Perfect Obedience

What is Perfect Obedience?

Psalm 19:7

 

Ps 19:7—¶ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

 

Now if God has a perfect law and obeying His law is "the whole duty of man" (Ec. 12:13, 14) what kind of life does God want?

 

A perfect life.

 

A perfect life is the only standard God wants

 

God's Standard Has Not Changed.—The gospel of good news was not to be interpreted as allowing men to live in continued rebellion against God by transgressing His just and holy law. Why cannot those who claim to understand the Scriptures, see that God's requirement under grace is just the same He made in Eden—perfect obedience to His law. In the judgment, God will ask those who profess to be Christians, Why did you claim to believe in My Son, and continue to transgress My law? Who required this at your hands—to trample upon My rules of righteousness? "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." The gospel of the New Testament is not the Old Testament standard lowered to meet the sinner and save him in his sins. God requires of all His subjects obedience, entire obedience to all His commandments. He demands now as ever perfect righteousness as the only title to heaven. Christ is our hope and our refuge. His righteousness is imputed only to the obedient. Let us accept it through faith, that the Father shall find in us no sin. But those who have trampled on the holy law will have no right to claim that righteousness. O that we might view the immensity of the plan of salvation as obedient children to all God's requirements, believing that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, our atoning sacrifice (RH Sept. 21, 1886)!—6BC:1072.8.

 

God cannot change His standards. If He changes His standard He is telling us His character has changed.

The law of the Lord is perfect.

Now what is perfect obedience?

 

If I sin once in my life have I rendered perfect obedience? No

 

How many times did Christ sin? None.

Did He sin in the past? No.

Did He sin in the present? No.

Will He sin in the future? No. That is perfect obedience.

 

Every human being has sinned at least once. you’ve fallen short. The standard is the Father and you are less than. You’ve fallen short.

 

Now God has a choice. He can raise me up or lower the standard.

 

What does God do? He raises me up through Christ.

 

God sent Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life of conformity to His Father’s Law. And the Bible tells us, the gospel says if you accept Christ as your Saviour the same way He takes our sins which He didn’t commit we take His righteousness which you didn’t create.

 

It’s a swap. What a deal! What a deal!

 

But let the Bible make it clearer. Turn with me to

 

2Cor. 5:21—For he hath MADE him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

Who is the first “he” in this verse? God the Father.

Who is “Him”? Jesus.

 

Notice the word “made.” Someone made Jesus sin. He hath made him to be sin for us.

 

Why did someone have to make Jesus sin? Can Jesus make himself sin? Yes, just by sinning, but He didn’t. Someone else had to make him sin because he never chose. Now, “that we might be made the righteousness of God…”

 

Why does someone have to make us righteous? Because we can’t make ourselves righteous.

It’s a swap again, a deal. So we have the word MADE used twice. Do you see the word made in that verse?

 

Do you see two opposites? 1. Sin, 2. Righteousness.

 

Sin is where we belong by choice and Righteousness is where Christ is by choice. Sin is us and Christ is righteousness. And God says I will make a way of escape. There’s nothing these sinners can do to save themselves because they’ve sinned once. What I’ll do, I will make the gift of righteousness available but for me to do that I will have to make my Son a sin-bearer.

 

Now keep in mind My Son never chose to sin. I will make Him to be a substitute. I’ll put your sin on him because he has never sinned. You have never done righteousness, I will put His righteousness on you for the asking.

 

     The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been,—just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents,—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. The way would be open for sin, with all its train of woe and misery, to be immortalized.  {SC 62.1} 

     It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God's law. But he failed to do this, and because of his sin our natures are fallen and we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials and temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and now He OFFERS to take our sins and give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned.—SC:62.1, 2

 

Steps to Christ, page 62.2 “If you give yourself to Him…?” What does that mean?

 

If you give yourself to Christ who owns you? Christ. Not if you Loan yourself, if you give yourself to Him and accept him as your Saviour. Saviour from what? Sin. So you have done two things.

1.    You acknowledged you are a sinner,

2.    You give your life to Christ.

  

Then sinful though your life may have been Christ’s character stands in place of your character. God accepts you the way he would accept Christ. And you are accepted before God just as if you had never sinned. What do you think? It’s true.

If you give yourself to him and accept Him as your Saviour then sinful though your life may have been His character stands in place of your character and you’re accepted before God just as if you had never sinned. The same way Christ was treated in our place.

     Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father's mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father's reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt.  {DA 753.1}  

     Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as man's substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.—DA:753.1, 2

[Note:  Christ's Human Nature as our substitute. See also: Seed of a Woman.]

     God has given in his Word decisive evidence that he will punish the transgressors of his law. Those who flatter themselves that he is too merciful to execute justice upon the sinner, have ONLY to look to the cross of Calvary. The death of the spotless Son of God testifies that “the wages of sin is death,” that every violation of God's law must receive its just retribution. Christ the sinless became sin for man. He bore the guilt of transgression, and the hiding of his Father's face, until his heart was broken and his life crushed out. All this sacrifice was made that sinners might be redeemed. In no other way could man be freed from the penalty of sin. And every soul that refuses to become a partaker of the atonement provided at such a cost, must bear, in his own person, the guilt and punishment of transgression.—GC88:540.1

 

The Father cursed Him on the cross.

 

Gal. 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law…” Who cursed Him? The Father. Because the Father saw a substitute on the cross. What did Jesus say? “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

 

The Father cannot turn to one sin. He abides in righteousness. So all sin must be on Jesus. But you must accept Him as your Saviour and give yourself to Him. That’s what the Perfection God requires, the view is the Perfection of Christ that’s credited to you when you give yourself to Him.

 

     More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith and the continual surrender of your will to Him; and so long as you do this, He will work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. So you may say, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20. So Jesus said to His disciples, "It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Matthew 10:20. Then with Christ working in you, you will manifest the same spirit and do the same good works—works of righteousness, obedience.—SC:62.3

 

And that must be a permanent gift renewed every day. The struggle for supremacy of the carnal nature through the stony heart will not die until the heart transplant operation in the pre-millennial kingdom of God’s glory. Till then it is a constant Battle of the flesh lusting against the spirit. The devil wants to take yourself back from Christ.

     Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, the base resting on the earth, and the topmost round reaching to the gate of heaven, to the very threshold of glory. If that ladder had failed by a single step of reaching the earth, we should have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame, that we through taking His nature might overcome. Made "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3), He lived a sinless life. Now by His divinity He lays hold upon the throne of heaven, while by His humanity He reaches us. He bids us by faith in Him attain to the glory of the character of God. Therefore are we to be perfect, even as our "Father which is in heaven is perfect."—DA:311.5

     There is where the Lord will show the power of his life. That is simply the power that conquered death; the power that overcame the lusts of the flesh; the power that raises the dead to life. It is the power of the resurrection. Now what we must learn is that the same power that will be manifested during the seven last plagues will be manifested during the plagues now in the earth, before those come, in which is filled up the wrath of God. Otherwise, there would be no witness. If this power could not be manifested before probation ends, there would be no witness to the people; it would not be a testimony to them. But before probation ends, there will be a people so complete in him that in spite of their sinful flesh, they will live sinless lives. They will live sinless, lives in mortal flesh, because he who has demonstrated that he has power over all flesh lives in them,—lives a sinless life in sinful flesh, and a healthful life in mortal flesh, and that will be a testimony that can not be gainsaid,—a witness than which no greater can be given. Then the end will come. This will be the kingdom of God manifested to all nations for a witness to God's power. "The kingdom of God is within you."—April 9, 1901 EJW, GCB:147.1

 

A daily surrender. Let me tell you again. The gospel is what God has done to make you perfect and fit for heaven. Fit for angels. Fit to walk with God Himself. Fit to talk to God face to face. How can you have one sin and talk to God face to face? Adam committed one sin and there was a barrier between him and God, one. If that’s the case how can God let you in with one? Perfection, but it is the perfection of Christ.

 

Faith and Works, page 50 paragraph 1, 2.

 

     When it is in the heart to obey God, when efforts are put forth to this end, Jesus accepts this disposition and effort as man's best service, and He makes up for the deficiency with His own divine merit. But He will not accept those who claim to have faith in Him and yet are disloyal to His Father's commandment. We hear a great deal about faith, but we need to hear a great deal more about works. Many are deceiving their own souls by living an easy-going, accommodating, crossless religion.  {FW 50.1} 

     But Jesus says, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).—FW:50.1, 2

 

When you daily come to Christ you daily come to realize and appreciate the beauty of holiness. The power He imparts, His disposition is created in you to live out His life in your life to the Glory of the Father which is in heaven.