Treatment of the Erring
335
Christ Only Can Judge Man
Christ humbled Himself to stand at the head of humanity, to meet
the temptations and endure the trials that humanity must meet and
endure. He must know what humanity has to meet from the fallen foe,
that He might know how to succor those who are tempted.
And Christ has been made our Judge. The Father is not the Judge.
The angels are not. He who took humanity upon Himself, and in this
world lived a perfect life, is to judge us. He only can be our Judge.
Will you remember this, brethren? Will you remember it, ministers?
Will you remember it, fathers and mothers? Christ took humanity that
He might be our Judge. No one of you has been appointed to be a
judge of others. It is all that you can do to discipline yourselves. In
the name of Christ I entreat you to heed the injunction that He gives
you never to place yourselves on the judgment seat. From day to day
this message has been sounded in my ears: “Come down from the
judgment seat. Come down in humility.
God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are
degrees of guilt in His estimation as well as in that of finite man. But
however trifling this or that wrong in their course may seem in the
eyes of men, no sin is small in the sight of God. The sins which man
is disposed to look upon as small may be the very ones which God
accounts as great crimes. The drunkard is despised and is told that
his sin will exclude him from heaven, while pride, selfishness, and
covetousness go unrebuked. But these are sins that are especially
offensive to God. He “resisteth the proud,” and Paul tells us that
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covetousness is idolatry. Those who are familiar with the denunciations
against idolatry in the word of God will at once see how grave an
offense this sin is
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469
Testimonies for the Church 9:185, 186
470
Testimonies for the Church 5:337