The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1922-05-04

gression had fallen and taken US
down with him to the darkness or
sin and death. Our supreme need
was another man with power to re-
cover us from the place of perishing.
But the recovery could not be accom-
plished merely by power. In the
moral universe as In the natural, law
Is In operation. Sin Is transgression
of the law. When God sent forth
His Son, lie was not only born OF
woman, but born under the law that
lie might redeem them that were UNI
der the law" The law Is holy, just
and good 1t Is the expression of the
perfect will of God. Whoever breaks
1t is condemned already Con-
demnation comes with the transgres-
sion and because "all have sinned"
and violated this righteous Jaw every
mouth is stopped" and all the world
is guilty before God"
The eternal and Interchangeable law
of righteousness can never be sus-
pended nor set ASIDE, neither can its
penalties be modified or mitigated.
Its 'unvarying and irrevocable decree
Is death, with all that the word death
implies, spiritually, judicially and
literally. 1T is this that gives point
and power to the words, "Christ died
for our SINS" Nothing else can bring
rest to the heart or satisfaction to the
conscience. Conscience can be salts
fed only when the law is satistie!.
Permanent safety and certainty can
be found nowhere else but In the full.
fillment of the law.
The Apostle clearly teaches that
being justified by faith we have peace
with God" but to be justified Is to
pc made righteous in point of law.
This does not mean escape from the
penalty of the law, but rather free
dom from Ii because all its claims
have been met. We are Justified by
His blood" which answers TO every
charge that could possibly rise up
against us because of our transgres-
sions. Every righteous requirement
was fully met at the cross and all
grounds of condemnation are now
forever past to those who put faith
in His blood" Oh, how poor and puny
are the plans and provisions of man
in comparison with this mighty pro-
vision Of the mighty God as seen In
the words, Christ died for our SINS"
Who is this Christ? The Spotless
One, the Lamb without blemish and
without spot, the One who could look
into the face of man and say, (Which
of you convinceth me of sinY The
one who could look up into the face
of God and say, Il do always those
things which please Him." Being per-
feet In every particular, the Son of
God could be the Lamb of God taking
away the sin of the world What is
sin? Sin is transgression of the eter-
nal and Interchangeable law of right
eousness and the wages of sin is
DEATH" Into this death and all that ii
involved, Christ went. So far as the
actual crucifixion was concerned II
was brought about by evil and brutal
men. They KILLED the Prince of
Life" Could you have stood at the
place called Calvary" on that day,
you might have seen nothing more
than these external things; the crowd
of men, the cross of wood, the crown
of thorns; but as another has said.
Behind the external scene, the power
of God was operating to provide "a
righteous basis for the removal of
human guilt and to make available a
new moral power for mankind, neces-
sary for their full salvation" A sufii.
cient substitute stood I'm the sinners
place, who died for our sins.
Concerning this matter of suhsti-
tutionary Savior and sacrifice, revel-
alton is lmmovably firm. by some
this truth is lightly esteemed; by 9TH
ers, treated even with contempt or
as belonging to past age. Never
theless, it Is the only resting place of
the soul.
Another truth, in adGdion to that
of substitution, energies at the cross.
1t is that of Identification or union.
Christ unites to Himself those who
put faith in His blood. This spiritual
union is so real and actual that the
believer can say II through the law
died to the law" The law arrested
him and, having passed sentence OF
death, proceeded TO execute that SEN
tence. He died not as a suicide by
trying to put himself to death through
process of religious ceremonallsm,
but by submission to the sentence of
righteous law. United to Christ he
cries: 81 am cruclfied with Christ
one with Him I'm His death, one with
Him In resurrection life, one with Him
before God, one with Him In the new
creation to which all those belong
who have fed to Him for refuge.
81 read Gods holy Word. and find
Great truths which far transcend my
mind;
And little do I know beside
or thoughts so high, and deep and
wide
This Is my beaf theology.
rnouv fha vlor died for ma