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Counsels on Health
then begin their artful work of drawing away souls from the path of
rectitude, by attempting to make void the law of God.
When ministers thus take advantage of the confidence the people
place in them and lead souls to ruin, they make themselves as much
more guilty than the common sinner as their profession is higher.
In the day of God, when the great Ledger of Heaven is opened, it
will be found to contain the names of many ministers who have made
pretensions to purity of heart and life and professed to be entrusted with
the gospel of Christ, but who have taken advantage of their position to
allure souls to transgress the law of God ....
If the society of a man of impure mind and licentious habits is
chosen in preference to that of the virtuous and pure, it is a sure
indication that the tastes and inclinations harmonize, that a low level
of morals is reached. This level is called by these deceived, infatuated
souls, a high and holy affinity of spirit—a spiritual harmony. But the
apostle terms it “spiritual wickedness in high places,” against which
we are to institute a vigorous warfare.
When the deceiver commences his work of deception, he fre-
quently finds dissimilarity of tastes and habits, but by great pretensions
to godliness he gains the confidence, and when this is done, his wily,
deceptive power is exercised in his own way, to carry out his devices.
By associating with this dangerous element, women become accus-
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tomed to breathe the atmosphere of impurity and almost insensibly
become permeated with the same spirit. Their identity is lost; they
become the shadow of their seducer.
Hypocritical Reformers
Men professing to have new light, claiming to be reformers, will
have great influence over a certain class who are convinced of the
heresies that exist in the present age and who are not satisfied with
the spiritual condition of the churches. With true, honest hearts, these
desire to see a change for the better, a coming up to a higher standard.
If the faithful servants of Christ would present the truth, pure and
unadulterated, to this class, they would accept it and purify themselves
by obeying it. But Satan, ever vigilant, sets upon the track of these
inquiring souls. Someone making high profession as a reformer comes