Studies in the Gospel Message
THE subject of the Sabbath-school lesson for September 20 is, Justification by Faith the Basis of the Continuance of the Kingdom. Sin is failure. A sinner is one who fails or misses the mark. While there may be an outward appearance of temporary success which may win a favorable verdict from men, yet when eternity is taken into the reckoning, he who persists in sin will miss everything worth gaining, and will himself also be found wanting. The Scripture sets forth all this in the plainest way. “Fret not thyself because of evil-doers,
Neither be thou envious against them
that work unrighteousness.
For they shall soon be cut down like
the grass,
And wither as the green herb. . . .
Fret not thyself because of him who
prospereth in his way,
Because of the man who bringeth
wicked devices to pass. . . .
For evil-doers shall be cut off. . . .
Yet a little while, and the wicked shall
not be:
Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his
place, and he shall not be. . . .
I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green
tree in its native soil.
But one passed by, and, lo, he was not:
Yea, I sought him, but he could not
be found.”
A right understanding of the real, instead of the apparent, result of sin can only be had by looking at the problem from the standpoint of the provision which God has made for dealing with sin. The experience of the psalmist is written for the instruction of all. “I was envious at the arrogant,
When I saw the prosperity of the
wicked.
For there are no bands in their death:
But their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men;
Neither are they plagued like other
men.
Therefore pride is as a chain about
their neck;
Violence covereth them as a garment.
Their eyes stand out with fatness:
They have more than heart could
wish. . . .5
Behold, these are the wicked;
And, being alway at ease, they increase in riches. . . .
When I thought how I might know
this,
It was too painful for me;
Until I went into the sanctuary of
God,
And considered their latter end.
Surely thou settest them in slippery
places:
Thou castest them down to destruction.
How are they become a desolation in
a moment!
They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As a dream when one awaketh;
So, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou
shalt despise their image.”
These statements show plainly enough that there can be nothing permanent in which sin is a factor. In the very nature of the case it must end in utter failure and destruction. Jesus was dealing with this very principle when he said, “Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” In contrast with all this is the stability and permanence of truth and righteousness. “The truth of the Lord endureth forever.” “My righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.” Jesus came to this world that he “should bear witness unto the truth,” and in order “to bring in everlasting righteousness.” He who said, “I am . . . the truth,” and whose name is “The Lord our Righteousness,” by taking our flesh brought human nature into a personal relation with truth and righteousness, and thus prepared the way for the establishment of the everlasting kingdom of God in the hearts of men. Righteousness is the permanent element in the kingdom of God. “A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” “Righteousness and judgment are the foundation of thy throne.” This “everlasting righteousness” is the “righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” Thus by believing on Christ and receiving “the gift of righteousness” we become righteous by our faith, and lay hold of eternal life. For “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,” and “in the way of righteousness is life.” Through the prophet Nathan the Lord said to David, “When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. . . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. . . . And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.” And of Jesus the angel said to Mary before his birth, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” These statements of the Scripture show plainly that Jesus was the greater Son of David through whom the promises to David were to be fulfilled. But Jesus identified himself with our humanity in order that we might be identified with him in all that he won in his humanity. This was his own desire. “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.” It is also his own promise. “Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” It is the promise and the provision of God then that through the gift of Jesus to our flesh those who believe in him shall share in the glory and the dominion of the eternal kingdom. But the preparation for all this in its outward manifestation is that the kingdom which is righteousness shall be established in the heart; that the law of the kingdom shall be obeyed; and that sin, which will end in death, and thus overthrow the continuance of the kingdom, shall be removed “as far as the east is from the west.” And this is the experience of righteousness by faith. It is “the poor of this world rich in faith” of whom Jesus said, “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.” It is by faith that we establish the law. It is through faith in the blood of Christ that we receive the remission of sins. Thus on our part the whole experience is one of faith, and being made righteous by faith, we become the subjects of, and the sharers in, that kingdom which “shall stand forever.” And it is only those who have been justified by faith who can be admitted to these privileges. Those who cling to sin will be destroyed with it. And so it is evident that so far as we are concerned the whole basis for the continuance of the kingdom is justification by faith.