Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-02-16


lNllcah VI, o.
ly of your neighbors as you would
have them speak of you? Or do you
hold up their imperfections to ridicule.
as you would like TO have them hold
up yours? Do you guard your tongue
SO that you speak only things you
would think proper for your neighbor
to speak respecting you, if you changed
places?
Simple Justice-Nothing More.
Do you not begin to see. dear friends,
that what God requires Of us is much
beyond what the majority have been
rendering? Do you stand appalled, and
tell me that it would be impossible to
live fully up to that standard? / agree
with you. And st. Paul agrees, say
ing, 1--WE cannot do the things which
we would" The Scriptures again
agree and declare There is none
righteous. no, not one. All have sin
ned and come short of the glory of
Cod
What shall we do? Shall we say
that because we are unable to live up
to our own conceptions and stand
ards Of justice we will make no at
tempt to do so. but abandon those
standards entirely? God forbid. We
are weak enough and imperfect enough
as it is. To ignore our best ideals of
justice would be to take off all the
brakes and permit the downward tend
encies of our depraved natures to go
rapidly from bad to worse-to carry us
further and further from God and the
standards of character which he ap-
proves. We can surely-be content to
do nothing less than our very best to
live up to our own ideals and to raise
those, ideals as nearly as possible to
the Divine standard.
What Would Be the Use?
Suppose we do our very best daily
to measure up to our highest concep-
tons of our Godgiven ideals and
standards. would God accept of this
and count us worthy of his favor and
of eternal life? Surely not. The Law
of the Lord is perfect. Justice is
Justice. Not the nearer of law. not
the well-wishing. receives the reward.
but the doer, the obedient. Here, then.
we find ourselves in difficulty. With
our hearts. our minds, we approve
Gods Law and desire to be Obedient
to him, but lind. as st. Paul says. that
many things we wish to do we fail
to accomplish: and many of the things
we do not wish to do we cannot avoid.
I'VE cannot do the things that we
would" We approve the excellent de-
mands of Gods Law. We disapprove
the imperfectiOns Of our own flesh.
Like st. Paul. we cry out. 20 wretch
ed man that l am. who shall deliver
me from this dead body?"-this body
that is imperfect through Inherited
sin and weaknesses With our minds
we serve Gods Law and approve it;
but with our bodies we come short
What is our hope? How shall we be
delivered? Can we prevail upon God
to change the reasonable requirement
of our text so that it shall read. What
doth God require of me but to will
justly and do imperfectly? We can.
not hope for such change in the
Divine Law. Are we then hopeless as
respects Divine approval and eternal
life? -(Romans vii. 1924
The Gift of God Is Eternal Life.
In our moment of perpleXity we
hear Gods message speaking peace
, through Jesus Christ our Lord" The
, message or peace is that what we
, could not do for ourselves in the way
; of lifting ourselves up to Divine ap
prevail God has provided shall be done
, for us through our Lord Jesus Christ
f Our fixture to keep the Law marks us
, as unworthy of eternal life. anG
, worthy Of the wages of sin-not eter
nal torment, but death. God in mercy
+ concluded 10 offer us eternal life as 6
+ gTt-brcauSe of our not actually merit
ing ii under his legal requirements
Z Thus we read. The wages of sin is
| death; but the gift of God is eterna
life through Jesus Christ our Lord
. (ROmans vi. 23l. What we could no
=. obtain legally under the Divine re
quirements God proffers to us as
gift But tie gift is a conditional on,
IS expressed in the words. Through
, Jesus, Christ our Lord" Only thos,
:, who accept Jesus Christ as the Way
= the Truth. and the Life" may hav,
!, Gods gift OF eternal life. Hence
:. will be seen that it is wholly mistak
. to suppose that the heather at hom
. Or abroad can get eternal life. the gif
:, Of God. in ignorance of Christ. All tn
= Scriptures confirm this and declare no
. only that we cannot save ourselves b.
:, obedience to the terms of Gods Law
:, but that there is none other name un
:, 1er heaven gwen among men. whereof
:, we must b. saved"-through faith il
:. his name-i!irough faith in his bloo
, (Acts iv. 12l.
But how is this done justly? aud
= why does God so limit his gift of etel
nal life?
Gods Law represents himself an