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Testimonies for the Church Volume 6
great light and wonderful opportunities follow in the trend of those
who rejected light to their ruin?
Many today have veils upon their faces. These veils are sympathy
with the customs and practices of the world, which hide from them the
glory of the Lord. God desires us to keep our eyes fixed upon Him,
that we may lose sight of the things of this world.
As the truth is brought into practical life, the standard is to be
elevated higher and higher to meet the requirements of the Bible. This
will necessitate opposition to the fashions, customs, practices, and
maxims of the world. Worldly influences, like the waves of the sea,
beat against the followers of Christ to sweep them away from the true
principles of His meekness and grace; but we are to stand as firm as a
rock to principle. It will require moral courage to do this, and those
whose souls are not riveted to the eternal Rock will be swept away
by the worldly current. We can stand firm only as our life is hid with
Christ in God. Moral independence is wholly in place when opposing
the world. By conforming entirely to the will of God, we shall be
placed upon vantage ground, and shall see the necessity of decided
separation from the customs and practices of the world.
We are not to elevate our standard just a little above the world’s
standard, but we are to make the distinction decidedly apparent. The
reason we have had so little influence upon unbelieving relatives and
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associates is that there has been so little decided difference between
our practices and those of the world.
Many teachers permit their minds to take too narrow and low a
range. They do not keep the divine plan ever in view, but are fixing
their eyes upon worldly models. Look up, “where Christ sitteth on the
right hand of God,” and then labor that your pupils may be conformed
to His perfect character. Point the youth to Peter’s ladder of eight
rounds, and place their feet, not on the highest round, but on the
lowest, and with earnest solicitation urge them to climb to the very
top.
Christ, who connects earth with heaven, is the ladder. The base is
planted firmly on the earth in His humanity; the topmost round reaches
to the throne of God in His divinity. The humanity of Christ embraces
fallen humanity, while His divinity lays hold upon the throne of God.
We are saved by climbing round after round of the ladder, looking
to Christ, clinging to Christ, mounting step by step to the height of