Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Rom. 3:31.

There is widespread deception and misunderstanding as to the relation of the law and the gospel. There is a way of interpreting the love of God that fosters deception and leads to continuance in sin. The claims of Christ are ignored.

The religion of some people exhausts itself in amens and hallelujahs. Isolate them from the electricity of certain crowded assemblies and passionate appeals, and their spiritual fervor and devotion evaporate.

Let God's remnant people be aware that no amount of religious enthusiasm can make right any departure from the will of God. We have chosen the moral and spiritual life of our Lord. We have determined to tread the path of obedience under God, regardless of whether we have to do it alone. In reality we can say, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And having thee, I desire nothing else on earth" (Ps. 73:25, N.E.B.).

Let us cleave to Him when the pulse beats low, when the feelings are depressed and things do not go so well. He will never forsake us. His presence is our joy. Let His approval, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" (Rev. 22:14), be our exceeding great reward.

There is no guarantee that in the end we shall not have to stand alone. In spite of isolation and solitude on the earth, if we have to take that kind of stand, we can know that Morally and spiritually we are one with Christ, that we are never alone.

The Holy Spirit is the key both to our obedience and to our oneness with God. There is no way to interpret this as legalism. By the power of the Spirit our lives are patterned after our Lord. The desire to keep the commandments as an expression of our oneness with God is neither impossible nor hopeless. The experience of living in harmony with Christ distinguishes us from those who refuse to obey God's commandments. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. . . . And his commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:2, 3).