Chapter 50—The Test of Loyalty
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will
love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 14:21
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It is essential that every subject of the kingdom of God should be obedient
to the law of Jehovah.... The fact that the law is holy, just, and good is to
be testified before all nations, tongues, and peoples, to worlds unfallen, to
angels, seraphim, and cherubim. The principles of the law of God were
wrought out in the character of Jesus Christ, and he who cooperates with
Christ, becoming a partaker of the divine nature, will develop the divine
character, and become an illustration of the divine law....
The more we study the attributes of the character of God as revealed
in Christ, the more we see that justice has been sustained in the sacrifice
that met the penalty of the law, ... in order that man might have another
probation.... Those who are obedient to the law of the government of God
while in this brief probation, ... will be pronounced in heaven loyal children
of the Lord of Hosts....
By both creation and redemption we are the Lord’s property. We are
absolutely His subjects, and amenable to the laws of His kingdom. Let no
one foster the delusion that the Lord God of heaven and earth has no law
by which to control and govern His subjects. We are dependent upon God
for everything we enjoy. The food which we eat, the clothing we wear, the
atmosphere we breathe, the life we enjoy from day to day, are received from
God. We are under obligation to be governed by His will, to acknowledge
Him as our supreme ruler....
We are under a debt of gratitude to God for the revelation of His love in
Christ Jesus; and as intelligent human agents, we are to reveal to the world
the manner of character that will result from obedience to every specification
of the law of God’s government. In perfect obedience to His holy will, we
are to manifest adoration, love, cheerfulness, and praise, and thus honor and
glorify God. It is in this way alone that man may reveal the character of
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