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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

Believing Unto Righteousness

"When God calls a man a sinner, he is a sinner; and when He calls a man righteous, he is righteous in reality, as much so as if he had never sinned. There is no virtue in mere intellectual assent. God never declares a person righteous simply because he makes an acknowledgment of the truth. And there is an actual, literal change from the state of sin to righteousness, which justifies God in making the declaration."  Ellet J. Waggoner

The Fruits of Righteousness

"The statement is that whoever abides in Christ brings forth much fruit; while separate from Him we can do nothing. Doing nothing is made equivalent to not bearing fruit. So then bearing fruit in the vine is identical with doing something. There is nothing more passive than the bearing of fruit; and yet there is nothing in which more intense activity is shown than in a fruitful vine or tree. The tree can do nothing to make itself bear fruit, yet the bearing of fruit is a period of activity.Ellet J. Waggoner

The Obedience of Faith

"The great characteristic of faith is, that it works. We do not mean that works are attached to it, but works come from it. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Faith “works by love,” says Paul. There may be that which is called faith, but if no works come from it, it is not faith."  Ellet J. Waggoner

Different Kinds of Righteousness

"The Jews followed the law, and so far as anybody could see, they kept it strictly. Then they trusted to their own works, and did not submit to the righteousness of God. But the Gentiles, and the publicans and harlots, had no good works to trust in, and therefore they willingly accepted the righteousness, which is of God by faith. Thus the publicans and harlots receive the blessing of God more readily than the Pharisees."  Ellet J. Waggoner