M.D. MARSH
1628 San Lorenzo
Palm Springs, CA 92262
To our Firm Foundation
Dear Brethren,
The position taken in your magazine “Our Firm Foundation” on the “Nature of Man”, the “Nature of Christ”, that He took our “sinful nature”,meaning our “sinful flesh” and that “Righteousness by Faith” is equated with regenerated and sanctification, our right doing by faith, cannot be substantiated by either the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy, for the following reasons: (Some of which have been shown on the inside cover page).
“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.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed the by law and the prophets.
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
(Romans 3:20-23).
Here it is directly stated that the “righteousness of God” is not and cannot be manifested adequately by the obedience of the saints, for we all “come short of the glory of God.” (present continuous tense, Gk). Rather, that righteousness is now revealed “without the law,”that is apart from our obedience to the law, in the righteous character of Jesus Christ. The full and complete witness to this righteousness is not now the lives of God’s people, but is found in “the law and the prophets,” that is, in the message which the people of God proclaim.
“For the promise, that he should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham or his seed, through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of no effect” (Rom. 4:13-14).
Because we all continue to “fall short of the glory of God,” it is directly stated that “the promise….to Abraham, or to his seed,” was not “through the law.” That is, it is not to be obtained or realized by sanctified law keeping in the Spirit, “but by the righteousness of faith.” Which means, through the “righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ, ” by which righteousness the believer continues “being justified freely by His grace.” (“Being” present continuous tense. Gk. Rom. 3:24)
In this passage the “righteousness of the law” which the Spirit fulfills in us for our sanctification (Rom. 8:4,) and the “righteousness of faith,” by which we are justified (Rom. 4:11, 24-25; 9:30-33; 10:5-11), are set in contrast. One is the way of making void the promise. The other, the way of obtaining the promise.
“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Rom. 8:4)”
—— Michael Marsh
While it is necessary that the lives of those who preach the gospel should exemplify the principles of God’s law: that their lives reflect the image of Jesus as fully as it is possible for sinful mortals to do, Nevertheless, their characters are only a faint reflection of His image ( MB. 49. Ed. 73. BC. 7. 904).
Through the blessing of justification by faith in Christ’s righteousness, the believer is delivered from the dominion of law and thus from the tyranny of sin’s dominion (Rom. 7:1-6; 6:14). Instantly he receives as a consequential condition to justification, but not as a proceeding prerequisite for it, the “gift of the Holy Ghost” By which he experiences regeneration (Rom. 5:17; 5:1-5; Acts 2:38; Eph. 1:13-14; Gal. 3:13-14; Titus 3:5-7). For the” “gift of the Holy Ghost” is always annexed to the “the gift of righteousness.” Regeneration is always annexed to justification and cannot be separated from it. (There is union but not fusion, as taught by the Roman Catholic church). Abiding in Christ the believer must press on in sanctification. “letting not (remaining indwelling) sin reign in his mortal body, that he should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Rom. 6:12). For “from the cross to the crown, there is a wrestling with inbred sin, a warfare against outward wrong.” “He must strive daily against outward evil and inward sin.” RH. 11-29-1887; 5-30-1882. On account of this indwelling sin the believer is never worthy in himself, but is always “accounted worthy” through the imputed righteousness of Christ (Rom. 3:21-25; LK. 20:35; 21;36; 2 Thess. 1:5). “For in ourselves we are sinners; but in Christ we are righteous.” 1 SM. 394. Could these things have been said of Christ? We think not.
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith:
And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them” (Gal. 3:10-11).
That the believer will never in this life, prior to immortality stand justified by law is clearly spelt out in the above passage. The law pronounces a curse upon all who transgress, and ” all have sinned.” ( Rom. 3:23).
Therefore, Paul boldly declares that all who seek righteousness through obedience to law “are under a curse.” None are excluded. Not even the final generation. There has not been a man since Adam. Christ alone excepted, who has continued in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them. Hence, it is futile to seek justifying saving righteousness through obedience, character transformation or perfection. Because of the sinfulness of our natures, we “cannot do the things that (we) would” (Gal. 5:17). Our best, even when done through the enabling power of God, falls short of the infinite standard of holiness, Only that which measures up fully to the righteousness of God can be acceptable to Him.
Therefore those who imagine they will stand justified and accepted before God by the Spirit’s work, either before or during the time of trouble through character development or perfection, are under a great curse. This is not to deny such a work, but it is to deny, that such development makes unnecessary the need for the outside grace and righteousness of Christ, as our only merits for acceptance when the saints stand without a Mediator.
Since the fall it is not the purpose of the law to justify, but to convict of sin, and to lead to Christ for justification by faith. For justification by obedience would not require faith ( Gal. 3:24, 11-12). It is not those who obey the law apart from faith in Christ’s righteousness who are delivered when Christ comes, but those who obey the gospel. Obedience to the gospel is the only road to obedience to the law (1 Peter 4:17; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 14:6, 12). It is for this reason that those who include regeneration or sanctification, (in part or in whole) in the blessing of “righteousness by faith” will be lost. In this life because of the sinfulness of our natures, the work of the Spirit is always imperfect and incomplete. Only in Christ are we perfect and complete (Col.1:28; 2:9). Sanctification we must receive. But never as the procuring cause of our salvation in part or in whole, for in this life it is only through the imputed righteousness of faith that we render perfect and complete obedience to the law for justification, sanctification and our ultimate perfection. “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered;And being made perfect, He became the cause of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” ( Heb. 5:8-9; 2:10; 10:14).
“That which God required of Adam in Paradise before the fall He requires now. Perfect obedience to His law. But righteousness without a blemish can be obtained only through the imputed righteousness of Christ. Through the provision that God has made for the forgiveness and restoration of sinners, the same requirements may be fulfilled by men to-day that were given to Adam in Eden.” (See RH. 9-3-1901. ST. 9-5-1892. SC. 62-63). While we fulfill the law in the Spirit on a horizontal level, only Christ could fulfill it on a vertical level.
Righteousness and life cannot be obtained by obedience to law, not even our Spirit filled obedience, now, or subsequently. “For if there had been a law which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law”(Gal. 3:21). Before man sinned, the “law was ordained to life.” But because man placed himself in sin where his obedience is valueless, “the law that was ordained to life, is found to be unto death”(Rom. 7:10). And death will be the reward of everyone who is vainly trying to fashion a righteousness to satisfy its claims,
now or in the time of trouble. “Being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Rom. 5:9).
“If you would stand through the time of trouble, you must know Christ, and appropriate the gift of his righteousness, which he imputes to the repentant sinner.” 1 SM.363.
But does not the Scripture give to the believer the hope that at a future time he will stand righteous and acceptable to God by an inherent righteousness a “righteousness by the law?” Yes, it does! But not in this life. Notice Paul’s teaching of the impossibility of such a condition or position in this life, but the hope of it in the future immortal life, in the two texts joined by the conjunction “for.”
“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith,” (Gal. 5: 4-5).
That which we cannot experience in this life we will experience in the future life. TO BE INHERENTLY RIGHTEOUS. Till then we “wait for the hope” that “righteousness by faith” will bring to us, when through immortality we will become righteous by being. When that which we only possess now by faith, we will then possess in reality. Wonderful hope. Even so, come Lord Jesus. We must not try to bring the “not yet,” over into the “now.” (1 John 3:2). In this life we must be satisfied to rest in the truth, that:
(1) The righteousness by which we are justified is perfect in Christ but not inherent, (in the believer).
(2) The righteousness by which we are sanctified is inherent but not perfect (in the believer).
(3) The righteousness we will possess at glorification will be both perfect and inherent.
We must be content with the fact that in the plan of salvation God has chosen to justify us by means of a righteous Substitute. Justifying saving righteousness resides in Him alone, and He is in heaven at the right hand of God. God does not propose in this life to bring that righteousness down from heaven and implant it in the believer (Rom. 10:3-11). It remains in heaven, in Christ until He comes. Till then we dwell in Christ and are righteous only by faith. In like manner we possess both eternal life and eternal security. For, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb.11:1). Therefore, “it is from faith to faith, for just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17).
“And when He is come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on Me; of righteousness because I go to My Father, and ye see Me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:8-11 margin).
The first work of the Spirit is to convince us of the essence of all sin, ‘independence,’ “they believe not on Me.” This is the greatest sin, and all sin is born of this embryo. This is not a work which, once done, is not repeated. Rather, it is a deepening experience, an increasing awareness on the part of the believer, of the magnitude of his sinfulness. Those saints who live closest to God are the most keenly aware of their defeats and deficiencies. A continually growing sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin is the first and continual evidence of the Spirit’s working. It was a saint like Paul who could say: “I am least of the apostles” ( Cor. 15:9). Here he compared himself with the apostles. But as his experience deepened, he said; “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8). Here he compared himself with all the saints. But at the end of his life, he said: “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). Here he compared himself with all sinners, and confessed himself to be chief. So will be the experience of all who behold, and continue to behold, more and more of the glory of God in Christ. Paul’s cry was not one of how perfect he was, but how sinful and unworthy he was.
The second work of the Spirit is to convince us of righteousness. Whereas the first work of the Spirit is to show us our lack of righteousness before God, His second work is to show us a righteousness by which we can satisfy every demand of the law. It is necessary that the Spirit convince us of it, because, said Christ, “I go to My Father and ye see Me no more.”
Christ Himself is our righteousness, and He is in heaven invisible to us. Therefore He has sent His Representative to reveal to us the greatness and efficacy of His righteousness. As the Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us, faith is kindled in the soul and we are enabled to believe that His righteousness avails for us.
The third work of the Spirit is to convince us of the judgment of Satan. Speaking of His crucifixion Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:31). As long as the law condemns us, Satan is able to exercise dominion over us. But Jesus took our place before the bar of infinite justice, and satisfied every demand of the law for us in precept and in penalty, thereby keeping the covenant faith and exhausting the penalty of justice.
For those who accept Him as their righteousness and life there is no condemnation, accusation or separation (Rom. 8:30-35). For them the devil has been cast out. Against his accusations they obtain the victory by pleading the merits of the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:10-11). He can no longer exercise dominion over them. They are free ++in Christ++ to live a life of obedience to all God’s commandments. “Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under (the condemnation of)the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). That is, by being obligated to fulfill its demands for infinite righteousness.
At this point, we might ask the question, on what basis does the believer receive, and continue to receive, the Holy Spirit? Only on the basis of the blessing of “righteousness by faith.” Never on the basis of law, not even during the time of trouble.
“For Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us….
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal.3:13-14).
Notice, “the blessing of Abraham” is being “accounted righteous.” but are we not “accounted,” “reckoned” or “declared,” righteous by the imputed “righteousness of faith?” Yes we are. (Gal. 3:6-9; Rom. 4:5-13; 3:24-26). And is not all this for our justification? Yes it is. This means, that if “faith is counted for righteousness” from beginning to end (Rom. 1:17), them we must conclude that character development and perfection is not. Now , or at any subsequent time in this life. We are plainly told that the believer receives the Spirit initially and subsequently by faith and faith alone, and not by the works of the law.
” Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith (past tense. Gal. 3:2).
“He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”(Present tense. Gal. 3:5.)
Here the Holy Spirit makes it very clear that believers never receive the Spirit as a result of regeneration, sanctification or perfection (Gal. 3:1-5). In fact He is given to accomplish those things in us. The Spirit is bestowed continually as faith is exercised constantly in the outside of us ” Righteousness of God in Christ” by which we stand justified (Phil. 3:9).
It is through the agency of the Holy Spirit that our lives are to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. But God cannot give His Spirit to those whom the law condemns. But when by the Spirit we accept the Substitution of Christ on our behalf, when we believe His righteousness is indeed our righteousness, His perfection our perfection, His completeness our completeness, and that His death was our death, that by these things justice was satisfied on our account, then the law can no longer condemn us and the Spirit is sent to indwell us and restore in us the image of God. In (Acts 13:39 and Rom. 3 and 4), “believe,” and “justify,” are in the present continuous tense (GK). That is, as the believer keeps on believing, God keeps on justifying, and this applies to the time of trouble through to the second coming.
The gospel gives man eternal security. There is a salvation given “once and for all.” But this salvation and eternal security is not on earth, not in the believer, but it is in heaven, ++in Christ.++ The saints have it only by faith–and faith is not a once-and-for-all act, but a life long work (Rom. 1:17). At the cross God obtained “eternal redemption,” provided “eternal salvation”, secured our full release and made us “accepted in the beloved” (Heb. 9:12. 5:9 Eph. 1:6). ++IN CHRIST,++ He has given us ‘eternal security’ (Rom. 8:30-35).
“Every barrier was then broken down which intercepted the freest fulness of the exercise of grace, mercy, peace and love to the most guilty of Adam’s race.”QD. 669.
“by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… For by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10;10,14).
The gospel takes the law seriously. As stated, the Spirit can only be poured out on condition of perfect obedience to God’s law — indeed, absolute infinite fulfillment of it. But the message of the gospel is that Christ has fulfilled the law for us, met all its claims; and on this basis as already shown the Spirit is poured out (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:1-5, 14).
The Spirit is given initially and continuously on the basis of Christ’s atonement, not the believer’s attainment. Christ has entitled us to the gift of the Spirit. Every barrier has been removed. In Christ, our old man is gone, the law is perfectly fulfilled and we are fully justified, sanctified, even perfected forever in the sight of God (Heb. 10:14). Then, if we are in Christ by faith, we are ready for the latter rain. indeed, the blessing is already ours in Him, for “we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph.1:3). and ” in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And “ye are complete (made full) in Him” (Col. 2:9-10).
The ministry of Jesus in the most holy place does not add something to Calvary. Nothing can be added to a finished work. The sanctuary puts the cross on display. It reflects the light from the cross of Calvary. (Rev. 5:5), GC 489.
No one wants to admit that we have not come to terms with justification by the “imputed righteousness of faith.” We will all admit that we could do with some more sanctification. So the latter rain is made to rest on the acquirement of sufficient sanctification to receive it. Sanctification is keeping God’s commandments. Then the reception of the Spirit is made to depend on whether we have kept the law sufficiently well enough. While it is abundantly clear that the latter rain will not fall on disobedient people, nor on those who are not striving in Christ’s strength and righteousness to overcome. Our keeping of the law, with or without God’s enabling help, cannot bring the latter rain with a thousand years of trying. The past 147 years should have taught us something.
It is terrible darkness to think that Paul’s doctrine of justification by the imputed righteousness of faith, pertains only to Christian initiation or up to the close of probation. (Romans 5:9, and 5:21), deny this error, as does the Spirit of Prophecy. Speaking of the time of trouble it states:
“…they must plead the promises of God ++through Christ++, made to just such dependent, helpless, repenting sinners.” Story of Redemption p. 97. “…they must depend solely upon the merits of the atonement.” PP. 203.
“The righteous in their distress will have a deep sense of their unworthiness, and with many tears will acknowledge their utter unworthiness, and, like Jacob, will plead the promises of God ++through Christ.++… As he (Jacob) reviewed his past wrongs, he was driven almost to despair… Thus it will be with the righteous. As they review the events of their past lives, their hopes will almost sink.” Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 1 PP. 121-122.
” At that day Christ will be judge. Every secret thing will be set in the light of God’s countenance. What a contrast there will then be between those who have refused Christ and those who have received Him as a personal Saviour. Sinners will then see their sin without a shadow or veil to soften their hideousness. So woeful will be the sight, that they will desire to be hidden under the mountains or in the depths of the ocean, if only they may escape the wrath of the Lamb. But those whose life is hid with Christ in God can say, ‘I believe in Him who was condemned at Pilates’s bar, and given up to the priests and rulers to be crucified. Look not upon me, a sinner, but look upon my Advocate. There is nothing in me worthy of the love He manifested for me; but He gave His life for me. Behold me in Jesus. He became sin for me, that I might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” YI. 5-31-1900.
Jesus hanging on the cross is our justification. All this it took to secure our acceptance with God. And nothing less than this inestimable price does it require to maintain our right standing in God’s sight through to the end. When we see something of what it took to fully satisfy an infinite law for us, we will shrink from our foolish ideas about Him fully satisfying the demands of the law in us by the Holy Spirit in this life. The saints never stand in this life without grace (Rom. 5:21). Atonement was such an awesome and infinite thing that it could only be made outside of us, in Christ. It cannot be reduced to the dimensions of a finite, intra-human experience. In sanctification, our ++state++ will never reach the ++standing++ we have in justification.
As a way of our acceptance with God the law is not binding, but as a way of holiness the law is binding. It is as the ground of our justification that the law no longer binds us, for our justification initially and subsequently, “we are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). But as a standard of Christian conduct the law is still binding, and we seek to fulfill it as we walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18). For this viper of ‘indwelling sin,’ this “sin that dwelleth in me,” in not eradicated until “this corruptible puts on incorruption,” then, and then only is final victory given unto us (1 Cor. 15:52-58). Till then “grace reigns through (Christ’s) righteousness unto eternal life.”(Rom. 5:21).
So during the time of trouble God’s people are fully righteous and fully satisfy the law by grace (in the merciful reckoning of God,) and by blood (on the basis of what Christ has done and suffered).
