As the year closed, a message came, pointing clearly and positively to the only remedy for the evils so earnestly and repeatedly set before us during the entire year. That remedy, we are told, is union with Christ Jesus the Lord. COR 33.1
“There is a wide difference between a pretended union and a real connection with Christ by faith. A profession of religion places men in the church, but this does not prove that they have a vital connection with the living vine.... When this intimacy of connection of communion is formed, our sins are laid upon Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us. He was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. COR 33.2
“The power of evil is so identified with human nature that no man can overcome except by union with Christ. Through this union we receive moral and spiritual power. If we have the Spirit of Christ, we shall bring forth the fruit of righteousness.... COR 33.3
“A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last, and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a relation of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being. All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have a change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles. There must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness,-sin in all its forms-must be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.”-The Review and Herald, December 13, 1887. COR 33.4
This message takes us into the very heart of the gospel-union with Christ. No man can overcome sin except by this union. By union with Christ, our sins are laid upon Him, and His righteousness is imputed to us. This is reality, not form nor ceremony. It is not church membership, nor assent of the intellect to theory and dogma. Union with Christ is a satisfying reality in all that pertains to the Christian life. In this lies our security. This was our great need in 1887, and to lead us into that experience the Lord sent the message of Righteousness by Faith. COR 34.1