That goat must be perfect, without any blemish; thus foreshadowing how that all who are presented unto the Lord to be accepted as a part of the sacrifice of Jesus, and hence to become members of his body, must be perfect; and since man is imperfect himself something must be done for him in order to make him stand before the Lord Jehovah as perfect.  He must be justified.  Justification means to be made right with God.  This must all be done in the acceptable time of the Lord. (Isaiah 49:8; 61:2) Any one coming to the Lord Jesus with an honest desire to be presented to the Father in the acceptable year or time may be assured that he will not be cast out, because Jesus said:  “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out”. (John 6:37) He would not decline to present any genuine consecration before the heavenly Father.  Of course this consecration must be made before the person can be presented.

[331]Jehovah God is the great wise judge of the universe; and he sits to determine whether or not one thus presented is right or not.  “It is God that justifieth.”—­Romans 8:33.

[332]The steps essential now to justification, as shown by the Scriptures, briefly stated, are these:  (1) Faith in God and his promises, which is exercised and proven by making a surrender of ourselves to the Lord; (2) receiving the merit of Christ, and his presentation to the Father; and (3) the determination by Jehovah God that the one thus presented is right.  The following Scriptures show these points in the order named:  By faith are we justified (Romans 5:1); by the blood of Jesus are we justified (Romans 5:9); “It is God that justifieth”. (Romans 8:33) Christ Jesus is the great High Priest.  When we make a consecration of ourselves, then he presents us to the Father.  (John 6:37) But in order to make us acceptable or presentable to the Father, the merit of Jesus’ sacrifice must be imputed to us.  When he ascended on high, he deposited with Jehovah the ransom-price, the merit of his sacrifice, as we have seen, pictured by the blood.  The second step, then, is taken when Jesus imputes to the one thus coming to the Lord the merit of his sacrifice, which makes him presentable to the Father, Jehovah; then Jehovah, upon the merit, determines, as the great judge, that the one thus presented is right, is justified, and is acceptable as a part of the sacrifice of his beloved Son.  Thus Jehovah has been receiving sacrifices throughout the gospel age; but that acceptable year or time will soon pass, as indeed it is now passing.  —­Hebrews 3:13.

SPIRIT-BEGETTING