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Repentance and Reformation, April 19
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17
.
The Lord calls for a decided reformation.... My brethren, show true
repentance for departure from God. Let angels and men see that there is
forgiveness of sin with God. Extraordinary power from God must take hold
of Seventh-day Adventist churches. Reconversion must take place among the
members, that as God’s witnesses they may testify to the authoritative power
of the truth that sanctifies the soul....
Those who are sanctified through the truth will show that the truth has
worked a reformation in their lives, that it is preparing them for translation
into the heavenly world. But so long as pride and envy and evil surmising
predominate in the life, Christ does not rule in the heart. His love is not in the
soul.
In the lives of those who are partakers of the divine nature there is a
crucifixion of the haughty, self-sufficient spirit that leads to self-exaltation.
In its place the Spirit of Christ abides, and in the life the fruits of the Spirit
appear. Having the mind of Christ, His followers reveal the graces of His
character.
Nothing short of this will make men acceptable to God. Nothing short
of this will give them the pure, holy character that those must have who
are admitted to heaven. As soon as a man puts on Christ, an evidence of
the change wrought in him is seen in spirit and word and act. A heavenly
atmosphere surrounds his soul, for Christ is abiding within....
Oh, how few there are who reveal in their lives the principles of this life!...
“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is
drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me,
and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so
he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (
John 6:54-57
).
Do you believe these wonderful statements? Do you receive the words of
Christ? I tell you that when in truth you receive them, you will practice the
truth in accordance with the teachings of Christ.—
Letter 63, April 19, 1903
,
to “Our Brethren at the Medical Missionary Council.”
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