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A New Life (Revival and Beyond)
Study carefully the warning drawn from the lesson in Peter’s life.
Read it in its full context and in conjunction with the similar state-
ment that follows. You will find the perplexing passage to be self-
explanatory. Our Lord would have each Christian rejoice freely in his
salvation, the salvation he enjoys daily. And when asked, “Are you
saved?” He can with assurance answer yes. He will explain that this
experience is one that results in constant dependence on God and in
daily Christian growth.—White Trustees.
] This is misleading. Every
one should be taught to cherish hope and faith; but even when we give
ourselves to Christ and know that He accepts us, we are not beyond
the reach of temptation. God’s Word declares, “Many shall be purified,
and made white, and tried” (
Daniel 12:10
). Only he who endures the
trial will receive the crown of life (
James 1:12
).
Those who accept Christ, and in their first confidence say, I am
saved, are in danger of trusting to themselves. They lose sight of their
own weakness and their constant need of divine strength. They are
unprepared for Satan’s devices, and under temptation many, like Peter,
fall into the very depths of sin. We are admonished, “Let him that
thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall” (
1 Corinthians 10:12
). Our
only safety is in constant distrust of self, and dependence on Christ.
[
Christ’s Object Lessons, 154, 155
.]
Never Be “Satisfied”
There are many who profess Christ, but who never become ma-
[42]
ture Christians. They admit that man is fallen, that his faculties are
weakened, that he is unfitted for moral achievement, but they say that
Christ has borne all the burden, all the suffering, all the self-denial,
and they are willing to let Him bear it. They say that there is nothing
for them to do but to believe; but Christ said, “If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”
(
Matthew 16:24
). Jesus kept the commandments of God....
We are never to rest in a satisfied condition, and cease to make
advancement, saying, “I am saved.” When this idea is entertained,
the motives for watchfulness, for prayer, for earnest endeavor to press
onward to higher attainments, cease to exist. No sanctified tongue will
be found uttering these words till Christ shall come, and we enter in
through the gates into the city of God. Then, with the utmost propriety,