The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-02-17

agree and declare There Is none
righteous, no, not one. All have sim
ned and come short of the glory of
God"
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 20 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
lions of our God-given 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 we'll 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 find, 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.
1--WE 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. 80 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. 17-24.)
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 OF peace is that what we
could not do for ourselves in the way
of lifting ourselves up to Divine APP
prevail God has provided shall be done
for us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our failure TO keep the Law marks us
as unworthy of eternal life, and
worthy of the wages of sin-not eter.
nal torment. but death. God in mercy
concluded /" offer us eternal life as a
gTt-because of our not actually merit
ing it under his legal requirements.
Thus we read, The wages of sin is
death; but the gift Of God is eternal
| Romans vi 23). What we could not
| obtain legally under the Divine re.
| quirements God proffers to us as a
| gift. But the gift is conditional one
| as expressed in the words, through
| Jesus Christ our Lord" Only those
who accept Jesus Christ as 1.-The Way.
| the Truth, and the Life" may have
| uif nf atn
will be seen that it is wholly a mistake
to suppose that the heather at home
Of abroad can get eternal life, the gift
IF God, in ignorance of Christ. All the
Scriptures confirm this and declare moi
only that we cannot save ourselves by
obedience to the terms of Gods Law,
| but that there is none other name un-
! we must be saved"-through faith in
his name-through faith in his blood
| Acts iv. 12).
But how is this done justly? and,
why does God so limit his gift of eter-
nal life?
| Gods Law represents himself and
cannot change. He cannot require less
|
fill the Universe to all eternity with
depraved and imperfect beings. God
has higher plan than this and de.
clares. las the heavens are higher than
the earth, SO are my ways higher than
[ your ways isaiah ", 81. He explains
that his ultimate purpose is that there
shall be IL imperfect creature in ali
his Universe. All whose hearts axe
loyal to h:n: and the principles of his
government shall be perfected. and all
others shall be destroyed in the Second
Death. Thus. eventually, every knee
shall bow and every tongue confess to
the glory OF God. Then every Great ure
which is in heaven, and on the earth
and under the earth, shall be heard
saying, Blessing. and honor and glory
and power be unto him that stitch
upon the throne. and unto the Lamb
forever Revelation v. 49,.
You Are Bought With Price.
Possibly God could have arranged
some other way of dealing with sin
and sinners which would not have re
quired the death of Jesus as the Ran
som price, the purchase price, the re
demption price for sinners. But the
fact that this method was adopted by
our great Creator assures us that nc
Dther method would have been Sc
wise. so just, so beneficial. No Other
method would have so fully demon