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Mind, Character, and Personality Volume 2
by the streams that flow from the throne of God.—
The Ministry of
Healing, 251-253
(1905).
Mind Has Power of Choice—God has given us the power of
choice; it is ours to exercise. We cannot change our hearts, we cannot
control our thoughts, our impulses, our affections. We cannot make
ourselves pure, fit for God’s service. But we can choose to serve God,
we can give Him our will; then He will work in us to will and to do
according to His good pleasure. Thus our whole nature will be brought
under the control of Christ.—
The Ministry of Healing, 176
(1905).
The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control
minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent,
faith must let go its hold upon Christ, before Satan can exercise his
power upon us. But every sinful desire we cherish affords him a
foothold. Every point in which we fail of meeting the divine standard
is an open door by which he can enter to tempt and destroy us. And
every failure or defeat on our part gives occasion for him to reproach
Christ.—
The Desire of Ages, 125
(1898).
Man a Free Moral Agent—To stir up rebellion in the fallen race,
he [Satan] now represented God as unjust in having permitted man to
transgress His law. “Why,” said the artful tempter, “when God knew
what would be the result, did He permit man to be placed on trial, to
sin, and bring in misery and death?”
[421]
There are thousands today echoing the same rebellious complaint
against God. They do not see that to deprive man of the freedom of
choice would be to rob him of his prerogative as an intelligent being
and make him a mere automaton. It is not God’s purpose to coerce
the will. Man was created a free moral agent. Like the inhabitants of
all other worlds, he must be subjected to the test of obedience; but he
is never brought into such a position that yielding to evil becomes a
matter of necessity. No temptation or trial is permitted to come to him
which he is unable to resist. God made such ample provision that man
need never have been defeated in the conflict with Satan.—
Patriarchs
and Prophets, 331, 332
(1890).
Present Affects Future Decisions—Your entire future will be
influenced for good or for evil by the path you now choose.—Lt 41,
1891.
Advantage of Leading to Self-dependence—God never de-
signed that one human mind should be under the complete control