Chapter 16—Ye Are Not Your Own
We sometimes hear the questions: Am I never to do as I please?
Am I never to have my own way? Am I always to be restrained? Can
I never act in accordance with my inclinations?
The less you follow natural inclinations, the better it will be for
yourself and for others. The natural inclinations have been perverted,
the natural powers misapplied. Satan has brought man into collision
with God. He works continually to destroy the divine image in man.
Therefore we must place a restraint on our words and actions.
Results of Complete Consecration
When the grace of God takes possession of the heart, it is seen that
the inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong must be crucified. A
new life, under new control, must begin in the soul. All that is done
must be done to the glory of God. This work includes the outward as
well as the inward man. The entire being, body, soul, and spirit, must
be brought into subjection to God, to be used by Him as an instrument
of righteousness.
The natural man is not subject to the law of God; neither, indeed,
of himself, can he be. But by faith he who has been renewed lives day
by day the life of Christ. Day by day he shows that he realizes that he
is God’s property.
Body and soul belong to God. He gave His Son for the redemption
of the world, and because of this we have been granted a new lease of
life, a probation in which to develop characters of perfect loyalty. God
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has redeemed us from the slavery of sin, and has made it possible for
us to live regenerated, transformed lives of service.
All Our Powers Belong to Him
God’s stamp is upon us. He has bought us, and He desires us to
remember that our physical, mental, and moral powers belong to Him.
Time and influence, reason, affection, and conscience, all are God’s,
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