The just shall live by faith.
The righteous person is the one who has the word of God abiding in the heart. And this fact is not apparent through outward circumstances. If we could look on the heart as God does, and see with His clearness of vision, we would be able to discern there either the presence or the absence of faith, and by that and that only we would know to which of the two great classes any particular individual belongs.
Faith brings righteousness. Its absence and that alone is the cause of wickedness. For all people are wicked by nature, having carnal hearts that are “not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” And the same human nature that manifests itself in murders, and drunkenness, and the lowest forms of vice and crime, is the common nature of all people. Only the accident of circumstances prevents it from being manifested in all people alike. The highly respectable member of society, who doesn’t yet know God, has nothing to boast of over the person whom society brands as an outcast, for the difference between them is not a difference in nature, but merely in fortune, for which he can take no credit to himself.
When Adam sinned, he acquired a fallen and carnal nature, and that was the only nature that he could pass on to his children. So all his descendants acquired his nature, because it was transmitted by each parent in turn. And thus all people have received the fallen nature which Adam had, and only variations in the process of transmission, and in the circumstances with which they have been surrounded, have, outside of the grace of God, produced the differences in their life records. But with
those who have received the grace of God, their carnal nature has been overruled. And the success of their lives has been due to this, and not to any variations of fortune. Even the Apostle Paul testified of himself, “By the grace of God I am what I am,” and said, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 6:14.
Therefore it is true that those who are farthest away from God are the ones who least feel the need of Divine grace and of being saved from their sinful nature. This is illustrated by the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, who went to the temple to pray.
The Pharisee thought that he had a better nature than other people, so he thanked the Lord that he was not as they were; but the publican, feeling his need, exclaimed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and went down to his house justified.
The most hopelessly wicked are those who feel satisfied with themselves; and those are not the ones who manifest the greatest weaknesses and are guilty of the most crimes, but rather the ones who are able to make their lives conform to the world’s standard of morality and respectability.
You may know how you stand before God, for it is a simple matter of knowing whether or not you believe His word. That word tells you to have all confidence in God and none in yourself, or in the flesh. If you say amen to this, God by His creative power makes you righteous, and you stand justified in His sight.
You cannot know the standing of others, because you cannot look into their hearts, as God does. You can only look on the outward appearance, which is not an index to the nature of the life within. Therefore the warning is given us, “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Cor. 4:5.
In Malachi we read of the time when the Lord will make up His jewels, and “will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.” This indicates a time when those who do not serve Him will not be spared. “Then,” says He, “shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.” Mal. 3:17, 18. That will be the time when judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, and the saints possess the kingdom (Dan. 7:22) at the first resurrection. See Rev. 20:4-6.
It is not your business now to know the hidden thoughts and motives of other people’s hearts. Such knowledge would do you much more harm than good. All that concerns you here is to believe God’s word for yourself and sow the seed of His truth beside all waters, passing by no place because it seems to be unfavorable, but having hope for all, through the mercy and grace so abundantly given to all in the Gospel.
Living By Faith- E.J.W., and A.T.J.
Maranatha