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    August 22, 1905

    “Religious Liberty No. 2” The Watchman 14, 34 , pp. 538, 539.

    ATJ

    ALL that was said in the preceding article of God’s disposition only to love, and not to condemn or oppress, one of his children who has made a wrong use of his freedom to choose, and has chosen not to honor God, is fully expressed in that proclamation and revelation which God made of himself, of what he is, when in the mount, as Moses was there with him, God promised to make all his goodness to pass before him, and to make him acquainted with himself. Then in this revelation of himself, the Lord passed by before Moses and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” This is what he is, not what he does—as if he could do something else. No, this is what he is; and in this he is God. He cannot cease to be God; and therefore cannot cease to be what is here said, for this is what he is.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.1

    What is it, then, that he is?—Merciful—full of mercy. Mercy is the disposition, the very heart’s life, to treat people better than they deserve. That is himself, and he never treats anybody, he never will treat anybody, he never can treat anybody, in any other way than better than he deserves; because merciful is what he is. Therefore, when one, in his freedom of choice which is essential to virtue, which is essential to happiness, and to the true worship of God—when in the exercise of that freedom, any person exercises it the wrong way and makes the wrong choice, makes the wrong use of it, God is ever merciful to him, treating him better than he deserves, in order that he may be brought to reverse his choice and put it on the right side.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.2

    Next he is gracious. Gracious is favorable, extending, holding forth favor. And this God does to all creatures, whatever their condition or position may be. God being God, being gracious, he is gracious to every creature, whatsoever the creature may be and whatsoever his condition may be. Consequently when any one exercises his choice in the wrong way, makes a wrong use of it, instead of God abandoning him, threatening him, throwing him over, persecuting him, blotting him out of existence, he is ever gracious, holding forth to him favor, not in any sanction or approval of his wrong course, but in order that if by any possibility he may reverse his choice and use it on the right side.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.3

    God is not only merciful and gracious, but long-suffering. The definition of God’s long-suffering is “salvation”: “The long-suffering of our Lord is salvation.” Then when one makes the wrong use of his freedom, turns his choice to the wrong side, and goes the wrong way, all the disposition that God has toward him, all that God has for that person, all that he holds out to him is mercy and grace and salvation, seeking to save him from that wrong course, to win him from the wrong use of his choice, to awaken him to himself and to God that he may choose to make the right use of his freedom of choice and choose to recognize and serve his Creator.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.4

    By the way, I just now used the expression, “Awake the person to himself,” —awake him to himself and God. This recalls the word that Jesus spoke in the parable of the prodigal son. That parable tells this whole story. There was that son, who chose to leave his father’s house and go off for himself; but he made the wrong choice when he started. He was free to choose to do just as he did, but he made the wrong choice, and things did not go well with him.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.5

    When he made the choice to live outside his father’s house, and away from his father, he went down and down and down, until he reached such a point of deprivation that he fain would have picked up the husks and wrung some more substance from them after they had been abandoned by the swine. When he reached that point,—remember the record is in the words of Jesus—“he came to himself.” And the next thing in the record is, when he came to himself, he thought of his father. And the next thing is that he said, “I will arise and go to my father.”SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.6

    Note the moment he came to himself, the first thought was of his father. And what, all this time, was the father’s attitude toward him? While that son was away, wasting his father’s substance and degrading himself in riotous living, thus lost to himself and to his father by his wrong choice, his father was still thinking of him, was still waiting for him, was still longing that he would come to himself, and come home. And when at last this son did come to himself, and think of his father’s house, and said to himself, “I will arise and go to my father,” even when “he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,” and when he saw him he “ran” to meet him with joyous welcome, caresses, and kisses.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.7

    What is that parable for? What does it tell?—It tells the heavenly Father’s attitude toward those who make a wrong use of the freedom which he has given to every soul. It tells the divine story of religious liberty. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as freedom. If it were not so, if God treated any creature otherwise than just that way, the word freedom would not express it, for it would not be freedom; for then the service might be of constraint, not willing, and so have the taint of bondage not the fragrance of freedom. Bear in mind that the freedom of which God is the Author and Giver is freedom indeed. Absolutely, infinitely, and eternally it is so. A. T. JONES.SOWA August 22, 1905, page 538.8

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