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The True Standard of Character, October 21
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
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There is divine grace for all who will accept it, yet there is something
for us to do.... There is a work for us to do to fit ourselves for the society
of angels. We must be like Jesus, free from the defilement of sin. He was
all that He requires us to be; He was a perfect pattern for childhood, for
youth, for manhood. We must study the Pattern more closely.
Jesus was the Majesty of heaven, yet He condescended to take little
children in His arms and bless them. He whom angels adore listened with
tenderest love to their lisping, prattling praise. We must be like Him in
noble dignity, while our hearts are softened and subdued by the divine love
that dwelt in the heart of Christ....
We have a work to do to fashion the character after the divine Model.
All wrong habits must be given up. The impure must become pure in heart,
the selfish man must put away his selfishness, the proud man must get rid
of his pride, the self-sufficient man must overcome his self-confidence and
realize that he is nothing without Christ....
We need to be anchored in Christ, rooted and grounded in the faith.
Satan works through agents. He selects those who have not been drinking
of the living waters, whose souls are athirst for something new and strange,
and who are ever ready to drink at any fountain that may present itself.
Voices will be heard, saying, “Lo, here is Christ,” or “Lo there,” but we
must believe them not. We have unmistakable evidence of the voice of
the True Shepherd, and He is calling upon us to follow Him. He says, “I
have kept my Father’s commandments.” He leads His sheep in the path of
humble obedience to the law of God, but He never encourages them in the
transgression of that law....
None need be deceived. The law of God is as sacred as His throne, and
by it every man who cometh into the world is to be judged. There is no
other standard by which to test character
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The Review and Herald, November 17, 1885
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310