ARTICLE XIV of the Thirty Nine Articles of Religion of the Reformation church of England

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgoxMka89g

 Can Man be Saved by the Law?

How may we obtain God’s grace and forgiveness? What an important question this is, a question involving life and death, damnation and life eternal, the question, How is a man justified? All religions give an answer to this vital question, and with one accord all false religions teach that man is justified by the deeds of the Law. Turk and Pope, heathen and rationalist, declare: Do good, lead an upright life, and God will forgive your sins. Even among those Protestant sects who still confess Christ Crucified, one will find this idea to be ingrafted in their souls, that he who leads a life of earnest prayer and sheds tears of repentance obtains God’s grace and is saved through these works of his.

What does Scripture say? A man is justified “without the deeds of the Law.” That is a statement repeated a hundred times in the Scriptures, taught clearly and emphatically by all prophets and apostles. True enough, there is the command, “ This do, and thou shalt live.” Luke 10,28. But who can do what the Law demands ? There is no man upon earth who can fulfil all its com­ mandments. I f you expect eternal salvation by the Law, i f you think that you can reach heaven by keeping the commands of the Law, you are deceiving yourself. You cannot be justified by the Law which you have broken. Man cannot be saved by the Law. How then ? What we have not been able to earn we receive as a gift.

Salvation is free: “It is the gift of God.” What shall we say then? Shall we look upon sin as a trifle, as so many frivolous people do? No, we should stand aghast and horrified-when it dawns upon our conscience that we have fallen from the dazzling heights of the image of God to the damning depths of the image of Satan. We should learn to tear from our hearts every shred of pharisaic self-conceit as to our goodness and the merit of our works and say, “I am trusting solely in Jesus.” We could be justified by the Law if we were able to keep it; but since we cannot do that, it condemns us. We are justified freely by the grace of God. We are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Prayer.

Lord, we must confess that most of what we have done will be consumed in the last terrible fire, like stubble and straw. To Thee, therefore, we flee, and we pray Thee: Grant that we may be led into the arms of Thy kindness, that we may know that there is One whose mercy is ever new, One whose covenant of peace can never fail, One in whom, when all else fails, the troubled soul can find eternal rest. Let us wholly forget ourselves and look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Amen.

Not the labors of my hands

Can fulfil Thy Law’s demands; 

Could my zeal no respite know, 

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone:

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

 Quote of President Andrew Jackson

 THE FAMILY ALTAR

April 27.

"Peace be unto you." John 20, 19.

The first word our risen Lord addresses to His little flock

of frightened disciples as it cowers behind closed doors for fear

of the Jews, is the sweet, reassuring word peace. In that blessed

word He pardons their faithlessness, tells them that He comes

back to them as their loving Lord, in whose companionship they

have nothing to fear; for He has conquered death and hell for

them, and is able to protect them against all their foes. From

henceforth we see these formerly weak, frightened, vacillating

disciples turned into bold, fearless witnesses of their Lord, dread-

ing neither persecution nor death for His dear sake. "Peace be

unto you." This Easter greeting of our risen Lord sums up for

us His blessed saving mission while here on earth. Now we can

exult with Paul : "He is our peace !" He hath made peace between

us and our God through His cross. He was delivered for our

offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Being justi-

fied by faith, we have peace with God. His Gospel is God's

proclamation of peace to the whole sin-lost world. He that came

to the disciples that Easter Eve, even He comes to us in His holy

Word, and gives us peace, peace against the accusation of our sins,

if we truly believe in Him. For "there is now no condemnation

to them which are in Christ Jesus." (Tom. 8, 1.) He is our peace

in all the storms and vicissitudes of this life; for nothing can

pluck us out of His saving hand. He proves Himself our peace

in the extremity of death. Even then we can by the aid of His

Holy Spirit say with Simeon of old: "Lord, now lettest Thou

Thy servant depart in peace." Oh, blessed shall we be if we

cling to the Gospel of our crucified and risen Savior; for in it

we find peace, abiding peace of heart, which the world cannot give

and even death cannot destroy.

Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?

The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?

On Jesus' bosom naught but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?

In Jesus' keeping we are safe, and they.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?

Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

It is enough: earth's struggles soon shall cease,

And Jesus call us to heaven's perfect peace.