdom sets forth the truth concerning the kingdom of God and man’s relation to it. It reveals the fact that man was made in the image of God, to act as his vicegerent in the earth. “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.” It shows how that through disobedience man lost his place of dominion. It declares the eternal purpose of God which he purposed in Christ Jesus, and the provision which God has made in the gift of his Son for the complete restoration of all those who by faith receive the heavenly gift. And it makes it clear that this is done without compromising the character of God or destroying the stability of his government. In this is found the mystery of the kingdom of God. It is worth while to read here the inspired description of the utterly hopeless and helpless condition of man in sin, and the way of salvation from sin. “What then? are we in worse case than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; as it is written,
> There is none righteous, no, not one;
> There is none that understandeth,
> There is none that seeketh after God;
> They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable;
> There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one:
> Their throat is an open sepulcher;
> With their tongues they have used deceit:
> The poison of asps is under their lips:
> Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
> Their feet are swift to shed blood;
> Destruction and misery are in their ways;
> And the way of peace have they not known:
> There is no fear of God before their eyes.” “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by his blood, to show his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.” Note the clearness with which the whole case is here stated. “There is none righteous, no, not one.” “There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one.” And yet righteousness and goodness are required of those who are the citizens of the kingdom of God. The decree which finally seals the character of the saved is, “He that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” But through faith in the wonderful redemption which is in Christ Jesus we are freely justified by a setting forth of his righteousness; while at the same time God remains righteous in his character, although he accounts righteous the ungodly who have faith in Jesus. This is justification by faith. It is not sin which necessarily prevents men from becoming citizens of the heavenly kingdom, but rather the unwillingness to agree with the Lord in his statement that “there is none righteous.” Pride leads man to desire to be accounted righteous by virtue of what he is of himself, rather than to acknowledge his utter lack, and to accept righteousness by faith as the free gift of God. “What is justification by faith? — It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.” — “Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers, No. 9, page 62.” From this definition of justification by faith we can see that the real essence of the experience consists in a spirit of humility and confession of need, and a willingness to give to God in Christ his rightful place as King in our lives. It was on this basis that John the Baptist preached the gospel of preparation for the first coming of our Lord, and the record plainly indicates from what prophecy he obtained his message. “He came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet.” By turning to the fortieth chapter of Isaiah we shall find this message of preparation for the coming of the Lord, and shall see that when it is fully and finally given, the Lord will come, having his reward with him. The central theme of this message is, “All flesh is grass. . . . The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. . . . Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come.” This is the message which lays the glory of man in the dust, and by showing men their own nothingness, prepares them to receive the righteousness of Christ. It is plain, then, that the message given by John the Baptist, and which is to be given anew in this generation to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, is the message of justification by faith. But the message which prepares for the coming of the Lord will, as we have already seen, prepare for the establishing of the fifth kingdom, which “shall stand forever.” It is therefore evident that the message of justification by faith will establish the fifth kingdom. Inasmuch as the threefold message of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, “the everlasting gospel,” prepares the way for the coming of the Son of man on the cloud, it must be that this threefold message is the message of justification by faith which is to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, and for the establishing of the fifth kingdom6which “shall stand forever.” We may be sure then that when this three-fold message is preached in a way to accomplish its designed work, it will be preached as the message of justification by faith. It will thus lead men to abandon the worship of the beast and his image, and to “worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” “This message [of justification by faith] was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. . . . This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of his Spirit in a large measure.” — “Special Testimony to Battle Creek Church, pages 35, 36.