The Meaning of God's Pardoning Love, Part 1
By Ellen G. White
The Lord would have His people sound in the faith--not ignorant of the
great salvation so abundantly provided for them. They are not to look
forward, thinking that at some future time a great work is to be done
for them; for the work is now complete. The believer is not called upon
to make his peace with God; he never has nor ever can do this. He is to
accept Christ as his peace, for with Christ is God and peace.
Christ made an end of sin, bearing its heavy curse in His own body on
the tree, and He hath taken away the curse from all those who believe
in Him as a personal Saviour. He makes an end of the controlling power
of sin in the heart, and the life and character of the believer testify
to the genuine character of the grace of Christ. To those that ask Him,
Jesus imparts the Holy Spirit; for it is necessary that every believer
should be delivered from pollution, as well as from the curse and condemnation
of the law. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the sanctification of
the truth, the believer becomes fitted for the courts of heaven; for Christ
works within us, and His righteousness is upon us. Without this no soul
will be entitled to heaven. We would not enjoy heaven unless qualified
for its holy atmosphere by the influence of the Spirit and the righteousness
of Christ.
In order to be candidates for heaven we must meet the requirement of
the law: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and
thy neighbour as thyself" (Luke 10:27). We can do this only as we
grasp by faith the righteousness of Christ. By beholding Jesus we receive
a living, expanding principle in the heart, and the Holy Spirit carries
on the work, and the believer advances from grace to grace, from strength
to strength, from character to character. He conforms to the image of
Christ, until in spiritual growth he attains unto the measure of the full
stature in Christ Jesus. Thus Christ makes an end of the curse of sin,
and sets the believing soul free from its action and effect.
Christ alone is able to do this, for "in all things it behoved him
to be made like unto his brethren, that he 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" (Heb. 2:17, 18). Reconciliation
means that every barrier between the soul and God is removed, and that
the sinner realizes what the pardoning love of God means. By reason of
the sacrifice made by Christ for fallen men, God can justly pardon the
transgressor who accepts the merits of Christ. Christ was the channel
through which the mercy, love, and righteousness might flow from the heart
of God to the heart of the sinner. "He is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John
1:9).
In the prophecy of Daniel it was recorded of Christ that He shall "make
reconciliation for iniquity, and . . . bring in everlasting righteousness"
(Dan. 9:24). Every soul may say: "By His perfect obedience He has
satisfied the claims of the law, and my only hope is found in looking
to Him as my substitute and surety, who obeyed the law perfectly for me.
By faith in His merits I am free from the condemnation of the law. He
clothes me with His righteousness, which answers all the demands of the
law. I am complete in Him who brings in everlasting righteousness. He
presents me to God in the spotless garment of which no thread was woven
by any human agent. All is of Christ, and all the glory, honor, and majesty
are to be given to the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the
world."
First published in April 1893, and reprinted in Selected Messages,
Book 1, pp. 394-396.
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Ellen
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"Ye
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"Ye
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Ask
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The
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The
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