Divine Sin Bearer
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melted. He pledged Himself to accomplish our full salvation in a way
satisfactory to the demands of God’s justice, and consistent with the
exalted holiness of His law.
No one less holy than the Only Begotten of the Father, could
have offered a sacrifice that would be efficacious to cleanse all—
even the most sinful and degraded—who accept the Saviour as their
atonement and become obedient to Heaven’s law. Nothing less could
have reinstated man in God’s favor.
What right had Christ to take the captives out of the enemy’s
hands?—The right of having made a sacrifice that satisfies the prin-
ciples of justice by which the kingdom of heaven is governed. He
came to this earth as the Redeemer of the lost race, to conquer the wily
foe, and, by His steadfast allegiance to right, to save all who accept
Him as their Saviour. On the cross of Calvary He paid the redemption
price of the race. And thus He gained the right to take the captives
from the grasp of the great deceiver, who, by a lie, framed against the
government of God, caused the fall of man, and thus forfeited all claim
to be called a loyal subject of God’s glorious everlasting kingdom.
Our ransom has been paid by our Saviour. No one need be enslaved
by Satan. Christ stands before us as our all-powerful helper. “In
all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he
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might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he
himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that
are tempted” (
Hebrews 2:17, 18
).
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name.... And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and truth.... And of
his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (
John 1:11-16
).
Those who are adopted into the family of God are transformed by
His Spirit. Self-indulgence and supreme love for self are changed for
self-denial and supreme love for God. No man inherits holiness as
a birthright, nor can he, by any methods that he can devise, become
loyal to God. “Without me,” Christ says, “ye can do nothing” (
John
15:5
). Human righteousness is as “filthy rags.” But with God all things
are possible. In the strength of the Redeemer, weak, erring man can
become more than conqueror over the evil that besets him.
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