Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 21.

Those who hear from the lips of Christ the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant,” will be heroic ministers of righteousness. They may never preach a discourse from the pulpit, but loyal to a sense of God’s claims upon them and jealous of His honor, they will minister to the souls who are the purchase of Christ’s blood. They will see the necessity of carrying into their work a willing mind, an earnest spirit, and a hearty, unselfish zeal. They will not study how best they can preserve their own dignity, but by care and thoughtfulness will seek to win the hearts of those whom they serve….

The apostle Paul urges upon us the advantages placed within our reach. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,” he says, “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” We are to separate from the world in spirit and practice if we would become sons and daughters of God. In His prayer for His followers, Christ asked, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

There is earnest work before each one of us. Right thoughts, pure and holy purposes, do not come to us naturally. We shall have to strive for them…. Those who are under the control of the Spirit of God will not seek their own pleasure or amusement. If Christ presides in the hearts of the members of His church, they will answer to the call, “Come out from among them, and be ye separate.” Partake not of her sin.

God has a work for His faithful sentinels to do in standing in defense of the truth. They are to warn and entreat, showing their faith by their works. They are to stand as did Noah, in noble, whole-souled fidelity, their characters untarnished by the evil around them. They are to be saviors of humanity, as Christ was. Workers who thus stand true to their trust will be exposed to hatred and reproach. False accusations will be brought against them to drag them from their high position. But they have their foundation upon the Rock, and they remain unmoved, warning, entreating, rebuking sin and pleasure-loving by their own moral rectitude and circumspect lives.—The Review and Herald, November 28, 1899.

From From the Heart

Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24.

God is waiting to see revealed in His people a faith that works by love and purifies the soul; for this alone will fit them for the future, immortal life. There is a great work to be accomplished and little time in which to do it. The cause needs converted, devoted men and women who will make the Lord their dependence. Through such workers the Lord will reveal the power of His grace….

My brethren and sisters, let the truth of God abide in your heart by a living, holy faith. Bible truth must be comprehended before it can convict the conscience and convert the life. The remnant people of God must be a converted people. The presentation of this message is to result in the conversion and sanctification of souls. We are to feel the power of the Spirit of God in this movement. This is a wonderful, definite message; it means everything to the receiver, and it is to be proclaimed with a loud cry. We must have true, eternal faith that this message will go forth with increasing importance to the close of time.

Christ desires to see His likeness reflected in every renewed soul. Those who continue meek and lowly in heart, He will make laborers together with God. Our spiritual conflicts might often be called our spiritual rebellions. It is the heart’s lack of submission to the will of God that so often brings us into difficulty. We want our own way, and this often means rebellion against God’s way. We need to do as Christ did—wrestle with the Father in prayer for strength and for power to make Him known in our words and actions….

To do the Master’s bidding and to promote His work in the earth should be the one aim and purpose of our lives. Then there would be an upward growth, and the Holy Spirit would work upon the heart to transform the character. A generous spirit would be revealed in kindness and tender regard for others. Self would be hid with Christ in God. Beholding the character of Christ, we would become changed into His likeness.

Let us forsake self and accept Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. Faith in Him is the only valuable science. He is the living representative of perfect obedience to the eternal Word.—The Review and Herald, August 26, 1909.

From From the Heart

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18.

Christ “loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

When God gave His Son to the world, He made it possible for men and women to be perfect by the use of every capability of their beings to the glory of God. In Christ He gave to them the riches of His grace and a knowledge of His will….

The church is yet militant in a world that is apparently in midnight darkness, and growing worse and worse. While the requirements of a plain “Thus saith the Lord” remain unheeded by the worldly element in the church, the voices of God’s faithful servants are to be strengthened to give the solemn message of warning. The works that should characterize the church militant and the works of the church that has had the light of truth for this time do not correspond. The Lord calls upon church members to clothe themselves with the beautiful garments of Christ’s righteousness….

God needs men and women who will work in the simplicity of Christ to bring the knowledge of truth before those who need its converting power. The message of Christ’s righteousness must be proclaimed from one end of the earth to the other. Our people are to be aroused to prepare the way of the Lord. The third angel’s message—the last message of mercy to a perishing world—is so sacred, so glorious. Let the truth go forth as a lamp that burneth. Mysteries into which angels desired to look, which prophets and kings and the righteous desired to know, the church of God is to make known.

Christ’s wonderful sacrifice for the world testifies to the fact that men and women may be rescued from iniquity. If they will break with Satan and confess their sins, there is hope for them. People—sinful, blinded, wretched—may repent and be converted and day by day be forming a character like the character of Christ. Human beings may be reclaimed, regenerated, and may learn to live before the world precious, Christlike lives.—The Review and Herald, April 22, 1909.

From From the Heart

The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory. Psalm 64:10.

This scripture will be literally fulfilled. Everything is to be shaken that can be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. I am amazed as I consider the past, present, and future of the people of God. The Lord will have a pure, holy people—a people who will stand the test. All believers need now to search their hearts as with a lighted candle….

Before us is held out the wonderful possibility of being like Christ—obedient to all the principles of the law of God. But of ourselves we are utterly powerless to attain to this condition. All that is good in us comes to us through Christ. The holiness that God’s Word declares we must have before we can be saved is the result of the working of divine grace as we bow in submission to the discipline and restraining influence of the Spirit of truth….

The work of transformation from unholiness to holiness is a continuous work. Day by day God labors for our sanctification, and we are to cooperate with Him by putting forth persevering efforts in the cultivation of right habits. The way in which we are to work out our own salvation is plainly specified in the first chapter of Second Peter. Constantly we are to add grace to grace, and as we do this, God will work for us upon the plan of multiplication. He is always ready to hear and answer the prayer of the contrite heart, and grace and peace are multiplied to His faithful ones. Gladly He grants them the blessings that they need in their struggle against the evils that beset them. Those who listen to the counsels of His Word shall not want any good thing….

God will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him. He desires us to remember that when we are humble and contrite, we stand where He can and will manifest Himself to us. He is well pleased when we urge past mercies and blessings as a reason why He should bestow on us higher and greater blessings. He is honored when we love Him and bear testimony to the genuineness of our love by keeping His commandments. He is honored when we set apart the seventh day as sacred and holy. To those who do this, the Sabbath is a sign, “that they might know,” God declares, “that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Sanctification means habitual communion with God. There is nothing so great and powerful as God’s love for those who are His children.—The Review and Herald, March 15, 1906.

From From the Heart

After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. Revelation 18:1.

We see before us a special work to be done. We are now to pray as never before for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Let us seek the Lord with the whole heart, that we may find Him. We have received the light of the three angels’ messages; and we need now to come decidedly to the front and take our position on the side of truth….

The saving knowledge of God will accomplish its purifying work on the mind and heart of every believer. The Word declares: “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean….” This is the descent of the Holy Spirit, sent from God to do its office work. The house of Israel is to be imbued with the Holy Spirit and baptized with the grace of salvation.

Amid the confusing cries, “Lo, here is Christ! Lo, there is Christ!” will be borne a special testimony, a special message of truth appropriate for this time, which message is to be received, believed, and acted upon…. The eternal truth of the Word will stand forth free from all seductive errors and spiritualistic interpretations, free from all fancifully drawn, alluring pictures. Falsehoods will be urged upon the attention of God’s people, but the truth is to stand clothed in its beautiful, pure garments. The Word, precious in its holy, uplifting influence, is not to be degraded to a level with common, ordinary matters. It is always to remain uncontaminated by the fallacies by which Satan seeks to deceive, if possible, the very elect.

The proclamation of the gospel is the only means in which God can employ human beings as His instrumentalities for the salvation of souls. As men, women, and children proclaim the gospel, the Lord will open the eyes of the blind to see His statutes and will write upon the hearts of the truly penitent His law. The animating Spirit of God, working through human agencies, leads the believers to be of one mind, one soul, unitedly loving God and keeping His commandments—preparing here below for translation….

Let the work of proclaiming the gospel of Christ be made efficient by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Let not one believer, in the day of trial and proving that has already begun, listen to the devising of the enemy. The living Word is the sword of the Spirit. Mercies and judgments will be sent from heaven. The working of providence will be revealed both in mercies and in judgments.—The Review and Herald, October 13, 1904.

From From the Heart