Are we appropriating the merits of Christ to ourselves?

[Woody]

I meant i could go on and on as far as commenting upon Gerry's post.

But i do agree with you that my short and to the point previous post said it all.

sky

[Gerr]

Originally Posted By: Gerry Cabalo

So you claim the merits of Christ but you don't know what it is/they are?

Sorry that makes no sense to me. If there is an infinite list, you should at least be able to name a few.

I can provide you with Scriptural references for everyone I listed.

I do know what they are, they are the merits of His sacrifice, the merits of His shed blood, the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. That says everything I need to know.

sky

If you know what they are, then why did you get testy when somebody asked what they are?

[Gerr]

Originally Posted By: Gerry Cabalo

Quote:

1mer•it \ˈmer-ət, ˈme-rət\ n

[ME, fr. AF merite, fr. L meritum, fr. neut. of meritus, pp. of merēre to deserve, earn; akin to Gk meiresthai to receive as one’s portion, meros part'] 14c

1 a obs : reward or punishment due

b : the qualities or actions that constitute the basis of one’s deserts

c : a praiseworthy quality : virtue

d : character or conduct deserving reward, honor, or esteem also : achievement

2 : spiritual credit held to be earned by performance of righteous acts and to ensure future benefits

3 a pl : the substance of a legal case apart from matters of jurisdiction, procedure, or form

b : individual significance or justification — mer•it•less \-ləs\ adj

———————

2merit vt

1526 : to be worthy of or entitled or liable to : earn vi 1 obs : to be entitled to reward or honor

2 : 

Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. Includes index. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

So what did Jesus deserve?

1. Because He did not participate in sin in the least, He deserve to be called righteous. When we appropriate the merits of Jesus into our lives, we are pronounced righteous/perfect by God.

2. Because Jesus was righteous and did not merit death, by appropriating His merits, we receive life.

3. Because Jesus merits respect, everyone appropriating His merits merit respect as well.

4. Because of His victory, He merited praise & honor. Likewise, when we appropriate His victory, the Father will praise & honor us, "Well done, good and faithful servant," and will even let us sit on the throne of Christ!

5. Because of His merits, "no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly," Ps 84:11

6. Because merited a crown for His victory, by appropriating His merits, we too shall receive a crown of victory.

7. Because He merited treatment as a Son, by His merits, we too are treated as sons & daughters of our heavenly Father.

8. Because He merited protection as a Son, by this merit we can too claim the same.

9. Because He merited every blessing heaven could provide, by His merit, every blessing in the heavenly places is ours as well.

Was there really a need to look into the dictionary in order to find a definition for the word "merit," as though we needed to be educated. We were all raised with the idea that everything in this life must be deserved, even salvation, before we can have it. All the religions in the world teach that, that salvation is gained through merits, the merits of the creature, instead of the divine merits of Jesus Christ.

If you look at the above post, you will find it was in response to Rudy's inquiry which you were not addressing. If you find it too elementary, feel free to skip it and think of it as not meant for you.

[Steve Billiter]

the precise steps for salvation should be taught. Harping on the "merits" is not edifying

[Steve Billiter]

His shed blood is the merits.

Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Joh 3:15 That whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

[skyblue888]

"The sinner must ever look toward Calvary and with the simple faith of a little child rest in the merits of Christ, accepting His righteousness, and believing in His mercy." Evang.185.

By ever resting in the merits of Christ, the sinner knows that He is entitled to the righteousness of Christ and the mercy of God. For he knows that the Father receives him unto Himself through the merits of His Son. See A.A.333.

This is the 1888 message in a nutshell, as God sent it, as He said it and as He meant it.

Here it is again:

"Unless he makes it his lifebusiness to behold the uplifted Saviour and to accept the merits which it is his privilege to claim, the sinner can no more be saved than Peter could walk upon the water unless he kept his eyes fixed steadily upon Jesus." Testimonies to Ministers, p.93.

Again this is the 1888 message in a nutshell, the third angel's message which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice and attended with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in large measure. See T.M.92.

When the Lord Himself tells us that the sinner cannot be saved unless he makes it his lifebusiness to look to Jesus and to accept His merits which it is his privilege to claim, what more do we need?

"Beware of the leaven (teachings) of the Pharisees" who would make this simple message of none effect by teaching that there are so many steps to take before the sinner can lay hold upon the merits and righteousness of Christ.

Daily, the sinner is to come to Christ just as he is, sinful, helpless, dependent, and then hang his helpless soul upon the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. Then God will do the rest which is to do for him that which it is impossible for him to do for himself, to will and to do God's good pleasure as expressed in the precepts of His holy law.

sky

[Steve Billiter]

So sky, if someone asked you, "what must I do to have eternal life," what do you tell him?

[karl]

Quote:

skyblue wrote

"The sinner must ever look toward Calvary and with the simple faith of a little child rest in the merits of Christ, accepting His righteousness, and believing in His mercy." Evang.185.

By ever resting in the merits of Christ, the sinner knows that He is entitled to the righteousness of Christ and the mercy of God. For he knows that the Father receives him unto Himself through the merits of His Son. See A.A.333.

This is the 1888 message in a nutshell, as God sent it, as He said it and as He meant it.

You know what is missing from the material above? Certainly not the claiming of gifts from the great Sacrifice. What is missing is a love for and submission to the living Christ. I am very suspicious of a theology which claims such great gifts in the absence of a relationship with the Giver. I know that EGW never promoted such a truncated view.

[Gerr]

Originally Posted By: Gerry Cabalo

So you claim the merits of Christ but you don't know what it is/they are?

Sorry that makes no sense to me. If there is an infinite list, you should at least be able to name a few.

I can provide you with Scriptural references for everyone I listed.

I do know what they are, they are the merits of His sacrifice, the merits of His shed blood, the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. That says everything I need to know.

sky

Let me tell you more what His merits mean to me:

I breathe because of His merits. I eat, move, see, hear, because of His merits. I have joy and peace because of His merits. I have protection of angels because of His merits. I have the desire to share His love because of His merits. Again, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

[pnattmbtc]

You know what is missing from the material above? Certainly not the claiming of gifts from the great Sacrifice. What is missing is a love for and submission to the living Christ. I am very suspicious of a theology which claims such great gifts in the absence of a relationship with the Giver. I know that EGW never promoted such a truncated view.

[pnattmbtc]

Let me tell you more what His merits mean to me:

I breathe because of His merits. I eat, move, see, hear, because of His merits. I have joy and peace because of His merits. I have protection of angels because of His merits. I have the desire to share His love because of His merits. Again, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

I agree with this. I think there's another aspect to this to, which is that Christ's merits can be understood as Christ's works. The statement I just posted, right before this one, discusses how we are saved. I believe the process described could be characterized as our appropriating Christ's merits for ourselves (otherwise we'd have two different ways of being saved).

[Gail]

You know what is missing from the material above? Certainly not the claiming of gifts from the great Sacrifice. What is missing is a love for and submission to the living Christ. I am very suspicious of a theology which claims such great gifts in the absence of a relationship with the Giver. I know that EGW never promoted such a truncated view.

Interesting point! If there has been no dying to self process, then where would the merits fit in the life of the person seeking them?

I appreciate everyone's patience with those who ask for the merits to be explained more fully (as to what exactly they are). We do have honest seekers for understanding here.

[teresaq]

i havent read all the posts so i may be repeating others thoughts, but for me, i would say that Christs merits are His life, His character, from just before His conception, to just after His death.

i say just before His conception because:

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

(Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.)

i say just after His death because, He didnt rise in His glory and present Himself before His enemies saying anything to the effect, youve had it now!! am i gonna get you for what you did to me!!

the way He lived, His whole life was living for others, everything He said or did was for others.

He was God also, yet He treated each of us with the utmost respect and dignity.

and when i look at that i see how much i fail of being "holy".

everything about Christs life, death and resurrection, would be His "merits", not the results of those merits, but the merits themselves.

[pnattmbtc]

Well said teresa! I agree, especially with this:

Quote:

everything about Christs life, death and resurrection, would be His "merits"

[skyblue888]

Originally Posted By: skyblue888

I do know what they are, they are the merits of His sacrifice, the merits of His shed blood, the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. That says everything I need to know.

sky [/quote']

Let me tell you more what His merits mean to me:

I breathe because of His merits. I eat, move, see, hear, because of His merits. I have joy and peace because of His merits. I have protection of angels because of His merits. I have the desire to share His love because of His merits. Again, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

Thats not what His merits are what you have just described,,, its what we get through His merits!

sky

[skyblue888]

Quote:

skyblue wrote

"The sinner must ever look toward Calvary and with the simple faith of a little child rest in the merits of Christ, accepting His righteousness, and believing in His mercy." Evang.185.

By ever resting in the merits of Christ, the sinner knows that He is entitled to the righteousness of Christ and the mercy of God. For he knows that the Father receives him unto Himself through the merits of His Son. See A.A.333.

This is the 1888 message in a nutshell, as God sent it, as He said it and as He meant it.

You know what is missing from the material above? Certainly not the claiming of gifts from the great Sacrifice. What is missing is a love for and submission to the living Christ. I am very suspicious of a theology which claims such great gifts in the absence of a relationship with the Giver. I know that EGW never promoted such a truncated view.

By resting in the merits of Christ we become one with Him as He is one with the Father.

How is that for a relationship?

sky

[Gerr]

Quote:

Let me tell you more what His merits mean to me:

I breathe because of His merits. I eat, move, see, hear, because of His merits. I have joy and peace because of His merits. I have protection of angels because of His merits. I have the desire to share His love because of His merits. Again, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

Thats not what His merits are what you have just described,,, its what we get through His merits!

sky

Personally, I am less interested in defining precisely what the merit of Christ is than to know of what benefit it is to me.

[skyblue888]

Quote:

Let me tell you more what His merits mean to me:

I breathe because of His merits. I eat, move, see, hear, because of His merits. I have joy and peace because of His merits. I have protection of angels because of His merits. I have the desire to share His love because of His merits. Again, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.

Thats not what His merits are what you have just described,,, its what we get through His merits!

sky

Personally, I am less interested in defining precisely what the merit of Christ is than to know of what benefit it is to me.

[pnattmbtc]

Sky, I think I've asked this before, but don't recall getting an answer. Sorry if I'm making you repeat something.

The following describes how on is saved.

Quote:

How, then, are we to be saved? "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." Ps. 40:8. (DA 175, 176)

This seems to me to be very clear. To speak of appropriating Christ's merits is less so. Since there is only one way of being saved, which is described here, it seems to me that appropriating Christ's merits must mean what this is saying. Do you agree? Or do you see that appropriating Christ's merits is discussing something different? (i.e., something different than being saved, or justified by faith).

[skyblue888]

Yes, pnatt, that is what it means but we must compare statement with statement as we are told in 1 S.M.42. "The Testimonies themselves will be the key that will explain the messages given, as Scripture is explained by Scripture."

Notice the part that is underlined in the next following paragraphs:

"Moses was divinely commanded to make a serpent of brass resembling the living ones, and to elevate it among the people. To this, all who had been bitten were to look, and they would find relief. He did so, and the joyful news was sounded throughout the encampment that all who had been bitten might look upon the brazen serpent and live. Many had already died, and when Moses raised the serpent upon the pole, some would not believe that merely gazing upon that metallic image would heal them; these perished in their unbelief. Yet there were many who had faith in the provision which God had made. Fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters were anxiously engaged in helping their suffering, dying friends to fix their languid eyes upon the serpent. If these, though faint and dying, could only once look, they were perfectly restored.

The people well knew that there was no power in the serpent of brass to cause such a change in those who looked upon it. The healing virtue was from God alone. In His wisdom He chose this way of displaying His power. By this simple means the people were made to realize that this affliction had been brought upon them by their sins. They were also assured that while obeying God they had no reason to fear, for He would preserve them.

The lifting up of the brazen serpent was to teach Israel an important lesson. They could not save themselves from the fatal effect of the poison in their wounds. God alone was able to heal them. Yet they were required to show their faith in the provision which He had made. They must look in order to live. It was their faith that was acceptable with God, and by looking upon the serpent their faith was shown. They knew that there was no virtue in the serpent itself, but it was a symbol of Christ; and the necessity of faith in His merits was thus presented to their minds. Heretofore many had brought their offerings to God, and had felt that in so doing they made ample atonement for their sins. They did not rely upon the Redeemer to come, of whom these offerings were only a type. The Lord would now teach them that their sacrifices, in themselves, had no more power or virtue than the serpent of brass, but were, like that, to lead their minds to Christ, the great sin offering. P.P.430,431.

Then on the next page we read:

"Though millions who need to be healed will reject His offered mercy, not one who trust in His merits will be left to perish."

sky

[pnattmbtc]

To me the DA passage is easier to understand. It says:

1. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God.

2. His love is drawing us to Himself.

3. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance.

4. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul.

5. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart.

6. We can say with Christ, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God."

This brings out some key points, including:

a.The process starts with God, and God does the converting work, if permitted.

b.God is drawing the sinner.

c.The sinner must resist to be lost.

So God is the initiator, and the "doer", in terms of conversion, and we are either willing participants, or resistant rebels. Some may think this sounds as if it's leaving out things we must do, but if the law is written in the heart, and our hearts are united to Christ's, so that it is our delight to do God's will, then we *will* do God's will, by faith.

This is how I think of it, and it seems very simple to me. Speaking of appropriating the merits of Christ is less clear to me, but if it means this, then that's cool.

[Woody]

John 12:32 "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. "

"The sinner may resist [God's] love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus."

Steps to Christ, page 27

[teresaq]

To me the DA passage is easier to understand. It says:

1. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God.

2. His love is drawing us to Himself.

3. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance.

4. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul.

5. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart.

6. We can say with Christ, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God."

This brings out some key points, including:

a.The process starts with God, and God does the converting work, if permitted.

b.God is drawing the sinner.

c.The sinner must resist to be lost.

So God is the initiator, and the "doer", in terms of conversion, and we are either willing participants, or resistant rebels. Some may think this sounds as if it's leaving out things we must do, but if the law is written in the heart, and our hearts are united to Christ's, so that it is our delight to do God's will, then we *will* do God's will, by faith.

This is how I think of it, and it seems very simple to me. Speaking of appropriating the merits of Christ is less clear to me, but if it means this, then that's cool.

and this is (also) very well put, especially the part i colored.

[teresaq]

and perhaps might point out that we are either attracted to or repelled by the love of Christ and His character.

the pharisees were ultimately repelled by the character of Christ. they may have been drawn to it, but ultimately did not prefer it.

what i think we get hung up on is thinking of them as "they" instead of realizing "they" is us. the whole point is for us to look inside ourselves with the HS and see where we are exactly the same.

[skyblue888]

and perhaps might point out that we are either attracted to or repelled by the love of Christ and His character.

the pharisees were ultimately repelled by the character of Christ. they may have been drawn to it, but ultimately did not prefer it.

what i think we get hung up on is thinking of them as "they" instead of realizing "they" is us. the whole point is for us to look inside ourselves with the HS and see where we are exactly the same.

teressa

_____________________________________________

I agree. Yes, we are all the same, all born into this world the same for "The spirit of Pharisaism is the spirit of human nature." M.B.79.