The Watchman
March 31, 1908
Our Accountability to God
God has committed to us sacred truths for which he holds us responsible. He has given us mental and moral faculties that should be developed by education into a well-balanced mind and a symmetrical character. But education alone will not prepare a man to meet the object of his creation. He needs the grace of God. Divine power united with human effort will enable him to do good and glorify his Creator. SW March 31, 1908, par. 1
Few appreciate the value of man, and the glory that would redound to God, were he to cultivate and preserve purity, nobility, and integrity of character. The value that God sets upon man is shown by the price that has been paid for his redemption; his love is expressed in that he withheld not his beloved Son, but gave him to die for a sinful race. Angels could not, by any sacrifice that they could make, accomplish the work of man's redemption. It was only through the suffering and death of Christ that he could be restored to the favor of God. For our sakes He who knew no sin was made an offering for sin. He was afflicted, insulted, oppressed. Arraigned as a criminal, he suffered shame, insult, mockery, a cruel, painful death. SW March 31, 1908, par. 2
Sin is the transgression of the law, and death is its penalty. It was to save man from these that Christ suffered. Through his perfect obedience, the law was exalted. He will elevate man and give him rich and glorious possessions if he will respect the claims of God's law; but if he chooses to ruin his hopes of heaven by his stubborn sinfulness, he will lose these blessings. To choose to be a sinner is to refuse to stand before the throne of God washed from the defilement of sin; it is to refuse the riches of eternal glory, refuse to be a joint-heir with Christ to the immortal inheritance;—it is to reject all these, and choose instead the sure consequences of sin, the sinner's fixed doom. SW March 31, 1908, par. 3
Those who might do good service in advancing the cause of Christ, but who use their talents and influence to tear down instead of to build up, will feel the wrath of God. They will experience what Christ suffered in saving men from the penalty of the broken law. The value of man and the measure of his accountability can be known only by the cross of Calvary. He who presents himself to the sinner as the One strong to deliver, will prove himself mighty to execute wrath and judgment upon every unrepenting son of Adam. He who holds the worlds in position, who weighs the hills in scales, and the mountains in a balance, who taketh up the isles as a very little thing, will show himself mighty to avenge his unrequited mercy and spurned love. Those who flatter themselves that God is too merciful to punish the sinner, have only to look at Calvary to make assurance doubly sure that vengeance will be visited upon every transgressor of his righteous law. SW March 31, 1908, par. 4
The short space of time allotted to men here is exceedingly valuable. Now, while probation lingers, God proposes to unite his strength with the weakness of finite man. We should so educate ourselves that we can serve him intelligently. Those who have cherished skepticism may, by proper discipline of the mind, learn to cherish faith. Those who truly love God will desire so to improve the talents that he has given them, that they may be a blessing to others. And by and by the gates of heaven will be thrown wide open to admit them, and from the lips of the King of Glory the benediction will fall upon their ear like richest music, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Thus the redeemed will be welcomed to the mansions that Jesus is preparing for them. There their companions will not be the vile of earth, but those who through divine aid have formed perfect characters. Every sinful tendency, every imperfection, has been removed by the blood of Christ; and the excellence and brightness of his glory, far exceeding the brightness of the sun in its meridian splendor, is imparted to them. And the moral beauty, the perfection of his character, shines through them, in worth far exceeding this outward splendor. They are without fault before the great white throne, sharing the dignity and privileges of the angels. SW March 31, 1908, par. 5
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” In view of the glorious inheritance which may be his, “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” He may be poor; yet he possesses in himself a wealth and dignity that the world could never bestow. The soul, redeemed and cleansed from sin, with all its noble powers dedicated to the service of God, is of surpassing worth; and there is joy in heaven, in the presence of God and holy angels, over one sinner that repents,—a joy that is expressed in songs of holy triumph. SW March 31, 1908, par. 6