The Review and Herald
March 8, 1881
The Law of God the Standard of True Sanctification
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 Thessalonians 5:23. RH March 8, 1881, par. 1
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 2
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.” 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 3
“If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 4
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.” RH March 8, 1881, par. 5
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 6
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 7
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.” “I had not known sin but by the law.” 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 8
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 9
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 10
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.” 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 11
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 12
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 sugar-coated 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 13
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.” He prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” Paul says, “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” 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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 14
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. RH March 8, 1881, par. 15