One of the great hopes within Adventism is the thought that, in the judgment, God will not look at us, but He will see Jesus standing for us.
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"He that says to the wicked, ‘thou art righteous’; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him". (Prov 24:24)
But does God say to the wicked man that professes Christianity, “thou art righteous”?
Does God call evil, “good”? Many cling to the hope that He will do precisely that, but this, in my view, is far from a safe haven.
The Spirit of Prophecy contains the thought, that “as the Lord looks upon us, He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.” (My Life Today p.311) Many feel safe and secure in their sins, because salvation, in their view, is entirely a matter of proxy. “God will not look at me, He will see only Jesus”, and thus they feel at liberty to retain the fig-leaf garment of self righteousness. 'God will not see it.'
When Moses asked to be shown the glory of God, “the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
His mercy and forgiveness will not clear [or absolve] the guilty in the way that many now hope He will.
EJ Waggoner, when commenting on the thought in Exodus 34, writes “...the guilty can not escape in their guilt. God is merciful and gracious, but He will not clear the guilty. Ex.34:6,7. That is, He will not lie, by calling evil good; but He provides a way by which the guilty may lose their guilt. (Glad Tidings p.148)
And from Mrs. White.
“Only by faithful repentance will their sins be forgiven; for God will not cover evil with the robe of His righteousness.” (Sons And Daughters p.13)
And again, “the righteousness of Christ cannot cover one unconfessed sin.” (17Manuscript Release p. 241.) Yet it is true that unknown, unconscious, sins are covered by His righteousness, for we cannot confess that which we do not know. This is the realm where imputed righteousness is freely granted to the Christian.
____________
Stewart.
______________________
"He that says to the wicked, ‘thou art righteous’; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him". (Prov 24:24)
But does God say to the wicked man that professes Christianity, “thou art righteous”?
Does God call evil, “good”? Many cling to the hope that He will do precisely that, but this, in my view, is far from a safe haven.
The Spirit of Prophecy contains the thought, that “as the Lord looks upon us, He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, not the nakedness and deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.” (My Life Today p.311) Many feel safe and secure in their sins, because salvation, in their view, is entirely a matter of proxy. “God will not look at me, He will see only Jesus”, and thus they feel at liberty to retain the fig-leaf garment of self righteousness. 'God will not see it.'
When Moses asked to be shown the glory of God, “the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7)
His mercy and forgiveness will not clear [or absolve] the guilty in the way that many now hope He will.
EJ Waggoner, when commenting on the thought in Exodus 34, writes “...the guilty can not escape in their guilt. God is merciful and gracious, but He will not clear the guilty. Ex.34:6,7. That is, He will not lie, by calling evil good; but He provides a way by which the guilty may lose their guilt. (Glad Tidings p.148)
And from Mrs. White.
“Only by faithful repentance will their sins be forgiven; for God will not cover evil with the robe of His righteousness.” (Sons And Daughters p.13)
And again, “the righteousness of Christ cannot cover one unconfessed sin.” (17Manuscript Release p. 241.) Yet it is true that unknown, unconscious, sins are covered by His righteousness, for we cannot confess that which we do not know. This is the realm where imputed righteousness is freely granted to the Christian.
____________
Stewart.
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