The Law of God | AdventAI

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Apr 20, 1876

The Law of God.

Last week we gave a short article from the Sabbath Recorder, entitled as above. The following from the same source is a continuation of the subject in other of its relations:—

Having observed that the law of God is co-existent with his relations to man, and the moral obligations resting on man are co-existent with his moral relations both to God as Creator and to man as fellow-being, we proceed to notice the relation of law to grace. Paul, in discussing this theme, brings out the relation in very sharp outlines in the following words: “The law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Rom. 5: 20. The will of God, in its very nature, infinitely wise, holy and just, when expressed or revealed to the apprehension of man, is the law of God. This is the ultimate standard of truth and righteousness. It is as pure, changeless, and uncompromising as the character of God. It embodies the divine excellence and the spiritual holiness of God. Without this law man is in moral darkness. He has no moral standard, but his own corrupt, fallen nature with which to compare himself. Hence he cannot realize his own spiritual depravity and unlikeness to God. Thus we see that revelation of the law of God to the conscience of man is absolutely essential to any clear understanding of his own unholiness and moral corruption. It is the means of revealing man to himself. He could never know his real moral condition were it not for the revelation of the perfect law. This is the thought of the apostle. “Law entered that the offense might abound;” that is, that sin might be seen and felt as sin. Without it there is no consciousness of sin; with it clearly and distinctly impressed on the mind sin is made exceedingly sinful. It is only in the clear light of the holy and righteous law of God that man becomes conscious of his separation from God and of his lost condition. Hence it must be evident to any reflecting mind that any theory that ignores the perpetual and universal force of the law, goes very far towards destroying the fundamental conditions of the gospel. How can a man understand his need of salvation who is not first conscious of being lost? And how can he understand his lost condition without the law? “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The need of a Redeemer and the magnitude of grace can never be fully apprehended without first an apprehension of the righteous and holy claims of God, and a keen sense of sinfulness and depravity.