Overcoming by the Merits of Christ
Overcoming: “The creative energy that called the worlds
into existence is in the word of God. This word imparts power; it begets life.
Every command is a promise; accepted by the will, received into the soul, it
brings with it the life of the Infinite One. It transforms the nature and
re-creates the soul in the image of God.” ED, 126.
“We are living in the great Day of
Atonement, and it is now time that everyone should repent before God, confess
his sins, and by living faith rest upon the merits of a crucified and risen
Saviour.” Testimonies to Ministers, p.
224, 225.
“Living faith enables its possessor to lay
hold of the merits of Christ, enables him to derive much comfort and
satisfaction from the plan of redemption.” 1SM
364.
“Still others who are condemned by the law
will repent of their transgressions and, through faith in Christ’s merits, will
perfect Christian character.” Ibid., p. 31.
“Those who are loyal to the truth will, through the merits of Christ, overcome all weakness of character that
has led them to be molded by every varying circumstance of life.” Ibid., p.85.
“Christ died for us that we might have
life. He opened before us the way whereby we might, through His merits, keep the law of God.” Ibid.,
p. 46.
“Through the virtue of the merits of the blood of Christ we may stand unscathed amid the fire of
temptation and trial.” Faith and Works,
p. 87.
“When we are clothed with the righteousness
of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us.
We may make mistakes, but we will hate the sin that caused the
sufferings of the Son of God.” 1SM 360.
This (above) is why we must often fall at
the foot of the cross and ask the forgiveness of Christ.
“As we behold Christ, pierced for our sins,
we shall see that we cannot break the law of God and remain in His favour; we
shall feel that as sinners we must lay hold of the merits of Christ and cease
to sin. Then we are
drawing night to God. As soon as we have a correct view of the love of God, we
shall have no disposition to abuse it.” 1SM
312.
“While the investigative judgment is going
forward in Heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from
the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of
purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon the earth. When
this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready
for His appearing.” GC 425.
“The merits of Christ are the foundation of
the Christian’s faith.” Great
Controversy, p. 73.
It is the hope that is set before us in the
Scriptures. And what a living hope! Heb. 6:18, 19; Romans 3:25; 5:9; Ephesians
1:7; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 13:12; Revelation 12:11.
“The Saviour was deeply anxious for His
disciples to understand for what purpose His divinity was united to humanity.
He came to the world to display the glory of God, that man might be uplifted by
its restoring power. God was manifested in Him that He might be manifested in
them. Christ revealed no qualities and exercised no power that men
may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His
followers may possess if they will be in subjection to God as He was.” The
Desire of Ages, 664.
“It is the privilege of every believer in
Christ to possess Christ’s nature, a nature far above that which Adam and Eve
forfeited by transgression.” The Upward
Look, p. 18; 1 Corinthians 15:45-49; 2 Peter 1:4.
“We must daily apply to the merits of the blood of
Christ that we may become vessels fit for the Master’s use.” Faith and Works, p. 86.
Power to obey: By faith you
became Christ's, and by faith you are to grow up in Him-by giving and taking.
You are to give all,-your heart, your will, your service,-give yourself to Him
to obey all His requirements and you must take all,-Christ, the fullness of all
blessing, to abide in your heart, to be your strength, your righteousness, your
everlasting helper,-to give you power to obey (SC 70).
Read this statement and
decide whether or not Ellen White changed her mind about righteousness by faith
after 1888. This statement was penned in 1890, just two years after the 1888
message.
From the pulpits of today
the words are uttered: "Believe, only believe. Have faith in Christ; you
have nothing to do with the old law, only
trust in [the merits of] Christ." How different is this from the words of the
apostle [James], who declares that faith without
works is dead. He says, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves." We must have
that faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Many seek to substitute a superficial faith for uprightness of life,
and think through this to obtain salvation. The Lord requires at this time just what
he required of Adam in Eden,--perfect obedience to the law of God. We must have
righteousness without a flaw, without a blemish. God gave his son to die
for the world, but he did not die to repeal the law which was holy and just and
good. The sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is an unanswerable argument showing
the immutability of the law. Its penalty was felt by the Son of God in behalf of
guilty man, that through his merits the sinner might obtain the virtue of his
spotless character by faith in his name. The sinner was
provided with a second opportunity to keep the law of God in the strength of
his Divine Redeemer. The cross of Calvary forever condemns the idea that Satan has placed
before the Christian world, that the death of Christ abolished not only the
typical system of sacrifices and ceremonies but the unchangeable law of God,
the foundation of his throne, the transcript of his character. Through every
device possible Satan has sought to make of none effect the sacrifice of the
Son of God, to render his expiation useless, and his mission a failure. He has
claimed that the death of Christ made obedience to the law unnecessary, and permitted the sinner to come into favor with a holy God without
forsaking his sin. He has declared that the Old Testament
standard was lowered in the gospel, and that men can come to Christ, not to be
saved from their sins but in their sins. But when John beheld Jesus he told his mission. He
said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world." To every repentant soul the message is, "Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be
as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
{ST, May 19, 1890 par. 10}
Christ
Refuted Satan's Boast That No One Could Live a Spotless Life--Christ came
to suffer in man's behalf, for Satan had made the boast that no one could withstand
his devising and in this world live a spotless life. Clothed with human nature,
the Redeemer subjected Himself to all the
temptations with which human beings are beset, and He overcame on every point. The record of
His life is given to the world, that no one need be in doubt as to the power of the grace of God. To every soul
who
strives for perfection of Christian
character, this world becomes a battlefield on which is
fought the controversy between good and evil. And
everyone who trusts in Christ will gain the victory. {11MR 213.2, 214}