In this issue:
Righteousness by Faith
David Clayton
One of the most thought-provoking definitions of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1. Paul begins this great chapter by saying,
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Heb 11:1)
Not many people would have described or defined faith in this way.
Probably the popular definition would run something like this: “faith is
believing something with all your heart even when you cannot see it.”
There is merit to that definition of course and that is why Paul’s
definition is so intriguing. Why did he choose this definition which is
so evidently carefully thought out and precisely worded? The very fact
that it is so unorthodox compels us to take notice.
Recently I asked myself a question which helped me to come to grips
with Paul’s definition of faith and to grasp the true impact of this
verse. The question was, “how do you know that you are in Christ and
that you have received the holy spirit?” I mean, there were no tongues
of fire as at Pentecost, there was no speaking in other languages, there
has not been any healing of the sick or raising of the dead. How do I
know? What evidence is there that I am in Christ and have received of
His life? This question was not mine originally. As I have spoken on the
subject of what it means to be in Christ and rejoiced in the truth of
complete salvation in Christ more than one person has asked me, “where
is the evidence?” So I had to face the question, what is your proof?
Where is the evidence indeed?
Faith is the evidence
Paul’s unusual definition seems tailor-made for just such a question.
“Faith,” he says, “is the evidence …” But what does he mean by this and
does it make sense? When we speak of evidence we mean demonstrable and
tangible realities, we mean measurable facts which may be put on display
for all to examine. In stark contrast Paul speaks of “things not seen.”
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Here we have a contradiction.
In today’s material world of statistics, data, facts and figures we
find ourselves bemused by Paul’s statement and credit it to first
century mysticism. But Paul is not speaking figuratively or
symbolically. What he is saying is that the true evidence of spiritual
realities (including the new birth) is not what we see, feel or are able
to measure. It is not what other people can assess or examine. The true
proof, the substance, the evidence, is faith itself.
In this definition of faith, is Paul speaking of a person’s own
personal faith? Does this definition encompass the question which I
asked myself, “how can a man really know that he is in Christ?” Does it
answer the question of what evidence a man should look for as testimony
to his position in Christ? I believe that Paul’s definition of faith
covers this question. A person needs to look for no evidence as to the
fulfillment of God’s word other than the fact that he believes it. All
the evidence to the contrary in the entire world cannot overthrow the
faithfulness of God’s word. Our eyes, our feelings may tell us
otherwise, but the word of God is the truth, regardless. It is the
statement of how things really are. When we believe, then that is the
evidence. Faith is its own proof. When a man believes then he knows it
is so and no evidence in the world can be stronger than that or can
overthrow such proof. So a person will rejoice with all his heart in
what he believes even though all the evidence in the world seems to
contradict what faith proves to him to be true.
We read in 1 John 3:9,
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth
in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:9)
What should a Christian do when he reads this verse? Well, he may say,
“since this is so, then I must endeavour not to commit sin,” and he
sets out to try not to sin with all his might. Does this man believe the
word of God? Another man may read the same verse and say, “since this
is so, then sin is no longer my problem.” He is filled with joy at the
realization that in Christ he has been set free from sin and he goes
about rejoicing that he has been delivered. Which of these two responses
is the response of faith? Which man really believes the word of God?
Faith is the evidence, faith itself is the proof. The fact that I do
truly believe God’s word is all that I need. To require further evidence
is to demonstrate that I do not really believe and is the surest
guarantee that I will not have the promised blessing.
A gift received by faith
So in the light of this, what is the true significance of the term,
“Righteousness by Faith?” Here is how Paul describes this blessing:
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (Rom
3:22)
God’s word tells us that this righteousness comes upon all them that
simply believe, and that it is by the faith of Jesus Christ. The verse
is very clear and in fact the entire passage from which it is taken is
equally plain. When a person believes in Jesus Christ, when he believes
in the gift of God then at that very moment he receives that gift.
Righteousness is purely and entirely the gift of God bestowed upon all
who simply believe. Paul says it as plainly as words can say it (Rom.
4:4,5).
The real question is, how long does it take to receive this gift of
righteousness? This is the thorny question which often causes much
debate and difference of opinion.
a. Is this gift of righteousness instantly imparted to a person the
moment he believes so that he is instantly transformed from a sinner
into a saint? Is he immediately made into a new creation? Have old
things indeed passed away and all things become new?
b. Or is it that when he believes, God begins the work of making him
righteous so that in the meantime he is only partially righteous, partly
a sinner and partly a saint?
c. Is it that he is instantly regarded by God as righteous while in
actual fact he is not really righteous? (this would suggest that God
accepts what is not really true).
If righteousness is by faith and only and purely by faith, and if it
is wholly and entirely the GIFT of God, then the question is, why would
God fail to give this gift immediately to a person the moment that he
believes? It could only be either that God is unable to give it
immediately or that He is unwilling to give it immediately. Neither of
these suggestions make any sense. If righteousness is one hundred
percent the gift of God, then it seems reasonable, logical and biblical
to accept that God does give this gift in its entirety to a person the
moment that he believes.
Instant righteousness?
But let us examine another objection. Is it possible for righteousness
to be just instantly placed upon a person so that he instantly changes
from bad to good? Can a person’s character be transformed in a moment so
that the habits of a lifetime are erased and new attitudes immediately
implanted? We must not answer this question on the basis of our own
experience but on the basis of the word of God. This word is very clear
and leaves no room for misunderstanding.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)
In many places where the Bible speaks of the righteous life of the
born-again Christian, of the life of victory over sin, it does not
present this victorious life as the result of hard struggles with sin or
as the result of a process of developing righteousness. No, righteous
living is presented as the fruit of a single decisive and revolutionary
event in the life of the believer, the result of a single action at a
specific point in time. Let us look at a few examples of this.
(Rom 6:3-7) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Notice that our freedom from sin is accomplished by one thing, that
is, the fact that we died with Christ. Our old man was crucified with
Him, the body of sin is destroyed!! How is it then possible for sin to
still be living in me? The logical conclusion is, he that is dead is
freed from sin. The question is, do we believe it? In this passage we
are not delivered by hard work or by a process of character development,
but simply by an act of death experienced by faith.
(Col 2:11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made
without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ:
Here again we see that the sins of the flesh are “put off” by a single
action. It is by the circumcision which we receive in Christ. This
circumcision consists of putting off, getting rid of, the body of sin
(the carnal mind). When we entered into Christ the experience not only
gave us the fullness of the godhead, but it delivered us from the
fullness of carnal humanity.
The symbolism of circumcision is graphic. In circumcision, that which
was the cause of potential impurity and disease was cut away and cast
off forever. The same thing happens in this spiritual circumcision
accomplished in Christ. The carnal mind, the old man, the body of sin,
is taken away in Christ. Cut off and cast aside, so that the thing which
causes spiritual impurity and disease is removed.
(1 John 3:9) Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
Again we notice the extremism of the word of God. There is little room
here for misunderstanding. Not only is it difficult for a person in
Christ to sin, but it is impossible. While His seed (God’s seed, God’s
life) remains in him he cannot sin. What is it which gives him this life
which sin cannot touch? Is it hard work? Is it diligent effort? Is it
much struggling? Is it the long drawn-out process of character
development which finally gets him to the place where he cannot sin?
Absolutely not. It is the simple fact that he is born of God and that
the seed of God is in him. This and this only is what destroys the power
of sin in him and produces the righteous life and character of God.
Again we see that this is not something which requires long drawn-out
and agonizing struggles, but simply the faith which believes and accepts
the word of God and by which we receive the gift of the new birth, the
new existence in Christ.
THE PLACE OF HUMAN EFFORT.
How then do we reconcile this with the undeniable fact that there is
effort, strife and struggle associated with the life of the Christian?
What is the place of these endeavours if it is faith alone which may lay
hold on these gifts of God? Why do we need to fight if righteousness is
wholly the gift and the work of God? Let us answer this question by
examining an event in the life of Christ.
When He came down from the mount of transfiguration with Peter, James
and John, Jesus was faced with a situation which would have embarrassed
His cause had He not arrived on the scene at that moment. A man had
brought his demented son to the disciples with the request that they
deliver him from demon-possession, but all their attempts at casting out
the devil had failed. We can only imagine how hard they must have
tried. Possibly they rebuked the devil with stern commands, lifted their
hands to the skies, called upon God and maybe even retired to the side
to pray, but all their efforts were vain. The devil mocked all their
attempts to cast him out and only displayed his power with greater
ferocity as they commanded him to depart.
Jesus’ frustration with His disciples was expressed in His disappointed words,
. . . O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with
you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. (Mat 17:17)
Immediately He rebuked the devil who speedily departed. The bewildered
disciples sheepishly asked Him, “why could not we cast him out?” Notice
the answer of Jesus:
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say
unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto
this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and
nothing shall be impossible unto you. (21) Howbeit this kind goeth not
out but by prayer and fasting. (Mat 17:20-21)
Now look at what Jesus said. Examine the reasons which He gave for
their failure. Firstly He says, “because of your unbelief,” and this is
easy for us to understand because it agrees with His first words to
them, “O faithless and perverse generation.” Obviously their problem was
lack of faith. Faith is what pleases God, faith will move mountains,
nothing is impossible to those who truly believe.
But then Jesus continues by saying something which at first sight
seems to contradict everything which He said before. “Howbeit this kind
goeth not out but by fasting and prayer.” What is His point here? What
really was the problem which the disciples had, was it lack of faith or
was it lack of fasting and prayer? Jesus rebuked them for a lack of
faith and then stated that such a devil could only be cast out by
fasting and prayer. Did He contradict Himself? Of course not.
Faith requires work
The fact is, there is nothing, absolutely nothing which God requires
from a surrendered soul except faith. Faith alone pleases God, faith is
the hand which lays hold on God’s power and casts out demons. Fasting
and prayer does not cast out demons. So what then is the purpose of
fasting and prayer? When we examine these statements of Jesus carefully
we come to the realization that while fasting and prayer cannot move the
hand of God, it is a means of STRENGTHENING FAITH! It is a means of
producing that which alone may please God and receive His blessings. As
Ellen White said,
“Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it
is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to
enable us to receive Him. Prayer does not bring God down to us, but
brings us up to Him.” {SC 93}
So while faith alone pleases God, efforts need to be made to maintain
faith. Our focus is not always perfect. Living in fallen, weakened flesh
with impaired faculties in sinful circumstances, the fight to maintain
the focus of faith is a fierce struggle. Faith alone pleases God, but
the maintaining of that faith requires diligent effort. Peter’s aborted
walk on water illustrates that lesson graphically. Therefore Paul
admonishes us, “fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12).” Fasting
and prayer is one of the things which helps us in turning our focus away
from the trivia of earth and towards the things which are real and
eternal. There are other things which are equally helpful. There is
Christian fellowship, Bible study etc. None of these things have saving
merit in themselves, none of them obtain God’s favour. Faith is what
pleases God and is the only thing which may obtain His blessings, but
these other things are helpful because they assist us in obtaining the
one truly necessary thing, that is, faith.
So this is where our input comes in. The fight against sin is not
ours. It is a conflict which has been already fought and won. The life
of victory is a gift, freely bestowed on all who will BELIEVE. Our
challenge is to believe. This is our fight, this is where fasting and
prayer come in. They are aids in our quest to believe.
Perhaps we have always fasted and prayed. We have always read our
Bibles, attended worship services and laboured diligently in witnessing
to others. So did the Jews who crucified Jesus. It is possible to do all
the right things for all the wrong reasons. In these religious
exercises they endeavoured to purchase the gift of God by their
religious services and diligent endeavours. It profited them nothing.
Because their concepts were wrong, that which should have been the means
of establishing their faith became the means of obstructing it. They
became so absorbed in and so dependent on their religious rituals that
they could not see beyond the forms to the reality and so it became
impossible for them to obtain true righteousness which is wholly a gift
of God, received ONLY by faith.
Today we need to be careful that we do not repeat the mistake of the
Jews. There never was and never will be a time when we can contribute
any thing to our salvation. Justification is God’s gift, sanctification
is God’s gift, glorification is God’s gift (Rom. 8:30; 1 Cor. 6:11). It
cannot be a gift if we must work to obtain it, or if we must make a
contribution towards it (Rom. 4:4,5). All God requires is that we accept
the gift by faith.
Let us recognize brethren, that our problem all along has not been a
lack of labour, discipline, striving or effort. How we have laboured and
struggled! It has not brought us one step closer to perfection or
heaven. God said it in 1888 and He continues to remind us today. It is
“RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH.” Let us labour therefore to enter into God’s
rest by faith (Heb. 4:11) and let us cease from our own works as God did
from His (Heb. 4:10)
The Rest which remains
Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light. (Mat 11:28-30)
It was Jesus who spoke these words and since the time when He spoke
them, many well-meaning persons who have not understood the gospel have
had to ask themselves the question, “what did He really mean by these
words?”
Jesus’ promise was, “I will give you rest,” and the question is, when
Jesus promises rest, what is the problem from which he is seeking to
relieve us? Obviously the opposite of “rest” is “work” or labour. What
is the difference between rest and work?
Work is an activity. Work requires effort, energy. Sometimes energy of
the mind as well as of the body. And rest? Rest is the opposite isn’t
it. Rest is non-activity, it is a state of relaxation.
Let us consider still another question: Can a person who is working be resting at the same time?
Strictly speaking we cannot work and rest as the same time, and
Christians who find that the effort to serve God is a hard job and a
constant strain may know that they have not experienced the rest
promised by Jesus and that they have not found the true gospel.
Jesus’ appeal is to those who are “heavy laden.” What does this mean?
It suggests that these persons are carrying loads and of course they are
bound to be tired! Is Jesus here talking about people who are out in
the field carrying sacks of potatoes on their backs? Is he talking about
this kind of load? What is it that has burdened these people and made
them “heavy-laden” and in what are they labouring?
Clearly they are labouring in trying to be righteous! That is what
their hard work is all about. The burden which they are carrying is the
burden of sin and guilt, it is the weight they bear as a result of the
knowledge of their wretched sinfulness and failings and they are
labouring hard in trying to get rid of that burden, to somehow obtain
righteousness.
Jesus says, “come unto me all you who are working and are under this
load, and I will give you rest!” So then if you claim to be a Christian
but yet you find yourself in this heavy labour to achieve righteousness,
the fact is, you have not yet found what Jesus has to offer!
Again he says, “Take my yoke and learn of me for I am meek and lowly
in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls!” This makes it clear
that the part of us which is heavy-laden is the soul. That is where we
need rest. Jesus continues by saying, “for my yoke is easy and my burden
is light!”
A yoke is an instrument which binds one to another in such a way that
it compels him to travel in the same direction as that other person. It
is not just cows on which a yoke is put. In the wicked days of slavery,
when slaves were being transported they often led them in a line and put
a yoke around their necks so that no slave could get out of line. Each
one had to follow where the one in front of him led. This is the main
reason for a yoke, its main purpose is to bind one person to another so
that where one goes the other must follow. Jesus says, “you are working
hard and you are carrying a heavy load, what you must do is to take my
yoke, bind yourself to me because the yoke I give you to wear is easy
and the burden is light and if you take it you will find rest for your
souls.”
In Isaiah 11:10 it says,
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for
an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest
shall be glorious. (Isa 11:10)
His rest shall be what? GLORIOUS! The one who comes from the root of
Jesse will give rest to his people and that rest will be glorious.
The Obstacle to Rest
Now let us turn to the book of Hebrews and see what it says concerning this rest which Christ gives.
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
(8) Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of
temptation in the wilderness: (9) When your fathers tempted me, proved
me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have
not known my ways. (11) So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter
into my rest.) (Heb 3:7-11)
God said the Jews could not enter into His rest. That experience of
rest which Jesus promised was not attained by them because their hearts
were hardened.
Further on it says in chapter 4:1-3,
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. (2) For unto us
was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did
not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. (3)
For we which have believed do enter into rest . . . . (Heb 4:1-3)
Now what are some of the things that can stop us from coming into that
rest which Jesus promised? It is evident that one of the problems is
unbelief. But I would like to suggest to you that another serious
hindrance (which is really linked to unbelief) is LABOUR!! If we are
working how can we rest? Struggling in labour, to do things ourselves
will certainly prevent us from experiencing that rest which Christ
promised and we will see in just a moment that the greatest reason for
unbelief is this labour.
In verses 9-10 it says,
(Heb 4:9-10) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
(10) For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his
own works, as God did from his.
Those who are doing their own works cannot have God’s rest. The one
who has entered God’s rest has ceased from his own works. It does not
mean that works will not appear in you, but you certainly will not be
the one who is working. Somebody else is going to be working in you to
will and to do of his good pleasure. (Phil. 2:13). You wont be working
and that is why the burden is lifted off your back, that is why the yoke
is easy, because it is not your problem anymore. Somebody else is
dealing with that problem and that is the reason why you are able to
rest.
The Struggle Ended
In the J.B. Phillips translation of the New Testament, Romans 10:4 reads as follows:
“For Christ means the end of the struggle for righteouness-by-the-Law
for everyone who believes in him.” (Romans 10:4 – Phillips)
Hallelujah! Christ is the end of the struggle for righteousness by the
law. When you have come to Christ the struggle is over, Christ brings
it to an end.
Now it is interesting that Hebrews 4:11 says that we should labour to
enter into God’s rest. Is there a contradiction here? How do we labour
if we are resting? How do we work so that we may not work? It is evident
that the word “labour” as used here means, “be diligent,” “seek
earnestly,” because one of the things that the Bible does say is that he
who seeks will find. But there is a difference between seeking the
right way and seeking in the wrong way. In labouring here, what is it
that we are seeking to do? In this case, we are “labouring,” we are
seeking to find Christ, whereas before, we were labouring to do good, a
different thing entirely. Fighting to do good, is labouring to be
righteous by our own works – a vain effort. But fighting to find Christ
is what all of us must do because when we have found Him we have found
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, eternal life, the fullness of the
Godhead, perfection, – all that we need.
So in one stroke we have everything we have been working for and
couldn’t have, Christ is the end of the struggle for righteousness by
the law.”
Let us recognize something before we go any further. What we are
talking about is not how we are forgiven. All of us are very familiar
with that process and that is what most Christians are concentrating on.
That is probably the reason why we have become a people who are content
to live by sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, sinning and
repenting on and on as a way of life. Because we know how to be
forgiven, we simply repent and then God forgives and washes the slate
clean. Amen! Back we go to sin. shortly we return to confess again
because we have done it all over in just a few hours!
We have not applied the gospel to the lives we live and that is the
problem why we have all laboured under this heavy burden and been so
dissatisfied. But the gospel is a complete thing, it is not any
half-done thing, it’s not any partially done work. God is able to set us
free. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation! It is the power of
God! And so Paul could say I am not ashamed of it (Rom. 1:16).
What we are dealing with is the issue of the life we live. God does
not say, “O.K. see, I have forgiven you, I have given you a push start,
now go and finish it. Now you go and live a good life because you see I
forgave you.” He doesn’t do that. We think actions cannot justify us,
but actions can sanctify us. That is foolishness! The same process by
which we received Christ is the same process by which we walk all the
days of our lives right into the kingdom.
By Faith Only
In Galatians chapter 3 Paul writes,
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey
the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth,
crucified among you? (2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye
the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Gal
3:1-2)
Now this is an interesting question. What is Paul saying? The fact is
that these people were filled with the spirit, isn’t that right? Paul
was saying, “how did you get the holy spirit, was it by keeping the law
or was it by believing?” What is the obvious answer? Evidently it was by
believing, it was not by anything they did. He says “you silly people,
how did you receive the Holy Spirit?” And that is the question I want to
ask us all. How do we expect to receive the Holy Spirit? Is it by
gradually becoming better, by fasting and praying and similar works for
days and weeks and months and years until heaven knows when, or simply
by faith? How do we expect to receive it?
Again he says in verse 3,
“Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”
When he says “the flesh” what is he referring to? He is referring to
works! He is saying, “you began by faith, why have you gone back to
works?”
In verse 5 he goes on to say,
“He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles
among you, doeth he it by the works of the law or by the hearing of
faith?
How does a man perform miracles? Many times we have heard the
arguments: “Well we don’t see anybody raising the dead, we don’t see
anybody healing the sick, we don’t see anybody prophesying, what is the
reason? Is it that we are not righteous enough, we are not holy enough,
nobody is dedicated enough?” Paul says, “you foolish people, don’t you
know it was just by faith that these things were done? It was not by any
work on your part, it was just by faith, you silly people!” And two
thousand years later we are still in the same hole! Striving to become
righteous enough so that we can one day perform a miracle, so that God
can use us.
But the wonderful truth is that through faith we have already reached
the pinnacle of human existence in Christ Jesus! What a privilege God
has given to His sons and daughters, what a wonderful thing it is to
know that we are complete in him.
Woven in Heaven’s loom
Only the covering which Christ Himself has provided can make us meet to appear in God’s presence. This covering, the robe of His own righteousness, Christ will put upon every repenting, believing soul.. . . .This robe, woven in the loom of heaven, has in it not one thread of human devising. Christ in His humanity wrought out a perfect character, and this character He offers to impart to us. . . . .Everything that we of ourselves can do is defiled by sin. But the Son of God “was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” . . . . By His perfect obedience He has made it possible for every human being to obey God’s commandments. When we submit ourselves to Christ, the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged in His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garment of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah. (COL – 311)
Are You an evolutionist?
A.T. Jones
The following article is an
extract from a sermon prepared by A.T. Jones for the Week of Prayer
meetings of 1899. It was published in the Review and Herald of Feb. 21,
1899. We encourage you to read the message in its entirety.
============================
From what I have read, you see that whoever lets any time pass
between the word spoken and the thing done, is an evolutionist. The word
of God to you is, Man, “thy sins are forgiven thee.” Woman, “thy sins
are forgiven thee.” [Elder Corliss: “Didn’t it say, Thy sins shall be
forgiven?”] No, sir. “Thy sins are forgiven thee”–present tense, with
an emphasis. “Thy sins are forgiven.” I thank God this is so, because
the creative energy is in that word “forgiven” to take away all sin and
create the man a new creature. I believe in creation. Do you? Do you
believe in the creative energy that is in the word “forgiven” spoken to
you? Or are you an evolutionist and do you say, I cannot see how that
can be, because I am so bad? I have been trying to do right, but I have
made many failures. I have had many ups and downs and have been down a
good many more times than up. If that is what you say, you are an
evolutionist, for that is evolution.
Many people have been longing and longing for a clean heart. They
say, “I believe in the forgiveness of sin and all that and I would take
it all, if I was sure that I could hold out, but there is so much evil
in my heart and so many things to overcome that I do not have any
confidence.” But there stands the word, “Create in me a clean heart.” A
clean heart comes by creation and by no other means; and that creation
is wrought by the word of God. For He says, “A new heart also will I
give you and a new spirit will I put within you.” Are you a creationist
now or are you an evolutionist? Will you go out of this house with an
evil heart or with a new heart created by the word of God, which has in
it creative energy to produce a new heart? It speaks to you a new heart.
To every one it speaks just that way, and if you allow a moment to pass
between the speaking of the word and the new heart, you are an
evolutionist. When you allow any time to pass between the word spoken
and the fulfillment of that thing in your experience, then you are an
evolutionist.
There are those in this house who have said, Yes, I want it. I am
going to have it. I believe the word will accomplish it, but they have
lengthened out the time until the next meeting and on and on, passing
over years, and so they are just this much evolutionists. “While so many
are hovering about the mystery of faith and godliness, they could have
solved the matter by proclaiming [speaking abroad, telling it out], “I
know that Jesus Christ is my portion forever.” The power to produce this
is in the word of God, and when this is accepted, the creative energy
is there producing the thing that is spoken. So you can settle the whole
matter of the mystery of faith and godliness by proclaiming that you
know that Christ is your portion forever.
There is a mystery in how God can be manifest in such sinful flesh
as yours. But, mind you, the question is not now about the mystery; the
question is, Is there such a thing as creation? Is there such a thing as
a Creator, who can create in you a clean heart? Or is the whole thing
simply evolution? Just now and among Seventh-day Adventists, the
question from this day until the end of the world must be, Do you
believe in the Creator? And when you believe in the Creator, how is it
that He creates? Of course you say, it is by the word of God. Very
good. Now does He create things for you by His word? Are you a
creationist for the other evolutionists and then an evolutionist for the
other creationists? How is it?
Another thing. The word says, “Be ye clean.” He said, back yonder,
“Let there be light, and there was light.” He said to the leper, “Be
thou clean,” and “immediately” he was clean. He says now to you, “Be ye
clean,” and what now? Every one of you—what do you say? [Voice: “It is
so.”] Then for your soul’s sake put yourself upon that creative
word. Recognize the creative energy in the word of God which comes to
you in the Bible, for this word of God in the Bible is the same here to
you today that it was when it spoke into space the worlds on high and
brought light out of darkness and cleansing to the leper. That word
spoken to you today, if received, creates you new in Christ Jesus. That
word, spoken in the dark waste and void space of your heart, if
received, produces there the light of God; that word spoken today to you
afflicted with the leprosy of sin, if received, immediately cleanses
you. Let it. Let it.
How shall I be clean? By the creative energy of that word, “Be ye
clean.” Therefore it is written, “Now ye are clean through the word
which I have spoken unto you.” John 15:3. Are you? Will you from this
moment be a creationist? Or will you go on being an evolutionist?
See what a blessed thing this is. When you read the word, receive
the word, and think upon the word, what is it to you all the time? O, it
is creation! The creative energy is in you producing the things which
the word speaks, and you are living in the very presence of the power of
creation. Creation is going on in your life. God is creating in you
righteousness, holiness, truth, faithfulness—every good and gracious
thing.
And when this is so, your Sabbath-keeping will amount to something,
because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation—the sign that He who
observes it knows the Creator and is acquainted with the process of
creation. But as certainly as you are an evolutionist, your
Sabbath-keeping is a fraud.
Unless you recognize the word of God day by day as a creative energy
in your life, your Sabbath-keeping is a fraud, because the Sabbath is a
memorial of creation. It is “a sign between me and you, that [by which]
ye may know that I am the Lord your God,” the Creator of all things.
In the second chapter of Ephesians, eighth to tenth verses, we read,
“For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast. For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
You need not expect to get any good works out of yourself. You have
been trying. The evolutionist tries and is always trying without
accomplishing it. Why go about trying to do good works, when you know
you fail? Listen. There will never be any good thing in you of any kind
whatever from now till the world’s end, except it is created there by
the Creator Himself, by His word, which has in it the creative
energy. Do not forget that. Do you want to walk in good works when you
go out of this house? It can be done only by being created in Jesus
Christ unto those good works. Stop trying. Look to the Creator and
receive His creative word. “Let the word of God dwell in you richly,”
then those good works will appear; you will be a Christian. Then,
because you live with the Creator and are in the presence of the
creative energy, you will have that pleasant, quiet peace and genuine
strength and building up that belong to a Christian.
When He tells you that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them,” then recognize the Creator, recognize only the good works
that are created in you, paying no attention whatever to any work that
is not created there, because there is nothing good but what is created
by the Lord.
Now you are created new in Christ Jesus. He says so. Thank Him that
it is so. What! Will you be an evolutionist on that verse? That is the
present tense, “We are his workmanship.” We are created in Christ Jesus
unto good works. Are you? The word is spoken. It is the creative
word. How much time are you going to allow between that word of God and
your being created new? Of the creation in the beginning, you said that
any man who allows even a minute to pass between the word and the thing
is an evolutionist. What are you now as to this word of God, which
creates men in Christ Jesus unto good works? Are you an evolutionist
here? Come, let us all be creationists.
Do you not see that in this way it will not require a long, tedious
wearing process to be made ready to meet the Lord in glory? So many
people are looking at themselves. They know that, in the nature of
things it must take them an exceedingly long time to get fully ready to
meet Him. If it is done by evolution, it will never be done. But when it
is done by creation, it will be both surely and quickly done. That word
I have before referred to is the word everyone here may take to
himself. “While so many are hovering about the mystery of faith and
godliness, they could solve the matter by proclaiming abroad [by telling
it out], ‘Jesus Christ is my portion forever.’”
Do you see how much we have been evolutionists? shall we quit? Come
now, let us be creationists and be done with it. Let us be
Sabbath-keepers truly. Let us believe the Lord. He speaks forgiveness.
He speaks a clean heart. He speaks holiness; He creates it. Let Him
create it in you. Stop being an evolutionist and let that creative word
work for you, let that creative energy work in you, that which the word
pronounces, and before you leave this house, God can get you ready to
meet Him. Indeed, in that very thing you do meet Him. And when you have
thus met Him and do thus meet Him every day, are you not then ready to
meet Him? Do you believe that? You believe He made the worlds when He
spoke, that light came by His word when He spoke, and that the leper was
“immediately” cleansed when he spoke, but with yourself you think
considerable time must elapse between the time when the word is spoken
and the fact is accomplished. O, why will you be an evolutionist?
Creation, creation—that is the thing.
You and I are to call people to the supper; we are to say to all
people, “Come, for all things are now ready.” How can I call to a man
that all things are now ready, when I myself am not ready? It is a
falsehood to start with. My words will not reach him. They are but an
empty sound. But O, when there is in that call the creative energy of
the word that has made us ready, that has cleansed us from sin, that has
created us unto good works, that holds us as the sun is held in the
course which God has marked out—then when we go forth and say to the
world lying in wickedness, “Come, for all things are now ready,” they
will hear. They will hear in the call the tones of the voice of the Good
Shepherd, and will be cheered to come to Him for creative energy for
themselves, to make them new creatures and prepare them for the supper
to which they have been called.
This is where we are in this world’s history. God’s mark is being
set upon the people. But remember, He will never set His mark upon one
who is not cleansed from every defilement. God will not set His seal to
something that is not true, that is not good. Would you ask Him to set
His seal to righteousness that is altogether unrighteousness? You would
not have the face to do that. You know that He is too righteous to do
such a thing. Then He must cleanse you so that He can put His seal to
His own work. He cannot put His seal to your work. His seal belongs only
to a document which He Himself has approved. Let Him write His
character upon your heart and then He can set His seal there. He can
write His seal of approval upon your heart, only when His creative word
has accomplished its purpose in your heart.
You can see in what a Presence we are; you can see in a measure how
long it would take half to exhaust such a subject as this. But,
brethren, when we do stop, let us stop in the presence of creation. Let
us be no more evolutionists. Let not a moment pass between the word of
God spoken to you and the accomplishment of the thing in you. Thus,
living in the presence of creation, walking with the Creator, upheld by
creative power, inspired by the creative energy—why, with a people such
as that, God can move the world in a little while.
If at the beginning you thought this was a queer subject for such an
occasion as today [it was the closing service of the week of prayer]
you can now see that it is a strictly present truth. There are only the
two ways. There is no halfway ground. Every man and woman in the world
is either a creationist or an evolutionist. Evolution is infidelity; it
is death. Creation is Christianity; it is life. Choose Creation,
Christianity, and Life, that you may live. Let us be creationists only
and creationists forever. And let all the people say, Amen (Review and
Herald, 2/21/1899)
An Encouraging Letter
As we pursue truth we often find that we do not always see things the same way as others do. Sometimes it is because we really are on different sides of the fence, but quite often the problem is that we have not closely examined what the other person is saying. Again it may be simply that one person is emphasizing one aspect of truth which another feels should not be given such prominence, or perhaps the objection is based on misinformation. Whatever the reasons, it is always heartening when we find that there are those who are willing to read carefully and to consider prayerfully before coming to a final conclusion and even more encouraging when we find a spirit which is willing to reconsider even after having made a first decision. The letter which follows is from one such person and after reading it you will understand why we were much encouraged when we received it. May God help us all to be true Bereans in our approach to truth. We did not obtain permission to print this letter so we have withheld the name of the person who wrote it.
Dear David,
First of all I want to ask that you please disregard my letter which I
wrote a couple of weeks back, asking that you take me off your mailing
list! I do want to receive your paper. The last one I received was your
Nov. 2005 one, so please be sure I get the next one! Thank you.
I reacted much too hastily and I regret it. I really had read very
little of the paper and decided that I was not going to read it and
didn’t want it any more. Well, praise the Lord, my son did read the
whole paper and I reconsidered and did likewise and as I carefully and
prayerfully read, I saw deep truth and beauty in the study that you
presented.
Praise God! Praise God! May He lead us ever onward and upward in
Christ Jesus and give us the strength and courage to stand in Him. For
that is surely the only place that we can stand for truth.
May God bless you
Quotes to Ponder
Be careful, exceedingly careful as
to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before
the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second
Adam. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint
of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did
fall through transgressing. Because of sin, his posterity was born with
inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only
begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted
in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could
have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil
propensity. He was assailed with temptations in the wilderness, as Adam
was assailed with temptations in Eden.
Bro. Baker, avoid every question in relation to the humanity of Christ
which is liable to be misunderstood. Truth lies close to the track of
presumption. In treating upon the humanity of Christ, you need to guard
strenuously every assertion, lest your words be taken to mean more than
they imply, and thus you lose or dim the clear perceptions of His
humanity as combined with divinity. His birth was a miracle of God; for,
said the angel, “Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall
be called the son of the Highest; and the Lord shall give unto him the
throne of his Father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto
the angel, How shall this be, seeing that I know not a man? And the
angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that
holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
These words are not addressed to any human being, except to the Son of
the Infinite God. Never, in any way, leave the slightest impression
upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to corruption rested
upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption. He was tempted
in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called that holy thing.
It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could
be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin. The
incarnation of Christ has ever been, and will ever remain a mystery.
That which is revealed, is for us and for our children, but let every
human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human,
such an one as ourselves: for it cannot be. The exact time when
humanity blended with divinity, it is not necessary for us to know. We
are to keep our feet on the rock, Christ Jesus, as God revealed in
humanity.
I perceive that there is danger in approaching subjects which dwell on
the humanity of the Son of the infinite God. He did humble Himself when
He saw He was in fashion as a man, that He might understand the force
of all temptations wherewith man is beset.
The first Adam fell: the second Adam held fast to God and His word
under the most trying circumstances, and His faith in His Father’s
goodness, mercy, and love did not waver for one moment. “It is written”
was His weapon of resistance, and it is the sword of the Spirit which
every human being is to use. “Hereafter I will not talk much with you:
for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me”—nothing to
respond to temptation. Not one occasion has been given in response to
His manifold temptations. Not once did Christ step on Satan’s ground, to
give him any advantage. Satan found nothing in Him to encourage his
advances.” {13MR 19.3}
“The enmity put between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the
woman was supernatural. With Christ the enmity was in one sense natural;
in another sense it was supernatural, as humanity and divinity were
combined. And never was the enmity developed to such a marked degree as
when Christ became an inhabitant of this earth. Never before had there
been a being upon the earth who hated sin with so perfect a hatred as
did Christ. He had seen its deceiving, infatuating power upon the holy
angels, and all His powers were enlisted against it.” {Lift Him Up 28.3}
“The Saviour took upon Himself the infirmities of humanity and lived a
sinless life, that men might have no fear that because of the weakness
of human nature they could not overcome. Christ came to make us
“partakers of the divine nature,” and His life declares that humanity,
combined with divinity, does not commit sin.” {MH 180.5}
“Christ had two natures, the nature of a man and the nature of God. In
him divinity and humanity were combined. Upon his mediatorial work hangs
the hope of the perishing world. No one but Christ has ever succeeded
in living a perfect life, in living a pure, spotless character. He
exhibited a perfect humanity, combined with deity; and by preserving
each nature distinct, he has given to the world a representation of the
character of God and the character of a perfect man. He shows us what
God is, and what man may become—godlike in character.” {GCB, October 1,
1899 par. 20}
A New Home Soon
For the past two years the
Restoration Ministries Publishing department has been operating out of
rented premises. Before that we operated from the homes of Brothers
David Clayton and Howard Williams. As we have endeavoured to produce
booklets, tracts, audio and video tapes etc. we have felt the need of a
permanent place from which we could operate. This is necessary to store
materials and equipment as well as so that we can organize things in a
way which will enable us to work more efficiently.
When we first started publishing we never had any expectation or
ambition that the ministry should be any more than simply a little
publishing project operating out of a room in my (David Clayton’s) home.
However, as the Lord has increased our responsibilities and challenges,
it has become evident that it is His will that we should expand our
operations. Among other things, we recently made an arrangement with a
local cable provider to obtain the use of one channel for our exclusive
use. The coverage of this provider is not very large since he operates
only in our local town and environs, but still, it will probably give us
a potential audience of more than two thousand people (rough estimate).
However, there is another cable provider in the Kingston area who is
interested in receiving our sermons (he already aired a few which we
supplied him dealing with the subject of the godhead). He has a much
wider coverage. For several years we have been interested in preparing a
series for local television but for one reason or another we were not
able to get off the ground. We hope that this start with the cable
channel will give us the springboard to move on to national TV before
too long. Anyway, the point is that one of the things which has become
necessary is that we should have a room dedicated to audio and video
production.
In light of all this we are happy to report that some months ago
Brother Howard Williams donated a space large enough to put up a
building with floor space of 1200 square feet. We have already started
work on this building and have put the walls up and put on the roof. The
outside walls still need to be rendered, the floor needs to tiled, the
ceiling needs to go in and the plumbing and electrical work need to be
done. There is still a lot of work to be done but the progress so far
has been encouraging.
When this building is finished We will have one large room for the
office area and to display and store our publications, another for the
printing equipment and materials and another dedicated to audio/video
production.
We just wanted you to know what has been happening here and to let you
know that we do appreciate your prayers. A special thanks to those of
you who have been instruments in the hand of God in enabling us to get
this far.
Remember
Restoration Ministries Campmeeting
April 13-17, 2006 (The Easter Week-end)
Youth With A Mission Campsite
Rudds Corner, Manchester, Jamaica West Indies.
(15 minutes away from the Restoration Ministries chapel)
For more information call (876) 625-2785
Overseas (304) 932-4543
or email: info@restorationministry.com
Open Face is published bi-monthly and is sent free to all who desire to receive it.
David Clayton: Editor and Publisher
P. O. Box 23 Knockpatrick
Manchester, Jamaica W.I.
Phone: (876) 904-7392
email: david@restorationministry.com
