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The Truly Sanctified Feel Unworthy, March 18
We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but
for thy great mercies.
Daniel 9:18
.
Those who experience the sanctification of the Bible will manifest a spirit of
humility. Like Moses, they have had a view of the awful majesty of holiness, and
they see their own unworthiness in contrast with the purity and exalted perfection
of the Infinite One.
The prophet Daniel was an example of true sanctification. His long life
was filled with noble service for his Master. He was a man “greatly beloved”
(
Daniel 10:11
) of Heaven. Yet instead of claiming to be pure and holy, this honored
prophet identified himself with the really sinful of Israel as he pleaded before
God in behalf of his people: “We do not present our supplications before thee for
our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.” “We have sinned, we have done
wickedly” (
chap. 9:18, 15
)....
When Job heard the voice of the Lord out of the whirlwind, he exclaimed: “I
abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (
Job 42:6
). It was when Isaiah saw the
glory of the Lord, and heard the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord
of hosts,” that he cried out, “Woe is me! for I am undone” (
Isaiah 6:3, 5
). Paul,
after he was caught up into the third heaven and heard things which it was not
possible for a man to utter, speaks of himself as “less than the least of all saints”
(
2 Corinthians 12:2-4
, margin;
Ephesians 3:8
)....
There can be no self-exaltation, no boastful claim to freedom from sin, on the
part of those who walk in the shadow of Calvary’s cross. They feel that it was
their sin which caused the agony that broke the heart of the Son of God, and this
thought will lead them to self-abasement. Those who live nearest to Jesus discern
most clearly the frailty and sinfulness of humanity, and their only hope is in the
merit of a crucified and risen Saviour.
The sanctification now gaining prominence in the religious world carries with
it a spirit of self-exaltation and a disregard for the law of God that mark it as
foreign to the religion of the Bible. Its advocates teach that sanctification is an
instantaneous work, by which, through faith alone, they attain to perfect holiness.
“Only believe,” say they, “and the blessing is yours.” ... At the same time they deny
the authority of the law of God, urging that they are released from obligation to
keep the commandments. But is it possible for men to be holy, in accord with the
will and character of God, without coming into harmony with the principles which
are an expression of His nature and will, and which show what is well pleasing to
Him?—
The Great Controversy, 470, 471
.
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