It is through faith in Jesus Christ that the truth is accepted in the heart, and the human agent is purified and cleansed.... He has an abiding principle in the soul, that enables him to overcome temptation. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.”1 John 3:6. God has power to keep the soul that is in Christ who is under temptation....
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A mere profession of godliness is worthless. It is he that abideth in Christ that is a Christian.... Unless the mind of God becomes the mind of men, every effort to purify himself will be useless; for it is impossible to elevate man except through a knowledge of God. The outward gloss may be put on, and men may be as were the Pharisees whom Jesus describes as “whited sepulchres”(Matthew 23:27) full of corruption and dead men′s bones. But all the deformity of the soul is open to Him who judgeth righteously, and unless the truth is planted in the heart, it cannot control the life. Cleansing the outside of the cup will never make the vessel pure within. A nominal acceptance of truth is good as far as it goes, and the ability to give a reason for our faith is a good accomplishment, but if the truth does not go deeper than this, the soul will never be saved. The heart must be purified from all moral defilement (Letter 13, 1893).
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4 (Romans 3:20; see EGW comment on Galatians 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:14-16). Only Definition of Sin—“Sin is the transgression of the law.”1 John 3:4. This is the only definition of sin. Without the law there can be no transgression. “By the law is the knowledge of sin.”Romans 3:20. The standard of righteousness is exceeding broad, prohibiting every evil thing (Manuscript 27, 1899).
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4, 5. What Is the Justice of God?—The transgression of God′s law in a single instance, in the smallest particular, is sin. And the nonexecution of the penalty of that sin would be a crime in the divine administration. God is a judge, the avenger of justice, which is the habitation and foundation of His throne. He cannot dispense with His law, He cannot do away with its smallest item in order to meet and pardon sin. The rectitude and justice and moral excellence of the law must be maintained and vindicated before the heavenly universe and the worlds unfallen.
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What is the justice of God? It is the holiness of God in relation to sin. Christ bore the sins of the world in man′s behalf that the sinner might have another trial, with all the divine opportunities and advantages which God has provided in man′s behalf (Manuscript 145, 1897).
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8 (see EGW comment on Genesis 6:3). Simple Godliness Not Shallowness—John bears testimony of Christ, the giver of the Word, saying, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”1 John 3:8. In the simplest language John sets before us true practical godliness. This simplicity does not show shallowness, but depth. John is speaking to real men and women, and the Holy Spirit directed him to write in such a way that they would be brought in contact with a real, living God. He shows us what God is doing, and what man must do to meet God′s requirements. John does not present the truth hesitatingly, but in a decided manner. He speaks positively [1 John 1:1-7 quoted] (The Signs of the Times, January 11, 1899).
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1 (Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 7:15, 16; 24:11, 23, 24; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 4:1; see EGW comment on Colossians 2:8; Revelation 1:1, 2). Beware of False Prophets—In these days of peril we are not to accept everything that men bring to us as truth. As professed teachers from God come to us declaring that they have a message from God, it is proper to inquire carefully, How do we know that this is truth? Jesus has told us that “false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.”Matthew 24:11. But we need not be deceived; for the Word of God gives us a test whereby we may know what is truth. The prophet says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”Isaiah 20:8.
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From this statement it is evident that it becomes us to be diligent Bible students, that we may know what is according to the law and the testimony. We are safe in no other course of action. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep′s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits”(Matthew 7:15) (The Review and Herald, February 23, 1892).
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In these days of delusion, every one who is established in the truth will have to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Every variety of error will be brought out in the mysterious working of Satan, which would, if it were possible, deceive the very elect, and turn them from the truth....
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There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”Isaiah 8:20. If they belittle the law of God, if they pay no heed to His will as revealed in the testimonies of His Spirit, they are deceivers. They are controlled by impulse and impressions which they believe to be from the Holy Spirit and consider more reliable than the Inspired Word. They claim that every thought and feeling is an impression of the Spirit; and when they are reasoned with out of the Scriptures, they declare that they have something more reliable. But while they think that they are led by the Spirit of God, they are in reality following an imagination wrought upon by Satan (BE September, 1886).
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(Acts 20:30, 31.) I would say to our dear brethren who have been so eager to accept everything that came in the form of visions and dreams, Beware that you be not ensnared. Read the warnings that have been given by the world′s Redeemer to His disciples to be given again by them to the world. The Word of God is solid rock, and we may plant our feet securely upon it. Every soul must needs be tested, every faith and doctrine must needs be tried by the law and the testimony. Take heed that no man deceive you. The warnings of Christ on this matter are needed at this time; for delusions and deceptions will come in among us, and will multiply as we near the end.
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“Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember.”Acts 20:30. Bear in mind that trials of this character are to come upon us, not only from without, but from within our own ranks. Our individual safety is in entire consecration to God (Manuscript 27, 1894).
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7, 8 (1 Peter 1:22). Working With Love—Pure love is simple in its operations, and separate from every other principle of action. When combined with earthly motives and selfish interests, it ceases to be pure. God considers more with how much love we work, than the amount we do. Love is a heavenly attribute. The natural heart cannot originate it. This heavenly plant only flourishes where Christ reigns supreme. Where love exists, there is power and truth in the life. Love does good and nothing but good. Those who have love bear fruit unto holiness, and in the end everlasting life (The Youth′s Instructor, January 13, 1898).
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9 (Isaiah 49:24, 25). Christ′s Right to Free the Captives—What right had Christ to take the captives out of the enemy′s hands?—the right of having made a sacrifice that satisfies the principles of justice by which the kingdom of heaven is governed. He came to this earth as the Redeemer of the lost race, to conquer the wily foe, and, by His steadfast allegiance to right, to save all who accept Him as their Saviour. On the cross of Calvary He paid the redemption price of the race. And thus He gained the right to take the captives from the grasp of the great deceiver, who, by a lie framed against the government of God, caused the fall of man, and thus forfeited all claim to be called a loyal subject of God′s glorious everlasting kingdom (The Signs of the Times, September 30, 1903).
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