Page 361 - Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students (1913)

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Failure to Study God’s Word
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world it is thrown aside as if the perusal of it were finished, but a
thousand years of research would not exhaust the hidden treasure
it contains. Eternity alone will disclose the wisdom of this Book,
for it is the wisdom of an infinite mind. Shall we, then, cultivate a
deep hunger for the productions of human authors and disregard the
word of God? It is this longing for something they never ought to
crave that makes men substitute for true knowledge that which can
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never make them wise unto salvation. Let not man’s assertions be
regarded as truth when they are contrary to the word of God.
The Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Source of all wis-
dom, is second to none. But supposedly great authors, whose works
are used as textbooks for study, are received and glorified, though
they have no vital connection with God. By such study man has
been led into forbidden paths. Minds have been wearied to death
through unnecessary work in trying to obtain that which is to them
as the knowledge which Adam and Eve disobeyed God in obtaining.
Today young men and women spend years in acquiring an edu-
cation which is as wood and stubble, to be consumed in the last great
conflagration. Upon such an education God places no value. Many
students leave school unable to receive the word of God with the
reverence and respect which they gave it before they entered. Their
faith has been eclipsed in the effort to excel in the various studies.
The Bible has not been made a vital matter in their education, but
books tainted with infidelity and propagating unsound theories have
been placed before them.
All unnecessary matters should be weeded from the courses of
study, and only such studies placed before the student as will be of
real value to him. With these alone he needs to become familiar,
that he may secure the life which measures with the life of God.
As the mind is summoned to the consideration of the great themes
of salvation, it will rise higher and higher in the comprehension of
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these subjects, leaving cheap and insignificant matters behind.
An Illustration
What was it that made John the Baptist great? He closed his
mind to the mass of tradition presented by the teachers of the Jewish
nation, and opened it to the wisdom which comes from above. Before