Christ Our Righteousness
What It Means to Lose Sight of Such a Truth
To lose sight of this precious truth of justification by faith is to miss the supreme purpose of the gospel, which must prove disastrous to the individual, no matter how well meaning and earnest he may be regarding doctrines, ceremonies, activities, and anything and everything else relating to religion. The warning is clearly given by the servant of the Lord: COR 88.4
“Unless divine power is brought into the experience of the people of God, false theories and erroneous ideas will take minds captive, Christ and His righteousness will be dropped out of the experience of many, and their faith will be without power or life. Such will not have a daily living experience of the love of God in the heart; and if they do not zealously repent, they will be among those who are represented by the Laodiceans, who will be spewed out of the mouth of God.”-The Review and Herald, September 3, 1889. COR 89.1
To a lamentable degree, God’s people failed to bring the divine power into their experience, and the result predicted has been seen: COR 89.2
1. False theories and erroneous ideas have taken minds captive. COR 89.3
2. Christ and His righteousness have been dropped out of the experience of many. COR 89.4
3. The faith of many is without power or life. COR 89.5
4. There is not a living daily experience of the love of God in the heart. COR 89.6
Still further, we are told that much has been lost to the cause of God by the failure to gain that living experience of divine power-Righteousness by Faith: COR 89.7
“The people of God have lost much by not maintaining the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus. This simplicity has been crowded out, and forms and ceremonies and a round of busy activities in mechanical work have taken its place. Pride and lukewarmness have made the professed people of God an offense in His sight. Boastful self-sufficiency and complacent self-righteousness have masked and concealed the beggary and nakedness of the soul; but with God all things are naked and manifest.”-The Review and Herald, August 7, 1894. COR 89.8
Thus has been brought about widespread and fatal deception: COR 90.1
“What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness, of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater?”-The Review and Herald, August 7, 1894. COR 90.2