The important question of Christian position naturally flows from the one we have been considering―the forgiveness of sins. Unless the conscience be cleansed from all sins there could be no enjoyment of the divine presence. This is the turning-point between the Brethren and their opponents; and this being the very threshold of Christianity, we must not wonder at the former being considered in error, seeing the latter do not understand their position as Christians, or rather, Christian position. They are on different ground and look at divine things from different points of view. The thoughts of the one are formed and their statements governed by the particular school of theology in which they have been trained; while the thoughts and statements of the other are governed by Scripture only.
Of course, theologians would say that their different bodies of divinity were fair and honest deductions from Scripture and supported by it. Well, suppose we admit this; but how much of the truth of God is left out in such standards? Where should we find the doctrine of the church of God as the body and bride of Christ? the presence of the Holy Ghost on earth and His varied operations? the coming of the Lord to receive us to Himself? the rapture of the saints? the heavenly relations of the Christian? the first resurrection, and the millennial reign of the saints with Christ for a thousand years? (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 413Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (Ephesians 4:13‑18); Rev. 2113On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. (Revelation 21:13‑18); John 1413And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. 15If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:13‑18); 15:16; John 14:1-31Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1‑3); 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 113But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18)
3For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. 7But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children: 8So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us. (1 Thessalonians 2:3‑8) Cor. 15:51, 52; Eph. 2:4-64But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:4‑6); Col. 3:1-41If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1‑4); Rev. 20:5, 65But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:5‑6)). These blessed and precious truths are plainly and abundantly taught in Scripture and characterize the teaching and writings of the Brethren. But in what system of theology are they to be found?
Individual Christians, we know, there are in the various denominations who hold and teach some of these truths, especially of late years; but we are speaking of those systems of doctrine which are intended to guide young men in their studies, and on which they are examined before being licensed, and by which they will be judged if they should ever after become the subjects of discipline. They must only preach those doctrines which are within the limits of their system if they would not be called in question. How then, we may ask, can those who have been so trained, and still adhere to their system, be competent to weigh in the balances of the sanctuary, the truths which constitute these teachings seeing they do not understand them, but merely judge them by their own theology?
The Testimony of Scripture
We shall now see what the Word of God says on the subject of Christian position in connection with forgiveness.
The apostle John in his first epistle says, “This then, is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-75This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:5‑7)). In verse 7 we have the three great features of our Christian position, looked at as men walking down here. John is not describing some special class among the faithful, but all true Christians whoever and wherever they may be. We walk in the light as God is in the light, where all sin is judged according to Him with whom we are in fellowship. Next, what the world knows nothing of, “we have fellowship one with another,” that is, we have the same divine nature, and the same Holy Spirit dwells in us; so that there must be fellowship. This we may see every day and wherever we may be. When traveling, it may be, we meet a perfect stranger; a word is dropped―Christ’s blessed name, or that which conveys to the heart the sense of His grace, and we have communion with that man, just because the divine life is there. This is only natural in the new creation of God, all being indwelt by the one Spirit. But besides these, we are cleansed from all sin― “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” This is not brought in here as a provision against our failure, as some say, and for our daily restoration. The apostle is speaking of the position in which the believer is set by the grace of God from the beginning of his Christian course, and which remains unchanged right through.
We are in the light as God is in the light; we have fellowship together; and we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ―the ever-abiding power of the blood of Jesus which knows no limits.
“These are the three great principles of the Christian position. We are in the presence of God without a veil. It is a real thing, a matter of life and walk. It is not the same thing as walking according to the light; but it is in the light. That is to say, that this walk is before the eyes of God, enlightened by the full revelation of what He is. It is not that there is no sin in us; but, walking in the light, the will and the conscience being in the light as God is in it, everything is judged that does not answer to it. We live and walk morally in the sense that God is present. We walk thus in the light. The moral rule of will is God Himself; God known. The thoughts that sway the heart come from Himself and are formed upon the revelation of Himself. The apostle puts these things always in an abstract way: thus he says, ‘He cannot sin, because he is born of God;’ and that maintains the normal rule of this life; it is its nature; it is the truth, inasmuch as the man is born of God. We cannot have any other measure of it; any other would be false. It does not follow, alas! that we are always consistent; but we are inconsistent if we are not in this state; we are not walking according to the nature that we possess; we are out of our true condition according to that nature.
“Moreover, walking in the light as God is in the light, believers have communion with each other. The world is selfish. The flesh, the passions, seek their own gratification; but if I walk in the light self has no place there. I enjoy the light and all I see in it with another, and there is no jealousy. If another possess a carnal thing, I am deprived of it. In the light we have fellow-possession of that which He gives us, and we enjoy it the more by sharing it together. This is a touchstone of all that is of the flesh.
“We feel the need there is of the last thing―the blood which cleanses from all sin. While walking in the light as God is in the light, with a perfect revelation to us of Himself, with a nature that knows Him spiritually, as the eye is made to appreciate light, we cannot say that we have no sin. The light itself would contradict us. But we can say that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses perfectly from it.”
Those who know their place in association with Christ as risen from the dead, know that they have eternal life, and that in resurrection; death, an empty grave, the world, sin, and Satan, are all behind the Christian. The grave of Christ is the terminus for every foe. “But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are―not will be, but are―saved) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Eph. 2.
The Results of Redemption
Before leaving the Epistle of John we will briefly notice the teaching of the three witnesses in chapter 5. “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one.” John has his eye on the cross. It was from the pierced side of Jesus that the blood and the water flowed forth; and that to which they bear witness is that God has given us eternal life through the death of His beloved Son. “It is the judgment of death pronounced and executed (compare Rom. 8.3) on the flesh, on all that is of the old man, on the first Adam. Not that the sin of the first Adam was in the flesh of Christ, but that Jesus died in it as a sacrifice for that sin!” In that He died, He died unto sin once! Here we have the blood that atones, the water that purifies, and the Spirit that dwelleth in us, bearing witness to their efficacy. We belong to the new creation of God; we possess life in resurrection. The blood of propitiation cleanseth us from all sin, the water of purification maintains us as spotless as the blood has made us, and the Holy Spirit is the power in applying these through faith in the Word, giving us the joy of both, and bearing witness because He is truth.
That to which the three bear witness is made plain and interesting by the following quotation: “He came by water―a powerful testimony, as flowing from the side of a dead Christ, that life is not to be sought for in the first Adam; for Christ, as associated with him, taking up his cause, the Christ come in the flesh, had to die: else He had remained alone in His own purity. Life is to be sought for in the Son of God risen from among the dead.
“But it was not by water only that He came; it was also by blood. The expiation of our sins was as necessary as the moral purification of our souls. We possess it in the blood of a slain Christ. Death alone could expiate them, blot them out. And Jesus died for us. The guilt of the believer no longer exists before God; Christ has put Himself in his place. The life is on high, and we are raised up together with Him, God having forgiven us all our trespasses.
“The third witness is the Spirit―put first in the order of their testimony on earth; last in their historic order. In effect it is the testimony of the Spirit, His presence in us, which enables us to appreciate the value of the water and the blood.
“We should never have understood the practical bearing of the death of Christ, if the Holy Ghost were not a revealing power to the new man, of its import and efficacy. Now, the Holy Ghost came down from a risen and ascended Christ, and thus we know that eternal life is given us in the Son of God.
“The testimony of these three witnesses meet together in this same truth, namely, that grace, that God Himself, has given us eternal life; and that this life is in His Son. Man had nothing to do in it except by his sins. It is the gift of God. And the life that He gives us is in His Son. The testimony is the testimony of God. How blessed to have such a testimony, and that from God Himself, and in perfect grace!”
The True Ground of Peace
Any who are strangers to quiet, settled peace with God would do well to read the writings of these Christians on this subject. They give no uncertain sound. The “doubts and fears” which have so long harassed and perplexed even the most godly among the denominations, have not entirely passed away, though of late years many Christians have been more clear and certain than formerly. Many of the most illustrious names in past ages might be given as having been frequently troubled all through life as to their pardon and acceptance. Real peace was unknown.
But peace with God is the heritage of all His children―as the legacy left by Christ to His disciples. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” It was in the midst of this world with all its trials and conflicts that He gave them His own peace―the peace which He Himself had with the Father as He walked in this world. But why is it that so few enjoy this character of peace with the Father as He did? It is ours! He left it to us! No reason can be given but unbelief. We cannot enjoy a blessing before we believe it. And He meant us to enjoy it in this world, and in spite of it, as He did. He is also our peace in heaven, so that it is perfect in the light as well as in the world.
Ponder the following quotations on this all-important, personal question, and the reader must judge of the teaching.
“Our peace is not merely a thing of enjoyment within us, but it is Christ outside of us: ‘For he is our peace’ ―a most wonderful expression. And if souls only rested upon this, would there be anxiety as to fullness of peace? It is my own fault entirely if I do not rest in and enjoy it. But even so; am I to doubt that Christ is my peace? I am dishonoring Him if I do. If I had a surety whose riches could not fail, why should I doubt my standing or credit? It depends neither on my wealth, nor on my poverty. All turns on the resources of Him who has become responsible for me. So it is with Christ. He is our peace, and there can be no possibility of failure in Him. Where the heart confides in this, what is the effect? Then we can rest and enjoy peace. But I must begin with believing it. The Lord in His grace does give His people betimes transports of joy; but joy may fluctuate. Peace is, or should be, a permanent thing, that the Christian is entitled to have always: and this because Christ is our peace.”
“It is most needful to be simple and clear as to what constitutes the ground of a sinner’s peace, in the presence of God. So many things have been mixed up with the finished work of Christ, that souls are plunged into darkness and uncertainty as to their acceptance. They do not see the absolutely settled character of redemption through the blood of Christ in its application to themselves. They seem not to be aware that full forgiveness of sins rests upon the simple fact that a full atonement has been offered, a fact attested in the view of all created intelligence, by the resurrection of the sinner’s Surety from the dead. They know that there is no other way of being saved but by the blood of the cross; but the devils know this, yet it avails them naught. What is so much needed is to know that we are saved. The Israelite in Egypt not merely knew that there was safety in the blood: he knew that he was safe. And why safe? Was it because of anything that he had done, or felt, or thought? By no means: but because God had said, ‘When I see the blood I will pass over you.’ He rested upon God’s testimony. He believed what God said, because God said it. ‘He set to his seal that God was true.’
“And observe, my reader, it was not upon his own thoughts and feelings, or experiences, respecting the blood, that the Israelite rested. This would have been a poor sandy foundation to rest upon. His thoughts and feelings might be deep or they might be shallow; but deep or shallow, they had nothing to do with the ground of his peace. It was not said, ‘When you see the blood, and value it as you ought, I will pass over you.’ This would have been sufficient to plunge him in dark despair about himself, inasmuch as it was quite impossible that the human mind could ever sufficiently appreciate the precious blood of the Lamb. What gave peace was the fact that Jehovah’s eye rested upon the blood, and that He knew its worth. This tranquillized the heart. The blood was outside, and the Israelite inside, so that he could not possibly see it; but God saw it and that was enough.
“The application of this to the question of a sinner’s peace is very plain. The Lord Jesus Christ, having shed His precious blood as a perfect atonement for sin, has taken it into the presence of God, and sprinkled it there; and God’s testimony assures the believing sinner that everything is settled on his behalf ―settled, not by his estimate of the blood, but by the blood itself which God estimates so highly, that, because of it without a single jot or tittle added thereto, He can righteously forgive all sin, and accept the sinner as perfectly righteous in Christ.
How can anyone ever enjoy settled peace, if his peace depends upon his estimate of the blood? Impossible! The loftiest estimate which the human mind can form of the blood must fall infinitely short of its divine preciousness; and, therefore, if our peace were to depend upon our valuing it as we ought, we could no more enjoy settled peace than if we were seeking it by ‘works of law.’ There must either be a sufficient ground of peace the blood alone, or we can never have peace. To mix up our estimate with it is to upset the entire fabric of Christianity, just as effectually as if we were to conduct the sinner to the foot of Mount Sinai, and put him under a covenant of works. Either Christ’s atoning sacrifice is sufficient, or it is not. If it is sufficient, why those doubts and fears? The words of our lips profess that the work is finished; but the doubts and fears of the heart declare that it is not. Everyone who doubts his full and everlasting forgiveness denies, so far as he is concerned, the completeness of the sacrifice of Christ.
“But there are very many who would shrink from the idea of deliberately and avowedly calling in question the efficacy of the blood of Christ, who, nevertheless, have not settled peace. Such persons profess to be quite assured of the sufficiency of the blood, if only they were sure of an interest therein if only they had the right kind of faith. There are many precious souls in this unhappy condition. They are occupied with their interest and their faith, instead of with Christ’s blood and God’s word. In other words, they are looking in at self, instead of out at Christ. This is not faith; and, as a consequence, they have not peace. An Israelite within the blood-stained lintel could teach such souls a most seasonable lesson. He was not saved by his interest in, or his thoughts about, the blood, but simply by the blood. No doubt, he had a blessed interest in it; and he would have his thoughts likewise; but then God did not say, ‘When I see your interest in the blood I will pass over you.’ Oh, no! THE BLOOD, in all its solitary dignity and divine efficacy, was set before Israel; and had they attempted to place even a morsel of unleavened bread beside the blood as a ground of security, they would have made Jehovah a liar, and denied the sufficiency of His remedy.
“We are ever prone to look at something in, or connected with, ourselves as necessary, in order to make up, with the blood of Christ, the groundwork of our peace. There is a sad lack of clearness and soundness on this vital point, as is evident from the doubts and fears with which so many of the people of God are afflicted. We are apt to regard the fruits of the Spirit in us, rather than the work of Christ for us, as the foundation of peace. The Holy Ghost is not said to be our peace, but Christ is. God did not send preaching peace by the Holy Ghost, but by Jesus Christ. (Compare Acts 10:3636The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) (Acts 10:36); Eph. 2:14, 1714For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (Ephesians 2:14)
17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. (Ephesians 2:17); Col. 1:2020And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (Colossians 1:20).) My reader cannot be too simple in his apprehension of this important distinction. It is the blood of Christ which gives peace, imparts perfect justification, divine righteousness, purges the conscience, brings us into the holiest of all, justifies God in receiving the believing soul, and constitutes our title to all the joys, the dignities and the glories of heaven. See Rom. 3:24-26; 5:924Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:24‑26)
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:9); Eph. 2:13-1813But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; 16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. 18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:13‑18); Col. 1:20-2220And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: (Colossians 1:20‑22); Heb. 9:14; 10:1914How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)
19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, (Hebrews 10:19); 1 Peter 1:19; 2:24; 119But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:19)
24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
24For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (1 Peter 1:24) John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7); Rev. 7:14-1714And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:14‑17).”
The Righteousness of the Law, and the Righteousness of God
The question suggested by the above heading has given rise to much bitterness by many good people. Yet it is difficult for an onlooker to conceive why Christian men, who believe in the plenary inspiration of scripture, should contend with such tenacity for the theological term, “the righteousness of Christ,” in place of the one used in the Bible, “the righteousness of God.” The former―in the theological sense―is never used in scripture, while the latter is used many times. The passage that is so often quoted, “By the obedience of one shall many be made righteous,” does not refer to Christ’s connection with the law at all, but is a summing up of the native tendency, on the one side, of Adam’s one offense, and on the other, of Christ’s work, without going into details.
It is affirmed that the ground of our justification is Christ’s keeping the law for us, in order that this should be accepted in place of our failure. This, says modern theology, is the righteousness of Christ which is imputed to the believer for justification―His wedding garment. His transgressions are pardoned by blood-shedding. The former is called the active, the latter the passive, obedience of Christ. When told that the Spirit of God invariably uses the expression, righteousness of God; true, they reply, but Jesus is God.
The Brethren have written so much on this subject, and expounded so many scriptures in unfolding it, that we have great difficulty in making a selection. But we would recommend those who are interested in the question to see the originals.
“I believe,” says Mr. Darby, “and bless God for the truth, that Christ is our righteousness, and that by His obedience we are made righteous. It is the settled peace of my soul. The important point here is the contrast between the death and sufferings of Christ, as winning our forgiveness, and His obedience as our justifying righteousness.... What is, then, the righteousness of God, and how is it shown? How do we have part in it? How is righteousness reckoned to us? We are said to be the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5). The apostle speaks of having the righteousness of God (Phil. 3). But it is not said God’s righteousness is imputed to us. Nor is Christ’s righteousness a scriptural expression, though no Christian doubts He was perfectly righteous. Still, the Spirit of God is perfect in wisdom, and it would be wonderful if that which is the necessary ground of our acceptance should not be clearly spoken of in scripture. One passage seems to say so. (Rom. 5:1818Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. (Romans 5:18)). But the reader may see in the margin of a Bible, which has references, that there it is ‘one righteousness.’ There cannot be the least doubt that this is the true rendering. But the expression, ‘the righteousness of God,’ is used so very often, that it is not necessary to quote the passages. Now, it is not in vain that the Holy Ghost, in so important a subject, never uses one expression, that is, the righteousness of Christ, and constantly the other, that is God’s righteousness. We learn the current of the mind of the Spirit thus. Theology uses always that which the Holy Spirit never uses; and cannot tell what is to be made of that which the Holy Spirit always uses.
“The great evil of the whole scheme is, that it is a righteousness demanded of man as born of Adam, though another may furnish it. The thing furnished is man’s righteousness. If Christ has done it for me, still it was what I ought to have done. It is meeting the demand on me ... In the doctrine of the Epistle to the Romans it will be found that the whole groundwork of our justification and every blessing, is laid in the death, not in the life of Christ on earth. ‘Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood.... to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness; that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’ Who is just? God. Here is an all-important principle: the righteousness of God means, first of all His own righteousness—that He is just. It is not man’s, or even yet some other’s positive righteousness, made up of a quantity of legal merit, put upon him. The righteousness spoken of is God’s being righteous (‘just’ is the same word), and yet so declared, that He can justify the most dreadful sinner.
“But it will be said that there must be a ground for this, which makes it righteous to forgive and justify. Righteousness has a double meaning. I am righteous, say, in rewarding or forgiving; but this supposes an adequate claim which makes it righteous that I should do so―merit of some kind. If I have promised anything, or anything be morally due to righteousness, I am righteous in giving it. Thus, that God should be righteous in forgiving and justifying, there must be an adequate moral motive for His doing so. In the sinner, clearly, there was not. In the blood of Christ there was. And, God having set Him forth as a mercy seat, faith in His blood became the way of justifying. This showed God’s righteousness in forgiving. Thus accepted, I stand before God on the footing of His righteousness.”
It has often been said of Brethren that they make nothing of the life of Christ; that they pass it over as if it were of no value to man or glory to God. It is quite true that they do not make the life of Jesus before His death the groundwork of our justification; for He Himself says, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” But it is untrue to say that they pass over the life of Christ as being nothing to us.
“Here, again,” says Mr. Kelly, “let us understand each other. Do we deny for a moment the subjection of the Lord Jesus to the law of God? God forbid! He did fulfill the law, of course; He glorified God in every possible way in the fulfillment of it. This is no matter of controversy with Christian men. He is no believer who supposes that Christ in any act of His life failed, that He did not entirely and blessedly accomplish the law of God, or that the result could be of small moment to God or man ...
“Do I deny that the ways, the walk, the life of Jesus, the magnifying of God in all His ways, are anything to our account? God forbid! We have Jesus wholly, and not in part; we have Jesus everywhere. I am not contending now at all against the precious truth that, Christ being our acceptance, we have Christ as a whole. We have His obedience unbroken through His entire life, and its savor unto God is part of the blessing that belongs to every child of God. I believe it, rejoice in it, thank God for it, I trust, continually. But the question is wholly different. God does use for His own glory, and for our souls, all that Jesus did and suffered.
“The true inquiry is, What is the righteousness of God? It must be settled, not by notions, feelings, fancies, traditions―not by what is preached or received, but by what is written; by the Word of God. Here is God’s answer. ‘Now,’ it is said, ‘the righteousness of God without the law.’ No language can be more absolute and precise. What the Holy Ghost employs is an expression which puts the law entirely aside, as far as divine righteousness is concerned. He has been speaking about the law, and the law condemning man. He had shown that the law required righteousness, but could not get it. This is another order of righteousness―not man’s but God’s―and this, too, absolutely exclusive of law in any shape. How suitable a time to say, had it been the good news of God, that Jesus came to obey the law for us, and that God substitutes this as His righteousness for every man to stand in? Why is it not said then? Because it is not the ground, nor character, nor nature of the righteousness of God. That righteousness is wholly apart from law.
“Accordingly, this is what is here said: ‘But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.’ Observe the exceeding accuracy of the language. The law and the prophets did not manifest the righteousness of God; yet the law in various forms pointed to another kind of righteousness that was coming; the prophets brought it out, if possible, still more clearly in respect of language. The one furnished types, the other assumed that Jehovah’s righteousness was near to come. But now the gospel tells us it is come―divine righteousness is a revealed fact ... Redemption is the righteous groundwork. . . The blood of Christ deserves at God’s hands that the believer should be justified, and God Himself is just in justifying him.
“It is not God’s righteousness apart from Jesus; it is the righteousness of God apart from law. He has set forth Christ as a propitiatory. Christ became the true mercy seat. God gave Him up as a sacrifice for sin, that through His body offered once for all, every soul that believes on Him might be sanctified―nay, more than that ‘by one offering perfected forever.’ It is done in His death. He came to do not merely the law, but the whole will of God, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
“Here then we have the righteousness of God developed in the simplest and clearest way. It means that God is just, and justifies in virtue of Christ. He is just, because sin has been met on the cross: sin has been judged of God; it has been suffered and atoned for by Christ. More than that; the Lord Jesus has so magnified God, and so glorified His character, that there is a positive debt now on the other side. Instead of the obligation being, as it were, altogether on man’s side, God has now interposed, and, having been so magnified in the Man Christ Jesus, in His death, He is now positively just when He justifies the soul that believes in Jesus. It is consequently the righteousness of God; for God is thus approving Himself righteous to the claims of Christ.”
Subjection to the Word of God
The one great cause of disagreement, between the Brethren and the denominations on the leading doctrines of Christianity, arises from the difference of their standards. Both profess to be guided by Scripture, but the one submits to the naked simplicity and authority of the Word of God, the other to doctrines deduced from it, and, they believe, in accordance with it. The one may be as sincere as the other, but their standards of appeal are not the same. Hence, they never can agree, or see divine things in the same light. The one must hold the other to be in error. The question is, Which has the true standard? “All human statements of truth,” say Brethren, “must be inferior to Scripture, even when drawn from it, but supposing everything to be right that is in their creed, it is like a made tree instead of a growing one. The Word gives truth in its living operations. It gives it in connection with God, in connection with man, with conscience, with divine life, and is thus a totally different thing.”
There is an evident shrinking from the plain Word of God on the part of the Brethren’s adversaries in this controversy. When the results of absolute subjection to the Word of God are seen, there is hesitation, an unwillingness to submit to the fair conclusions of the truth. Are there not many Christians in the denominations who believe that Brethren are right as to Scripture, but, to unite with them would be to lose a position in society, which they are not yet prepared to abandon. Still, the conscience may be troubled; but the mind, reasoning, says, Would it be right to give up such a sphere of usefulness as I now have? Could I do the same good were I to unite with Brethren who are everywhere spoken against? Such reasonings have more weight with some, through the power of Satan, than the plain Word of God. But such forget, that “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” And as the prophet says, “Cease to do evil;” this is to be the first step when we find ourselves in a wrong position.
Light will be given for the second when the first is taken in faith, “Learn to do well.” Then the apostle says, “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” Here the language is much stronger than in the prophets, because Christ is in question. We are not merely to cease from evil, but to abhor it; and not merely to hearken and learn, but to cleave to that which is good. 1 Sam. 15:2222And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22); Isa. 1:16, 1716Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:16‑17); Rom. 12:99Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. (Romans 12:9).
There need be no hesitation as to our path when we have discovered that our position is wrong. The Word of God is plain, “Cease to do evil.” But there are not many “overcomers” ―not many who are prepared to overcome the difficulties of the family, the congregation, and the social circle. This is the true reason why many stand aloof from Brethren, and try to find some error in their doctrine, or inconsistency in their ways, that will justify their having nothing to do with them. With some the world is the difficulty, as it is a giving up of the religious as well as the social world. A moral chasm, deep and broad, separates divine ground from human. To cross it is to leave the world and the religion which it sanctions behind us. The one is on heaven’s, the other on earth’s side of the grave of Christ. And unless the step be taken in the power of a faith that reckons on the living God, it should never be taken. But the Christian that is accustomed to walk in communion with God will look to His Word for guidance in everything. He has nothing else to count upon. The teaching of men may instruct him, but faith can only rest on the Word of God. Whether it be a question of doctrine or practice, of service or worship, he must go to the Word, and if he cannot find directions there for what he proposes, he must pause until he do. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:16, 1716All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16‑17)). If the work we are engaged in, or purpose doing, be good, we shall find directions for our guidance in the Word of God.
“As to the authority of the Word, it is of the deepest interest to see that, in the consecration of the priests, as well as in the entire range of the sacrifices, we are brought immediately under the authority of the Word of God. ‘And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done.’ (Lev. 8:55And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. (Leviticus 8:5)). And again, ‘Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.’ (Lev. 95And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. (Leviticus 9:5).6). Let these words sink down into our ears. Let them be carefully and prayerfully pondered. They are priceless words. ‘This is the thing which the Lord commanded.’ He did not say, ‘This is the thing which is expedient, agreeable, or suitable.’ Neither did He says, ‘This is the thing which has been arranged by the voice of the fathers, the decree of the elders, or the opinion of the doctors.’ Moses knew nothing of such sources of authority. To him there was one holy, elevated, paramount source of authority, and that was the Word of Jehovah, and he would bring every member of the assembly into direct contact with that blessed source. This gave assurance to the heart, and fixedness to all the thoughts. There was no room left for tradition, with its uncertain sound, or for man, with his doubtful disputations. All was clear, conclusive, and authoritative. Jehovah had spoken; and all that was needed was to hear what He had said and obey. Neither tradition nor expediency has any place in the heart that has learned to prize, to reverence, and to obey the Word of God.
“And what was to be the result of this strict adherence to the Word of God? A truly blessed result, indeed. ‘The glory of the Lord shall appear unto you.’ Had the Word been disregarded, the glory would not have appeared. The two things were intimately connected. The slightest deviation from ‘Thus saith Jehovah’ would have prevented the beams of the divine glory from appearing to the congregation of Israel. Had there been the introduction of a single rite or ceremony not enjoined by the Word, or had there been the omission of aught which that Word commanded, Jehovah would not have manifested His glory. He could not sanction by the glory of His presence the neglect or rejection of His Word. He can bear with ignorance and infirmity, but He cannot sanction neglect or disobedience.
“Oh! that all this were more solemnly considered in this day of tradition and expediency. I would, in earnest affection, and in the deep sense of personal responsibility to my reader, exhort him to give diligent heed to the importance of close―I had almost said, severe―adherence and reverent subjection to the Word of God. Let him try everything by that standard, and reject all that comes not up to it; let him weigh everything in that balance, and cast aside all that is not full weight; let him measure everything by that rule, and refuse all deviation. If I could only be the means of awakening one soul to a proper sense of the place that belongs to the Word of God, I should feel I had not written my book for naught or in vain.
“Reader, pause, and in the presence of the Searcher of hearts, ask yourself this plain pointed question, ‘Am I sanctioning by my presence, or adopting in my practice any departure from, or neglect of, the Word of God?’ Make this a solemn personal matter before the Lord. Be assured of it, it is of the very deepest moment, the very last importance. If you find that you have been in any wise connected with or involved in, aught that wears not the distinct stamp of divine sanction, reject it at once and forever. Yes, reject it, though arrayed in the imposing vestments of antiquity, accredited by the voice of tradition, and putting forward the most irresistible plea of expediency. If you cannot say, in reference to everything with which you stand connected, ‘this is the thing which the Lord hath commanded,’ then away with it unhesitatingly, away with it forever. Remember these words, ‘As he hath done this day, so the Lord hath commanded to do.’ Yes, remember the ‘as’ and the ‘so’; see that you are connecting them in your ways and associations, and let them never be separated.”