Continued from previous post.

“Some might be inclined to think that urging to accept the Lord and to seek to be his follower, with the thought that any other course would mean eternal torment, might be considered a deception which would work out benefit to the deceived ones – a deception which would do good rather than harm. We dispute this. We hold, on the contrary, that the erroneous teaching has done great injury in various ways.

(1) Its misrepresentation of the divine methods and arrangements has caused many to doubt not only the love but the justice of God.

(2) While people have theoretically claimed that only those who follow closely in the footsteps of Jesus and take up their crosses, following him in self-sacrifice, will be saved, and all the remainder of mankind be damned to eternal torture, nevertheless few believe it, few act upon such a belief, few are making an effort to be followers of the Lord as if they believed it; and extremely few of the many who are not trying to take up their crosses and follow the Lord give evidence of any fear of an eternity of torment because of neglecting his words.

(3) As a consequence, there is a nominal church of professed followers of Christ, extremely few of whom are followers in the sense comprehended by the Lord in the text.

(4) As a result of this, nominal Christianity and nominal discipleship having crowded out the true condition of discipleship (true discipleship) which our Lord specified as necessary to joint-heirship in the Kingdom, we find that nearly all the preaching and other religious efforts and services of today are going in another direction entirely – to produce merely *(Tentatively) justified believers, and not to produce the sanctified followers (the truly consecrated) described.

(5) As a consequence, present conditions, teachings, etc., are extremely unfavorable to the development of the very class which this Gospel age was intended to select and perfect as joint-heirs with their Lord in the Kingdom.

It is because, under the Lord’s providences, the mists of the dark ages are scattering and the light of the Millennial morning creeping in, that we are privileged to see the inconsistencies and falsities of the traditions of men which have beclouded the inspired records; and, therefore, we are led to inquire for the “old paths,” and to listen, not for the confused babel of error, but for the clear words of the great Shepherd of the flock and his inspired representatives, the apostles. Listening to these – listening to the voice of God through these – the inspired plan of God is becoming clear and luminous to us, and its every feature reasonable, harmonious and beautiful.

It is from this standpoint that we are enabled to view our text with pleasure viz., “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” and seeing the grand designs of our Almighty Father, are enabled to rejoice that we are accounted worthy, through our Redeemer’s merit, to be invited to walk in his footsteps and to take up our crosses and to follow him through evil and through good report. And we are assured of his sustaining grace by the way, and of final victory and joint-heirship with him in the Kingdom, if we thus continue steadfast to the end.

“If any man will come after me,” signifies, if any man desires to be a follower of mine, to walk in my steps of obedience to the Father’s will, and to share with me in the Father’s reward. Such are to know that the cost of such discipleship will be cross-bearing. Cross-bearing signifies endurance of trials, difficulties, disappointments – the crossing of the human will and preferences by circumstances and conditions permitted of the Father. Our Lord’s will was fully submitted to God, so that it was his delight to do the Father’s will, and this must be our attitude to commence with; but after this consecration has taken place comes the trial and testing.

If we were in heaven, where all is in full accord with the divine will, we could have no crosses from the time we fully consecrated to the Lord; because our wills being in accord with the Father’s will and with all righteousness, and there being nothing in heaven contrary to that which is right, we would be in accord with everything, and everything would be in accord with our newly consecrated minds. Our crosses come because we are living in “this present evil world,” because the spirit of the world is contrary to the Lord and his Spirit of righteousness and equity, and because our Adversary, Satan, seeks continually to stumble and ensnare us; because, also, our new wills are circumscribed and hindered and opposed by the desires of our natural bodies, which are more or less in accord with the things of this present time, its conditions, its aims, its sentiments; and because the new will strives to use the body in a manner and in a service which, under present evil conditions, continually causes it annoyance and suffering. These things are to be taken into consideration as the cost of discipleship – the cost of a share in the Kingdom and its glory, honor and immortality, promised to the “called, chosen and faithful.”

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*The vast majority of profess believers have only taken the first step of faith justification, for the forgiveness of sins. These have been misled and deceived by the blind guides that this is all that is necessary to ensure themselves of a heavenly reward, viz., joint heirship with their Lord in heaven, however faith justification alone does not change one’s nature from an earthly nature to a spiritual nature, prerequisite to entry into the heavenly phase of the kingdom. This requires that one be willing to follow in the Master’s footsteps to take the second step of a full consecration to the LORD, that they be sanctified or (set apart) to the LORD. This second step was actually the first step for our Lord as he was perfect and without sin and did not require the forgiveness of sins prior to fully consecrating himself to the father (The Father cannot accept any blemished sacrifice upon his altar). This step our Lord took at the river Jordan, when he completely surrendered his will to the doing of the Father’s will.

Now the reason we say those who have only taken the first step of justification by faith are in truth only tentatively justified is because this faith justification was provide for a specific purpose.

“The object of justification is to make one amenable (acceptable) to or ready for the reception of the Holy Spirit, and this does not take place until one has (symbolically) reached the door of the tabernacle, (where they figurately tie or bind themselves in covenant relationship with the Lord in sacrifice).

For more insight on this please see, “Justification, Sanctification, Redemption“.

Whoever has not come to the point of making a Covenant with God, has not given up his restitution rights (his human life rights, which were secured to all through the ransom sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ). Until he takes the second step of a full consecration, he still has an opportunity for these human life rights in the future, in the Millennial Age. But whoever makes this consecration and is accepted by the Lord, will never get restitution rights or anything else on the human plane in the future Age.” (Q411)

Such having sacrificed these rights are begotten of the holy spirit to a new nature, a spirit nature, and in the resurrection will be born as such.

As for those who receive the opportunity of justification by faith (at this time, during the Gospel age), but who fail to make use of it, either through blindness, having been deceived by the blind guides or who simply through a lack of faith and desire to fully surrender (sacrifice) themselves completely to God, but who are satisfied with the forgiveness of sins and the peace which this brings to them through faith in the Lord, such have received this grace of God (this specially favor and opportunity of justification) in vain. (2 Cor 6:2)

Continued with next post.