March 1931
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K i n g ’ s
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A Favorable Verdict and the Reasons For It B y J ohn C. P age (Los Angeles, Calif.)
when seen and appropriated, causes one to wonder and to worship.
“There is , therefore , now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus " (Rom. 8:1). , HE word “condemnation” has a judicial sound. It suggests a judge, a court, a trial, and a ver dict. This is in perfect harmony with the con tents of the epistle from which the text is taken, and in perfect accord with revealed truth. Such phrases as “the judgment of God,” “the right eous judgment of God,” and “all the world guilty before God” are found here. The inspired writer is dealing with the matter of our redemption which has a judicial as well as a moral and an eternal aspect. Someone has-foolishly said
■ “Oh, the love that drew salvation’s "plan; Oh, the grace that brought it down to man; Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span A t Calvary.”
The love of God makes the necessary sacrifice, and the sacrifice He provides meets all the requirements of God as our righteous Judge. So then, the idea of a Judge, a court, a trial, and a verdict is as true to Scripture as the fact of a Father and a redeemed family. As the fact of sin is universal, so also is the sense
of guilt incurred in sinning. Every shrine, every altar, and every temple is a testimony to the consciousness of guilt and the endeavor to escape the con sequences. Condemnation is as universal as sin. How to es cape it, how to obtain a favor able verdict from “the Judge of all the earth” is humanity’s greatest spiritual problem. In his book entitled “The Variety of Religious Experi ence,” Professor Henry James clearly shows that there is a uni versal consciousness in human hearts which may be expressed in the words, “I am not right with God.” It is this sense of wrongness that produces con demnation in the human soul;
that the writer of this epistle changed the idea of God and the universe from that of a lov ing Father and a family into that of a Judge and a court house. Such a statement is mis leading and false. The apostle couples the two ideas together as all the Bible writers do. Tru ly, the infinite God is a loving Father; but, just as truly, He is the righteous “Judge of all the earth.” In that great prayer recorded in John 17, Christ ad dressed the Father as “Holy Father” and “Righteous Fath er.” To preach the fatherhood and love of God without preach ing the holiness and righteous ness of God is as bad as lulling
Neither Do I Condemn Thee
“Neither do I condemn thee ”— Oh, words of wondrous grace! Thy sins were borne upon the cross, Believe, and go in peace. “Neither do I condemn thee ”— For there is therefore now No condemnation for thee, A s at the cross you bow. “Neither do I condemn thee”-WiM Oh, praise the God of grace! Oh, praise His Son thy Saviour, For this His word of peace! — El. Nathan
children to sleep in a house that will soon totter and fall to destruction. The statement that God is love, if de tached from the truth concerning His holiness, carries a false impression. It conveys the idea that God is lenient and tolerant, passing lightly over transgression, iniquity, and sin. This idea is so far removed from truth as to be actually disastrous in its effects upon the mind. The love of God must never be detached from the holiness of God. Scripture never separates the two. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son. to be the propitiation for our sins.” Love is here associated not with benevolence but with pro pitiation. And what is propitiation? It is that offering for sin which meets the requirements of God’s holy character. One who is both Father and Judge cannot altogether follow the yearning of the fatherly heart. He must uphold the law. He must do right. God, who is holy, cannot ever be indifferent to sin. God, who is love, cannot be unconcerned about sinners. Herein lies the force of the words in Rom. 3:26. God gent iorth Christ to be a propitiation, to declare His righteousness in His dealings with-tsin and sinners. • What His righteousness required, His love provided. It is this provision which,
and, under certain spiritual conditions, created by provi dential circumstances, compels that soul to cry out: “What must I do to be saved ?” Sometimes this question has been asked by as many as three thousand people, as at Pentecost. On other occasions, it has been asked by an individual, as in the case of the Philippian jailer. A F ourfold C ondemnation Into this matter of condemnation, four considerations enter. First, there is the fact of guilt incurred through wrongdoing; or, in other words, sins actually committed. In the words of the General Confession, “we have done those things which we ought not to have done.” In the second place, there is a lack of righteousness on our part because of good omitted. “We have left undone those things that we ought to have done.” Sins of omission in cur guilt. “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Some persons often say, when trying to justify themselves, “I haven’t done anything very bad.” The question is, have they always done that which is good? If not, there is sin and guilt in volved. The third consideration is the inward tendency toward evil, to which the apostle refers in the words:
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