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Tastes Are Changed, February 14
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
Ephesians 4:22
.
John says, “The light”—Christ—“shineth in darkness,” that is, in the
world, “and the darkness comprehended it not.... But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (
John 1:5-13
). The reason why the
unbelieving world is not saved is that they do not choose to be enlightened.
The old nature, born of blood and the will of the flesh, cannot inherit the
kingdom of God. The old ways, the hereditary tendencies, the former habits,
must be given up; for grace is not inherited. The new birth consists in having
new motives, new tastes, new tendencies.
Those who are begotten unto a new life by the Holy Spirit have become
partakers of the divine nature, and in all their habits and practices, they will
give evidence of their relationship to Christ. When men who claim to be
Christians retain all their natural defects of character and disposition, in what
does their position differ from that of the worldling? They do not appreciate
the truth as a sanctifier, a refiner. They have not been born again....
Let none feel that their way needs no changing. Those who decide thus are
not fitted to engage in the work of God, for they will not feel the necessity of
pressing constantly toward a higher standard, making continual improvement.
None can walk safely unless they are distrustful of self, and are constantly
looking to the work of God, studying it with willing heart to see their own
errors, and to learn the will of Christ, and praying that it may be done in and by
and through them. They show that their confidence is not in themselves, but
in Christ. They hold the truth as a sacred treasure, able to sanctify and refine,
and they are constantly seeking to bring their words and ways into harmony
with its principles. They fear and tremble lest something savoring of self
shall be idolized, and thus their defects be reproduced in others who confide
in them. They are always seeking to subdue self, to put away everything
that savors of it, and to supply the place with the meekness and lowliness of
Christ. They are looking unto Jesus, growing up into Him, gathering from
Him light and grace, that they may diffuse the same to others.—
The Review
and Herald, April 12, 1892
.
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