The Sermon by J. H. Waggoner

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Sep 16, 1875

The Sermon.

By J. H. Waggoner

THE LAW OF GOD.—No. 16.

BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.

The nature of the law, and the extent of obligation to serve it, may be known by its relations. We will examine it in its relation to two of the most important subjects presented to man, namely, JUSTIFICATION AND JUDGMENT.

The nature and the present obligation of the law are clearly revealed in the declaration of Paul in Rom. 2:13: "The doers of the law shall be justified." There is no other writer in the Scriptures who has said so much on the subject of justification as Paul, and in no other letter has he said so much concerning it as in that to the Romans. No other scripture is so often quoted by the opposers of the law to prove that we are not now justified by the law (which we fully believe), and yet they who deny the law as a rule of life seem uniformly to overlook the fact that the first time that Paul uses the word justify in this remarkable argument is in connection with doing or keeping the law! And it is equally interesting and important to observe that he never connects justification with transgressing the law, at any time or under any circumstances. On the contrary, transgression is always connected with condemnation—the opposite of justification.

There are many who will stand in doubt over the apostle's statement in Rom. 2:13, because they have always taken wrong views of the law. To such we will try to vindicate his words.

To say that the doers of the law shall be justified is only to say that the law is sufficient to justify the obedient. It is a vindication of the completeness and righteousness of the law, while it has no reference to the standing of those who have transgressed the law; that subject is explained elsewhere. Now that the doers of the law shall be justified is proved by reason, and by the scriptures which reveal the nature of the law.

1. As shown by reason. God is a moral governor; man is a moral agent. Of necessity a moral governor governs moral agents by a moral law. A moral law is nothing less than a rule of moral action. Now as moral agency is the highest expression of man's nature and relations, and as moral law is to guide him in those relations, it follows that moral law is the highest rule of action which man is capable of receiving. Now if God gives to moral creatures a law to regulate their lives, and they keep that law perfectly, reason compels us to believe that they would be accepted on their obedience. To suppose otherwise would be to suppose that God would deal in a manner most tyrannical, condemning his creatures who had never disobeyed him. Reverence will not allow such a supposition.

If man had never transgressed the law of God there would have been no sin, for "sin is the transgression of the law." And if there had been no sin there would have been no gospel, for none would have been needed. The Son of God would not have died for man, for there would have been no occasion for his death. Man would not have been condemned, for there could be no condemnation where there is no sin. Of course man would have been accepted or justified on his obedience, which is agreeable to the words of Paul; the doers of the law would have been justified by the law because they had kept it—they could not be condemned.

2. The Scriptures confirm what our reason and reverence accept on this subject. The Lord himself said to Israel, if they would obey his voice and keep his covenant (the ten commandments), then they would be a peculiar treasure unto him, and a holy nation. If obedience to the law would have had such a result, it was all that could be required; for more than this will never be reached under the gospel. If any have been accustomed to doubt this, let them consider again whether man could have been wrong in character in any particular if he had always perfectly obeyed the will of God. Certainly not, unless the will of God was defective or wrong, which may not be supposed. As man separated between himself and his God and became sinful or unholy, the object of the gospel is to reconcile man to God, to restore him to the favor of God, by bringing him to a state of holiness. Thus the original object of the law is accomplished in the gospel, as Paul says, Rom. 7:10, and 10:4. But if man had never sinned this object would have been reached without the gospel. Of course man would then have been justified by the law as he now is by the gospel. The words of Jehovah in Ex. 19:5, 6, that by obedience they would be unto him a peculiar treasure, and a holy nation, is proof that the law is a rule or measure of holiness, and this is a strong vindication of Paul's words. The doers of the law shall be justified.

Moses said to Israel, "It shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." We have before noticed that holiness is the same in every dispensation; for it is always based on the holiness of God (as is proved by Lev. 19:2, and 1 Pet. 1:15, 16,) which cannot change. Even so, righteousness is the same in all dispensations. The words of Moses, that it shall be our righteousness if we observe to do God's commandments, are fully confirmed by the Old and New Testaments, as will be seen by the passages which will next hereafter be noted. But surely they would be justified by obedience to a law who were made righteous by that obedience.

Said the Lord, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." Isa. 51:7. And David said, "Thy commandments are righteousness." The law being the expression of God's holy will to his creatures, it is the rule of holiness, the measure of righteousness. And so said the apostle Paul; the righteousness of God is witnessed by the law. Rom. 3:21. But if that righteousness were foreign to the law; if the law did not reach unto and enforce righteousness, it could not, in any sense, be a witness to that righteousness. The law could not witness to principles outside of its obligation.

This view is strongly confirmed by Rom. 8:3, 4. God sent his Son to condemn sin, or the transgression of the law, "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." That righteousness is closely related to the law is shown in this: The word rendered righteousness, Rom. 8:4, is dikaioma, defined by Greenfield, "law, precept, statute, ordinance;" by Robinson, "decree, ordinance, precept." Bloomfield's Notes on the Greek gives it, "The requisition of the law;" Whiting's translation, "The precept of the law;" Bible Union, "The requirement of the law." There is no difference between righteousness and the requirement of the law. "Unrighteousness is sin," which is a transgression of the law, says an inspired writer. Of course unrighteousness being transgression, righteousness is obedience. And this righteousness of the law is fulfilled in "them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." We cannot forbear saying we have a strong curiosity to know what the opposers of the law would do with this text, but we have little hope of being gratified in this respect. This text by Paul fully justifies our remark that the character which would be formed by obedience to the law is exactly that which is now formed by the true faith of the gospel of Christ. The Saviour came to remove sin and its consequences, and to restore us to that position which we would have occupied if we had never sinned, but always obeyed God. As we are now made righteous by Christ, then we would have been righteous by obedience. As we are now justified by faith, then we would have been justified by the law. And Christ in the gospel works in us that righteousness to which the law is a witness and which the law requires. David said, "The law of the Lord is perfect." After having noticed Paul's high indorsement of the righteousness of the law, but few words are needed to show the force of these words of David. The law—the rule of life—being perfect, of course it requires perfection of life and character; and if any had observed it they would have been perfect. A man could not have an imperfect character if he kept a perfect law. But if he had a perfect character he could not be condemned; he would, as a moral necessity, be justified. And this again vindicates the apostle's declaration, "The doers of the law shall be justified." The expression of Solomon is exactly parallel to that of David, though to some minds it might appear to be still more definite: "Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man." Eccl. 12:13. It is easy to see that man could not be under condemnation if he had done his whole duty; he would be justified in what he had done. And a law that contains the whole duty of a moral agent is a moral law. As there could be no duty omitted from a law which contained man's whole duty, it is a perfect law, as David says. As a man would be a perfect man if he had done his whole duty, it would be his righteousness to do this law, as Moses said. As the wages of sin is death, and sin is the transgression of the law, death is the result of transgression of the law. Of course, if the law had been kept, there would have been no death, and this is according to the statements of Jehovah, of Moses, Nehemiah, Christ, and Paul. "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them." Lev. 18:5. "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments." Deut. 30:15, 16. "Yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, which if a man do he shall live." "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Matt. 19:17. "The commandment was ordained to life." Rom. 7:10. The evidence on this point is by no means exhausted, but we need carry it no farther. The law stands vindicated as a perfect rule,

the measure of righteousness and holiness, the rule according to which men will be justified or condemned.

But, with a singular determination to oppose the law, men rise up and say the law is not now the measure of righteousness and the rule of justification, because it is now true that "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified." We admit the truth of the text, in its fullest extent, but reject the conclusion as being lame and unjust. Opposers of the law do not seem to apprehend that both the righteousness and obligation of the law are as clearly proved by those scriptures which show that the law condemns wrong-doing as by those which show that it justifies right-doing. One is merely the converse of the other, and where one is true the other must also be true. That which approves the right, necessarily condemns the wrong. Why is it that no flesh can now be justified by the law? Because "all have sinned," and "by the law is the knowledge of sin." Now as man has gone astray and done wrong, and the law proves that he is wrong, and will not justify him in the wrong, it is proof that the law is opposed to that which is wrong. Therefore the law is good—it is right. If it justified man in sin it would be a bad law. But such a law could not procede from God. The declaration of the scripture that because man has sinned he cannot be justified by the law, is sufficient to vindicate the law as a rule of righteousness, if we had no other proof. Again the conclusion of the opposer, that the law is not now the rule of justification, is not just, for the law now condemns sin; it is now true that "by the law is the knowledge of sin." A law which is the measure of righteousness and holiness, which is perfect, which contains the whole duty of man toward God, will so remain as long as man's relations to God remain; as long as holiness remains. The difficulty is all in the mind of the objector who discovers no difference between a rule of justification and the means of justification. Had man never transgressed the law he would have been justified by the law. It would then have been both the measure and justifier of man's action. It remains still the measure of righteousness, but it condemns the conduct of man; and, indeed, it could not point out the wrongs of our lives if it did not measure our duties. Then we need something to remove the wrongs—to take away our sins—and so reform our characters and lives that the law will not condemn us. This is done by Christ, through faith in whom our past sins are remitted, we are reconciled to God, so "that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us." We need the gospel as a justifier, because we have sinned, and the gospel is a remedy. But as the law would have justified us if we had kept it, and by it is the knowledge of sin—it condemns sin—therefore it contains all the elements of justification, of justice, or of righteousness. The mechanic's rule which shows what shape a board should be, does not cease to be a rule because it will not fashion it. If the board is right, the rule will approve it; but if it is wrong, another tool is needed; the saw or the plane must be used. But then the rule must be applied to determine whether the saw and plane have done their work properly. If man had done right the law would have justified him. Now man is wrong, condemned by the law, and he needs the gospel to make him right. But still "by the law is the knowledge of sin," and if anything remains in our lives which the law condemns it is proof that the gospel has not accomplished its required work in us;—the righteousness of the law is not yet fulfilled in us. It is only selfishness and carnality to oppose the law because it condemns our sins—it will not justify us. They who thus complain might consider the following questions to profit: Would the law have condemned us if we had always done right? Will the gospel justify us if we continue to do wrong? Is there not a perfect union of purpose or object between the law and the gospel in this respect? If we may object to the law because by it is the knowledge of sin, had not the Jews equal right to reject the preaching of Christ because it removed the cloak, or exposed their sins? Is it not evident that in either case the fault is in man, and that if the sin did not exist in his life the law would not prove him a sinner nor the gospel expose sin in him? We have been thus particular on this subject, hoping that some soul may be rescued from deception, and led to love the holy law of God. With the subject of justification so clearly settled by the Scriptures, it is easy to arrive at correct conclusions concerning the Judgment. As sin is the transgression of the law; as the law is that instrument by which sin is known; and as the law is the rule of holiness, the measure of righteousness; as it contains all that would justify a moral agent in well-doing, it is of course that rule by which actions are weighed, by which sin is judged. This is but a reasonable and necessary conclusion. But we are not left to deduction on this important point. Both Testaments speak definitely on this subject. Solomon, who was blessed with extraordinary wisdom, after stating many important truths concerning human life, gives us a summary of all in the following words: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14. The connection of the Judgment with man's whole duty, and with the law that define man's whole duty, is so evident that it is a wonder that any are ever found to deny it. But, as it is written, "The commandment is a lamp, and the law is light," Prov. 6:23, and they who reject so great and important light as is found in the holy law of a holy God, can only be expected to walk in darkness. There can hardly be found stronger evidence of mental and moral blindness than that men talk of sin, of the Judgment, and of death, while they deny the obligation of the law, by which is the knowledge of sin, and by which God shall bring every work into Judgment, and the transgression of which brings death. Paul, in his argument on the law, states the same great truth in Rom. 2:12, 16: "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." The first part of verse 12 will be examined hereafter. We have now to do with those who enjoy the present light of revelation. Whatever question may arise regarding other classes, there is no chance to dispute that they who have the light of God's word will be judged by the law written therein. And this judgment will be without regard to nationality, as is shown by this same chapter, Rom. 2, and yet more fully in chap. 3. There is no respect of persons with God; every one will receive according to his work, whether Jew or Gentile; Rom. 2:9-11. When the nations of the earth had departed from God, and were sunken in darkness and idolatry, God committed his sacred oracles to the Jews. But they were not justified by hearing the law, for the doers of the law shall be justified; they were condemned and rejected because they did not keep the law; while the Gentiles are accepted and justified if they keep the righteousness of the law. Verses 25-27. Continuing this subject the apostle says the chief advantage of the Jews was that to them were committed the oracles of God. Rom. 3:1, 2. In verses 3-6 he shows that their unbelief cannot make the faith (faithfulness, truth) of God of no effect; for if it could, "how shall God judge the world?" In chap. 2:16, it is affirmed that God will judge men by the law. In chap. 3:1-6, it is shown that if the oracles which God gave to the Jews are made void, he cannot judge the world. In verses 9-18, he proves, by the Old Testament, that all, both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, and in verse 19 makes this sweeping declaration: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God." All have sinned, both Jew and Gentile, and by the witness of the law all the world are convicted or condemned before God. And thus again the law stands vindicated as the rule of right and of judgment. That any one should, in such a connection as this, try to turn the words of Rom. 3:20 against the law, seems a marvel. Shall we find fault with the law because it condemns sin? Would David, in his spirit of deep devotion, have loved the law as he did if it would justify sinners? Would converted Paul have delighted in the law of God if it had not been holy, and just, and good? Would he have fled to Christ for justification, to escape the condemnation of the law, if the law were not spiritual and perfect? Will the reverent soul which trustfully draws near to God, try to evade the claims of the law which points out the whole duty of man? Will not the godly, the humble, the self-denying, find in obedience to God's commandments the best expression of their love to God? Yes, "this is the love of God that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." They are not grievous to the heart that truly loves God. But they are grievous to the carnal mind which is not subject to the law of God. They are grievous to the formalist who is a lover of pleasures more than a lover of God. They are grievous to the self-deceived workers of iniquity, who trust that a profession of faith in Jesus will excuse them from doing the will of his Father. They are grievous to him who holds a dead faith, which makes void the law of God. They are grievous to all who reject the light of present truth, and whose hearts cannot submit to "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." They are grievous to the "dragon," and to all whom he can inspire with hatred and the spirit of war against commandment-keepers. As God will bring every work into Judgment by his commandments, we ought to be very thankful that he has revealed them to us, that we may know what character we must have to stand in that day. Here we form our characters by doing or omitting to do our duty; there we shall be examined by that which has pointed out our duty. As we stand related to the commandments in our probation, so will we stand related to God when we are judged by his commandments. If we are opposed to them now, they will be opposed to us then. If we, through Christ, walk in the Spirit, put away sin, and fulfill the righteousness of the law, then there is no condemnation to us now, Rom. 8:1-4, and there will be none then. It will evermore remain true that the doers of the law shall be justified, whether done as an original act of obedience, or through faith in Christ. Christ is our peace; he reconciles us to his Father, and writes his law in our hearts, and in our minds. Because they are in our minds, we delight in it; because they are in our hearts, we love it.