Faithfulness in Health Reform
301
There are some professed believers who accept certain portions of
the Testimonies as the message of God, while they reject those portions
that condemn their favorite indulgences. Such persons are working
contrary to their own welfare and the welfare of the church. It is
essential that we walk in the light while we have the light. Those who
claim to believe in health reform, and yet work counter to its principles
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in the daily life practice, are hurting their own souls and are leaving
wrong impressions upon the minds of believers and unbelievers.
Strength Through Obedience
A solemn responsibility rests upon those who know the truth, that
all their works shall correspond with their faith, and that their lives
shall be refined and sanctified, and they be prepared for the work that
must rapidly be done in these closing days of the message. They
have no time or strength to spend in the indulgence of appetite. The
words should come to us now with impelling earnestness: “Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Acts
3:19
. There are many among us who are deficient in spirituality and
who, unless they are wholly converted, will certainly be lost. Can you
afford to run the risk?
God requires of His people continual advancement. We need
to learn that indulged appetite is the greatest hindrance to mental
improvement and soul sanctification. With all our profession of health
reform, many of us eat improperly. Indulgence of appetite is the
greatest cause of physical and mental debility, and lies largely at the
foundation of feebleness and premature death. Let the individual who
is seeking to possess purity of spirit bear in mind that in Christ there
is power to control the appetite.
If we could be benefited by indulging the desire for flesh foods, I
would not make this appeal to you; but I know we cannot. Flesh foods
are injurious to the physical well-being, and we should learn to do
without them. Those who are in a position where it is possible to secure
a vegetarian diet, but who choose to follow their own preferences in
this matter, eating and drinking as they please, will gradually grow
careless of the instruction the Lord has given regarding other phases