God's Plan with Men

by T. T. Martin

God's word teaches clearly, then, that when one is redeemed, he is no longer under the law. "Ye are not under the law,"—Rom. 6:14; "What things soever the law saith, it saith to those who are under the law."—Rom. 3:19. Then some are under the law and some are not under the law; "Wherefore the law was our tutor unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. But after the faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor."—Gal. 3:24, 25. Pause, reader, and try to grasp the meaning of this. If the believer is redeemed from all iniquity (Titus 2:14), and is not under the law, (Rom. 6:14), then he is sure of Heaven; for "sin is not reckoned when there is no law."—Rom. 5:13. It is not reckoned or imputed because it has all been reckoned or imputed to Christ (Is. 53:6, Titus 2:14). Why, then, serve God? Not from fear of the law; not from fear of Hell; but from love to Him who redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).

Just as clearly God's word teaches that those who are redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), from all iniquity (Titus 2:14), become the sons of God; for that purpose "God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father."—Gal. 4:4-6. "For ye are all the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."—Gal. 3:26.

But there is, in God's plan with men, beyond this a still more blessed, wonderful teaching: "Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son."—Gal. 4:7. The one who is redeemed from under the law (Gal. 3:13) never gets back under the law again,—"Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son." That means, then, certainty of going to Heaven, certainty of being a son of God forever. And this new relation, and this certainty of Heaven are settled for men, not when they die, nor when they have united with some church, or have been baptised, but the moment men repent from their sins and accept the Saviour as their Redeemer from all iniquity; for God's word says, "He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life."—John 3:36; and "Ye are all the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."—Gal. 3:26.

This new relation with God gives men a new motive. Under the law, guilty, condemned by it, the motive was fear. But when men have been redeemed from under the law and adopted as sons of God, the motive of fear is no more the motive of life. "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

The motive of the son towards the father is not fear, but love. And this love is produced by the fact that God, in love, provided this great, wonderful plan for men, "having in love predestinated us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself,"—Eph. 1:5, and the fact that the Saviour loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20). Hence, Paul tells us, "The love of Christ [not the fear of the law, nor the fear of Hell] constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died; and he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again." Our Saviour, the night before His crucifixion, made clear that this was to be the motive in the life of God's children. In instituting the Lord's supper He said, "This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins."—Matt. 26:28; then, following this, before leaving the supper room, He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments,"—John 14:15, not, "if ye are afraid of the law, keep my commandments"; not, "if ye are afraid of going to Hell, keep my commandments"; not, "if ye wish to make sure of going to Heaven, keep my commandments"; but, "if ye love me." But why love Him? Because "this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins." That this love, and that this kind of love is clearly the motive power of the real Christian life, notice the teaching of the Saviour in Luke 7:41, 43, "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou has rightly judged." This is no mere theory, that love ought to be the controlling motive, but it is the controlling motive. And it is not a mere theory that love ought to constrain the real Christian, the real believer, but the love of Christ does constrain us (2 Cor. 5:14).

One may be moral, of deep piety, and yet if the motive power of his life is not this love, he is lost, not a real Christian. God's word makes this plain, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing."—1 Cor. 13:1-3. Two of the mightiest preachers of all times, men whose tongues were those nearest to angels in preaching, Chalmers and Wesley, after years of most powerful preaching, came out and stated that during all those years they were lost, not Christians. Why? They had not been really redeemed from all iniquity (Titus 2:14); they had not been forgiven most; the motive had not been the motive of him who is forgiven most,—"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal." Why? Because eloquent, powerful preaching cannot redeem from iniquity, and God has said plainly, "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission."—Heb. 9:22. Men may write great books explaining the mysteries of God's word, commentaries, Sunday-school lesson helps, instructions to Christians; yet if the motive power of their lives is not love based on the fact that they are forgiven most (Luke 7:43), redeemed from all iniquity (Titus 2:14), they are lost, not real Christians,—"though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing." Why? Because there is nothing in understanding all mysteries, and all knowledge, in writing commentaries and other helpful books, to redeem from all iniquity. And God has said plainly, "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission." The great capitalist, the multi-millionaire, may turn philanthropist, and spend all his wealth in building schools, or libraries, or houses for the poor, or in feeding hundreds of thousands in times of widespread drouth; the Catholic nun or Protestant or Baptist nurse may give her life in the epidemic in nursing the sick; and the heroic fireman give his life in rescuing others from the flames; yet they are all lost, unless the motive power of life is love, produced by the fact that they are forgiven most, redeemed from all iniquity,—"Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." Why? Because there is nothing in giving away money to care for the poor, nor in giving up life for others, to redeem from iniquity. And God has said plainly, "Apart from shedding of blood there is no remission."—Heb. 9:22.

When God, "That he might be just and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus,"—Rom. 3:26, "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,"—John 3:16, men must not, they must not, from intellectual pride, religious prejudice, family or race ties, nor from any other motive, trifle with God and presume to dictate terms to the Most High. Were it one poor, obscure man who presumed to do this, men would say that he deserved to be left to answer for his own sins before God at last. But vast numbers, whole religious denominations and university titles cannot change the Most High. God does not go by majorities. Earth's respectability does not pass current in Heaven. "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God."—1 Cor. 3:19.

Who is this being to whom puny men in their pride and prejudice presume to dictate terms as to how they may escape the just penalty for their sins, as to how their sins should be taken away? "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel? And who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgement, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold, he taketh up the hills as a little thing." "All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing, and vanity." "It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing; that maketh the judges of the earth as vanity."—Is. 40:12-15, 17, 22, 23.

A professor in a great university has recently said that to the "modern mind," untrained, as the Jews, to daily sacrifices, unused, as those of ancient times, to blood-atonement,—remission of sins by blood,—substitution does not commend itself. If he and those who think like him do not care enough as to their eternal destiny to strive to become acquainted with blood-atonement, to realize their need of it, and to see that God, in love, has provided it, complete and eternal, then there is nothing left but for them to go out into eternity to meet the just penalty of their sins; for even then God will be just to them. No one, barbarian or civilized, will ever be treated unjustly by the Most High.

But it is objected that, if men are taught and believe that they have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), that they are not after that under the law (Rom. 6:14), that they have been adopted as God's sons (Gal. 4:4, 5), and that they are no more servants, but sons (Gal. 4:7), they will not serve God from love of Christ for dying for them (2 Cor. 5:14, 15), but that they will become careless and not try to live Christian lives. That is true with hypocrites; they will profess to believe that they are thus redeemed, saved, and will live careless, worldly lives. But really redeemed men will love most (Luke 7:43), and live better lives from love. The Saviour said, "If a man love me he will keep my words,"—John 14:23; "If God were your father ye would love me."—John 8:42. And John, writing to believers only (1 John 5:13), says: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one that hath this hope on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."—1 John 3:1-3.