A Decided Reformation Needed
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on
him that sent me, hath everlasting life. John 5:24.
Just as long as you allow pride to dwell in your hearts, so long will you
lack power in your work. For years a wrong spirit has been cherished, a
spirit of pride, a desire for preeminence. In this Satan is served, and God
is dishonored. The Lord calls for a decided reformation. . . . Let [a truly
reconverted soul] renew his covenant with God, and God will renew His
covenant with him. . . . Let angels and men see that there is forgiveness of
sin with God. Extraordinary power from God must take hold of Seventh-day
Adventist churches. Reconversion must take place among the members, that as
God's witnesses they may testify to the authoritative power of the truth
that sanctifies the soul. Renewed, purified, sanctified, the church must be,
else the wrath of God will fall upon them with much greater power than upon
those who have never professed to be saints. }
Those who are sanctified through the truth will show that the truth has
worked a reformation in their lives, that it is preparing them for
translation into the heavenly world. But as long as pride and envy and
evil-surmising predominate in the life, Christ does not rule in the heart.
His love is not in the soul. In the lives of those who are partakers of the
divine nature there is a crucifixion of the haughty, self-sufficient spirit
that leads to self-exaltation. In its place the Spirit of Christ abides, and
in the life the fruits of the Spirit appear. Having the mind of Christ, His
followers reveal the graces of His character.
Nothing short of this will make men acceptable to God. Nothing short of this
will give them the pure, holy character that those must have who are
admitted to heaven. As soon as a man puts on Christ, an evidence of the
change wrought in him is seen in spirit and word and act. A heavenly
atmosphere surrounds his soul; for Christ is abiding within.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you," Christ declared, "He that believeth on me
hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). Oh, how few there are who reveal in
their lives the principles of this life! They profess to believe the most
sacred truth ever given to mortals, but in their lives they dishonor God. He
that "eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is
drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in
me, and I in him" (verses 54-56) . . . It behooves us to live in the fear
and love of God. God is supreme, and He cooperates with those who represent
Christ in life and character, those who are kind, thoughtful, self-denying,
and self-sacrificing. Christ says, "If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:14) (letter
63, 1903).
>From Lift Him Up - Page 301
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