The Remedy for Sin

In this post I will present an analogy that illustrates the truth about the gospel, the Good News! I will follow this up in a few weeks with a post that illustrates the truth about how God's law is related to the gospel.

Imagine a father, with many children. Imagine that all his children have a disease that is known to be fatal. This disease is also known to distort the thinking and destroy the mind. In fact, it so destroys the mind, that it is entirely correct to say that those who have the disease are slaves to it, they have no freedom of thought or will. The disease also destroys the body, and without proper treatment it kills quickly. Thankfully, there is a cure! The father has the antidote that will return the mind and the body to perfect health. Now, suppose the father should say, "I must not overrule the free will of my children, so I will only give the antidote to those who ask for it." What would you think of such a father? At the very least, you would think he must not be very intelligent. Most would rightly consider such a man to be a monster beyond description! Yet, notice that this is precisely how every pastor, evangelist, and teacher of every kind in the church, describes our heavenly Father! They rightly tell us that sin is a fatal disease. They rightly tell us that it destroys not only the body, but that it also brings spiritual death and binds the will in slavery to sin (a dead man cannot ask for the Antidote and a slave has no free will). And yet they tell us that not one person receives the new birth/Holy Ghost/quickening to new life, that not one person receives Christ within their sin-ridden hearts, without expressly asking for Him to come in. In doing this, they make our Father in heaven out to be an even more monstrous character than the human father described above, for the human father is allowing for the destruction of the bodies of his children, while these false teachers portray a heavenly father that would wilfully allow for the eternal destruction of not only the bodies but also of the souls of His dear children. Sadly, presently, there is not one master in Israel who understands and teaches the truth about the gospel; not one.

Here is the truth of the gospel: the Father has administered the Antidote (Christ) into all of His children, without even one of them having asked for it, for not one of them could ask for it. And with the Antidote now working within each one to clarify truth to their minds (their wills only thereby freed from the bondage they were in), He bids them cooperate with him for their full recovery! This is the Father we have! All praise and honor and glory belong to Him, now and forevermore! That's the truth of the Everlasting Gospel! Believe it! Live it!

Ephesians 4.7-8, Colossians 3.11

The Gospel and the Law in a nutshell: a small nutshell!

Here are three points that encapsulate the message contained in those posts.

1. Justification and the new birth are one and the same, and are delivered into the heart of every man unbidden and without their consent, as Christ clearly describes to Nicodemus (Titus 3.5, Romans 5.18, John 3.5-8).

2. Christ is delivered into the heart of every human by birthright (John 1.9, Ephesians 1.18). He is himself the law personified. He writes his law (indeed, he engraves himself!) upon the heart of every man (2 Corinthians 4.6) whether they consent to this or not (Romans 2.15). Those who do not erase what he writes are one day perfected.

3. In the judgement it will be made evident that the only reason any man is condemned is because he disposed of the salvation he was in possession of (John 3.19).

Just as Adam's sin resulted in your condemnation unto eternal death, without your knowledge or consent, so Christ's death and resurrection resulted in your justification unto eternal life (Romans 5.18, 1 Peter 1.3), without your knowledge or consent. Every human is born saved because what Christ has done overpowers what Adam did! You are standing in his salvation! You did no more to receive it than Adam did in order to be created. Christ simply gave it to you because of who he is and how he loves you! What will you do with it? I pray that you will approach the Light and make it manifest that your good works are his good works worked out in you! John 3.21

The Law of God and the Gospel of Righteousness

In Matthew chapter 5 Christ tells us:

“For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5.19-19).

David, in describing God’s law, states that “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7). His law is eternal; “The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever” (Psalm 111:7-8). The law of God is perfect, eternal, and immutable! This is the true character of the law of God. The Law of God can correctly be described as a list of things we should do and things we should not do. In this sense it is a schoolmaster, showing us clearly how to live, and to make it clear to us just how far from the good path we by nature are. This realization then points us to Christ, who is our only Remedy! "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." Galatians 3.24-25. It is also correct to understand that the Law of God (including the Ten Commandments and all the other commandments found throughout the Bible) is a transcript of God's character. Christ summarized the entire Law of God with two summary commandments, love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22.37-39). This is one of many biblical examples of how God's Law and God Himself are described using the same word - Love. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4.8." Most Christians are familiar with both the schoolmaster understanding of God's Law, and also with the truth that God's Law is a description of His character. On this blog we will be sharing regarding a third and critically important understanding of God's Law, namely, that God's Law is not only a Schoolmaster, and not only a transcript of God's character, but God's Law is God Himself, His Character, that God has made Jesus Christ to be His Law! In other words, God's Law is a written description of His own Character, and of the man Jesus Christ's character, and the most full, deep, broad, high, understanding of God's Law is to understand that it is not just a description of God and of Christ, it is Christ Himself! Christ is the subject of which the written Law speaks, and the purpose of the Law is to point us to Christ, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Romans 10.4 We will expound upon this truth more in subsequent posts, but for now consider it this way; in a western United States town, in cowboy times, a sheriff might well say something like, "I am the law around here!" What did he mean. All understood his statement quite well, and it was a perfectly true statement. Even if he wrote down some of his laws, they would necessarily be reflections of his character, and they would not in any way, shape, or form, negate the fact the he himself/his person was still the law in those parts. And so it is with God's Law! Christ is himself the Law! He says as much, and makes His version of the sheriff's statement when he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14.6 More later on the truth that the Law of God is a man, and his name is Jesus Christ!

  In the book of Matthew, Christ tells us that after the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the whole world, the end will come (Matthew 24:14). For centuries, Christendom has struggled with an apparent contradiction between the demands of God’s immutable law and the gospel of God’s grace. The purpose of this letter is to briefly describe the true character of God’s law, and the true character of the gospel of righteousness, and to begin to clarify a correct understanding of the true character of the relationship between God’s Law and the Gospel of Righteousness. The world desperately needs to know that these two distinct, yet inextricably connected, messages are not at odds with each other, but are in fact interwoven in a most beautiful and awe-inspiring way which glorifies God like no other gospel message the world has ever heard! Let’s begin by examining the gospel message and proceed to explore a biblically correct understanding of the law, and then consider the true character of the relationship between these two realities.

What is the gospel of righteousness? Well, the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and that on the third day he rose again (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)! Paul also puts it this way: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Now that is Good News! He accomplished what was needed to make us the righteousness of God in him! Now comes the question of how we must understand the true character of this gospel and how to correctly relate it to the holy law of God. In order to do that, we need to start at the beginning.

When Jehovah gave life to man for the first time, that life came with everything man needed. Nothing was withheld from Adam and Eve, for which they would have to ask, in order to be perfect, perfectly happy, holy and right with God (Genesis 1:31). Sadly, they fell from their lofty position. And when they fell, they lost not only their physical lives, but their spiritual lives suffered devastating effects as well, as evidenced by the fact that they immediately began to be carnally minded (Genesis 2:17 & 3:7). Now, according to Romans 8:6, “to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Certainly, Adam and Eve did not have peace after eating the forbidden fruit, and it is clear that they were dying physically and no longer possessed the fullness of spiritual life which they had previously known. Paul clarifies that Adam's fall resulted in his bequeathing death to all his children, both physical and spiritual death (Romans 5:14). And this would be man's only inheritance had it not been preemptively nullified (2 Timothy 1:10) by the inheritance bequeathed to man from the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world! (Revelation 13:8, Romans 5:20-21)

God’s provision of grace preceded Adam’s fall, so that when Adam fell, he fell into the everlasting Arms! (Deuteronomy 33:27) Consequently, because of Jehovah's mercy, Adam and Eve never suffered a complete loss of spiritual life (because of their inheritance through Christ), and they (and all their children) were given a probationary period of physical life. During this probationary time, they were permitted to pass on physical life through procreation. But that physical life was now limited, and Adam now had neither the authority by which nor a vehicle through which he could ensure the passing on of spiritual life to his children. So, while from Adam we inherit nothing but sin and death, from Christ we inherit life and righteousness (Ephesians 2:1-10).

This dichotomy between what we receive from Adam and what we receive from Christ is further clarified by Christ himself when he teaches that we must be born spiritually in order to see the kingdom (John 3:3). So the Bible tells us that because of Adam we are by nature spiritually dead, and that we must be born from above, born spiritually, in order to be spiritually alive and in order to see the kingdom.

Now let us consider for a moment the condition of a spiritually dead man. This man follows the lusts of his flesh (Ephesians 2:3), he hates God (Romans 8:7), the gospel of Jesus Christ is foolishness to him (1 Corinthians 1:18), he is a slave to sin, he has no free will (John 8:34, Romans 8:6). He is captive to the dictates of his nature. Can a leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23) It is clear then, that the unregenerate man (i.e., the spiritually dead man), even if placed in heaven itself, would not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ! A very terrible, but irrefutable thought! Then what must happen for such a man to be saved? Paul tells us what happens; “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened [brought us to life] us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).” (Ephesians 2:4&5)

            Notice that a man who is spiritually dead cannot be attracted to God. He considers the things of God to be all so much foolishness. Such a man must first be quickened (brought to life) from spiritual death to spiritual life before he can appreciate the things of God! In John 3 Christ likens the spiritual quickening of the soul to the physical birth of a child. In the same way that one must be born physically before one can appreciate the things of this worldly life, so one must be born spiritually before he can appreciate the things of the spiritual life. Peter, echoing the words of Paul, tells us that we are brought from spiritual death to spiritual life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ! “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3) So, mankind, who would otherwise be spiritually dead because of what Adam did, have been begotten again (born again) because of what Christ has done! It is evident then, that this quickening spoken of by Paul and the new birth spoken of by Christ in John chapter 3 are one and the same event!

            The fact that God in His mercy implants Christ himself into our lifeless souls, the power of his presence freeing us from the power of death and sin; this is the Gospel of Righteousness! The gospel of Christ's Righteousness! For it is his righteousness alone, and absolutely nothing of our own, that results in the implantation of the son into our previously lifeless souls! Praise God! For, “he that hath the son hath life.” (1 John 5:12) Here is the true character then, of the Gospel of Righteousness that will lighten the earth with its glory; that the life and power of Christ, full and free, is not simply offered to dead men, but is most certainly and fully delivered into the soul of every human being, changing them from death to life! This is done without their bidding, for they could not bid for it (dead men cannot ask for life), and without their doing anything (dead men cannot do anything) to merit it! This is the Gospel of Righteousness! The gospel of Christ's righteousness in us!

            When Christ brings spiritual life to humanity the second time around, he does not do in half-measure what Jehovah first did in full. When Jesus, in the person of the Holy Ghost, revives “every man that cometh into the world,” by entering in and shining his light in their hearts, (John 1:9) he thereby resuscitates the dead man and delivers to him Life in his very soul.

            Let's consider Genesis again. When Jehovah formed man out of the dust of the ground, did He create man's physical body and require that man should ask Him for spiritual life? No. This would be to ask man for what man could not give. No, He did not consult the will of man on this matter, for in this form man had no free will, no will at all! But Jehovah knew the plans He had for man, so He breathed into man's lifeless nostrils and imparted to him the free gift of both physical and spiritual life! Oh what a happy state that Adam found himself in! Vicegerent of the Creator of the Universe! Predetermined by God to walk with Him throughout the eternal ages in bliss! Our minds, this far from the fall, cannot rightly comprehend the glory and joy Adam must have felt. To be made alive and to realize that all these things were his, and for no reason other than because of the love of God!

            Adam had not asked for any of that which was now his. Yet he was fully in possession of all of it because of the loving provisions of God. He was also able to turn away from God and throw away all this which was his birthright. Sadly, we are reminded of Adam's fall, and of that condition which he has bequeathed to his children. After Adam's fall, he was no longer God's vicegerent. He no longer had the authority nor the ability to pass on spiritual life to his descendants. Consequently, without the Holy Ghost delivering spiritual Life to Adam's descendants, they would all be spiritually dead.

            Notice that Paul tells us that man, in his natural fallen condition, without Christ, is spiritually dead, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh ...” Colossians 2:13. So while in this probationary period (Matthew 21:33-43), Adam was granted mercy and allowed to pass on physical life to his children. But Christ himself must revive Adam's children from the spiritual death in which he left them. Christ did not give his life so that the Holy Ghost could merely approach dead men and, without reviving them, ask them if they desire to have Life. No! Dead men cannot be questioned or enticed; their will cannot be consulted. But thanks be to God, Christ's death gave him the right to quicken to life every human from Adam to you and I and beyond! And having quickened us, to then present to us the matchless charms of Christ! Notice the words of Christ to Nicodemus in John 3:8; “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Here, Christ is explaining how the new birth comes about. Notice that it happens without any input from us! As the trees of this earth feel the wind through their branches, without having asked for the wind, so fallen man feels the Wind and sees the Light and hears the Sound in his previously dead soul! The new birth is not something we ask for. It's not something we merit for being wise enough to claim. It comes as a free Gift because of his righteousness! Christ's righteousness, his death and resurrection, opened the door for the Holy Ghost to do what must be done for the human race. These merits of Christ provide for the delivery of new life, the new birth, to the entire race!

            Consider Romans 2:13-16, which states:

“(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

            Notice the broadness of the gospel of righteousness described in this text. Notice that the law is written in the hearts of even the Gentiles. Who writes the law in the hearts of men (Hebrews 8:10)? This text tells us clearly that the Spirit of Eternal God is at work in the hearts of all men, even in those who know nothing of Him personally!

            Now if the Spirit of God is writing the law of God in the hearts of these Gentiles, then are these Gentiles spiritually dead or alive? And if they are alive, have they then previously been born spiritually? Indeed, to be alive is to have been born. So we see that the gospel of righteousness is that the new birth and the righteousness of Christ are imparted to every man without them even having to ask for it! It's also important to notice here, that the only evidence we have for the truth that the new birth is delivered to these men who did not ask for it, is that the law is seen to have been written in their hearts. If the law were not written in their hearts, they would not be doing the law; and the law can only be written in their hearts if Christ and his righteousness are working there.

            Always the law of God and the gospel of righteousness work together, never apart. The final message of the gospel of righteousness that will go to all the world and lighten it with its glory will not be a gospel that dismisses or belittles the law of God. In the case of the Gentiles, especially, the law of God is in fact what gives testimony to the broadness of the gospel of righteousness, because it shows that Christ's righteousness is freely given to all, without any even asking for it! Notice also that it is by this evidence of the law written in the hearts of men, that they are judged. As was noted previously, the law is perfect, eternal, and immutable. As it was when Christ first came to men, that he came to fulfill the law and not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17); so it is when he comes to each man individually, through the working of the Holy Ghost, he comes to fulfill the law in us!

            The radical liberality of the righteousness of Christ does not do the slightest violence to the requirements of the holy law of God. To the contrary, when Christ's righteousness is delivered to the darkened souls of men, quickening them to spiritual life, it points the previously dead man to the path of righteousness. When the quickening has taken place, when the man has been born again, then and only then does the man have free will. Only then is he able to choose to walk in the light now upon his path, or turn aside to the darkness which the carnal nature loves.

            If we carefully consider all these texts we find that the Bible is clear that the “Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), and the delivery of spiritual life, unbidden, into the soul of every man, are one and the same. Furthermore, it is evident that the delivery of spiritual life, the Life of Christ, into the soul, unbidden, is what constitutes the new birth, for he who has the Light, has spiritual Life, and he who has spiritual Life has surely been born spiritually!

            In other words, the new birth occurs when God, according to His grace and according to His will, not the will of man, delivers the Life of Christ into the dead heart of fallen man and resuscitates him back to Life together with Christ! At his first appearing Christ came according to the will of God (“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,” Galatians 4:4), and not according to the will of man. And so it is when He comes to each man personally during this probationary period; he comes according to his will (“The Wind bloweth where it listeth...” John 3:8), and not according to the will of man (“thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:” John 3:8).

            The Light is not simply made available, it is actually delivered, unbidden, right into the very soul of every man that cometh into the world. And if he heeds that Light, he will walk through The Gates! Indeed then, salvation, Life, full and free, has, is, and does come to every man (Titus 2:11), without him even asking for it, as dead men cannot ask for Life, just as Adam could not ask to be formed and given Life in the beginning. Having received this Life, our task then is as was Adam's, to walk in the Light into The Kingdom, or to depart from it into outer darkness (John 3:19).

            That the life, death, and resurrection of Christ has overruled the inheritance of man according to Adam, and has in its place provided for the delivery of the Light of his righteousness, his Life, into the very heart of every human that has ever lived, and that this happens without any of them even asking for it, is truly Good News! That having given himself, he also with his own hand inscribes his law in our hearts, bidding us follow him, is also wonderful news! It makes it clear to us that the fulfillment of the law in us is a work which he accomplishes, leaving us to either agree with it and walk in it (leaving it inscribed in our hearts), or disagree with his work in us and erase it from our hearts.

            This dual message, defining both the law of God and the gospel of righteousness as well as showing their true relationship, this is the message that will lighten the earth with its glory, for it will lighten the earth with the glory of Christ's righteousness and of the righteousness of God's Law! This is the Third Angel's message! May God help us to do our part in helping it to lighten the earth!

            Let us briefly consider just a few of the practical implications of this message of the law and the gospel. First, this message lays all the glory of man in the dust! It shows, more clearly than any other gospel, the fact that man contributes absolutely nothing to his receiving of salvation in Christ. Consequently, this gospel glorifies God, and God alone, more clearly than any other gospel, as it shows the wondrous love of God in stooping to save man who could do nothing to save himself. It shows the complete broadness of God’s effectual saving grace reaching to every single human soul. It shows that God did not simply offer salvation to men who could not possibly appreciate such an offer, but that He actually delivers salvation, into the soul of every human being that comes into the world! What an amazing God we serve!

This gospel also brings with it what God desires for all His children, and which Paul refers to in Colossians 2:2, namely, it brings an understanding that results in full assurance of our salvation, an understanding that results in the full assurance of the mystery of Christ in us! What indescribable peace this knowledge brings! What joy in him! This understanding allows us to know, with certainty, that we are saved; that we are standing in the salvation of Christ’s Light, through no action of our own. That nothing can prevent us from seeing him face to face. When we understand this gospel as it truly is found in Christ, we know with full assurance that we are standing on the streets of the City and in the green fields of the Earth made new, and that no power in the universe can prevent us from this glorious reality. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” Isaiah 32:17

This gospel also brings with it power over sin, like no other gospel. Consider a homeless man who comes to the full assurance of being heir to millions. Does this knowledge not bring a power to this man’s life? This man, even before he takes possession of one cent, undertakes notable changes in his daily life. He refuses to eat the paltry scraps he used to find in dumpsters. He now knows that he should be eating food fit for a king! He washes himself. He obtains some nicer clothing at the local Samaritan center. He walks with confidence and dignity. His newfound knowledge has empowered him to live a different life! So it is when a man comes to the full assurance of the fact that he possesses Christ in him, the Hope of glory! If such merely carnal knowledge brings power to the homeless man resulting in dramatic changes in his life, how much more does the full assurance of our inheritance through Christ bring with it power over sin in our lives? When I know with certainty that I will live with Christ and the redeemed in The City and in The New Earth, why will I turn aside to some sin knowing that to do so will damage my relationship with him?

Finally, this gospel brings with it a love for and earnest interest toward every member of the human family; from the most beautiful and gentle among us, to the most unpleasant and difficult to get along with. From those who are very much like us, to those we cannot understand at all. Men, who are horribly misguided, lost in sin, hateful towards us. These men have received of Christ just as I have! They are royalty as am I! They are brothers to Christ as I am! Though in their ignorance they may be in the process of discarding their salvation, they are nevertheless heirs as am I. And here I see my responsibility in doing everything I can to bring them to the same full assurance that I now am enraptured in. Indeed, this gospel, understood in its fullness, lights a fire in the bones, an eagerness to share the message of the Law of God and the Gospel of Righteousness with every man!

While these practical applications are only the beginning, they are sufficient to make it clear that this gospel opens the way for the perfecting of the saints like no other message can do. It shows with crystal clarity the correct relationship between the law and the gospel. It shows that all the righteousness that manifests itself in man is the righteousness of Christ. That all the truth that man does is wrought out in him by God himself, and that man’s part is simply to agree with His work in us and continue in the light He shines on us and our path and refuse to turn aside back to darkness. It shows that the perfecting of the saints is not about what the saints do in order to be perfected but about what Christ does in them. This is the only representation of the perfecting of the saints that gives all the glory to God, as the Angel commands!

            We believe that by God's infinite mercy and grace, we have herein begun to describe the true character of God’s law and the gospel of righteousness, as well as their true relationship to each other. The true character of God's law is that His law is perfect, eternal, and immutable. The true character of His law is that His law is a transcript of His character. As such, His law finds its truest essence in the very Person of Christ. The true character of the gospel of righteousness is that Christ's righteousness provides for his life, that is, for he himself, to be delivered to every human soul, without them asking for him. This happens through the process of the new birth, as described by Christ to Nicodemus. This gospel message affirms that Christ's righteousness has made it the birthright of every man to receive the new birth. This gospel message clearly demonstrates the radical mercy and love of God toward man. And it also clearly upholds the demands of the law of God, correctly showing the true relationship between the law and grace. It shows that it is safe for God to give Christ to every man, whether he asks for him or not, because when God gives Christ, He gives the Law in the Person of Christ. Men are then, and only then, freed to be able to choose to retain Christ, do truth and approach the Light (John 3:21), or to reject the free Gift and turn aside into darkness (John 3:19). May the Lord help us to understand the message in its true character, and may he enable us to proclaim it in the Spirit, for his name's sake!

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

Possible Objections Addressed:

In light of the fact that we are here affirming that the true nature of the gospel of righteousness is notably different from what is generally taught, namely, that the new birth and Christ's righteousness comes to all unbidden, some may fear that we are teaching that man is predestined to be glorified regardless of what he does. This, of course, is impossible. We affirm in the strongest possible way that God delivers salvation to every man, as a free gift and a birthright, just as He did to Adam in the beginning. We also, sadly, affirm that like Adam, far too many men throw away their birthright and turn to darkness (John 3:19). Man cannot be glorified if he discards the Gift which alone grants him a right to heaven.

Others might say that because the new life in Christ is said to be given to all without regard to their asking for it, that we suggest that man's free will plays no part in him eventually being glorified. And here is where the true character of the gospel of righteousness shows the error of both Calvinism and Arminianism. We affirm that man, without quickening from the Holy Ghost, indeed has no free will whatsoever. We further affirm that it is only because of the reality of the free Gift of the new birth, that man's will is freed and he is enabled to choose to retain the Gift or throw it away, to continue doing truth and walking in the light towards glorification, or to turn away from the light because he loves darkness (John 3:19-21).

Others still, may say that because we strongly affirm that Christ's righteousness means that every man receives spiritual life/the new birth as a birthright, that we are thereby suggesting that man can be glorified while continuing to sin. We would point such readers back to Romans 2, which clearly shows that when the Holy Ghost delivers the new birth to man, He writes the law in the heart of those He quickens. The gospel of righteousness is that Christ himself is delivered into the heart of every man. The law finds its truest essence in the Person of Christ (John 14:6). Therefore, if a man has Christ, he has the law. Also notice that righteousness is doing right. One cannot willfully commit sin (do wrong) and yet remain in possession of Christ's righteousness. The man who chooses to commit sin, after having received the Light that lighteth every man, is, by definition, choosing to turn away from the light and back to darkness because his deeds are evil. Such a man can have no hope of glorification; and indeed, he does not seek glorification, he only seeks immediate gratification of his evil desires. The final message that will “lighten the earth with its glory,” will be a message that magnifies both the law of God and the gospel of righteousness. These two are inseparable!

 

If you have any questions about this post, or any of the posts on this blog, feel free to email me at kenineal@gmail.com.