The Law

The Heart that Loves God Supremely, will Not in Any Way be Inclined to Narrow Down His Precepts

The law of Jehovah is exceedingly broad. Jesus … plainly declared to His disciples that this holy law of God may be violated in even the thoughts and feelings and desires, as well as in the word and deed. The heart that loves God supremely will not in any way be inclined to narrow down His precepts to the very smallest possible claims, but the obedient, loyal soul will cheerfully render full spiritual obedience when the law is seen in its spiritual power. Then will the commandments come home to the soul in their real force. Sin will appear exceedingly sinful…. There is no longer self-righteousness, self-esteem, self-honor. Self-security is gone. Deep conviction of sin and self-loathing is the result, and the soul in its desperate sense of peril lays hold on the blood of the Lamb of God as his only remedy…. {OHC 140.2} Many are deceiving their own souls today. They restrict the injunctions of God to condemn outward acts alone, and do not consider it sin to dishonor God in thoughts and affections. They flatter themselves that they are keeping the law of Jehovah while their life and character as daguerreotyped [photographed] in the books of heaven reveal them as venturing to see how far they can go in the direction of wrongdoing without being branded as … Continued

What is Righteousness and What is Not?

Psalm 119:172 172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. Psalm 119:172 clearly explains to us what righteousness is. All of God’s commandments are Righteousness. Reciprocally we can say that Righteousness is all of God’s commandments. So if all of God’s commandments are righteousness, do we have righteousness if we write God’s commandments down on a piece of paper and put the paper in our pocket, or must we actually keep God’s commandments in order to be righteous? In light of Romans 3:10-12, can anyone be righteous? Romans 2:10-12 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Paul says there is none that understandeth, nor seeketh after God, they are all gone out of the way and are unprofitable. Notice that in verse Romans 3:12 that He writes in the last phrase, that “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” So does this mean that what we do has something to do with being righteous? So is he talking about righteousness by works? I think not. Another name for God’s commandments is … Continued