T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S God giving His very best to His enemies without any expectation of any return in the way of gratitude or works of any kind. If any works were required to procure salvation they must be works, of the Law. The Scripture, however, states, “ By deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (Rom. 3:20, see also Gal. 2:16; 3:11). The pronounce ment of the Law is, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are written in the boqk of the law to do them” (Gal. 3:10). .“ Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” i(v. 13). “ Blotting out the handwriting of ordi nances that was against us, nailing it to His cross” (Col. 2:14). Theseverses show how completely the believer is de livered from any claim of the law and how Christ’s death fully met the claims of the law against the sinner. This leads us to notice the work of Christ in death and resurrection as the sole ground of salvation. Since that was a finished work all other work is not only of no avail whatever but is a denial of the work of Christ, and of His last words on the cross, “ It is finished.” The cross of Christ is the judgment of the world and shows that man has com pletely failed and that God no more looks to any man to save himself. The whole world is there shown to be guilty and under judgment. There God put upon Christ the whole responsibility of saving men for He caused to meet upon Him the “ iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). And God’s testimony to Christ having put away sin by His death, and having justified every believer, is— the resur rection (Rom. 4:25). That means that any one who seeks to do any work to save himself, or in any way rests upon anything in himself for salvation, is in reality denying the completeness of the work of Christ and making out God to be a liar. The one condition of sal
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vation is faith. “ By grace are ye saved through FAITH” (Eph. 2 :8). “ He that believeth on the Son HATH everlast ing life” (John 3:36). The words of invitation to the sinner in con nection with salvation are “ come,” "be lieve,” “ receive,” “ take,” not one of which implies for one moment ~the thought of work or effort. A passage which might appear to teach that a man is justified by works is James 2:14-26. The works there; however, are works of faith which are, the evidence to one’s fellow-men that such faith exists. Abraham’s act in of fering his son (v. 21) given as an ex ample, was fully twenty years after we read of him being justified' by faith (Gen. 15:6). Rahab’s act also (v. 25) was the evidence of her faith in God, in that she recognized the spies to be His people, and of the faith that brought to her and her house salvation. In Rom. 4:2 we are distinctly told that works have no place "before God,” and in James they are referred to as the evidence of faith before men. The exhortation in Phil. 2:12 to “ work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” presents no difficulty when v. 13 is read with it. The salva tion there is a salvation already re ceived and which is to be worked out in the life, but that can only be as God works it in. There is not a single passage of Scrip ture that states that a sinner can be saved by his works. It is the natural heart of man that is ever seeking to find something in himself that is good or that will commend him to God, that imagines salvation can come that way. Such is Satan’s lie by which many are being deceived. The Apostle Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians to prove once and for ever that not only justification but sanctification are solely by faith and that no effort whatever on the part of
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