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Battlefield of the Soul, August 30
As for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before
thy face for ever.
Psalm 41:12
.
Some regard sin as altogether so light a matter that they have no defense
against its indulgence or consequence.... With some ... , religion is purely
a thing of feeling. You will see a fair show of fervor and devotedness for
a time, but soon a change comes.... They want a sip of the pleasure of
excitement—the ballroom, the dance, and the show....
If you suppose for a moment that God will treat sin lightly or make
provisions or exemptions so that you can go on in committing sin, and
the soul suffer no penalty for thus doing, it is a terrible delusion of Satan.
Any willful violation of the righteous law of Jehovah exposes your soul
to the full assaults of Satan. When you lose your conscious integrity your
soul becomes a battlefield for Satan. You have doubts and fears enough to
paralyze your energies and drive you to discouragement. The favor of God
is gone. Some ... have tried to supply its place and seek compensation for
the loss of the Holy Spirit’s witness that you are a child of God, in worldly
excitement in the society of worldlings. In short, you have plunged deeper
into sin....
Remember that temptation is not sin. Remember that however trying the
circumstances in which a man may be placed, nothing can really weaken
his soul so long as he does not yield to temptation but maintains his own
integrity. The interests most vital to you individually are in your own
keeping. No one can damage them without your consent. All the satanic
legions cannot injure you unless you open your soul to the arrows of Satan.
As long as you are firm to do right, your ruin can never take place. If there
is not pollution of mind in yourself, all the surrounding pollution cannot
taint and defile you.
Eternal life is worth everything to us or it is worth nothing. Those
only who put forth persevering effort and untiring zeal with intense desire
proportionate to the object they are in pursuit of, will gain that life that
measures with the life of God
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Manuscript 70, 1894
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