Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 19, 1897
Go, and Sin No More
By Editor
Editorial
“Go, and Sin No More.”—These are words to a sinner by the Friend of sinners, the One most reviled by sinners, whose name is greatly profaned by sinners, who has been most maligned, denied, and blasphemed by sinners,— Jesus of Nazareth. Yet is he their greatest Friend. Others spurn them when they come to them; he never spurned them. Others hold hard and bitter thoughts against the low and degraded; he pardoned and healed all those whose hearts asked pardon and healing. The great, learned, and pious teachers of his day counted the poor and sinful accursed and without hope; he blessed them and kindled hope where erstwhile reigned dark despair.
The instance which gave rise to the above-quoted words is recorded in John 8:3-11. It is a record of one of the traps set by the Jews to catch Jesus, but, as always, the outcome redounded to his glory. The scene was in Jerusalem, probably within the temple courts. The record is as follows:—
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as tho he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
“And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.”
The device of the enemies of our Lord seemed to be a perfect one. How could he free the woman without excusing sin or setting himself against a civil law of the theocracy, given through Moses? Or if Jesus said, “Let her be stoned,” they could then accuse him before the Romans as one who usurped authority, and an enemy to Cæsar. It seemed to them that Jesus must in his reply set himself either against Moses or Cæsar. In the one case he would lose prestige as a religious teacher with the people, and in the other, they would, through the Romans, silence him as one stirring up sedition.
Our Lord read their thoughts. His pure eyes saw in them the same sins and worse, cherished in heart and stamped on feature, of which they had accused the woman. And, stooping down, he wrote their sins, beginning with the oldest before him, on the sand at his feet. In their eagerness to trap him, they did not notice at first what he was writing. They thought that he was indifferent to their plea; and they became insistent in their demands.2
The Master arose, and it needs no imagination to picture the look that swept the countenances of his interlocutors, and the deeper gaze that looked beyond the surface, piercing the innermost recesses of their hearts. With solemn tone and measured accent he responds: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”
They heard his reply. They doubtless looked to the writing in the sand, and read in condemning letters their own hearts’ iniquities. No more is needed. Convicted of their own sins, fearful perhaps that they would be published to the world, not ashamed to sin, but ashamed to confess, they pass out, from the oldest to the last, till Jesus was left alone with the only sinner uncondemned.
“Hath No Man Condemned Thee?”—Jesus looks up, and finds himself alone with the woman. He asks, “Where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord.” How could they, in the light of Eternal Truth and Righteousness, blazing the light deep down into the darkened chambers of their own vile hearts, and revealing sins, the wickedness of which the poor adulteress perhaps had never dreamed? How can men in the present blessed light of God’s Word, revealing, probing, searching the hearts of all, go on with unsparing condemnation of their fellows? How can professed Pharisees of to-day place themselves on the throne, and assume to condemn all who do not follow their interpretation of law or pronounce the shibboleth of their clan? How can professedly Christian society, among whose recognized leaders are rakes and debauchees, crowned by earth tho some may be, sit in judgment on the poor women, some of whom are ruined by the male prostitutes whose positions or wealth make them welcome to the same society? Would to God such could see, in the presence of the pure Jesus, their own hearts. They, as did their prototypes of old, would go out “convicted by their own consciences.”
“Neither Do I Condemn Thee.”—This is the message of Jesus to the poor, humbled sinner at his feet. It is not the business of Christianity to condemn men or women. This does not mean that Christ excused the sin. Doubtless the woman’s sin had never seemed so heinous to her in all her life before as she was bowed in the presence of Jesus. By not one word did Christ lessen the enormity of the sin. He knew as no other knew its terrible results. He was voluntarily bearing its fearful results for others’ sakes, that he might save others. He knew that he could not frighten nor compel into a better life the penitent one before him. She already knew the sin; what she needed to know was the Father’s mercy, hidden by the rigorous exactions of selfish Pharisaism. “Neither do I condemn thee;” thy sins are forgiven. Does this touch thy heart? Would you be released from such a life? As God has the greatness in mercy to forgive, so he has the greatness of strength to sustain. “Go, and sin no more.” Blessed, soothing words to every contrite heart, now as well as then. O soul, bound in sin, the Master, the Lord of heaven and earth, speaks to thee, however scribes or Pharisees may condemn! You may be an adulteress, an outcast, a drunkard, a thief, a blasphemer; “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”
Christianity’s Work.—This is the work of Christianity. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” It is the lost sheep, torn, bruised, hungry, seemingly worthless, for which the shepherd ventures life and safety. It is the lost piece of silver that the church is to hunt. It is the sinner that needs the saving, the hungry that needs to be fed, the naked that needs to be clothed, the sick that needs a physician. And to reach these—these “lower classes,” men call them, but not less precious in God’s sight—who knew a better way than Jesus Christ? It was not by legislation that he led men back to the commands of God; it was not by compulsion or coercion that he labored; it was love, outgiving, winning love. Every attempt to reform the world or man by human legislation has resulted in evil and only evil. Every outflowing of love in sacrifice has won and bound some soul to God.
God’s Mercy and Power.—How gloriously shines out the first, even toward the self-righteous, condemning Pharisees! He could have told their sins orally in public; but he did not. He could have told each man’s sins under each man’s name; but he left conscience to do the work. He might have written the sins in the rock of the temple, even as he graved the law in the rock; but he wrote them upon the sand, to show them how easy he could obliterate them. The only writing he did when on earth with human finger was to write men’s sins in sand; but on the hearts of men by divine love he engraved and implanted his law. And then he is all powerful. When he said to the impotent man, “Arise, take up thy bed and walk,” there was power in the word to enable the man to obey. So when he said to the adulteress, and to each and all, “Go, and sin no more,” there is power in the word to keep from sin.
“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice, which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner, and more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour; there is healing in His blood.
For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind,
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple, we should take Him at His word,
And our lives would be all sunshine in the sweetness of our Lord.”
THE GREAT DAY OF THE LORD.
The Character of the Millennium on This Earth.
There is a period of a thousand years very clearly marked in the prophetic Word, during which time the saints will reign with Christ, and Satan will be bound. The most definite prophecy concerning this period is found in Rev. 20:1–6.
There are two general views held as to this millennium by those who believe in Christ’s soon coming: (1) One class believe that the reign of Christ is personal, the 1,000 years literal, and the place of reign upon the earth. (2) Another class believe in the literality of the time and the reign of Christ, as clearly set forth in the prophetic Word, but they believe that the Bible teaches that that reign will be in heaven, in the New Jerusalem, and not on the earth.
Which is the true view must be learned by a humble searching of God’s Word. What is designed in this article is to consider, so far as this earth is concerned, the character of “the day of the Lord,” of which the 1,000 years is a part, and the condition of the earth during that time.
That the day of the Lord includes the 1,000 years of Rev. 20:1–6 will probably be disputed by no student of prophecy. There have been those who taught that the day of the Lord was identical with that 1,000 years; that the day was one millennium long, no more nor less. But it is sufficient to state here, what is so clearly taught in Rev. 20:1–6 and elsewhere in the Scriptures, that the beginning of the millennium is marked by the second coming of Christ, the first resurrection, and the binding of Satan, and it closes with the resurrection of the wicked dead, and the loosing of Satan. But the day of the Lord begins before Christ comes, and includes the time of the pouring out of the plagues. It continues after the 1,000 years, taking in the “little season” of Satan’s loosing, the destruction of the foes of God, and the cleansing of the earth from all evil. But the greater part of the time of the Lord is included in this millennium, to which so many are looking with hope and anticipation.
It is expected that then, on this earth, men will beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning-hooks, that wars will cease, that “society,” nations, and governments will be regenerated, and all will be ushered in by “Christian Citizenship,” and other reform methods now in vogue. In fact, with many the hope of the world lies in the day of the Lord, so soon to dawn upon us. But those who look for peace and happiness and prosperity on this earth during that period will be woefully disappointed. This is what the prophet says to that class:—
“Wo unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light! even very dark, and no brightness in it?” Amos 5:18–20.
The reason why it is wo is stated in the last verse; the day of the Lord upon this earth is such that it has no good in it for any one. He who hopes to flee from the evils now, represented by a lion, and find safety in the day of the Lord, will but find that he has turned from one evil to another, from a cruel lion to a crueler bear. He who looks to that day as a time of shelter, even as a man seeks his house, enters, leans on its wall for rest, and is bitten by a venomous serpent, will find destruction in the day of the Lord upon the earth.
Its Character.
Here are a number of passages which reveal to us the character of the day of the Lord and hence the millennium on this earth:—
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land [erets, earth] desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners3thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” Isa. 13:9–13.
“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.” Isa. 2:11, 12.
“The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord; the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land [erets, earth] shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land [erets, earth].” Zeph. 1:14–18.
“For as a snare shall it [that day] come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Luke 21:35.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Peter 3:10–12.
These are sufficient to show that, so far as this earth is concerned, the day of the Lord gives no promise of peace. It means fear, wrath, trouble, distress, gloominess, darkness, wasteness, desolation, and destruction. It is God’s great day of judgment. It is the culmination of the disease of sin in desolation and death. It is the earth desolate for a millennium, enjoying her sabbath, of which she had been deprived by sinful man, typified by the seventy years’ captivity until Palestine had enjoyed her sabbaths. It is God’s demonstration to the universe during that time of the blasting power of sin upon the fairest planet.
Those who hope to usher in a millennium of peace and prosperity by human means, contrary to God’s law, while professing to enforce that law, will find the desolation they themselves have invited. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof [thus it is now]; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.” Isa. 24:5, 6.
The true servant of God will labor all he can to save men from the perils of that fearful day. He will proclaim the message, “Flee from the wrath to come.” His hope, his dwelling-place, will not be in a sin-cursed earth, but in the living Saviour, Jesus Christ. And in that day of desolation he will be hid in the eternal mansions. To that shelter, reader, God now invites you.
FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.
By Ellen G. White
The miracle of the loaves is a lesson for Christ’s followers in all time. While bearing our human nature, Christ was constantly giving, by precept and example, lessons of dependence upon God. When he fed the five thousand, the food was not nigh at hand. Apparently he had no means at his command. Here he was, with five thousand men, besides women and children, in the wilderness. He did not invite this large multitude to follow him; they came without invitation or command; but he knew that after they had listened so long to his instruction, they would feel hungry and faint; for he was one with them in their need of food. The providence of God had placed him, the Son of God, where he was; and he depended on his heavenly Father for the means to relieve his necessity.
And when we are brought into strait places, we are to depend on God. We are to exercise wisdom and judgment in every action of life, that we may not, by careless, reckless movements, place ourselves in trial. We are not to plunge into difficulties, neglecting the means God has provided, and misusing the faculties he has given us. If we do this, the Lord will leave us to our own mistakes. But when, after following the best knowledge that we have, we are brought into strait places, and compassed with difficulties, God will deliver us. We are not to give up in discouragement, but in every emergency we are to seek wisdom from Him who has infinite resources at his command. Often we shall be surrounded with trying circumstances, and then, in the fullest confidence, we must depend wholly upon God, and neither fail nor be discouraged. He will keep every soul that is brought into perplexity through trying to keep the way of the Lord.
The Safe Path.
The path of duty, tho it may not always be pleasant to the natural feelings, is the only path of safety. When the Lord tests us with trials, he does not leave us to the will of the enemy. He has appointed a way of escape for us; but our faith in his pledged word must be exercised. Having the assurance of the partnership of Christ, we can overcome many difficulties. Constantly relying upon him for strength, looking to him for counsel, not trusting in self, but in God, we shall work the works of Christ.
The work of building up the kingdom of Christ will go forward, tho to all appearances it moves slowly, and means are so limited that impossibilities seem to testify against advance. The work is of God, and he will not only furnish us with means, but will send us helpers, true, earnest disciples, whose hands also will be filled with food for the starving multitude. God is not unmindful of those who labor in love to give the Word of life to perishing souls, who in their turn reach forth their hands for food for other hungry souls.
The disciples were bidden to feed the hungry multitude before eating themselves. After the wants of all had been supplied, the command was given, “Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.” Twelve baskets full were gathered up; and then Christ and his disciples ate of the precious, heaven-supplied food.
In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master-worker. Too often the worker for Jesus fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burdens upon organizations, instead of looking to and relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. But it is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Success is not dependent upon talent or numbers.
Bear Your Own Burden.
In the place of shifting your responsibility upon some one whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability, even tho you have but one talent. All our works must be wrought in God. Each one is to do his own work in the Lord’s vineyard. We must not look for some one else to do the work that lies directly in our pathway. Personal responsibilities must be borne; personal duties must be taken up; personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. And for those who do this work in faith the Holy Spirit will work as it worked for the disciples on the day of Pentecost.
Christ’s life of constant usefulness and unselfishness is an example to us. We must forget ourselves if we would scatter blessings to those around us. As the follower of Christ bends over the sacred record of his Master’s life and miracles, if he seeks the aid of the Spirit of God, he will not ask in vain for wisdom. He will discern beneath the surface jewels of truth which will captivate him; for in the life of Christ there is a richness and beauty which is not seen by the casual reader.
Follow God’s Plans.
By feeding the five thousand, Christ showed how every true believer is to be a laborer together4with God. Christ’s workers are to obey his instructions implicitly. They are not to plan according to their own ideas. The work is God’s and his plans must be followed if we would bless others. Self-denial and self-sacrifice should be practised daily. Self can not be made a center; it can receive no honor. Every receiver should look directly to God, and should acknowledge the conversion of souls to be accomplished, not by his own efforts, but by the power of God. No sensitiveness is to be shown lest self shall not be duly acknowledged. The hours are precious; they are not to be spent in self-pleasing, but in serving God.
In this act of supplying the temporal necessities of a hungry multitude is wrapped up a deep spiritual lesson for all Christ’s workers. Christ received from the Father; he imparted to the disciples; and they imparted to the multitude. All who are united to Christ will be doers of his word, receiving the bread of life, the heavenly food, from Christ and imparting it to others.
An Object Lesson.
Our Saviour’s example is an object lesson to us. In full reliance upon God, he took the small store of loaves, and, altho there was but sufficient for himself and his disciples, he commenced to place the food in their hands, bidding them distribute to the people. The food multiplied in his hands; and the hands of the disciples, reaching out to Christ, himself the Bread of Life, were never empty. The little store of food was sufficient for all. So we are to rely implicitly upon Christ for our supplies.
Our Saviour placed in the hands of his disciples the food for the people, and as they emptied their hands, they were again filled with the food, which multiplied in Christ’s hands as fast as it was called for. The disciples were channels of communication. This should be a great encouragement to the disciples of Christ to-day. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from him. He has given his life for the life of the world, and he says, “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life.”
A Paul may plant, and an Apollos water, but God only giveth the increase. This is so that no man may boast. The most intelligent, the most spiritually-minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can manufacture nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from the hands of Christ; and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting, we continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting.
God is the treasure-house of all wisdom, and the humblest worker that depends on this undiminished supply will be able to work the works of Christ. If the aim of the worker is to glorify God, there will be abundant channels of usefulness opened for him, in which he may work with all hope of success. God has provided such helpers for him in the heavenly intelligences, that failure will not be seen or mentioned. Christ has promised, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” If God be for us, who can be against us? If Christ is our companion, because we wear his yoke and lift his burdens, we shall gain advanced victories. The opposition of men will be strengthless, and their wisdom weakness, as the disciples of Christ reach out their empty hands of faith to One who is always ready to impart. Men may oppose, but no weapon can prosper that is formed against those who are imbued with the love of Christ, and armed with the Gospel weapons.
More Precious Than Gold.
This miracle contains lessons of more value to us than silver or gold. Carried out in experience, they would never lose their force. The work of the Holy Spirit is to impress the minds of those who should live in all generations with the importance of these lessons. It was God’s design that they should sound down the line to our time.
We need to receive more of the heavenly grace, that we may have more to impart to others. Thirty years after the day of Pentecost the apostle Paul wrote: “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” If in that short time the work had extended so far through the coöperation of the heavenly intelligences, should we not take courage? Christ has promised, “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “I will pray the Father,” he said again, “and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelled with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.”
As the disciples of Christ, do we act a part in the great work of saving souls for whom he has died? Do we point them to the Lamb of God, that they may believe in him, and have everlasting life? The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work, but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, he himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. Shall we not, as servants of Christ, learn to impart as we receive from him? If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the Bread of Life.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THE GOSPEL BANNER.
By Clyde Scott Chase
Let the Gospel banner float
O'er the city—o'er the plain;
Let it be a safety-boat
On raging main!
Let it sound the hopeful word
That but faintly has been heard,
And the hearts of nations stirred,
By its note.
Hold the Gospel banner up;
Hold it firmly—hold it high,
Telling that the bitter cup
Waxeth dry,
Telling of the growing throng
That so bravely moves along,
And that numbered with the strong
Are you and I.
Wave the Gospel banner high;
Wave it freely—wave it long;
Let it trail athwart the sky
Bright with song;
Let it speak both loud and brave,
To the master of our slave,
*“Lo! your curse shall find its grave,
And lowly lie.”*
Stand beneath the banner’s light;
Stand unflinching—stand erect,
And the close of tearful night
Soon expect.
In the east the morning hour
Pales the star of Belial’s power;
Soon his giant form will cower
From your sight.
Lo! o’er highway, field, and fountain,
Steals a glimmer—steals the day;
Soon the sun will gild the mountain
With its ray.
Men behold the herald-dove,
With its message from above,
And from serpents that they love
Flee away.
CLYDE SCOTT CHASE.
THE LIFE OF CHRIST RECEIVED THROUGH FAITH.
By Wm. Covert
(Concluded.)
A Newly-Made Being.
AS MAN actually studies God through his Word and in his works, faith reaches forth and takes hold upon the life which is at work in all these things; a new creation is the result. Remarking upon this matter, the apostle announces these glad tidings, “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Gal. 3:26. Being a child of God is of itself an all-sufficient heritage. The apostle, when considering the character and the wealth of this relation, says, “If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.” Rom. 8:17. Man approaches this relation not only helpless and condemned, but he is even less than nothing, because his sins stand in the way of his being anything.
Justification.
The first application of the Gospel of Christ for the penitent soul is to pardon and justify him from guilt, that he may have joy and peace in his newly-found relation. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1.
Justification is an act, on the part of the Lord, when a person believes, by which condemnation is removed, and he is in heaven declared to be conformable to the law of God. In this event the righteousness of Christ is given to the justified one, and he stands in that righteousness free from all his sins. The verb “to justify” is defined thus by Webster: “In theology to pardon and clear from guilt; to absolve or acquit from merited punishment, and to accept as righteous, on account of the merits of the Saviour or by the application of Christ’s atonement for the offender.” This is an inestimable favor, unmerited by man, which the Lord freely and gladly bestows upon all who will accept it by Gospel faith. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Rom. 3:24–26.
What Faith Includes.
An intelligent faith in Christ embraces what Christ now is, and all that he has been, and all that he has done for man. Faith accepts both the life and the death of the Redeemer. The believer’s faith lets go of himself, and takes Christ instead. He stands apart from his own life and character, and by faith merges into the character and life of the Saviour. By faith he takes hold of the life of the Living One. From that moment onward the life in Christ is to be the source of his life. “The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1:17; Hab. 2:4.
Faith severs from death him that believes, and again joins him to life, and the flow of the living current purifies his nature from all defilement and imparts to him the righteousness of Christ. The glory of this way is announced in the following words: “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Prov. 12:28. The same truth is also stated by Paul: “They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” And again, “As sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 5:17, 21.
It is the part of Gospel faith to so completely deliver fallen man from his sinful nature that it will not reign over him, and to connect him so fully with Christ’s life that Christ will live in him and reign over him. This living is “newness of life,” or “living by faith.” The person who is thus related to Christ is represented in the Scriptures as having died with Christ, and after death to have been buried with him, so that he no more exists in that carnal, sinful name and relation. He, by faith in this death and burial, went with Christ into the grave, to join him in his (Christ’s) resurrection from the dead. Thus in his Christian relation he lives wholly in and through Christ. Christ lives in him; sin and death have been dislodged, and the Lord’s life is manifested through him.5
An Outward Form Showing This Relation.
The candidate who goes with the administrator of the divine rite into the baptismal grave is thereby giving a formal expression of his faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In the same act he also declares that he accepts it all by yielding up himself and taking the name of Christ upon him. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. . . . Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. . . . Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through [or in] Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:4–11. Thus the believer renounces all claim to his sin-polluted life, and has by faith connected with life eternal.
He Is Created Anew.
The work accomplished by faith is in reality a new creation, and so it is written: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:8–10. Re-creation in Jesus Christ places the Christian again in connection with the good works in which it was ordained that he should walk when first man was made. To perpetuate this vital connection Christ must be constantly present. For “the accomplishment of this the apostle prayed: That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Eph. 3:17–19. This fulness of God in man is God’s power to work through faith. By this power the Lord is able to do for him “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Eph. 3:20.
Faith is not a substitute for works, but faith works. It brings Christ within, to dwell and work the works of God. Faith embodies in the believer the nature of Christ. Its work is constantly conforming the life of the Christian to the law of God. It is the same influence, the same power, and the same life actuating the child of God here that will endow him in the eternal world,—the life of Christ from above. It abides in the mind, and fills it with the righteousness of Christ. WM. COVERT.
