The Science of Cultivating Faith - No. 7
No. 7
Faith is the depending upon the word of God only, and expecting that word only, to do what the word says.
justification
Justification is a Fact
E. J. Waggoner
“There is but one thing in this world that a man needs and that is justification—and justification is a fact, not a theory. It is the gospel. That which does not tend to righteousness is of no avail, and not worthy to be preached.
Quote: "Justification is a fact . . .."
E. J. Waggoner
“There is but one thing in this world that a man needs and that is justification—and justification is a fact, not a theory. It is the gospel. That which does not tend to righteousness is of no avail, and not worthy to be preached. Righteousness can only be attained through faith; consequently all things worthy to be preached must tend to justification by faith.”
--General Conference Daily Bulletin, March 11, 1891, p. 74.
'Justification is the Gospel'
“There is but one thing in this world that a man needs and that is justification—and justification is a fact, not a theory. It is the gospel."
The Righteousness of God is Revealed from Faith to Faith
Through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, God by his grace counts the past life of the sinner who believes as though it had been in every respect, in accord with his law.
The All-Sufficient Life
"But to be forgiven is to be made righteous. Forgiveness is not an imaginary thing, but is real. If I forgive a fellow man, it makes no difference in him; the effect is only upon him. But when God forgives us, He continues the same, but the forgiveness effects a change in us. It takes away the sin. But when sin is taken away, righteousness must take its place. A new life—the righteous life of Christ—is given in place of the old life of sin." Ellet J. Waggoner
Justification and Sanctification
We are to understand that whenever we accept Christ, his righteousness is set to our account. Thus “the righteousness of God” is manifested in our past lives, even though we ourselves have never done a single act of righteousness. So we have the wonder of perfect obedience to the law, without a single righteous act on our part. The righteousness of God without the law—Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. Ellet J. Waggoner
Comfort in Conviction
"Conviction is showing a man that he is guilty. Condemnation is the putting of the sentence upon him. We are already under condemnation, because of transgression. "Now the Lord comes to us and convicts us by his Spirit, but when He has brought us to this place where we are convicted and acknowledge the fact that we have sinned and are worthy of death, just there the Lord comes in and takes away the condemnation. He carries us to that point, and then the sentence is remitted." Ellet J. Waggoner
The Law of Life : The Fourth Commandment
Whoever reads the Bible with care will notice that there is never any suggestion of the possibility of doubt as to which day is the Sabbath. The whole burden of the Scripture is as to its nature, and the manner of its observance.
He is Redeemer because He is Creator, and redemption is creation. It is a complete and perfect work. Christ’s last words on the cross were, “It is finished!” The cross of Christ brings those who accept it into the condition in which man was at the close of the sixth day of creation, when God saw everything that He had made, “and behold it was very good.”