Words to Students
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heavenly agents in seeking to draw souls away from that which is
foolish, low, and frivolous. The followers of Christ will not work on
the side of Satan to weaken faith in true religion, to deprave others
by casting about them an atmosphere which is ruinous to the morals
and the character. But we are sorry to say that even in our schools
there are persons who are Christians only in name. It will not take
a long acquaintance with these professors to ascertain that they are
successful agents of Satan. There are in our schools persons who
are corrupt at heart, who yet have a pleasing address, and who are
successful in fascinating a certain class of people, and before the un-
wary are aware of it, the influence of these persons has changed their
sentiments, and fashioned them after the objectionable characters of
these corrupt persons. But those who wear the garb of Christianity,
and yet who are governed by the fashions and maxims of the world,
are moral corrupters. They claim to be seeking heavenly treasures, but
the atmosphere with which their souls are surrounded is one that is
charged with a deadly spiritual miasma, and they should be shunned
by those who would remain unspotted by the world.
The youth who has discernment can readily see what kind of per-
sons these are, even though he lays no claim to Christianity; for he
knows that they are not Christlike. But shall he allow them to be as
stumblingblocks to him? He has a guidebook that describes those who
are on the Lord’s side. If he knows that their course is inconsistent with
a profession of Christianity, if he understands what it means to live a
godly life, he will be held accountable for the light and knowledge he
has. He will be responsible for doing the Master’s will, for showing
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to the world what is the true idea of Christianity—what it is to have a
Christlike life and character.
We have a powerful enemy, and not only does he hate every human
being made in the image of God, but with bitterest enmity he hates God
and His only-begotten Son Jesus Christ. When men give themselves
over to be the slaves of Satan, he does not manifest the enmity toward
them which he does to those who bear the name of Christ, and give
themselves to the service of God. He hates them with a deadly hatred.
He knows that he can grieve Jesus by bringing them under the power of
his deceptions, by injuring them, by weakening their faith, by making
them incapable of doing God service as they are required to serve
under their Captain Jesus Christ. Satan will permit those to have a