THE nature of God being love, He must be entirely opposed to any element not of the same character. But that the universe might know His attitude toward evil, some expression from Him, defining His position, was necessary. As the moral Governor of the universe, the expression of His mind on the point could not but be the utterance of His own moral will, the nature of which is love. His moral nature being repugnant to evil of any sort, the assertion of His will must, of course, forbid His creatures to harbor evil, lest they be contaminated by it, and so become hostile to His moral nature, and be separated from divine guidance.
Such expression of God's will could not well be in any other form than that of moral law. The nature of God being what it is, and the tendency of evil being what it is, it is plain that God could not be true to Himself and to His creatures had the expression of His will produced a law which could license a single sin, however small. It is safe to affirm further that, from its very nature and demands, moral law must be universal in its application to moral beings, whether they be men or angels. This is clearly deducible from the fact that the sure tendency of evil, even in its mildest form, is to injure moral nature wherever existing; and as angels are sentient, moral beings in a full higher sense than earthly creatures are, it follows that they, as well as men, are subject to moral restrictions.
But neither angels nor men who have been truly born of God, serve Him in the spirit of legality. In other words, they do not refrain from evil because the moral law forbids it; nor do they render service to God because He directly commands it. But, being born of Him, and stimulated by His indwelling life, all their service is spontaneous. As sons rather than servants, their homage is but the outpouring of love from full hearts toward an adorable Creator. This constitutes their ministry one of privilege instead of duty; a labor of joyous love rather than one of mournful obligation. Their delight is ever in that which is to God's praise, and they avoid that which is displeasing to Him, because their hearts are in full sympathy with all the ways of heaven. This is the love which fulfils the law. Rom. 13:10.
But while such service is not induced by the precepts of the moral law, it must necessarily be fully in conformity with them as the expression of the supreme will of their Author. True and acceptable service being always rendered through the promptings of love, such suggestions must inevitably point toward compliance with the commandments of God, since the principles of love constitute the essential feature of these commandments. Matt. 22:37-40. It is therefore manifest that to violate any one of them, in any degree, is so far to depart from the principles of love, by which only one can render cheerful and pleasing service to God.
Any violation of moral precepts is sin. Ignorance of the law's requirements does not destroy guilt, tho it may be a factor in moderating the penalty. In the very nature of things, moral law must be inexorable, not because it is absolutely necessary to punish transgressors, but because the love of God must, to be true to its nature, utterly oppose the first step in a direction which tends to lead men contrary to the mind and will of heaven, and so mar the image of the Divine with which he was at first endowed.
But without some revelation from Him who is the beginning of all things, and to whom all intelligent beings should return the strength of life received from Him; without some proclamation of His character, and what He requires from all, no one could serve Him intelligently. In proportion as one holds false views of the divine Being whom he worships, he pays homage to a false god, and so fails to receive that benefit which ought to be the result of his acts of reverence. There can, however, be no means of redemption from superstition and consequent evil, except through a revelation of the moral attributes of the true God.
The present imperfect state of creation can not do this, else the heathen would know more of Him than they do. Neither can precept alone convey a knowledge of divine character, because the mere definition of love can not possibly reveal the true nature. Affinities and sympathies enter into love, the power of which can not be told in the ear, but must be rendered effective by acts of sacrifice and self-denial. Love is a living principle, which must declare itself to the heart as well as to the intellect.
Law and love are one with God; yet man, contaminated by sin, and thereby alienated from the life of God, has become so darkened in mind that he fails to recognize the relationship of these elements. Eph. 4:18, 19. The original design of the law was not to condemn, but to protect from sin, which separates from the life of God. Rom. 7:10. Within its limits dwelt love, joy, and peace; beyond its inclosure were forces of evil. Infinite love made it a barrier to all sentient beings against the encroachments of a common enemy, which, if permitted, would put hatred in the place of love, pain instead of joy, and enmity for peace.
But when a subject of God's kingdom had once strayed beyond the prescribed limit, the law had no longer power to protect him, because it could not reach so far. The life of God being only for those within the precincts of that law, to go beyond was to separate from the life of God, and so entail death. Rom. 6:23. When life was once forfeited in this way, the law had no power to restore it, because to grant a pardon for the transgression of its own requirements would be to make itself void, and so destroy its protecting power over those who still remained within its prescribed limits.
Then, again, to offer a possible pardon to any transgressor without his restoration to obedience (which is not in the power of the law), would not in the least benefit him, since he would again immediately fall under the ban of the law. So, then, unless some extraordinary plan for such restoration could be effected, it is clear that the highest good of God's creatures would demand the destruction of the transgressor. The love of God being always expressed in seeking the greatest good of all, that love must surely be vindicated in complying with such demand, relentless tho it might seem to a superficial observer.
Moral law can therefore do no less than require that its penalty be visited upon the transgressor. So, then, if the law were in itself absolute, that is, if no supreme Lawgiver stood above it, to maintain its dignity, and at the same time to interpose in behalf of the guilty, no transgressor could possibly be saved from the penalty of the law. It is therefore apparent that whoever is saved from the law's penalty, must be rescued through the intervention of the Lawgiver, who, while upholding the justice of the law through righteousness, restores the offender through infinite mercy. Well might the prophet ask, "Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger forever, because He delighteth in mercy." Micah 7:18.
But man's need as a sinner demanded more than a mere statement that God loved him. His alienation from God had closed his mind to the higher thought of God's attributes. In order that such creatures might know God's character of love, it was necessary for Divinity to appear among them, that the power of a living love might be seen and appreciated. Therefore such a Mediator between God and man must appear as would truly reflect the moral image of God, that heavenly love might beget its image in earthly minds.
But the way for this must first be prepared. The race to be saved had lost the knowledge of the true man as fully as it had lost the knowledge of the true God. It was therefore important, while attempting to reveal God as He is, to point out also what man ought to be, that, by beholding this wonderful sight, degraded humanity might be changed into the same likeness. 2 Cor. 3:18. To do this it was necessary for the Infinite to be joined with, and act through, the finite. The two natures, being thus shown in one Person, would reveal at once the true God and true man, while at the same time the Divine could be seen elevated above the human, tho acting in connection with it. In this way alone could infinite love reveal Divinity and perfect humanity in the person of Emmanuel, which is "God with us." Matt. 1:23.