That a man is declared righteous by faith in God alone, is both simple and difficult to understand. The difficulty lies in the inability of man to divorce himself completely from an operation in which he is obviously involved. For how is it possible to be saved without works—yet lost for not working? How can works fail to qualify a man for divine favor and yet break his relationship with his God?
It is clear from our study of the Scriptures that works are an outward manifestation of attitude, and are therefore reflectors of one's state of grace. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 5:27, 28). It is a fact that the law of God, deliberately broken, declares the transgressor guilty of mental rebellion. The good tree, good fruit, rule definitely applies here. That man must purge himself (by grace) of deliberate and overt transgression in this life is clear teaching of the Scriptures (Titus 2:11, 12). But an even larger question faces the Christian in his quest for peace with God. Is the Christ-sanctified act acceptable with God? Is the obedient deed, however perfect, self-sufficient? Will it stand the test of investigation alone? Can man by imparted divine power become perfectly obedient in the absolute sense? The entire question of righteousness by faith in Christ hangs here. For if the sanctified deed is perfect and above improvement, then there is room to boast of our works.
This writer proposes that man in human flesh, as we know it, is incapable of absolute perfection in any deed performed, and that the weakness of humanity limits the divine manifestation.
When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man's best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit.—Selected Messages, book 1, p. 382.
Let us consider prayer for an example. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26). Apparently the most fervent prayer of the ablest saint falls far short of the divine standard. Though Christ actuated man, humanity limits divinity to a faulty though honest expression. Our best sanctified performance must be covered by the blood. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20).
There is a reason for this. The divine performance in our faulty flesh achieves feeble transmission at best, when compared with the deed performed in bodies unencumbered with sinful human nature. When Isaiah confessed, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips" (Isa. 6:5), he was not affecting humility, he was practicing humility by telling the truth! It was his willingness to face himself that brought the angel with the live coal to purge his sin. Similarly the description of wretchedness, misery, poverty, blindness, and nakedness in Revelation 3:17 is an accurate description of the best of God's children.
This is ever true of our human nature. For this cause are we admonished, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41). And when does the flesh lose its weakness? Certainly not by a process of improvement based on imparted righteousness. For imparted righteousness eventually subjugates human nature (1 Cor. 9:27). It does not merely improve it. Rather the change in the flesh will be abrupt and immediate at the second coming of Christ. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, . . . and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:52; see also Phil. 3:21). That in conversion there is improvement of the physical, mental, and spiritual faculties is undeniable. But the tendency toward sin remains in the flesh, controlled by the power of Christ. Conversion does not remove from the flesh the ability or propensity to sin. Rather these thorns of the flesh are kept under subjection by the power of Christ (1 Cor. 9:27). There occurs in every Christian this miraculous phenomenon:
"We do not improve, we are improved; we do not change, we are changed; we are not better, we are bettered." And the power that effects this is never our own; it belongs to another. We may claim it by faith. When a piece of electric wire is connected with the source of power, it may be literally charged with electricity. But never does the electric current become a part of the wire. True, the wire is thoroughly permeated, possessing a power totally out of character with itself; under the influence of electricity it becomes a live wire. But if the current is withdrawn, we immediately discover that at no time did the power become the property of the wire. It was possessed by what it did not by nature possess. Righteousness is not a human characteristic. God alone is righteous, and His holiness of character is unborrowed and underived. This spirit is shared with us under the terms of the gospel. We are thereby possessed by what we do not by nature possess.
Our sanctification is then a daily subjugation of our nature to the power of Christ, through repentant faith! And because it is daily, and the days make up our lives, this, our sanctification, is the work of a lifetime. This is a total, prayerful commitment against sin each day. But the deeds of each day, however worthy, must be covered with the blood. It is in this sense that we are saved by His life, and "your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3).
This poses a crucial problem of faith that, simply stated, is this: If my best is not sufficient, then why do it? If my best deeds, uncovered, are as "filthy rags," why perform them? This is the ultimate problem of faith. It is the "sleeper clause" in the plan of salvation against which thousands have impaled themselves. Some have here reasoned that since it is by faith man is declared just before God, our deeds cannot affect our relationship. In this, man reveals his vanity. "But wilt thou know, 0 vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:20). Man is saved by grace through faith without works, but living faith works! The more fervent the faith, the more faithful the works.
Second, the Christian works because he loves his Lord. "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). To know Christ is to love Him, and those who love obey. "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4).
Third, the investigative judgment is now in session, during which man's destiny is being decided. Now covering is provided for our deeds. But heaven will cover nothing less than man's best. And until that glad day when this corruptible puts on in-corruption, may we sing with increasing understanding:
Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill Thy law's demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must saw, and thou alone.
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Rom. 5:19). Our best cannot stand alone. It must be covered by His obedience to pass the scrutiny of the righteous Judge.
E. E. C.
