Chapter 47—The Truth as It Is in Jesus
[
This article appeared in
The Review and Herald, June 17, 1890
.]
In giving His only-begotten Son to die for sinners, God has mani-
fested to fallen man love that is without a parallel. We have full faith
in the scripture that says, “God is love” (
1 John 4:8
); and yet many
have shamefully perverted this word, and have fallen into dangerous
error because of a false interpretation of its meaning. God’s holy law
is the only standard by which we can estimate divine affection. If we
do not accept the law of God as our standard, we set up a standard of
our own. God has given us precious promises of His love, but we are
not to ascribe to Jehovah a tenderness that will lead Him to pass over
guilt and wink at iniquity.
The Creator loves His creatures, but he who loves sin more than
righteousness, error more than truth, perpetuates the transgression that
brought woe into our world, and cannot be regarded with favor by the
God of truth. The way of truth and righteousness involves a cross.
Many misinterpret the requirements of God, and make them mean
anything that will not disturb their consciences or inconvenience them
in their business relations; but truth is the only sanctifying medium.
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The love of God as manifested in Jesus, will lead us to the true
conception of the character of God. As we behold Christ, pierced for
our sins, we shall see that we cannot break the law of God and remain
in His favor; we shall feel that as sinners we must lay hold of the
merits of Christ and cease to sin. Then we are drawing nigh to God.
As soon as we have a correct view of the love of God, we shall have
no disposition to abuse it.
The cross of Christ testifies to the immutability of the law of God—
testifies that God so loved us that He gave His Son to die for our sins;
but Christ came not to destroy but to fulfill the law. Not one jot or tittle
of God’s moral standard could be changed to meet man in his fallen
condition. Jesus died that He might ascribe unto the repenting sinner
His own righteousness, and make it possible for man to keep the law.
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