Text: "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your
whole spirit, and soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:23)
Sanctification is obtained only in obedience to the will of God. Many who are
willfully trampling upon the law of Jehovah, claim holiness of heart and
sanctification of life. But they have not a saving knowledge of God or of his
law. They are standing in the ranks of the great rebel. He is at war with the
law of God, which is the foundation of the divine government in Heaven and in
the earth. These men are doing the same work as their master has done in seeking
to make of none effect God’s holy law. No commandment breaker can be permitted
to enter Heaven; for he who was once a pure and exalted covering cherub, was
thrust out for rebelling against the government of God.
With many, sanctification is only self-righteousness. And yet these persons
boldly claim Jesus as their Saviour and sanctifier. What a delusion! Will the
Son of God sanctify the transgressor of the Father’s law—that law which Christ
came to exalt and make honorable? He testifies, "I have kept my Father’s
commandments." (John 15:10) God will not bring his law down to meet the
imperfect standard of man; and man cannot meet the demands of that holy law
without exercising repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ.
"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous." (1 John 2:1) But God has not given his Son to a life of
suffering and ignominy and a shameful death to release man from obedience to the
divine law. So great is the deceptive power of Satan, that many have been led to
regard the atonement of Christ as of no real value. Christ died because there
was no other hope for the transgressor. He might try to keep God’s law in the
future; but the debt which he had incurred in the past remained, and the law
must condemn him to death. Christ came to pay that debt for the sinner which it
was impossible for him to pay for himself. Thus, through the atoning sacrifice
of Christ, sinful man was granted another trial.
It is the sophistry of Satan that the death of Christ brought in grace to
take the place of the law. The death of Jesus did not change, or annul, or
lessen in the slightest degree, the law of Ten Commandments. That precious grace
offered to men through a Saviour’s blood, establishes the law of God. Since the
fall of man, God’s moral government and his grace are inseparable. They go hand
in hand through all dispensations. "Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other." (Ps. 85:10)
Jesus, our substitute, consented to bear for man the penalty of the law
transgressed. He clothed his divinity with humanity, and thus became the Son of
man, a Saviour and Redeemer. The very fact of the death of God’s dear Son to
redeem man, shows the immutability of the divine law. How easily, from the
transgressor’s standpoint, could God have abolished his law, thus providing a
way whereby men could be saved, and Christ remain in Heaven! The doctrine which
teaches freedom, through grace, to break the law, is a fatal delusion. Every
transgressor of God’s law is a sinner, and none can be sanctified while living
in known sin.
The condescension and agony of God’s dear Son were not endured to purchase
for man liberty to transgress the Father’s law and yet sit down with Christ in
his throne. It was that through his merits, and the exercise of repentance and
faith, the most guilty sinner might receive pardon, and obtain strength to live
a life of obedience. The sinner is not saved in his sins, but from his sins.
The soul must first be convicted of sin, before the sinner will feel a desire
to come to Christ. "Sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4)
"I had not known sin but by the law." (Romans 7:7) When the commandment
came home to Saul’s conscience, sin revived, and he died. He saw himself
condemned by the law of God. The sinner cannot be convinced of his guilt, unless
he understands what constitutes sin. It is impossible for an individual to
experience Bible sanctification while he holds that if he believes in Christ it
is immaterial whether he obeys God’s law or disobeys it.
Those who profess to keep the law of God, and yet at heart are indulging in
sin, are condemned by the True Witness. They claim to be rich in a knowledge of
the truth; but they are not in harmony with its sacred principles. The truth
does not sanctify their lives. God’s word declares that the professed
commandment keeper, whose life contradicts his faith, is blind, wretched, poor,
and naked.
God’s law is the mirror presenting a complete reflection of the man as he is,
and holding up before him the correct likeness. Some will turn away and forget
this picture, while others will employ abusive epithets against the law, as
though this would cure their defects of character. Still others who are
condemned by the law will repent of their transgressions, and, through faith in
Christ’s merits, will perfect Christian character.
The whole world is guilty in God’s sight of transgressing his law. Because
the great majority will continue to transgress, and thus remain at enmity with
God, is no reason why none should confess themselves guilty and become obedient.
To a superficial observer, persons who are naturally amiable, who are educated
and refined, may appear perfect in life. "Man looketh on the outward
appearance; but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam. 16:7) Unless the
life-giving truths of God’s word, when presented to the conscience, are
understandingly received, and then faithfully carried out in the life, no man
can see the kingdom of Heaven. To some, these truths have a charm because of
their novelty, but are not accepted as the word of God. Those who do not receive
the light when it is brought before them, will be condemned by it.
In every congregation in the land there are souls unsatisfied, hungering and
thirsting for salvation. By day and by night, the burden of their hearts is,
What shall I do to be saved? They listen eagerly to popular discourses, hoping
to learn how they may be justified before God. But too often they hear only a
pleasing speech, an eloquent declamation. There are sad and disappointed hearts
in every religious gathering. The minister tells his hearers that they cannot
keep the law of God. "It is not binding upon man in our day," he says.
"You must believe in Christ; he will save you; only believe." Thus he
teaches them to make feeling their criterion, and gives them no intelligent
faith. That minister may profess to be very sincere; but he is seeking to quiet
the troubled conscience with a false hope.
Many are led to think that they are on the road to Heaven, because they
profess to believe in Christ, while they reject the law of God. But they will
find at last that they were on the way to perdition, instead of Heaven.
Spiritual poison is sugarcoated with the doctrine of sanctification, and
administered to the people. Thousands eagerly swallow it, feeling that if they
are only honest in their belief they will be safe. But sincerity will not
convert error to truth. A man may swallow poison, thinking it is food; but his
sincerity will not save him from the effects of the dose.
God has given us his word to be our guide. Christ has said, "Search the
Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which
testify of me." (John 5:39) He prayed for his disciples, "Sanctify them
through thy truth; thy word is truth." (John 17:17) Paul says, "I verily
thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth." (Acts 26:9) But this belief did not make his
course right. When Paul received the gospel of Jesus Christ, it made him a new
creature. He was transformed; the truth was planted in his soul, and gave him
such faith and courage as a follower of Christ that no opposition could move
him, no suffering daunt him. Men may make what excuse they please for their
rejection of God’s law; but no excuse will be accepted in the Day of Judgment.
Those who are contending with God, and strengthening their guilty souls in
transgression, must very soon meet the great Lawgiver over his broken law.
The day of God’s vengeance cometh–the day of the fierceness of his wrath. Who
will abide the day of his coming? Men have hardened their hearts against the
Spirit of God; but the arrows of his wrath will pierce where the arrows of
conviction could not. God will not far hence arise to deal with the sinner. Will
the false shepherd shield the transgressor in that day? Can he be excused who
went with the multitude in the path of disobedience? Will popularity or numbers
make any guiltless? These are questions which the careless and indifferent
should consider and settle for themselves.
By Mrs. E. G. White.