Basic HTML Version
Chapter 38—The Importance of Seeking True
Knowledge
We need to understand more clearly than we do the issues at
stake in the great conflict in which we are engaged. We need to
understand more fully the value of the truths of the Word of God
and the danger of allowing our minds to be diverted from them by
the great deceiver.
The infinite value of the sacrifice required for our redemption
reveals the fact that sin is a tremendous evil. Through sin the whole
human organism is deranged. The mind is perverted, the imagination
corrupted. Sin has degraded the faculties of the soul. Temptations
from without find an answering chord within the heart, and the feet
turn imperceptibly toward evil.
As the sacrifice in our behalf was complete, so our restoration
from the defilement of sin is to be complete. The law of God will
not excuse any act of wickedness; no unrighteousness can escape its
condemnation. The ethics of the gospel acknowledge no standard
but the perfection of the divine character. The life of Christ was a
perfect fulfillment of every precept of the law. He said, “‘I have kept
My Father’s commandments.’” His life is our example of obedience
and service. God alone can renew the heart. “It is God who works in
you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” But we are bidden,
“Work out your own salvation.”
John 15:10
;
Philippians 2:13, 12
.
The Work That Requires Our Thought
Wrongs cannot be righted nor can reformations in conduct be
made by a few feeble, intermittent efforts. Character building is the
work, not of a day, nor of a year, but of a lifetime. The struggle
for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a lifelong strug-
gle. Without continual effort and constant activity, there can be no
[263]
advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s crown.
317