Appopriating the
Righteousness (MERITS) Of Christ
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Chap. 12 - Appropriating
the Righteousness of Christ
GENERAL ARTICLE,
"SPIRITUAL WEAKNESS INEXCUSABLE," IN REVIEW AND HERALD, JULY 1, 1890. PORTION IN SELECTED
MESSAGES, BOOK ONE, PP. 363, 364. When
Jesus was about to ascend on high, He said to His disciples. "I will
pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide
with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but
ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,
17). Again He said, "He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love
him, and will manifest Myself to him" (verse 21). {FW 91.2} There
are many who find satisfaction in identifying themselves with false
doctrines, that there may be no disturbance or difference between themselves
and the world; but the children of God must bear testimony to the truth, not
only by pen and The
world seeks the things of the world--business, worldly honor, display,
selfish gratification. Christ seeks to break this spell which holds men away
from Him. He seeks to call men's attention to the world to come, that Satan
has managed to eclipse by his own shadow. Christ brings the eternal world within
the range of men's vision, He presents its
attractions before them, tells them that He will prepare mansions for them,
and will come again and receive them unto Himself. It is the design of Satan
so to fill the mind with inordinate love of sensual things that the love of
God and the desire for heaven shall be expelled from the heart. . . . {FW 92.1}
Called to Be Faithful Stewards The
Christian's warfare is not a warfare waged against flesh and blood but
against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. The Christian must contend with supernatural forces, but he is not to
be left The
world's Redeemer would not have man in ignorance of Satan's devices. The vast
confederacy of evil is arrayed against those who would overcome; but Christ
would have us look to the things that are not seen, to the armies of heaven
that encamp round about those who love God, to deliver them. The angels of
heaven are interested in behalf of man. The power of Omnipotence is at the
service of those who trust in God. The Father accepts the righteousness of
Christ in behalf of His followers, and they are surrounded with light and
holiness which Satan cannot penetrate. The voice of the Captain of our
salvation speaks to His followers, saying, "'Be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world.' I am your defense; advance to
victory." {FW 93.1}
The Cross of Calvary We
must center our hopes of heaven upon Christ alone, because He is our
Substitute and Surety. We have transgressed the law of God, and by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified. The best efforts that man in his own
strength can make are valueless to meet the holy and just law that he has
transgressed; but through faith in Christ he may claim the righteousness of
the Son of God as all-sufficient. Christ satisfied the demands of the law in
His human nature. He bore the He who
is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. Man cannot be saved without obedience,
but his works should not be of himself; Christ should work in him to will and
to do of His good pleasure. If a man could save himself by his own works, he
might have something in himself in which to rejoice. The effort that man
makes in his own strength to obtain salvation is represented by the offering
of Cain. All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and
sin; but that which is wrought through faith is acceptable to God. When we
seek to gain heaven through the merits of
Christ, the soul makes progress. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith," we may go on from strength to strength, from
victory to victory; for through Christ the grace of God has worked out our
complete salvation. {FW 94.1} |
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