[325]Because of the disobedience of father Adam, all of his children are born imperfect, all sinners. "There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10; 5:12) All such are out of harmony with God. They have no right to life. It has pleased Jehovah, then, during the gospel age to draw to Jesus, the great Redeemer and Deliverer, those who have the desire to come into harmony with him. The Prophet says: 'The reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'. (Psalm 111:10) The first thing essential for one becoming a Christian is an honest desire to know the Lord and to do his will. A man with this honest desire, then, realizes that he is a sinner and born such; and he has an honest desire to come to God. He learns that Jesus is his Redeemer and he wants to know more about him and do his will. In his mind he does not approve the ways of the world. He begins to think about the Lord and wants to know more about him. He begins to turn his face in the right direction. When he ceases to approve the course of the world, he is repentant to that extent. Repentance means a change of mind respecting one's relationship to evil.
[326]Jesus said: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him". (John 6:44) The man now is drawn to Jesus by what he learns of Jesus, what Jesus has done for him, and by his own desire to follow a different course. When one ceases to approve the worldly course and begins to seek after the Lord, he is in that condition mentioned by the Apostle as seeking God, "if haply they might feel after him, and find him". (Acts 17:27) When he is drawn to Jesus, seeking God, then he is converted. He is now in the condition spoken of by the Apostle when he said: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out". (Acts 3:19) Repentance means a change of mind respecting one's relationship to evil; and conversion means a change of one's course. But neither repentance nor conversion, nor both together, brings the individual into relationship with God. Being drawn to Jesus, he must exercise faith. Faith means first to understand and believe that God exists; that he is the great rewarder of them that diligently seek him; that the Bible is his Word of truth; that Jesus is his beloved Son and our Redeemer; and then to rely confidently upon these things and prove this reliance by his action.—Hebrews 11:1,6.
[327]He now needs information to increase his faith, and the Prophet has written: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple". (Psalm 19:7) To such now, as are feeling after God, through Christ Jesus this message comes: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". (Matthew 11:28) Heavy laden means to be weary of the sinful course of the world and to have a desire to be relieved of this burden. Such a one says: 'I am tired of the wrongful course. I want to follow the right course, to know God, and to do his will.'
[328]Now being drawn to Jesus, he learns through the Word that he must do something. To him Jesus says: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me'. (John 14:6) What can one who is now repentant and changing his course, but still a sinner, do to come into harmony with God? He is informed that it will cost him much. So Jesus says to him: 'Sit down and count the cost'. (Luke 14:28) He learns it will cost him all he has, namely, the surrender of himself to the Lord. The next step for one, then, to become a Christian is to make a consecration; that is to say, to commit himself to the Lord and his arrangements. And this he may do by saying in substance: 'Blessed Lord, I commit myself to thy arrangements; here I am. Do unto me according to thy holy will. I desire to do thy will.'
[329]Neither the Lord Jesus nor the heavenly Father coerces any one, but we must come to the Lord voluntarily, seeking his aid. This is clearly indicated as necessary to become the follower of Jesus by the words the Master used: 'If you will be my disciple, you must deny yourself, then take up your cross, and follow me'. (Matthew 16:24) Self-denial means an agreement to abandon one's selfish course and to agree to do the will of the Lord. It means a full and complete surrender of oneself unto the Lord. And this is consecration, the setting aside of oneself to do the Lord's will.
[330]Those who are selected to be members of the body of Christ, which selection is done during the gospel age, must be justified in order that they might be accepted. They are justified only for the purpose of being accepted as a part of the sacrifice of the Lord. On the typical day of atonement when the high priest of Israel slew the animals, the Lord's goat pictured this class who come to the Lord in consecration. That goat must be perfect, without any blemish; thus foreshadowing how that all who are presented unto the Lord to be accepted as a part of the sacrifice of Jesus, and hence to become members of his body, must be perfect; and since man is imperfect himself something must be done for him in order to make him stand before the Lord Jehovah as perfect. He must be justified. Justification means to be made right with God. This must all be done in the acceptable time of the Lord. (Isaiah 49:8; 61:2) Any one coming to the Lord Jesus with an honest desire to be presented to the Father in the acceptable year or time may be assured that he will not be cast out, because Jesus said: "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out". (John 6:37) He would not decline to present any genuine consecration before the heavenly Father. Of course this consecration must be made before the person can be presented.
[331]Jehovah God is the great wise judge of the universe; and he sits to determine whether or not one thus presented is right or not. "It is God that justifieth."—Romans 8:33.
[332]The steps essential now to justification, as shown by the Scriptures, briefly stated, are these: (1) Faith in God and his promises, which is exercised and proven by making a surrender of ourselves to the Lord; (2) receiving the merit of Christ, and his presentation to the Father; and (3) the determination by Jehovah God that the one thus presented is right. The following Scriptures show these points in the order named: By faith are we justified (Romans 5:1); by the blood of Jesus are we justified (Romans 5:9); "It is God that justifieth". (Romans 8:33) Christ Jesus is the great High Priest. When we make a consecration of ourselves, then he presents us to the Father. (John 6:37) But in order to make us acceptable or presentable to the Father, the merit of Jesus' sacrifice must be imputed to us. When he ascended on high, he deposited with Jehovah the ransom-price, the merit of his sacrifice, as we have seen, pictured by the blood. The second step, then, is taken when Jesus imputes to the one thus coming to the Lord the merit of his sacrifice, which makes him presentable to the Father, Jehovah; then Jehovah, upon the merit, determines, as the great judge, that the one thus presented is right, is justified, and is acceptable as a part of the sacrifice of his beloved Son. Thus Jehovah has been receiving sacrifices throughout the gospel age; but that acceptable year or time will soon pass, as indeed it is now passing. —Hebrews 3:13.
SPIRIT-BEGETTING
[333]The one that is justified before Jehovah is then counted right or justified that he might be a part of the great sacrifice of God's beloved Son Jesus, to the end that he might be a part of the mystery class and ultimately reign with Christ. The next thing indicated by the Scriptures is the begetting of such a one as a new creature. Begetting means the beginning. The begetting of the new creature, then, means the beginning of a newness of life. When justified by Jehovah, there results to him the right to live as a human being on earth, and this is what he immediately sacrifices. At the same time Jehovah begets him to a hope of life upon the high or heavenly plane, because he is called to a "high calling", a "heavenly calling". (Philippians 3:14; Hebrews 3:1) This begetting is in the nature of a contract or an agreement. Covenant is also a word used for contract. In order to make a contract there must be two or more parties, and there must be a consideration passing from one to the other. Where there are mutual promises, made on both sides, this is sufficient consideration. We will name the one whom we have been discussing as coming to justification Honest Heart.