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Resist the Devil, January 18
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.
James 4:7
.
It seemed to Eve a small matter to pluck of the forbidden tree; the fruit was
pleasant to the eye and to the taste and seemed desirable to make one wise. But
what terrible results! It was not a small matter to thus forfeit her allegiance to
God. It opened the floodgates of woe to our world. Oh, the amount of evil which
will come from one false step! Not to the earth must our eyes be fixed, but upward
to Heaven. We must pass through dangers and difficulties, making advance at
every step, gaining victories in every conflict, still rising higher and higher; the
air becomes purer as the soul is brought nearer to Heaven. The earth holds no
attractions now. The heavenly landscape opens with clearness and beauty. The
Christian sees the crown, the white robe, the harp, the palm branch of victory;
immortality is within his reach. Now the earth sinks out of sight....
If we lose everything else, we should keep conscience pure and sensitive.
When asked to go where there is the least danger of offending God, doing that
which you cannot do with a pure conscience, do not fear or hesitate. Look the
tempter firmly in the face and say, “No; I will not imperil my soul for any worldly
attraction. I love and fear God. I will not venture to dishonor or disobey Him for
the riches of the world or the love and favor of a host of worldly relatives. I love
Jesus who died for me. He has bought me. I am the purchase of His blood. I will
be true to His claims, and my example shall never be an excuse for any to turn
from the straight path of duty. I will not be the servant of Satan and of sin. My
life shall be such as to leave a bright track heavenward.”
A single word for God, a firm, silent resistance even, would save not only your
own souls, but hundreds of others....
The time has come when every soul must stand or fall according to his own
merits. A few righteous acts, a few good impulses, may be presented to the mind
as evidences of righteousness, but God requires the whole heart. He will accept no
divided affections. The whole being must be given to Him or He will not receive
the offering.
We must now be learning the lessons of faith if we would stand in that time of
trouble which is coming upon all the world to try them who dwell upon the face
of the earth. We must have the courage of heroes and the faith of martyrs.—
Letter
14, January 18, 1884
, to “Brother and Sister Newton,” a lay family.
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