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The Enemy Does Not Give Up Easily, December 5
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time.
Revelation 12:12
.
Those who consecrate their all to God will not be left unmolested by
the enemy of souls. Satan will come to them with his specious temptations,
designing to allure them from their loyalty to God. He will present to them his
bribe, as he did to Christ in the wilderness of temptation, saying, “All these
things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (
Matthew 4:9
).
But what should be the answer of the Christian to all the temptations of
the evil one? He should say, “I will not lend my influence in any way to the
advancement of anything save the cause of Christ. I am not my own; I have
been bought with a price. I am not to live to please myself; for I have been
purchased, ransomed by the blood of Christ. It is not possible for me to give
to Christ more than that which belongs to Him; for every moment of my life
belongs to Him. I am His possession, a servant employed to do the will of
my Master.”
This is the only position that is safe for us to occupy; and if the individual
members of the church felt in this way, what a power would the church exert
to draw and win souls to Christ. It is this halfhearted work, the effort to serve
God and the devil at the same time, that leaves the church so destitute of the
Spirit of God.
Were the members of the church consecrated to God, were they in the
unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace, were they organized for the purpose
of imparting to others an influence of good, the church would be indeed the
light of the world. Should the individual members seek to represent Christ to
the world in character and life, thousands would be attracted to the Saviour,
who now have reason to criticize the words and works of those who profess
the name of Christ.
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (
2 Corinthians 4:6,
7
).—
Home Missionary, October 1, 1892, par. 3
.
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