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Man a Free Moral Agent, March 17
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
John 7:17
.
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.
Satan is the great originator of sin; yet this does not excuse any man
for sinning; for he cannot force men to do evil. He tempts them to it,
and makes sin look enticing and pleasant; but he has to leave it to their
own wills whether they will do it or not.... Man is a free moral agent to
accept or refuse.
Conversion is a work that most do not appreciate. It is not a small
matter to transform an earthly, sin-loving mind and bring it to under-
stand the unspeakable love of Christ, the charms of His grace, and the
excellency of God, so that the soul shall be imbued with divine love.
Every provision has been made; everything in God’s plan has been
arranged so that man should not be left to his own impulses, to his own
finite powers, to carry on the warfare against the powers of darkness in
his own finite strength; because he would certainly fail if he were thus
left to himself.
As a redeemed, free moral agent, ransomed by an infinite price,
God calls upon you to assert your liberty, and employ your God-given
powers as a free subject of the kingdom of heaven.... You are to refuse
to be in subjection to the power of evil.
Let a solemn, unalterable purpose take possession of you, and re-
solve in the strength and grace of God, that henceforth you will live for
Him, and that no earthly consideration shall persuade you to disown the
divine law of ten commandments.
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