Spirituality of the Law
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of righteousness embodied in the Decalogue are as immutable as the
eternal throne. Not one command has been annulled, not a jot or tittle
has been changed. Those principles that were made known to man
in Paradise as the great law of life will exist unchanged in Paradise
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restored. When Eden shall bloom on earth again, God’s law of love
will be obeyed by all beneath the sun.
“Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” “All His com-
mandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done
in truth and uprightness.” “Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known
of old that Thou hast founded them forever.”
Psalm 119:89
;
11:7, 8
;
Psalm 119:152
.
“Whosoever ... shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven.”—Matthew 5:19.
That is, he shall have no place therein. For he who willfully breaks
one commandment, does not, in spirit and truth, keep any of them.
“Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he
is guilty of all.”
James 2:10
.
It is not the greatness of the act of disobedience that constitutes
sin, but the fact of variance from God’s expressed will in the least
particular; for this shows that there is yet communion between the soul
and sin. The heart is divided in its service. There is a virtual denial of
God, a rebellion against the laws of His government.
Were men free to depart from the Lord’s requirements and to set
up a standard of duty for themselves, there would be a variety of
standards to suit different minds and the government would be taken
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out of the Lord’s hands. The will of man would be made supreme,
and the high and holy will of God—His purpose of love toward His
creatures—would be dishonored, disrespected.
Whenever men choose their own way, they place themselves in
controversy with God. They will have no place in the kingdom of
heaven, for they are at war with the very principles of heaven. In
disregarding the will of God, they are placing themselves on the side
of Satan, the enemy of God and man. Not by one word, not by many
words, but by every word that God has spoken, shall man live. We
cannot disregard one word, however trifling it may seem to us, and