The Sinner's Need of Christ

Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness took the place of love. His nature became so weakened through transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own strength, to resist the power of evil. He was made captive by Satan, and would have remained so forever had not God specially interposed. It was the tempter's purpose to thwart the divine plan in man's creation, and fill the earth with woe and desolation. And he would point to all this evil, as the result of God's work in creating man.

In his sinless state, man held joyful communion with Him "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3. But after his sin, he could no longer find joy in holiness, and he sought to hide from the presence of God.Such is still the condition of the unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with God, and finds no joy in communion with Him.

The sinner could not be happy in God's presence; he would shrink from the companionship of holy beings. Could he be permitted to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there --every heart responding to the heart of Infinite Love --would touch no answering chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests, his motives, would be alien to
those that actuate the sinless dwellers there. He would be a discordant note in the melody of heaven. Heaven would be to him, a place of torture; he would long to be hidden from Him who is its light, and the center of its joy.

It is no arbitrary decree on the part of God that excludes the wicked from heaven; they are shut out by their own unfitness for its companionship. The glory of God would be to them, a consuming fire. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.

It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to escape from the pit of sin in which we are sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them.

"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Job 14:4; Romans 8:7.

Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.

The Saviour said, "Except a man be born from above,"
unless he shall receive a new heart, new desires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new life,
"he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3.

The idea that it is necessary only to develop the good that exists in man by nature, is a fatal deception.
"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14
"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7.

Of Christ it is written,
"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men"--the only "name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." John 1:4; Acts 4:12.
It is not enough to perceive the loving-kindness of God, to see the benevolence, the fatherly tenderness, of His character. It is not enough to discern the wisdom and justice of His law, to see that it is founded upon the eternal principle of love. Paul the apostle saw all this when he exclaimed,
"I consent unto the law that it is good."
"The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
But he added, in the bitterness of his soul-anguish and despair,
"I am carnal, sold under sin." Romans 7:16, 12, 14.

He longed for the purity, the righteousness, to which in himself he was powerless to attain, and cried out,
"O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24. margin

Such is the cry that has gone up from burdened hearts in all lands, and in all ages. To all, there is but one answer,
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29.

Many are the figures by which the Spirit of God has sought to illustrate this truth, and make it plain to souls that long to be freed from the burden of guilt. When, after his sin in deceiving Esau, Jacob fled from his father's home, he was weighed down with a sense of guilt. Lonely and outcast as he was, separated from all that had made life dear, the one thought that above all others pressed upon his soul, was the fear that his sin had cut him off from God, that he was forsaken of Heaven.

In sadness he lay down to rest on the bare earth, around him only the lonely hills, and above, the heavens bright with stars. As he slept, a strange light broke upon his vision; and lo, from the plain on which he lay, vast shadowy stairs seemed to lead upward to the very gates of heaven, and upon them angels of God were passing up and down; while from the glory above, the divine voice was heard in a message of comfort and hope. Thus was made known to Jacob that which met the need and longing of his soul--a Saviour. With joy and gratitude, he saw, it was revealed to him, a way by which he, a sinner, could be restored to communion with God. The mystic ladder of his dream represented Jesus, the only medium of communication between God and man.

This is the same figure to which Christ referred in His conversation with Nathanael, when He said,
"Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." John 1:51.

In the apostasy, man alienated himself from God; earth was cut off from heaven. Across the gulf that lay between, there could be no communion. But through Christ, earth is again linked with heaven. With His own merits, Christ has bridged the gulf which sin had made, so that the ministering angels can hold communion with man. Christ connects fallen man in his weakness and helplessness, with the Source of infinite power.

But in vain are men's dreams of progress, in vain all efforts for the uplifting of humanity, if they neglect the one Source of hope and help for the fallen race.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17) is from God.
There is no true excellence of character apart from Him. And the only way to God is Christ. He says,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." John 14:6.

The heart of God yearns over His earthly children with a love stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured out to us, all heaven in one gift. The Saviour's life and death and intercession, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working above and through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings,--all are enlisted in behalf of man's redemption.

Oh, let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice that has been made for us! Let us try to appreciate the labor and energy that Heaven is expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them back to the Father's house. Motives stronger, and agencies more powerful, could never be brought into operation; the exceeding rewards for right-doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of the angels, the communion and love of God and His Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages--are these not mighty incentives and encouragements to urge us to give the heart's loving service to our Creator and Redeemer?


Steps to Christ, pg 21

"His Robe or Mine" by Elder Frank B. Phillips

I just wanted to share this with you this morning. It is from the book His Robe or Mine.

The Wedding Garment

In the first parable, the Groom is waiting for the bride.

In the second, the bride is waiting for the Groom.

The wedding, itself, represents the union of humanity with divinity.

The wedding garment that must be worn, represents the character of Christ, which is an essential for each guest attending the marriage, if they are to be accepted by the Father, as the
Groom’s bride.

Matthew 22 pictures three separate occasions when the King, the Groom’s Father, sent His servants out to bring the bride in for the wedding. The bride had been chosen, and she had been informed, and knew she was to be married to the Groom. The record reads, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11. The church, His chosen bride, was too busy and did not wish to consummate the marriage on the terms required by the Groom.

The problem was, "the wedding garment". The bride had insisted upon wearing a garment of her own choice—not that plain, old-fashioned garment which the Groom’s Father had planned for her to wear.

The bride finally became so angered about the whole plan that she decided the only way out was to get rid of the Groom. In order for her to do this it was necessary for her to take full legal responsibility for the deed.
There was a trial and, even though the judge and the mob knew that the Groom was innocent, a great cry was heard from the bride, “. . . Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” John 19:15.

So the terrible deed was done. The sense of relief to the bride was short-lived, however, for the words of the Groom, spoken many days before, began to trouble her: “. . . Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19. The bride remembered how many miracles He had performed when alive, and her fear knew no bounds.

True to His word, the Groom returned on the third day, alive and well. He told one of the members of the bride’s party, that He must make a quick trip to see His Father, to make sure that everything was all right, as far as His own efforts to carry out His Father’s plan, were concerned. John 20:17.

The trip was made, and on the same day, He was back visiting with some of the members of the bride’s family. This visit caused many of the bridal party to think very seriously. Could this be the same person that was crucified three days before?

Finally, they were convinced that He was, indeed, the same person. The Groom’s joy was great at being recognized, and He sent the whole group out to find the rest of the bridal party, and bring them back to Him. The bride, however, had other ideas, and refused to come. It was that wedding garment problem again.

The root of the problem was, that every single member of the bride’s party (the church) who had ever claimed to believe and accept the Groom, had received a wedding garment. The question was not where to purchase one, or how to make one, for when they accepted the invitation to become a member of the bride’s party, the garment was received as a gift. The problem was wearing it!

Now there came a time when the groom saw that He was not going to be married to His chosen bride, for she refused to wear the garment. He,therefore, told His friends to stop trying to convince His chosen bride to come and accept Him. He told them to go anywhere and find Him a bride, that would be willing to wear the garment.

They traveled far and wide. In fact, they went over the “face of the whole earth” to carry the gospel (the good news) giving the invitation (Colossians 1:23), but not many were interested.

For the next (approximately) eighteen hundred years, many servants were sent out to represent the Groom, and to invite anyone to join the bridal party. It seemed the old question kept coming up, the wedding garment.

Some said that it was not necessary to be so rigid. Some felt that their own garment was good enough. The arguments went on and on.

The time came when even the servants, themselves, were confused. They were inviting the guests without even mentioning the garment that was necessary to be worn.

Some even said, “If you give enough money, you won’t need to worry about the garment.” There were many who said, “We are not sure what the garment is all about anyway, so just forget it; only believe and you will be welcomed by the Groom.”

The years rolled by, and the bride was still not ready. The Groom was anxious to come and receive His bride, so He sent special instructions through one member of the bride’s party. He had often sent special instruction to His bride by special messengers and, again, He hoped to clear away some of the problems that had been to confusing, by using this special gift. In these messages, He was careful to give more detailed instructions as to how to put on and wear the garment that seemed such a problem. The special instructions were welcomed by some, and rejected by others. Those who accepted the added help, seemed to get along well with the garment in question. They found it a real blessing that solved all of their problems. Those who rejected the help seemed to still have the same old difficulties.

In time, the King knew that He could not put the wedding off much longer. Therefore, He impressed Elders Jones and Waggoner in November in 1888, to meet with a part of the bridal party, who were in conference studying how best to prepare the bride for the wedding. These two men insisted that the message they were preaching, was the true way to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding garment was the problem again. Some were willing to wear part of the garment, if they could adjust it to blend with their own. Others said they wanted no part of it at all. A few saw the garment as a gift and accepted it, wearing it gladly ever after.

The problem was not settled, however, as far as the bride was concerned. In a few years the problem seemed to go away. Another effort was made by the Groom to awaken His bride from her deadly slumber. This occurred in the early part of this century.

Books were written and sent out with clear instruction as to how to get ready for the wedding. The bride, however, was still not sure about the garment, even though the Groom had continuously kept calling to her, “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments . . .” Isaiah 52:1.

In patience, the Groom waited until He could scarcely wait any longer.

Problems in the world were mounting so rapidly. Politically, economically, socially, environmentally, spiritually and physically, the world had been brought to the brink of disaster. Once again, the Groom has set Himself to prepare His bride to be ready for His soon return, by urging them to be willing to wear the garment.

There is no garment like the wedding garment in the whole world. It brings peace, joy, satisfaction and love into the human heart. But it is invisible to the wearer, as well as to other members of the bridal party (the church). However, it becomes the magnetic force to draw others to accept the gospel invitation.

This is the reason that it was only when the King came in to see the guests at the wedding, that the one not having on the wedding garment was speechless when asked about it. Matthew 22:12.

He felt at home with the party, until the King came in. Only then did he realize his pretense was recognized, and he was without excuse.

Remember, he had received a garment when he accepted the invitation. What could he say?

There, across his lap, was the garment neatly folded. He believed the principles it represented, but it was so uncomfortable to wear, it was so restricting. He intended to put it on and wear it, but not yet. No wonder he was speechless.

Do we have on the wedding garmet that was given us when we excepted Jesus as our personnal Savior?

Is our character like Jesus'?