1SM 240, 315
(Selected Messages Book 1 240, 315)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ declared, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17, 18). (1SM 240.1) MC VC
Christ bore the curse of the law, suffering its penalty, carrying to completion the plan whereby man was to be placed where he could keep God’s law, and be accepted through the merits of the Redeemer; and by His sacrifice glory was shed upon the law. Then the glory of that which is not to be done away—God’s law of ten commandments, His standard of righteousness—was plainly seen by all who saw to the end of that which was done away. (1SM 240.2) MC VC
“We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ is the sinner’s advocate. Those who accept His gospel behold Him with open face. They see the relation of His mission to the law, and they acknowledge God’s wisdom and glory as revealed by the Saviour. The glory of Christ is revealed in the law, which is a transcript of His character, and His transforming efficacy is felt upon the soul until men become changed to His likeness. They are made partakers of the divine nature, and grow more and more like their Saviour, advancing step by step in conformity to the will of God, till they reach perfection. (1SM 240.3) MC VC
The law and the gospel are in perfect harmony. Each upholds the other. In all its majesty the law confronts the conscience, causing the sinner to feel his need of Christ as the propitiation for sin. The gospel recognizes the power and immutability of the law. “I had not known sin, but by the law,” Paul declares (Romans 7:7). The sense of sin, urged home by the law, drives the sinner to the Saviour. In his need man may present the mighty arguments furnished by the cross of Calvary. He may claim the righteousness of Christ; for it is imparted to every repentant sinner. God declares, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). (1SM 240.4) MC VC
It is not he that putteth on the armor that can boast of the victory; for he has the battle to fight and victory to win. It is he that endureth unto the end that shall be saved. The Lord says, “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:38). If we do not go forward from victory to victory, the soul will draw back to perdition. We should raise no human standard whereby to measure character. We have seen enough of what men call perfection here below. God’s holy law is the only thing by which we can determine whether we are keeping His way or not. If we are disobedient, our characters are out of harmony with God’s moral rule of government, and it is stating a falsehood to say, “I am saved.” No one is saved who is a transgressor of the law of God, which is the foundation of His government in heaven and in earth. (1SM 315.1) MC VC
Those who ignorantly join the ranks of the enemy, and echo the words of their religious teachers, in the desk, that the law of God is no longer binding upon the human family, will have light to discover their errors, if they will accept the evidence of God’s Word. Jesus was the angel enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, and He gave special direction that the Hebrews should teach the law of God, given when the foundation of the earth was laid, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. (1SM 315.2) MC VC
The same law was proclaimed in grandeur by His own voice from Sinai. He said: “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8). How impatient the transgressors of God’s law become when the law is mentioned; they are irritated to have it spoken of. (1SM 315.3) MC VC
The Word of God is made of none effect by falsehoods and traditions. Satan has presented his version of God’s law to the world, and it has been accepted before a plain “Thus saith the Lord.” The controversy begun in heaven over the law of God, has been kept up upon the earth ever since Satan’s expulsion from heaven. (1SM 315.4) MC VC