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Elevate the Standard
355
Will those before whom this letter shall come, consider their
own individual cases, pass judgment upon no one else, but consider
their own character in the light of God’s law?
Has your character been transformed? Has darkness been ex-
changed for light, the love of sin for the love of purity and holiness?
Have you been converted, who are engaged in teaching the truth to
others? Has there been in you a thorough, radical change? Have you
woven Christ into your character? You need not be in uncertainty
in this matter. Has the Sun of Righteousness risen and been shining
in your soul? If so, you know it; and if you do not know whether
you are converted or not, never preach another discourse from the
pulpit until you do. How can you lead souls to the fountain of life
of which you have not drunk yourself? Are you a sham, or are you
really a son of God? Are you serving God, or are you serving idols?
Are you transformed by the Spirit of God, or are you yet dead in
your trespasses and sins? To be sons of God means more than many
dream of, because they have not been converted. Men are weighed
in the balance and found wanting when they are living in the practice
of any known sin. It is the privilege of every son of God to be a true
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Christian moment by moment; then he has all heaven enlisted on his
side. He has Christ abiding in his heart by faith.
A soul united with Christ, eating His flesh and drinking His
blood, in accepting and living by every word that proceedeth out
of the mouth of God will war against all transgression and every
approach of sin. He becomes every day more like a bright and
shining light, and more victorious. He goes on from strength to
strength, not from weakness to weakness.
Let no one deceive his own soul in this matter. If you har-
bor pride, self-esteem, a love for the supremacy, vainglory, unholy
ambition, murmuring, discontent, bitterness, evil speaking, lying,
deception, slandering, you have not Christ abiding in your heart,
and the evidence shows that you have the mind and character of
Satan, not of Jesus Christ, who was meek and lowly of heart. You
must have a Christian character that will stand. You may have good
intentions, good impulses, can speak the truth understandingly, but
you are not fit for the kingdom of heaven. Your character has in it
base material, which destroys the value of the gold. You have not
reached the standard. The impress of the divine is not upon you.