p. 1 | Editorial by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 3, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 22.

Editorial.

By Editor

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.

MANY professed Christians to-day have an idea that they must by some act on their part earn the eternal reward. It is by this deception that Satan leads many into doubt and discouragement. Eternal life is not earned; it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. By nothing that we can do will we merit the favor of God. We can only reach out by faith and take from him the blessings that he stands ready to bestow. To Jesus Christ belongs all credit for the blessings we enjoy in this world and for all the fullness of blessings we shall enjoy in the world to come.

CHRIST is the author of every right impulse. Man of himself is sin and sin only. His desires, his purposes, his tendencies are downward in their nature. "There is none righteous, no, not one; . . . for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." It is the work of Christ to redeem man from this fallen and lost condition. This he does by cleansing man from sin, and giving in its place his own perfect righteousness. He creates a clean heart and renews a right spirit within man. The ransomed of the Lord can take no credit to themselves for deliverance. To the Lord alone will belong the glory. He paid the ransom price, and gives the strength to break the bands of sin.

THE eternal ages of the future will fail to reveal to our minds the fullness of one single attribute of the character of our blessed Lord. So long as God shall be higher than man, which will be so long as he maintains his character of God, there will be in him unexplored and unfathomable depth and greatness. One of the joys of the eternal state will be the study of God and of his matchless love as manifested in the gift of his Son. And every time the arches of heaven resound with the praise of the redeemed, there will be revealed to their minds some new phase of heavenly beauty and loveliness, which will call forth from them fresh expressions of delight and holy, enraptured joy. Thus it is that those whom John saw round about the throne cry day and night, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty."

THE judgment of God in the punishment of the finally impenitent will not be vindictive in its nature, but rather vindicative. God will not punish man because he has a grudge against him, from petty spite, or through feelings of revenge. This would be vindictive, the same spirit that prompts man to revenge on his fellow some real or fancied wrong. In the destruction of the wicked will be manifested the highest exhibition of God's love. "God is love," and every act and attribute of his character is one of supreme love for all his creatures. Sin produces sorrow, misery, and woe. To prolong the lives of the impenitent would be but to prolong their misery and suffering. God in love takes from that life which of itself has become a burden. In all this he vindicates his own honor, and contributes to his own glory and the happiness of his people.