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Signs of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 32.

The Law Is Righteousness

Signs of the Times

Jun 18, 1894

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 18, 1894

The Law Is Righteousness

The Righteousness of God.—The righteousness of God is in his law; for "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4), and "all unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17). It therefore follows that the law which prohibits or forbids all sin or unrighteousness embraces in itself all righteousness.

The Law Is Righteousness.—But that God’s law is righteousness is expressly stated in his word. Says the Psalmist, "My tongue shall speak of thy word; for all thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119:172. Again: "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." "The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting." Verses 142, 144. Says the Lord through the prophet, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." Isa. 51:7. The law of God, his commandments, and his righteousness are synonymous terms. That people know righteousness who have God’s law written in their hearts.

It Shall Not Be Abolished.—This righteousness, which is synonymous with his law, the Lord declares "shall not be abolished." Isa. 51:6. Jesus emphasized the same thing by saying one jot or tittle should not pass from the law till heaven and earth passed. See Matt. 5:17–20. On another occasion he declared that "it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17. The same thing is taught all through the New Testament. In the Epistle to the Romans the law of God is made the basic truth of the plan of salvation. All are subject to the law (3:19); all have sinned, or transgressed the law (3:20). Hence the necessity of the death of Jesus Christ and the gospel of the grace of God. This law, the value, the universality, and the holiness of which is so emphasized, is the will of God, and the Jews, who did not know its deeper meanings, but only its outward form, had in what they did know "the form of knowledge and of the truth." See Rom. 2:17–20.

The law can no more be abolished than can the government of God.

God’s Character in His Law.—The law is the expression of God’s character. As before stated by the scriptures quoted, it is God’s righteousness. In fact, whatever is said of the moral attributes of God is said also of his law. God is said to be righteous, holy, just, true, sure, faithful, pure, wise, spiritual, perfect, merciful, everlasting, loving, etc. These adjectives, or their equivalent nouns, are spoken of God over and over again, but not more emphatically than of his law, either directly or impliedly. Read the whole of Psalms 119, where nearly all of the above qualities are spoken of God’s law, under the various terms applied to it, such as law, commandments, statutes, testimonies, precepts, judgments, ways, words. Read also Ps. 19:7–9, where the terms "perfect," "sure," "right," "pure," "clean," "true and righteous," are all applied to the precepts of God. They are said to convert, make wise, rejoice, enlighten, endure, and warn. Love is the law’s fulfilling; he who loves keeps it. 1 John 5:3. Judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42) are all component parts of the great reflect of God’s character; and that law demands of every responsible soul all these things, and condemns those who do not meet its claims, as coming short of God’s glory, or goodness of character. Rom. 3:20; Ex. 33:18, 19.

Man Unrighteous.—Man is a sinner. Not only has he sinned in the past, but it is his nature to sin. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [carnally minded] cannot please God." Rom. 8:7, 8. Man has no righteousness in himself; he cannot get it out of the law. In fact, man cannot of himself get righteousness from any source. In his natural condition, following his natural desires, he does not want righteousness. And even though he desired to do God’s will, he could not do it, for God’s law is of one nature, he of another. Therefore, while God’s righteousness is in his law, man cannot get it from thence, because his very nature is against the law, antagonistic to its principles. He thus stands condemned by the law. And the law cannot impart to man its character, because man’s fleshly nature is against it. Rom. 8:3.

Righteousness by Faith.—But man’s case is not hopeless. The sinless Son of God took man’s sinful flesh and overcame sin in the flesh. He kept all God’s commandments in all their perfection while in the flesh. He demonstrated God’s character in the flesh. He changed it from what might be called an abstraction of law, the way it presented itself to man apart from God, and incarnated it in mortal flesh, that by union with Christ the law or character of God might be triumphantly manifest in the mortal flesh of every soul who wanted it. How all this is done, how God does it all, we need not now inquire, nor could we comprehend the working of infinite power. But we may apprehend, or lay hold, of the righteousness of God. All that God asks on our part is to choose his way, to yield up our way, to renounce sin in both deed and nature, to admit our demonstrated and condemned condition, and to accept of the death of Christ for the death of which we were worthy, the life of Christ for our life, the character of Christ for our character. That is all. What a glorious exchange, the poverty and wretchedness of sin for the eternal riches and joy of righteousness! This is the gospel, which brings the righteousness of God upon all and into all who believe. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; . . . for therein [in the gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith." Rom. 1:16, 17. That righteousness comes to every man who will renounce all of self, and accept Christ for what he has revealed himself; and the law comes in as a blessed witness to show that the righteousness is the same that before condemned the sinner. Rom. 3:21.

The Righteous Man Keeps the Law.—The righteous man, the one whom God has made righteous, keeps God’s law. The righteousness of God’s law in Christ Jesus has been placed within and upon the man who has accepted Christ, and the righteousness within the heart recognizes the righteousness within the law, and by the same faith in Jesus Christ fulfills it. This is what the apostle states: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. . . . For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did by] 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." Rom. 8:1–4. He who hates God’s law knows not Christ as Saviour. He who knows Christ, loves God’s law, the blessed witness of the character of God, which is in him."Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3:31.

"PREPARE WAR."

By Editor

SOME writers and speakers on religious topics are careful to say that they "are not alarmists." We suppose that some of them mean by this that they are not giving a false alarm, while others do not wish to be understood for a moment as looking for evil to come out of this "glorious civilization;" "no, no; the days may be evil, the times ominous, but out of it all comes human peace, prosperity, and glory"!
The true watchman of God, in these days, is an "alarmist." There are dangers that threaten the church and the world. God has pointed out these dangers in the "more sure word of prophecy." He has bidden his messengers to "cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isa. 58:1. Again he says: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Joel 2:1. These are among the messages of alarm which God has given, and the faithful man of God will herald them to the world.
The cry of "peace" has ever been a popular one. The false prophets cried it in the times of Jeremiah and of Christ, but destruction came, nevertheless. God, who kens the future as the present, declared that the false prophets would cry, "Peace, peace," in the last days, and the cry is resounding from pulpit, platform, and press, as predicted. It requires no little daring and courage on the part of a popular minister to preach the truth; therefore, the majority preach the peace not of God. They might see the sword coming, and warn the people; but it is easier to close the eyes to the dangers that menace the world, and to preach the cry of peace, which lulls to slumber.
Never were the nations of earth so well prepared for war; and never were men more assiduously preaching, not the peace of the gospel of Christ, but a universal peace among the nations. Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage voiced this sentiment in a Memorial day oration at the Midwinter Fair, San Francisco. He said:—
There never will be another great war on the earth. Arbitration will take the place of war—glory to God and peace.
Upon this, one of the noted writers of today, a keen observer of men and nations, and one well versed in the history of war, remarks in the Examiner of June 3:—
This is the language of fools. Preparations for war have never—in so far as history can inform us—been made on so gigantic a scale as now. Never, in historical countries and historical times, have so many men been kept under arms, at so great a cost; never have weapons of war engaged in their invention and production so earnest and wide attention, and held so large a place in the industries; never have so great and expensive war ships been built and launched; never, in time of peace, in short, have men so sedulously prepared for war. It may seem to the clerical intelligence that all this is without significance,—that it is done for fun,—men of sense take another and more sober view of it. Within the last forty years Europe has had no fewer than five great wars, and America one; and there have been a score of others as fierce, if not so destructive. Indeed, the last forty years have been the bloodiest forty years of the bloodiest century known to history. For only seventeen years has Europe been spared the spectacle of two or more powerful Christian nations tugging at one another's throats. Seventeen years is a long time in the life of Dr. Talmage; it impresses him. In the life of civilization it is hardly a pulse beat. Perhaps Europe and America will be ready seriously to "hail the dawn" of universal peace when they shall have had time to get their breath and bind up the worst of their wounds. In the meantime, whatever attention they can spare from their lungs and lesions they give to reloading.
The criticism is its own defense. It bears in itself sufficient evidence of its good sense, to every intelligent, candid man: And what we wish to point out is this: the very facts stated concerning the preparations for war were predicted by the prophet of God more than twenty-five centuries ago. Says the prophet Joel (3:9-14):—
"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."
The above scripture declares the time of the application of this prophecy. It is at "the harvest," the end of the world, or age (Matt. 13:39), the second coming of Christ (Rev. 14:14, 15), the time when the great day of the Lord's wrath is near (2 Peter 3:10). At that time the multitudes of earth, agitated as never before, are in the valley of decision as never before. Then it will be that the earth will be prepared for war, and the great battle of Armageddon will be fought. See Jer. 25:15-33; Rev. 16:16-21. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" Amos 3:7, 8. "When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. 5:3.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.

By W. W. Prescott

THERE is only one purpose worthy to occupy our time and our efforts, and that is to know God. God is love; all that he does is in love; everything that he does or says is but a revelation of that love of God; and the whole purpose of our lives ought to be to become acquainted with God, and to teach to others the knowledge of God. All that we know concerning God is revealed to us in and through Jesus Christ, and so the whole purpose of life ought to be to become acquainted with God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, and to be able to give to others the knowledge of God as thus revealed.
When we speak of the subject of education, it is not a subject separate from the other experiencesof the Christian. Christian education is simply a part, and a very important part, of the Christian experience. And just as when we try to instruct concerning Christian experience, it is impossible to put it all into one lesson, so when we come to speak on the subject of education, all we can do is to take one phase of it, or one thought connected with it, and dwell upon that. The subject is too large to attempt to cover it in any other way; and I thought that this morning, in the brief hour that we have, we would consider this special line,—how God reveals himself to us, and how we may become acquainted with God, and what relation this has, or ought to have, to our system and plan of education.

ONE PURPOSE.

You know in the general scheme of education, as followed at the present time, a course of study usually includes the sciences, mathematics, language, history, philosophy; and after pursuing for a given time a course of study in which each line of work is supposed to have its appropriate place, one is said to be educated. Now, I have no objection whatever to pursuing these studies; it is not that; they are all essential; but there should be one thought and purpose in it all; and one thought, one principle, should control in the arrangement of such courses of study, and in following them out, and that is to become acquainted with God, to learn of God.

HOW GOD IS REVEALED.

Now there are three ways in which God especially reveals himself. He reveals himself to us in his works. All true science is but the interpretation of the handwriting of God in the material universe, and all the study of the sciences as related to the works of God should be for that purpose, to see God in his works, and to learn how to read that which he has himself written in his works. Have you thought of this, that for more than two thousand years after man was created he had no written revelation of God, but that his text-book was nature, and that he was able to read God on every leaf of the trees, on every cloud that passed over the sky, and on every object in nature, and not simply as a theory, as an idea that there was a God that existed, but he was able to read in the works of God the love, the wisdom, and the righteousness of God. So clearly has God made this handwriting that if there had been a written revelation of God, man would have been without excuse if he did not know and obey God. The Scripture expresses it in this way: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." The eternal power and Godhead, or divinity, of God were so clearly written in the creation, and his attributes so clearly written upon the face of nature, that man would have been without excuse if God had given him no written revelation of himself; and for more than two thousand years there was no revelation; and yet God was seen in everything. That is, before sin had darkened and debased the mind so that it could not read the handwriting of God—closed the eye, as it were—man could read God in everything, and he could draw from the works of God those lessons of faith, of love, of wisdom, and of righteousness, that were necessary for him to learn in order to live in perfect harmony with the Creator.
It is a significant fact to me that before sin entered into the world, with the face of nature as a text-book, with the works of God before the eye continually in which to read God,

THE SABBATH WAS THE ONLY OUTWARD OBSERVANCE

necessary to remind man of God. Before sin entered, the weekly requirement of the Sabbath, that sign, that memorial, that the God whom they worshiped was the God who made the heavens and the earth and all things that are in them, was the only outward thing, the only outward observance, necessary to turn the mind of man toward God; and that was to remind him that the living God, whom he worshiped, was the one whom he read in nature. But after sin entered, and thus debased the mind of man, then it became necessary that there should be more things to remind him of God. His spiritual vision began to grow dim, and his ability to read God in nature as the God of love, wisdom, and righteousness, to whom his worship was due, became less and less; and it became more and more necessary that God should supplement this with an explanation of what was clear before, and that man should be reminded again and again, and taught again and again, that the God who created these things was a God of love, wisdom, and righteousness, and that his service and homage were due to him as the Creator of all these things.
Then as sin increased, and man went lower and lower, his ability to read God in the face of nature became less and less, and more and more it became necessary to point out to him the lessons that were in nature. That is, I suppose, it was simply like this, that in early times, before man lost his power to read God in nature, the leaf that he looked upon taught him just as clearly of the wisdom, the love, and goodness of God, of his righteousness and holiness, as does this leaf to-day [displaying Bible]; and that just as upon this leaf is printed the statement that he is love, that he is righteousness, that he is wisdom, that he is the Creator and the Redeemer, so upon every leaf like this [displaying leaf] those same things were written. And just as you and I can open this book, and on this page we can read these statements concerning God, and thus become acquainted with him, just so they could look upon the leaves that were open before them all the time, the page of nature that was spread before them continually, and just as plainly they could read of the wisdom, goodness, and love of God, that he was the Creator, and that he was the Redeemer. Let me read a word upon that point:—
"The holy pair [Adam and Eve] were not only children under the fatherly care of God, but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. They were visited by angels, and were granted communion with their Maker, with no obscuring veil between. They were full of vigor imparted by the tree of life, and their intellectual power was but little less than that of angels. The mysteries of the visible universe, the wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge, afforded them inexhaustible sources of instruction and delight. The laws and operations in nature which have engaged men's study for six thousand years were opened to their minds by the infinite Framer and Upholder of all. They held communion with leaf and flower and tree, gathering from each the secrets of its life. With every living creature, from the mighty leviathan that playeth among the waters, to the insect mote that floats in the sunbeam, Adam was familiar. He had given to each its name, and he was acquainted with the nature and habits of all. God's glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, 'the balancing of the clouds,' the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night,—all were open to the study of our first parents. On every leaf of the forest or stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in earth and air and sky, God's name was written. The order and harmony of creation spoke to them of infinite wisdom and power. They were ever discovering some attraction that filled their hearts with deeper love, and called forth fresh expressions of gratitude."—Patriarchs and Prophets.

CLEARER REVELATIONS.

Now after man had lost the ability to read thus clearly the attributes of God in the face of nature, and to see him as his Redeemer, then God began to make clearer revelations to him, to meet him where he was; and as he went downward in the road of sin, God followed him with clearer and still clearer revelations; and when Christ came, he came as the great Teacher, to present in a still clearer light these same truths that were taught from the beginning in the face of nature. And you remember that Christ's teaching consisted very largely in calling attention to the lessons that were taught by nature, and in pointing out the instruction, and in getting connected in man's mind the thoughts, of God with the things of nature. You can readily recall the many lessons that are linked with the things which we see about us every day. "Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Now it is God's desire that every time we see the grass of the field and the flowers, we shall think of that. He says, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin." Every time we see the lilies, God would have us consider the lesson of their growth as applied to our spiritual growth. And you will find it difficult to think of any object in nature with which there is not a lesson connected in the Scripture. I was speaking of this point before our students one day, and afterwards one of them handed me a list of eighty-two different objects in nature with which lessons were connected in the Scripture, and gave me the reference to chapter and verse.
Now, when one is taught that way, do you not see that he cannot open his eyes upon the face of nature without it speaking to him all the time through the Scripture? The tree—"They shall be trees of righteousness." Does the sun shine?—"The Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings." Are there clouds?—"He shall be a cloud by day." Is there rain?—"He shall rain righteousness upon you." We should connect these things of nature with God as he would have us. He has done it so that in every experience of life we should be reminded of him, and that we shall not forget God in any experience of life. "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people." So in everything you may think of you will find a lesson connected with it.
(To be continued.)

THE STRANGER AND HIS FRIEND.

By James Montgomery

A POOR, wayfaring man of grief Hath often crossed me on my way, Who sued so humbly for relief That I could never answer nay; I had not power to ask his name, Whither he went, or whence he came, Yet there was something in his eye That won my love, I knew not why.
Once, when my scanty meal was spread, He enter'd; not a word he spake— Just perishing for want of bread— I gave him all; he blessed it, brake, And ate, but gave me part again; Mine was an angel's portion then, For while I fed with eager haste, The crust was manna to my taste.
I spied him where a fountain burst Clear from the rock; his strength was gone; The heedless water mock'd his thirst; He heard it, saw it hurrying on; I ran and raised the sufferer up; Thrice from the stream he drained my cup, Dipt, and returned it running o'er; I drank, and never thirsted more.
'Twas night; the floods were out; it blew A winter hurricane aloof. I heard his voice abroad, and flew To bid him welcome to my roof; I warm'd, I cloth'd, I cheer'd my guest, Laid him on my own couch to rest, Then made the earth my bed. It seem'd An Eden's garden while I dreamed.
Stript, wounded, beaten, nigh to death, I found him by the highway side; I roused his pulse, brought back his breath, Reviv'd his spirit, and supplied Wine, oil, refreshment; he was heal'd. I had myself a wound conceal'd, But from that hour forgot the smart, And peace bound up my broken heart.
In prison I saw him next, condemned To meet a traitor's doom at morn; The tide of lying tongues I stemm'd, And honor'd him midst shame and scorn. My friendship's utmost zeal to try, He ask'd if I for him would die. The flesh was weak; my blood ran chill; But the free spirit cried, "I will."
Then in a moment, to my view, The stranger darted from disguise; The tokens in his hands I knew; My Saviour stood before mine eyes. He spake, and my poor name he nam'd: "Of me thou hast not been ashamed; These deeds shall thy memorial be; Fear not, thou didst them unto me." —James Montgomery.

Appointing Cardinals From Around the World

By Editor

John J. Obrien has an article in the Catholic Mirror advising that the cardinals of the Catholic Church be appointed from all parts of the world, with some degree of proportion to the number of Catholics, or to the number of the clergy. He thinks that the present method was the best possible when it was adopted, but the needs of the church seem now to demand a different method, and suggests a petition to the "Holy Father," signed by the clergy who favor such a method, "and then present it to the Holy Father for his approbation, if he considers it wise to do." We do not believe that it will be considered wise. Italy will have something to say.

Weak Faith Makes Weak Men

By W. Baxendale

WEAK faith makes weak men.—W. Baxendale.

Holy Lives, Not Clever Arguments

By Canon Farrar

It may not be ours to utter convincing arguments, but it may be ours to live holy lives. It may not be ours to be subtle and learned and logical, but it may be ours to be noble and sweet and pure.

HARMONY WITH APOSTATE POWERS A SIGN OF ENMITY TO GOD.

By Ellen G. White

(Concluded.)
God has made provision in Jesus Christ that we shall keep the commandments of God. In this age of the world the powers of apostasy are seeking in every way to entice men into disobedience. The very work that Satan did in Eden he is doing to-day. He persuaded Adam and Eve that God had withheld some great good from them, and, while insinuating that God had not their welfare at heart, he pretended to have a deep interest in their advancement. Satan's falsehood prevailed; he succeeded in winning their confidence through promising them a greater breadth of knowledge than they had yet attained, even declaring that they should be as gods. God had placed upon them a very slight test. They were simply prohibited from partaking of one tree in the midst of the garden. Yet a violation of this one slight prohibition resulted in the fall of the human race. Though the action might be accounted small, yet it was disobedience and transgression; and, when weighed in God's balances, it was seen to be a most heinous sin. Adam's disobedience to God was the result of unbelief and ingratitude, and led him to take his position on the side of the great apostate, in giving credence to Satan's statements rather than to the word of God.
The history of Adam's transgression is before the human family, and is written for our admonition and warning, that we may realize how terrible is the sin of violating the least commandment of God.
We have full light upon the fact of how the Lord regarded Adam's transgression, and yet men presume to violate the fourth commandment. After the Lord created the world in six days, he rested on the seventh day, and sanctified the day of his rest, and bade men observe the day of rest throughout all generations. And yet men are repeating Adam's transgression, and are entering into a confederacy with Satan to war against God, in trampling upon the Sabbath institution. The church and the world are choosing Satan for their god and sovereign, and setting aside the God that made heaven and earth and all things that are therein.
Man lost his righteousness through transgression, and "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Through the righteousness of Christ, our substitute and surety, our obedience to God's commandments is made acceptable. Christ clothed his divinity with humanity, and endured the test upon the point of appetite, ambition, and love of the world, thus making it possible for man to keep the commandments of God through his imputed righteousness. Through faith in Christ, man becomes partaker of the divine nature, and is complete in him, as long as he walks in the light. But when light has come to a soul that has been in darkness in regard to the binding claims of the law of God, and the transgressor refuses to walk in the light, he is guilty before God, and is charged with apostasy. He chooses that sin shall have dominion over him, and therefore the penalty of the law is upon him. By his continued transgression he reveals the fact that he is at enmity with God, that his heart is carnal, and not subject to the law of God. He repeats the transgression of Adam, accepts the insinuations of the fallen foe, takes his place on the side of the man of sin, and exalts Satan above God. In refusing the light, he becomes one with the ranks of apostasy, and chooses to act with the confederacy of Satan.
It was necessary that Christ should take upon him our nature, in order to prove the falsity of Satan's statements. The apostate cast contempt upon the law of God, and declared that it was impossible for men to keep God's commandment, which had been pre-ordained in the counsels of heaven. Therefore Christ became man's representative and surety, thus demonstrating to heavenly intelligences, to unfallen worlds, and to the human race, that, through coöperation with divine agencies, humanity could be pure and holy. By partaking of the divine nature they could meet the demand of a perfect and holy law: Of Christ it is written: "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."
Adam failed to obey the commandments of God. Shall the sons and daughters of Adam continue in transgression, and also fail to obey? No one can enter into life who persists in disloyalty, since Christ was given to our world that he might save his people from their sins. When the young man came to Christ, saying, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." It was not possible for the young man, or for anyone, to keep the commandments of God except through the merit of Jesus Christ. Without the shedding of the blood of Christ there could be no remission of sin, no imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the believing sinner. Christ endured the penalty of sin in his own body on the cross, and fulfilled all righteousness. The merit of the righteousness of Christ is the only ground upon which the sinner may hope for a title to eternal life; for Christ hath given himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, as a sweet-smelling savor. An infinite price was paid for man's redemption, not that he might be saved in his sins, not to make void the law of God. Paul says: "Do we then make void the law of God through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." For though "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight," yet the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is witnessed by the law and the prophets.
How strange it is that the church and the world are joined together in a confederacy to do a work that God has especially prohibited! They disobey the commandments of God with impunity. The prohibition of God in the Garden of Eden was disregarded by Adam and Eve, and the most terrible consequences resulted. The Lord is placing the same test upon the human family to-day, and proving them by bringing to their attention the Sabbath, which is a memorial of God's creative power. In this memorial God testifies to the world and to heavenly intelligences that he made the world in six days, and rested—on the first day?—No, but on the seventh day. The same instruction comes to us to-day as when the Lord spoke to the children of Israel, saying, "Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations."
The Lord sends messengers of truth to the people; but when he brings words of stern truth to bear upon their consciences, there are many who are in no way pleased or grateful. The message of truth disturbs them in their ease-loving service of God, and they do not like the rugged, thorny path that is pointed out to them. They do not wish to separate from the world, to practice self-denial and self-sacrifice, and to attain unto the likeness of Christ. They desire to live at peace, and glorify self, and do not wish to identify their interest with that of Jesus Christ. They count that separation from the pleasures of the world, separation from the world's careless neglect of piety and devotion, is too heavy a cross for them to bear.
In rejection of light the hearts of men are hardened, and they finally unite with the agencies of apostasy in a work of compelling the conscience of those who do not agree with them, in persecuting and putting to death those who love God and keep his commandments. But the Lord says to his chosen people: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. . . . And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. . . . Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven."
The remnant people of God are to endure persecutions. "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." They are to give the warning message against the power represented by "the beast." The prophet says of this power, which represents the Papacy: "There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The remnant church of God are to give the warning of the third angel to the world: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in hishand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation."
The church of God, despised and persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined in the school of Christ. They walk in narrow paths on earth; they are purified in the furnace of afflictions. For Jesus' sake they endure opposition, hatred, calumny. They follow Christ through sore conflicts; they endure self-denial, and experience bitter disappointments; but their painful experience teaches them the guilt and woe of sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being partakers of Christ's sufferings, they are destined to be partakers of his glory. In holy vision the prophet saw the triumph of the people of God. He says: "I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints."
Continue reading: PRIMITIVE PERSECUTIONS