If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.

All are fallible, all make mistakes and fall into sin; but if the wrongdoer is willing to see his errors, as they are made plain by the convicting Spirit of God, and in humility of heart will confess them …, then he may be restored….

The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love Him will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life. The time is at hand when every secret thing shall be brought into judgment, and then there will be many confessions made that will astonish the world. The secrets of all hearts will be revealed. The confession of sin will be most public. The sad part of it is that confession then made will be too late to benefit the wrongdoer or to save others from deception. It only testifies that his condemnation is just…. You may now close the book of your remembrance in order to escape confessing your sins, but when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, you cannot close them. The recording angel has testified that which is true. All that you have tried to conceal and forget is registered, and will be read to you when it is too late for wrongs to be righted…. Unless your sins are canceled, they will testify against you at that day.^{29The Review and Herald, December 16, 1890.}

The prophet Daniel was drawing very near to God when he was seeking Him with confession and humiliation of soul. He did not try to excuse himself or his people, but acknowledged the full extent of their transgression. In their behalf he confessed sins of which he himself was not guilty, and besought the mercy of God, that he might bring his brethren to see their sins….

To all who seek Him with true repentance God gives the assurance: “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” (Isaiah 44:22).^30Ibid.

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That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24.

Provision has been made whereby every soul that is struggling under sinful practices may be made free from sin. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The Christian is not to retain his sinful habits and cherish his defects of character, but he is to be renewed in the spirit of his mind after the divine similitude. Whatever may be the nature of your defects, the Spirit of the Lord will enable you to discern them, and grace will be given you whereby they may be overcome. Through the merits of the blood of Christ you may be a conqueror—yes, more than a conqueror….

Ask the Lord to reveal to you yourself; place your life under His searching eye, and when He lays hold upon your case you will see that you have made grievous mistakes, and what you supposed was of little importance was offensive in the sight of Heaven. You will see that there is a decided need of thorough transformation of character. You will realize that you must put away the evil of your doings, and cooperate with God and heavenly angels who are sent to minister unto those who shall be heirs of salvation….

Self must die. Every practice, every habit, that has a harmful tendency, however innocent it may be regarded by the world, must be battled with until overcome, that the human agent may perfect a character after the divine Pattern….

The crooked ways, the perverse doings of those around us, are not to dim the luster of our piety or to lead us to conform our habits to, and assimilate our customs and practices with, the world’s. Let the prayer go forth from the lips of those who claim to be the sons and daughters of God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23, 24).^{28The Youth’s Instructor, June 7, 1894.}

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Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22.

I long to address the young men and women who are so willing to reach only cheap standards. O that the Lord might influence their minds to see what perfection of character is! O that they might know the faith that works by love and purifies the soul! We are living in days of peril. Christ alone can help us and give us the victory. Christ must be all in all to us; He must dwell in the heart; His life must circulate through us, as the blood circulates through the veins. His Spirit must be a vitalizing power.^{25The Youth’s Instructor, October 31, 1895.}

It is anything but wise, my young friends, to seek your own pleasure, to sow a crop of tares in foolish, sinful actions, which will not only lead others to do the same but will bring forth a bitter harvest for your own reaping. The Lord says: “… Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7, 8). Youth is the sowing time, and the words and deeds of the early life are like seeds that will germinate and produce a harvest after their kind. Then why not sow seeds of kindness, of love, of faith, of patience, of self-denial, and true benevolence, and keep all your passions under control? Such sowing will produce a harvest after its kind. Let every word and deed be a seed that will result in good fruit.

If you seek the help and grace of God, the Holy Spirit will take possession of mind and character and work in you that which you can work out with all safety to yourself, and with all benefit to others…. The atmosphere that surrounds your soul will be of a pure, healthful character.^{26The Youth’s Instructor, September 26, 1895.}

The Lord loves the youth. He sees in them great possibilities, and is ready to help them to reach a high standard if they will only realize the need of His help and lay a foundation of character that cannot be moved.^{27The Youth’s Instructor, January 18, 1894.}

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I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts. Isaiah 65:2.

The Lord God through Christ holds out His hand all the day long in invitations to the needy. He will receive all. He welcomes all. He rejects none. It is His glory to pardon the chief of sinners. He will take the prey from the mighty, He will deliver the captive, He will pluck the brand from the burning. He will lower the golden chain of His mercy to the greatest depths of human wretchedness and guilt and lift up the debased soul contaminated with sin. But man must will to come, and cooperate in the work of saving his soul by availing himself of opportunities given him of God. The Lord forces no one. The spotless wedding robe of Christ’s righteousness is prepared to clothe the sinner, but if he refuses it he must perish.^{23Letter 22, 1892.}

The record of the past can be blotted out with His [Christ’s] blood, the page made clean and white. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18)….

The words falling from the lips of Jesus, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2), are worth everything to us. He saith, I have borne your sins in My own body on Calvary’s cross. He sees your sorrows. His hand is laid upon the head of every contrite soul, and Jesus becomes our Advocate before the Father, and our Saviour. The lowly, contrite heart will make very much of forgiveness and pardon….

We may repeat His tender compassion for us to others who are wandering in the mazes of sin. The grace of Christ revealed to us must be tenderly revealed to others. A great tenderness and compassion will fill the soul for human beings who are still under the control of Satan. Christ is to be multiplied in every man and woman who believes in Him, for they are to live over the life of Christ in blessing and enlightening and bringing hope and peace and joy to other hearts.^{24Letter 120, 1893.}

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Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:13.

In every place, at every hour in the day, there is a holy Watcher who balances every account, whose eye takes in the whole situation, whether it is one of fidelity or one of disloyalty and deception.

We are never alone. We have a Companion whether we choose Him or not. Remember, young men and young women, that wherever you are, whatever you are doing, God is there. To your every word and action you have a witness—the holy, sin-hating God. Nothing that is said or done or thought can escape His infinite eye. Your words may not be heard by human ears, but they are heard by the Ruler of the universe. He reads the inward anger of the soul when the will is crossed. He hears the expression of profanity. In the deepest darkness and solitude He is there. No one can deceive God; none can escape from their accountability to Him.

“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me,” writes the psalmist. “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways…. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139:1-12).

Day by day the record of your words, your actions, and your influence is being made in the books of heaven. This you must meet.^{21The Youth’s Instructor, May 26, 1898.}

All heaven is interested in our salvation. The angels of God are … marking the deeds of men. They record in the books of God’s remembrance the words of faith, the acts of love, the humility of spirit, and in that day when every man’s work shall be tried of what sort it is, the work of the humble follower of Christ will stand the test, and will receive the commendation of Heaven. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).^{22The Review and Herald, September 16, 1890.}

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