Verses 1-19 are taken from the Third Lecture on Faith
and verses 20-32 are taken from the Seventh Lecture on Faith
both of which were delivered at the School of the Prophets at Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835
1. An acquaintance with these attributes in the Divine Character is essentially necessary for the faith of any rational being to center in God for life and salvation:
2. God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in goodness.
3. God is a God of truth and cannot lie.
4. God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation, those who fear God and work righteousness are accepted of Him.
5. God is love.
6. The Divine Character changes not but is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same yesterday, today, and forever, and God’s course is one eternal round without variation.
Merciful, Gracious, Slow to Anger, Good
7. Unless God was merciful and gracious, slow to anger, long-suffering, and full of goodness, such is the weakness of human nature, and so great the frailties and imperfections of humanity, that unless they believed that these excellencies existed in the divine character, the faith necessary to salvation could not exist. Doubt would take the place of faith.
8. Those who know their weakness and liability to sin would be in constant doubt of salvation if not for the idea that the Divine Character is slow to anger, long-suffering, and of a forgiving disposition toward iniquity, transgression, and sin.
9. An idea of these facts does away with doubt and makes faith exceedingly strong.
Truthful, Honest
10. The idea that God is a God of truth and cannot lie is necessary to exercise faith in Him, for, without the idea that God is a God of truth and cannot lie, the confidence in His word necessary to exercise faith in Him could not exist.
11. But having the idea that God is not a man, in that he lies, empowers our minds to exercise faith in Him. No Respecter of Persons
12. It is also necessary that we have the idea that God is no respecter of persons, for despite the other ideas regarding the excellencies in the Divine Character, without this one, we could not exercise faith in God.
13. If God were a respecter of persons, we could not tell what our privileges were, nor how far we were authorized to exercise faith in Him, or whether we are authorized to do it at all, but all must be confusion.
14. But as soon as our minds are acquainted with the truth that God is no respecter of persons, we see that we have authority by faith to lay hold on to eternal life—the richest boon of heaven—and that everyone in every nation has an equal privilege.
Loving
15. And lastly, but no less important to the exercise of faith in God, is the idea that God is love; for without this one to influence them, all the other excellencies in the Divine Character could not have such powerful dominion over our minds.
16. But when the idea is planted in our minds that God is love, who cannot see the just ground that all people of every nation, kindred and tongue, have to exercise faith in God so as to obtain eternal life?
The Divine Character is Unchanging
17. In order to have faith in God, it is equally as necessary to have the idea that the Divine Character changes not.
18. Without the idea of unchangeableness in the character of the Deity, doubt would take the place of faith.
19. But with the idea that the Divine Character changes not, faith lays hold upon its excellencies with unshaken confidence, believing God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that God’s course is one eternal round.
Salvation is possessing the Divine Character
20. When people begin to live by faith, they begin to draw near to God; and when faith is perfected, they are like God.
21. And because God is saved, they are saved also; they will be in the same situation God is in because they have come to Him. When He appears, they shall be like Him, for they will see Him as He is.
22. Where shall we find a prototype into whose likeness we may be assimilated in order that we may be made partakers of life and salvation? Or, in other words, where shall we find a saved being?
23. For if we can find a saved being, we may ascertain that all others must be like that individual or they cannot be saved.
24. Christ is the prototype or standard of salvation. In other words, he is a saved being.
25. Christ is saved because he is a just and holy being. And if he were anything different from what he is, he would not be saved, for his salvation depends on his being precisely what he is and nothing else.
26. Salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power, and dominion which God possesses, and in nothing else; and no being can possess it but God or one like God.
27. Thus writes John in his first epistle: “Behold, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And any man that has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.” (1 John 1:13)
28. The Lord said unto Moses: “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
29. And Peter wrote: “But as he who has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written: ‘Be ye holy, for I am holy.’” (1st Peter 1:15-16)
30. And Christ taught: “Be ye perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
31. These teachings most clearly show unto us the nature of salvation and that when Christ proposed to save the human family, he proposed to make them like God, the great prototype of all saved beings.
32. For any portion of the human family to be assimilated into God’s likeness is to be saved.