*** What assurance is
given to every believer in Christ?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only be- gotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” John 3:16.
*** What wonderful
truth is revealed in the gospel message?
“For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17.
*** What was brought to
light through the gospel?
“Who hath
abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10.
*** How closely are righteousness and
life connected?
“In the way of righteousness
is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no
death.” Proverbs 12:28.
*** Finding righteousness, what else do we find?
“He that
followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness,
and honour.” Proverbs 21:21.
*** Who alone can give us
the grace that leads to eternal life?
“That as sin hath
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:21.
*** What do the Psalms
declare God’s commandments to be?
“All Thy
commandments are righteousness.” Psalms 119:172.
*** What does Jesus say
that those commandments are?
“And I know that
His commandment is life everlasting.” John 12:50.
*** What does the prophet
Jeremiah declare Christ to be?
“And this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jer. 23:6.
*** What did Christ tell
us was essential to eternal life?
“I am the way,
the truth, and the life.” John 14:6.
*** How do we receive
righteousness?
“And He said unto
him, Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but One, that is, God:
but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17.
*** How do we receive
eternal life?
“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much
more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17.
*** How do we obtain
eternal life?
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of
God is eternal .life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.
“Christ is the
source of every right impulse. He is the only one that can implant in the
heart enmity against sin. Every desire for truth and purity, every
conviction of our own sinfulness, is an evidence that His Spirit is
moving upon our hearts.
“Jesus has said, ’I,
if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ Christ must
be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour dying for the sins of the world,
and as we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery
of redemption begins to unfold to our minds, and the goodness of God
leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, Christ manifested a love
that is incomprehensible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it softens
the heart, impresses the mind, and inspires contrition in the soul.
“It is true that men sometimes become ashamed of their sinful ways, and give up some of
their evil habits, before they are conscious that they are being drawn to
Christ. But whenever they make an effort to reform, from a sincere
desire to do right, it is the power of Christ that is drawing them. An
influence of which they are unconscious works upon the soul, and the
conscience is quickened, and the outward life is amended. And as Christ draws
them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced,
the commandment comes home to the conscience. The wickedness of their
life, the deep seated sin of the soul, is revealed to them. They begin to
comprehend something of the righteousness of Christ, and exclaim, What
is sin, that it should require such a sacrifice for the redemption of
its victim? Was all this love, all this suffering, all this humiliation
demanded, that we might not perish, but have everlasting life?” Happiness Digest, p. 30.