Chapter 3 - God has rules too
Our unique responsibility
As the Supreme Ruler of the universe, God has ordained laws
for the government not only of all living beings, but of all the operations
of nature. Everything, whether great or small, animate or inanimate, is
under fixed laws which cannot be disregarded. There are no exceptions to
this rule; for nothing that the divine hand has made has been forgotten
by the divine mind. But while everything in nature is governed by natural
law, man alone, as an intelligent being, capable of understanding its requirements,
is amenable to moral law. To man alone, the crowning work of His creation,
God has given a conscience to realize the sacred claims of the divine law,
and a heart capable of loving it as holy, just, and good; and of man prompt
and perfect obedience is required. Yet God does not compel him to obey;
he is left a free moral agent.
The subject of man's personal responsibility is understood
by but few; and yet it is a matter of the greatest importance. We may each
obey and live, or we may transgress God's law, defy His authority, and
receive the punishment that is meet. Then to every soul the question comes
home with force, Shall I obey the voice from heaven, the ten words spoken
from Sinai, or shall I go with the multitude who trample on that fiery
law? To those who love God it will be the highest delight to keep His commandments,
and to do those things that are pleasing in His sight. But the natural
heart hates the law of God, and wars against its holy claims. Men shut
their souls from the divine light, refusing to walk in it as it shines
upon them. They sacrifice purity of heart, the favor of God, and their
hope of heaven, for selfish gratification or worldly gain.
Says the psalmist, "The law of the Lord is perfect" (Ps.
19:7). How wonderful in its simplicity, its comprehensiveness and perfection,
is the law of Jehovah! It is so brief that we can easily commit every precept
to memory, and yet so far-reaching as to express the whole will of God,
and to take cognizance, not only of the outward actions, but of the thoughts
and intents, the desires and emotions, of the heart. Human laws cannot
do this. They can deal with the outward actions only. A man may be a transgressor,
and yet conceal his misdeeds from human eyes; he may be a criminal--a thief,
a murderer, or an adulterer--but so long as he is not discovered, the law
cannot condemn him as guilty. The law of God takes note of the jealousy,
envy, hatred, malignity, revenge, lust, and ambition that surge through
the soul, but have not found expression in outward action, because the
opportunity, not the will, has been wanting. And these sinful emotions
will be brought into the account in the day when "God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether
it be evil" (Eccl. 12:14).
Obeying brings happiness
The law of God is simple, and easily understood. There are
men who proudly boast that they believe only what they can understand,
forgetting that there are mysteries in human life and in the manifestation
of God's power in the works of nature--mysteries which the deepest philosophy,
the most extensive research, is powerless to explain. But there is no mystery
in the law of God. All can comprehend the great truths which it embodies.
The feeblest intellect can grasp these rules; the most ignorant can regulate
the life, and form the character after the divine standard. If the children
of men would, to the best of their ability, obey this law, they would gain
strength of mind and power of discernment to comprehend still more of God's
purposes and plans. And this advancement would be continued, not only during
the present life, but during eternal ages; for however far we may advance
in the knowledge of God's wisdom and power, there is always an infinity
beyond.
The divine law requires us to love God supremely and
our neighbor as ourselves. Without the exercise of this love, the highest
profession of faith is mere hypocrisy. . . .
Obedience to the law is essential, not only to our salvation,
but to our own happiness and the happiness of all with whom we are connected.
"Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them"
(Ps. 119:165), says the Inspired Word. Yet finite man will present to the
people this holy, just, and good law, this law of liberty, which the Creator
Himself has adapted to the wants of man, as a yoke of bondage, a yoke which
no man can bear. But it is the sinner who regards the law as a grievous
yoke; it is the transgressor that can see no beauty in its precepts. For
the carnal mind "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be"
(Rom. 8:7). . . .
Beyond "thou shalt nots"
We are living in an age of great wickedness. Multitudes are
enslaved by sinful customs and evil habits, and the fetters that bind them
are difficult to break. Iniquity, like a flood, is deluding the earth.
Crimes almost too fearful to be mentioned, are of daily occurrence. And
yet men professing to be watchmen on the walls of Zion will teach that
the law was designed for the Jews only, and passed away with the glorious
privileges that ushered in the gospel age. Is there not a relation between
the prevailing lawlessness and crime, and the fact that ministers and people
hold and teach that the law is no longer of binding force?
The condemning power of the law of God extends, not only
to the things we do, but to the things we do not do. We are not to justify
ourselves in omitting to do the things that God requires. We must not only
cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. God has given us powers
to be exercised in good works; and if these powers are not put to use,
we shall certainly be set down as wicked and slothful servants. We may
not have committed grievous sins; such offenses may not stand registered
against us in the book of God; but the fact that our deeds are not recorded
as pure, good, elevated, and noble, showing that we have not improved our
entrusted talents, places us under condemnation.
The law of God existed before man was created. It was
adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it.
After the Fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing
was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved.
And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist
throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. "Concerning Thy testimonies,"
says the psalmist, "I have known of old that Thou hast founded them for
ever" (Ps. 119:152). [SELECTED MESSAGES, BOOK 1, PP. 216-220.]
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Source: EGW Website