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God Alone can Renew the Heart, October 4
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.
Philippians 2:13
.
Far more than we do, we need to understand the issues at stake in the conflict
in which we are engaged. We need to understand more fully the value of the
truths that God has given for this time 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 de-
filement of sin is to be complete. There is no act of wickedness that the law will
excuse; there is no unrighteousness that will escape its condemnation. The life of
Christ was a perfect fulfillment of every precept of the law. He said, “I have kept
my Father’s commandments” (
John 15:10
). His life is our standard of obedience
and service.
God alone can renew the heart. “It is God who worketh in you both to will and
to work, for His good pleasure” (
Philippians 2:13
, A.R.V.). But we are bidden:
“Work out your own salvation” (
verse 12
, A.R.V.).
Wrongs cannot be righted, nor can reformations in character be made, by a
few feeble, intermittent efforts.... The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness
and heaven, is a lifelong struggle. Without continual effort and constant activity
there can be no advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s crown.
The strongest evidence of man’s fall from a higher state is the fact that it costs
so much to return. The way of return can be gained only by hard fighting, inch
by inch, every hour. By a momentary act of the will, one may place himself in
the power of evil; but it requires more than a momentary act of will to break these
fetters and attain to a higher, holier life. The purpose may be formed, the work
begun; but its accomplishment will require toil, time, and perseverance, patience
and sacrifice.
Beset with temptations without number, we must resist firmly or be con-
quered.... Paul’s sanctification was the result of a constant conflict with self. He
said: “I die daily” (
1 Corinthians 15:31
). His will and his desires every day
conflicted with duty and the will of God. Instead of following inclination, he did
God’s will, however crucifying to his own nature. God leads His people on step
by step.—
Testimonies for the Church 8:312, 313
.
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