THE LAW IN CHRIST by Prof. W. W. Prescott, A.M.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 9, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 27.

THE LAW IN CHRIST.

By Prof. W. W. Prescott, A.M.

BY PROF. W. W. PRESCOTT, A.M.

The Relation between the Law and the Gospel.

ALL that man has lost through sin has been restored “through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy [undo] the works of the devil.” All this is accomplished for us “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” And yet God does not make his plan of salvation effective for any individual without his co-operation. God has honored man by bestowing upon him reasoning powers and the freedom of choice, and while man can by no means save himself, yet it is not God’s plan to save him contrary to his will. He says to him: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” “He that will [willeth or chooseth], let him take the water of life freely.”

In the beginning God “created man in his own image,” “in the likeness of God made he him;” but this image has been marred and well-nigh obliterated by sin. Yet “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” that thus through him “who is the image of the invisible God” man might be “created in Christ Jesus unto good works,” and restored to the image of God, by being “conformed to the image of his Son.” The wondrous provisions of God’s grace whereby “he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus,” have nothing less than this in view, that “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”

The Divine Agency and Its Efficacy.

The agency employed by God to bring about this result is called “the Gospel,” which is defined to be “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” It is “the Gospel of your salvation,” “the Gospel of the grace of God,” “the Gospel of peace,” the same Gospel which was “preached before . . . unto Abraham,” and afterwards to the children of Israel; “for unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them.” This Gospel of Christ is God’s divine power to save believers, “for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.” The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, and for that reason the Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.” It is salvation from sin and restoration to a life of righteousness which are needed, and this experience is provided for us through the incarnation, the death, and the resurrection of Christ, who “was made in the likeness of men,” and “who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” But this is the Gospel; for we read: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel . . . by which also ye are saved. . . . For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The efficacy of the Gospel is also presented in these words: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God.” The Gospel is the power of God to every one that believeth. A discourse concerning the cross is, to those who are saved, the power of God, because the cross of Christ—Christ, the crucified Saviour, dying for sin—is the central thought of the Gospel. So also we read again: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” From these scriptures it is evident that the efficacy of the Gospel, its power to salvation, is found in the fact that it is “God’s joyful message . . . concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,” who is “the Lord our Righteousness.” Thus it appears that the Gospel becomes the power of God unto salvation, because of the righteousness which is revealed in it, and that this righteousness is found only in Christ, and is inseparable from him. This is the hope of the Gospel, “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” “And ye are complete in him.”

The Character of God.

Wrong views concerning our relation to God’s plan of salvation for us have arisen from failing to comprehend the fulness of the character of God. While it is true that “he delighteth in mercy,” and “taketh pleasure . . . in those that hope in his mercy,” it is also true that he is “of purer eyes than to behold evil,” and that he will “execute judgment and justice in the earth.” God requires that his own character, as revealed in Christ, should be the standard of character for his children. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.” And abundant provision has been made in Christ that the expectation of God for man may be fully met; for he “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places [or things] in Christ,” and “hath chosen us in him . . . that we should be holy and without blame before him in love,” and “hath made us accepted in the Beloved;” but all this is for a definite purpose, which is that we, “being made free from sin and become the servants of God,” should be found “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins;” but there is no provision made to save people in their sins.

In order that man may intelligently co-operate with God in his purpose to restore his image in him, God has made a revelation to man of his own character as the standard of perfection and the test of righteousness. Since God designs to renew his likeness in us, we may know what he is by what he requires of us. The holiness, the righteousness, and the goodness of God are set forth in his law, which is declared to be “holy, and just [righteous], and good;” and the perfection which he requires of us will be revealed in a life which is in harmony with “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Because “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,” and because we “are not under the law, but under grace,” some have fallen into the error of supposing that Christians have nothing whatever to do with the law of God. It is therefore well worth our while to consider the purposes served by the law, and the relation between the law and the Gospel.

The Revealer of Sin.

In order that it may be true of us that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin,” we must “confess our sins;” and we must be made aware of sin before we can confess it. This brings out the first purpose of the law, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin,” and “I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” The way in which the law reveals sin appears from the fact that “all unrighteousness is sin,” and that the law reveals unrighteousness by defining righteousness. The law, being a transcript of the righteous character of God, is used by the Holy Spirit to “reprove the world of sin,” by showing men that they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,” when their own characters are placed in contrast with the purity and holiness of God. When we thus see God, we exclaim with Isaiah, “Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips;” and with Job we say, “I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” All this is made plain in the Scripture. “Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.” “My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness.” But while the law thus makes known sin to us by setting forth the righteous character of God, and being itself righteousness, it is yet utterly unable to confer that righteousness upon us. “I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” “For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” Here is where the word of Christ avails for us; and the very object of that work is that the righteousness defined by the law and revealed in the Gospel may be fulfilled in us. “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.” “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.”

God’s Character Revealed to Us.

The righteousness of the law was fulfilled by Christ, who did “not come to destroy, but to fulfil” the law, and who by a life of perfect obedience to the Father’s will, wherein he “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” was “made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption;” “for as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” The work accomplished by Christ in behalf of man is more than to pay the penalty for a broken law. It includes the bringing of man into harmony with that law. He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” For this it became necessary not only that righteousness should be imputed to us, but imparted to us; not only that Christ should live for us, but that he should live in us; not only that we should be “justified by faith,” but that we should be “sanctified by faith.” So “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory [character], the glory [character], as of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth.” Angels could convey messages for God and could do deeds for God, but only the

Son could reveal the righteousness of God by being God. In his life among men Christ became the righteousness which was defined in the law. “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth [the reality] came by Jesus Christ.” In the law, considered merely as a code, we have only the form of truth; but Christ is the truth. “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” The law gives the form, but Christ is the reality. Christ had the law in his heart, and so his life was the law in living characters. This was set forth in the prophecy concerning his work centuries before he was “made of a woman:” “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.”

(To be continued.)