Perfection Now?
Letting Christ Be Our Example
Faultless in Christ's Perfection
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor. 5:21. {OHC 51.1}
Pardon and justification are one and the same thing. Through faith, the believer passes from the position of a rebel, a child of sin and Satan, to the position of a loyal subject of Christ Jesus, not because of an inherent goodness, but because Christ receives him as His child by adoption. The sinner receives the forgiveness of his sins, because these sins are borne by his Substitute and Surety. The Lord speaks to His heavenly Father, saying: "This is My child, I reprieve him from the condemnation of death, giving him My life insurance policy--eternal life--because I have taken his place and have suffered for his sins. He is even My beloved son." Thus man, pardoned, and clothed with the beautiful garments of Christ's righteousness, stands faultless before God.... {OHC 51.2}
It is the Father's prerogative to forgive our transgressions and sins, because Christ has taken upon Himself our guilt and reprieved us, imputing to us His own righteousness. His sacrifice satisfies fully the demands of justice. {OHC 51.3}
Many feel that their faults of character make it impossible for them to meet the standard that Christ has erected; but all that such ones have to do is to humble themselves at every step under the mighty hand of God; Christ does not estimate the man by the amount of work he does, but by the spirit in which the work is performed. {OHC 51.4}
When He sees men lifting the burdens, trying to carry them in lowliness of mind, with distrust of self and with reliance upon Him, He adds to their work His perfection and sufficiency, and it is accepted of the Father. We are accepted in the beloved. The sinner's defects are covered by the perfection and fullness of the Lord our righteousness. Those who with sincere will, with contrite heart, are putting forth humble efforts to live up to the requirements of God, are looked upon by the Father with pitying, tender love; He regards such as obedient children, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed unto them. {OHC 51.5}
Perfection Through Christ's Merits
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matt. 5:48. {TMK 130.1}
Christ presents before us the highest perfection of Christian character, which throughout our lifetime we should aim to reach. Concerning this perfection Paul writes: "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-15). {TMK 130.2}
How can we reach the perfection specified by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ--our Great Teacher? Can we meet His requirement and attain to so lofty a standard? We can, else Christ would not have enjoined us to do so. He is our righteousness. In His humanity He has gone before us and wrought out for us perfection of character. We are to have the faith in Him that works by love and purifies the soul. Perfection of character is based upon that which Christ is to us. If we have constant dependence on the merits of our Saviour, and walk in His footsteps, we shall be like Him, pure and undefiled. {TMK 130.3}
Our Saviour does not require impossibilities of any soul. He expects nothing of His disciples that He is not willing to give them grace and strength to perform. He would not call upon them to be perfect if He had not at His command every perfection of grace to bestow on the ones upon whom He would confer so high and holy a privilege. He has assured us that He is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than parents are to give good gifts to their children. {TMK 130.4}
Our work is to strive to attain in our sphere of action the perfection that Christ in His life on the earth attained in every phase of character. He is our example. In all things we are to strive to honor God in character. In falling day by day so far short of the divine requirements, we are endangering our soul's salvation. We need to understand and appreciate the privilege with which Christ invests us, and to show our determination to reach the highest standard. We are to be wholly dependent on the power that He has promised to give us. {TMK 130.5}
Perfection Now?
When God gave His Son to the world, He made it possible for men and women to be perfect by the use of every capability of their beings to the glory of God. In Christ He gave to them the riches of His grace, and a knowledge of His will. As they would empty themselves of self, and learn to walk in humility, leaning on God for guidance, men would be enabled to fulfill God's high purpose for them. {AG 230.2}
Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was. {AG 230.6}
Our Saviour is a Saviour for the perfection of the whole man. He is not the God of part of the being only. The grace of Christ works to the disciplining of the whole human fabric. He made all. He has redeemed all. He has made the mind, the strength, the body as well as the soul, partaker of the divine nature, and all is His purchased possession. He must be served with the whole mind, heart, soul, and strength. Then the Lord will be glorified in His saints in even the common, temporal things with which they are connected. "Holiness unto the Lord" will be in the inscription placed upon them. {AG 230.7}
The Holy Spirit ever abides with him who is seeking for perfection of Christian character. The Holy Spirit furnishes the pure motive, the living, active principle, that sustains striving, wrestling, believing souls in every emergency and under every temptation. The Holy Spirit sustains the believer amid the world's hatred, amid the unfriendliness of relatives, amid disappointment, amid the realization of imperfection, and amid the mistakes of life. Depending upon the matchless purity and perfection of Christ, the victory is sure to him who looks unto the Author and Finisher of our faith. He has borne our sins, in order that through Him we might have moral excellence, and attain unto the perfection of Christian character. {AG 195.5}
Reaching the Height of Christian Perfection
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20.
If you make God your strength, you may, under the most discouraging circumstances, attain a height and breadth of Christian perfection which you hardly think it possible to reach Your thoughts may be elevated, you may have noble aspirations, clear perceptions of truth, and purposes of action which shall raise you above all sordid motives. {Mar 226.1}
Both thought and action will be necessary if you would attain to perfection of character. While brought in contact with the world, you should be on your guard that you do not seek too ardently for the applause of men and live for their opinion. Cultivate the grace of humility, and hang your helpless souls upon Christ. In the midst of confusion and temptation in the worldly crowd you may, with perfect sweetness, keep the independence of the soul. {Mar 226.2}
If you are in daily communion with God you will learn to place His estimate upon men, and the obligations resting upon you to bless suffering humanity will meet with a willing response. You are not your own; your Lord has sacred claims upon your supreme affections and the very highest services of your life. He has a right to use you, in your body and in your spirit, to the fullest extent of your capabilities, for His own honor and glory. Whatever crosses you may be required to bear, ... you are to accept without a murmur. {Mar 226.3}
Many are without God and without hope in the world. They are guilty, corrupt, and degraded, enslaved by Satan's devices. Yet these are the ones whom Christ came from heaven to redeem. They are subjects for tenderest pity, sympathy, and tireless effort; for they are on the verge of ruin. They suffer from ungratified desires, disordered passions, and the condemnation of their own consciences; they are miserable in every sense of the word, for they are losing their hold on this life and have no prospect for the life to come. {Mar 226.4}
You have an important field of labor, and you should be active and vigilant, rendering cheerful and unqualified obedience to the Master's calls. {Mar 226.5}
Be Ye Therefore Perfect
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Man is to be perfect in his sphere, even as God is perfect in His sphere. How can such a lofty standard be reached? The required perfection is based on the perfection of Christ, "who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." He gave the command requiring perfection, He who was by birth a human being, though allied to divinity. He has passed over the road we are to tread, and He says, "Without Me ye can do nothing." But with Him we can do everything. Thus a perfect character can be obtained. God never issues a command without furnishing the grace sufficient for its fulfilment. Ample provision has been made that man shall be a partaker of the divine nature. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 1}
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." This is the standard God holds before His children. It is a standard of Christlikeness. Christianity means entire surrender to the will of God. Then it can be said of us, "Ye are complete in Him." {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 2}
When such possibilities are presented to us; when we see that it is our privilege to attain Christian perfection, should we not strive to reach the standard? Should not our one purpose be to appreciate and understand the high honor conferred upon us? Christ has shown us how the heavenly universe values the beings for whom He made so great a sacrifice. Men and women are God's by creation and by redemption, and those who receive Christ He invests with His strength. They are bound up with Him, and are fully capable of reaching the highest elevation of character. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 3}
It is the Lord's will that we should cherish a solemn sense of our accountability to Him, as the owner of the talents He has lent us. He desires us to appreciate His entrusted gifts, doing all in our power to reach the standard He has set before us. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 4}
In the varied lines of Christ's work, each part depends on every other part, and the perfection of the work depends on the co-operation of each part. God has made provision for the reciprocal action and the mutual relation of all animated beings. He has arranged that all shall be connected together, and the whole to God. No one can be dropped out of the Lord's plan without affecting the whole. Nothing is independent of the rest. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 5}
In creating man, God designed that each human being should be a part of the web of humanity. He pledged Himself to make every provision for the happiness of men and women by making it possible for them to be like Him. It is His purpose that nothing shall be wanting to their happiness if they remain loyal to His commandments. They are the objects of His special love and care, and He would make them consecrated channels through which blessings from His abundant resources shall flow to the world. How important then that each act his part with fidelity, striving with all his power to fulfil God's purpose for him. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 6}
Speaking of Christ, John says: "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him 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. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 7}
Here we are shown what we may become by looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. If humanity will co-operate with divinity, He who made so great a sacrifice in behalf of the human race will complete that which He has begun. Of Himself man cannot obtain completeness, but every gift of heaven is granted to those who will co-operate with Christ, striving day by day for the mastery over the deceptive temptations of the enemy. By searching, we cannot find out God, but Christ has declared Him. "Show us the Father," Philip said, and Jesus answered: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 8}
Christ came to clothe His people with his righteousness. But they would not receive Him, and with pale and quivering lips and broken utterance He exclaimed, "If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!" Then came a pause, for the Saviour was reluctant to pronounce the irrevocable sentence--"but now they are hid from thine eyes." It was with a burst of agony that Christ spoke these words. He was bearing a great burden for the people of His care, but they knew not the time of their visitation. The superhuman agony of the Son of God was keenly felt in the heavenly courts, but those for whom He shed bitter tears knew not their day of grace. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 9}
This is the great sin of which men and women are guilty today. They appreciate not the blessings and privileges within their reach. "In this thy day." The day is nearing its close. We are living amid the last scenes of this earth's history. Can it be that we shall be among the number that Christ mentioned with so much sorrow as He halted on the crest of Olivet? O, that all would know in this their day the things that belong to their peace. Shall Christ say to any one of us, "But now they are hid from thine eyes"? He will be obliged to do so if we fail to show our appreciation of His mercy by doing all in our power to co-operate with Him. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 10}
When Christ said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," He had in view purity of purpose and action. It is essential for every soul who desires increased knowledge, to possess this purity. There is great need of purity as well as of knowledge. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 11}
Perfection can be attained only through the grace given by God. He will be the efficiency of every soul who strives for clear, far-seeing moral faculties. But He requires the co-operation of the human agent. Temperance must be practised in all things, in eating, in drinking, in all the habits of life. Christ said to His disciples, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." He would have us follow Him as tho wholly in earnest. He would have us cultivate a whole-souled earnestness. Some may call this enthusiasm; but if there is any subject in the world worthy of enthusiasm, it is the subject of redemption. We must be heartily enthusiastic over the wonderful work of our salvation. Each one may be so inspired by the life-work of Christ that he will become full of an earnest desire to be a true-hearted Christian. But those who think it will be just as well to be half for Christ and half for the world are under a great deception. They are neither cold nor hot. They are neither successful worldlings nor successful Christians, and Christ says of them: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 12}
The Lord calls for sincere, earnest work. Half-heartedness spoils us for both worlds. When weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, those who have done surface work will be found wanting. Without life in Christ there can be no spiritual growth, no real development. We each need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. We turn our blessings into a curse both to our own souls and to the souls of others when we do not do this. Mrs. E. G. White. {ST, July 26, 1899 par. 13}
Perfect in Him
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matt. 5:48.
God requires moral perfection in all. Those who have been given light and opportunities should, as God's stewards, aim for perfection, and never, never lower the standard of righteousness to accommodate inherited and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Christ took upon Him our human nature, and lived our life, to show us that we may be like Him by partaking of the divine nature. We may be holy, as Christ was holy in human nature. Why then are there so many disagreeable characters in the world? It is because they do not suspect that their disagreeable ways and rough, impolite speech is the result of an unholy heart. {TDG 32.1}
It is the fragrance of our love to our fellow men that reveals our love for God. It is patience in service that brings rest to the soul. It is through humble, diligent, faithful toilers that the welfare of Israel is promoted. God upholds and strengthens the one who is willing to learn Christ's way. {TDG 32.2}
All right inventions and improvements have their source in Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. Whatever we do, in whatever department of the work we are placed, God desires to refine and ennoble us. He desires to control man's mind, that he may do perfect work. {TDG 32.3}
The delicate touch of the physician's hand, his power over nerve and muscle, his knowledge of the delicate organism of the body, is the wisdom of divine power, to be used in behalf of suffering humanity. The skill with which the carpenter uses the hammer, the strength with which the blacksmith makes the anvil ring, comes from God. He has entrusted men with powers, and He expects that they will look to Him for counsel. Thus they may use His gifts with unerring aptitude, testifying to God's glory that they are workers together with Him. Thus they purify their souls by sanctification of the Spirit through the truth. In their experience, the words of Christ are fulfilled, The pure in heart shall see God (see Matt. 5:8). {TDG 32.4}
All should feel that they are working to one great end. The work in every department is God's, and those who do that work with exactness, without blunder, represent God's perfection.--Letter 9, Jan. 24, 1899, to those occupying important positions in the General Conference. {TDG 32.5}
Peter's Last Epistle and His Death
In the second letter addressed by Peter to those who had obtained "like precious faith" with himself, the apostle sets forth the divine plan for the development of Christian character. He writes:-- {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 1}
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 2}
"And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 3}
These words are full of instruction, and strike the key-note of victory. The apostle presents before the believers the ladder of Christian perfection, every step of which represents continual advancement in the knowledge of God, and in the climbing of which there is to be no standstill. Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are the rounds of the ladder. We are saved by climbing round after round, mounting step after step, to the height of Christ's ideal for us. Thus he is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 4}
God has called his people to glory and virtue, and these will be manifest in the lives of all who are truly connected with him. Having become partakers of the heavenly gift, they are to go on to perfection, being "kept by the power of God through faith." It is the glory of God to give his virtue to his children. He desires to see men and women reaching the highest standard; and when by faith they lay hold of the power of Christ, when they plead his unfailing promises, and claim them as their own, when with an importunity that will not be denied they seek for the power of the Holy Spirit, they will be made complete in him. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 5}
Having received the faith of the gospel, the next work of the believer is to add to his character virtue, and thus cleanse the heart and prepare the mind for the reception of the knowledge of God. This knowledge is the foundation of all true education and of all true service. It is the only real safeguard against temptation; and it is this alone that can make one like God in character. Through the knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, are given to the believer "all things that pertain unto life and godliness." No good gift is withheld from him who sincerely desires to obtain the righteousness of God. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 6}
"This is life eternal," Christ said, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." And the prophet Jeremiah declared: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." Scarcely can the human mind comprehend the breadth and depth and height of the spiritual attainments of him who gains this knowledge. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 7}
None need fail of attaining, in his sphere, to perfection of Christian character. By the sacrifice of Christ, provision has been made for the believer to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God calls upon us to reach the standard of perfection, and places before us the example of Christ's character. In his humanity, perfected by a life of constant resistance of evil, the Saviour showed that through cooperation with divinity human beings may in this life attain to perfection of a character. This is God's assurance to us that we too may obtain complete victory. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 8}
Before the believer is held out the wonderful possibility of being like Christ, obedient to all the principles of the law. But of himself man is utterly unable to reach this condition. The holiness that God's Word declares he must have before he can be saved, is the result of the working of divine grace, as he bows in submission to the discipline and restraining influences of the Spirit of truth. Man's obedience can be made perfect only by the incense of Christ's righteousness, which fills with divine fragrance every act of obedience. The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every fault. Constantly he is to pray to the Saviour to heal the disorders of his sinsick soul. He has not the wisdom nor the strength to overcome; these belong to the Lord, and he bestows them on those who in humiliation and contrition seek him for help. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 9}
The work of transformation from unholiness to holiness is a continuous one. Day by day God labors for man's sanctification, and man is to cooperate with him, putting forth persevering efforts in the cultivation of right habits. He is to add grace to grace; and as he thus works on the plan of addition, God works for him on the plan of multiplication. He is always ready to hear and answer the prayer of the contrite heart, and grace and peace are multiplied to his faithful ones. Gladly he grants them the blessings that they need in their struggle against the evils that beset them. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 10}
There are those who attempt to ascend the ladder of Christian progress; but as they advance, they begin to put their trust in the power of man, and soon lose sight of Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith. The result is failure--the loss of all that has been gained. Sad indeed is the condition of those who, becoming weary of the way, allow the enemy of souls to rob them of the Christian graces that have been developing in their hearts and lives. "He that lacketh these things," declares the apostle, "is blind, and can not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 11}
The apostle Peter had had a long experience in the things of God. His faith in God's power to save had strengthened with the years, until he had proved beyond question that there is no possibility of failure before the one who, advancing by faith, ascends round by round, ever upward and onward, to the topmost round of the ladder that reaches even to the portals of heaven. {RH, September 19, 1912 par. 12}
Character is Power
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Rom. 5:1, 2 {RC 298.1}
Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace and Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected. {RC 298.2}
A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. {RC 298.3}
The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To everyone engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you. {RC 298.4}
As the will of man cooperates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings.--Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 331-333. {RC 298.5}
Character is power. The silent witness of a true, unselfish, godly life carries an almost irresistible influence. By revealing in our own life the character of Christ we cooperate with Him in the work of saving souls. It is only by revealing in our life His character that we can cooperate with Him. And the wider the sphere of our influence, the more good we may do. When those who profess to serve God follow Christ's example, practicing the principles of the law in their daily life; when every act bears witness that they love God supremely and their neighbor as themselves, then will the church have power to move the world. {RC 298.6}
We know not what results a day, an hour, or a moment may determine, and never should we begin the day without committing our ways to our heavenly Father. When unconsciously we are in danger of exerting a wrong influence, the angels will be by our side, prompting us to a better course, choosing our words for us, and influencing our actions. Thus our influence may be a silent, unconscious, but mighty power in drawing others to Christ and the heavenly world.--Ibid., pp. 340-342. {RC 298.7}
Probation and Perfection
Do you give service? Give it as in the strength which God supplies. In all things so act that the glory may be God's through Jesus Christ; to him belong glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11, N.E.B.
All the varied capabilities that men possess, soul, body, and spirit, are given them of God to be so educated and trained that they may reach the highest possible degree of excellence. The human agency must cooperate with the divine purpose, and in so doing man is pronounced a laborer together with God. Every faculty, every attribute with which God has endowed us is to be used to His name's glory. Man must cooperate with Christ to restore the moral image of God in man, and it is in wearing the yoke of Christ, and learning daily Christ's meekness and lowliness, that Christ can use him to be a blessing to his fellow men. {TDG 90.1}
Taught first by Christ, and then guarding his own mind and soul, he shall serve a holy purpose in lifting his own thought to that which is pure and elevating, and through words and example awaken in the soul of his fellow men devotion and gratitude to God. In thus doing he is a laborer together with God. He is not to employ one entrusted gift to exalt self, to seek praise of men, but to exalt God, to inspire minds--not to think of what glory he may bring to himself, but how he can prove himself a blessing to his fellow men and become the most successful agency to draw souls to contemplate heavenly things. He must teach others in words and deeds to walk in Christ's footsteps. Then his own mind will become well-balanced, and his endowments will be appreciated as the gift of God to be employed in God's great plan to help in every way possible. By harmonious action with God in His great plan, he will fill his appointed place. He will bring himself back, through the grace of God given him to the perfection of Christ's character. Uplifted himself, through the grace of God, he is prepared to uplift by his own transformation of character his fellow men both by precept and example. {TDG 90.2}
All the gifts of God are to be exercised to produce as well as to consume. In no case can this work become a self-centered work, or exclusive of his fellow workmen. {TDG 90.3}
This probationary life is given to bring man back to this perfection which is to be the character of all who shall be saved. The law of God is a reflection of His character.--Letter 46, March 22, 1900, to David Steed, an Australian believer. {TDG 90.4}
Unity in Christ
Every one who becomes a child of God will reveal genuine holiness. Christ said, I sacrifice myself, that they may be sacrificed to the glory of God. Self-glory, whenever cherished, spoils the figure. For the church's good, the members must follow Christ's example of suffering, whether it means shame, imprisonment, or death. "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." {SpTB07 44.2}
What an argument of power is the prayer, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one: and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me." {SpTB07 44.3}
I have repeated this wonderful statement; for it contains the very evidence that we are to present to the world,--the perfection of unity in the followers of Christ. The members of the church of God must reach this perfection. I can not do more than urge upon them that this perfection is found in unity in Christ. The Saviour has presented before us how much will be gained in working out the unity that will join one believer to another in the perfection of Christian love. {SpTB07 44.4}
This message I am given to bear, as the Lord's messenger. The unity for which Christ prayed is a sacred pledge of discipleship. Those who enter heaven must be one with Christ. Unless they should bear the same perfection of character that He bore while on this earth, they would spoil heaven. The trial and test is to come here in this world. Here we are to be stamped with the image and superscription of God. The virtue of the grace of Christ will perfect the character of every believer who truly accepts Him. All true disciples are made members of the royal family. All have the new heart, and all blend in perfect harmony. They speak the same thing, though in this world their language may differ. Their manner of expression may not be the same, but their one desire is for the highest end in this life,--the sanctification of the same Spirit. They love as brethren. {SpTB07 45.1}
Christ's disciples must obey the laws of heaven on this earth, else they will never obey them in the higher world. I call upon every physician, upon every gospel minister, to obey the laws of God in everything. This world is the school in which we are to prepare for graduation into the higher school. We know not who are the chosen of God only as they reveal the education they have received from the Father and the Son, through the Holy Spirit. Christ is their Mediator, their Righteousness, and their unity centers in God. Those who are so stubborn that they will not comply with the prayer of Christ will be lawless, loveless, impolite. They could not be admitted into the family of heaven. The truth cherished in the heart will work out a blessed unity among Christ's disciples in the lower school of earth. The Lord is dishonored by the contention and strife caused by the unsanctified dispositions of professing Christians. {SpTB07 45.2}
I have written out fully the instruction that I was commissioned to give. We are now to take our individual selves in hand, and conquer the wicked feelings that rise in our hearts. In allowing the venom of these feelings to flow forth in words, we help Satan in his work. Our church-members need a reconversion, a renewal of the Holy Spirit's power to make them children of God, members of His family. Let every one in our churches now humble his own heart, confess his own sins, and remember that God has a controversy with those who have kept the work from advancing, by their crooked characters, which need to be made all over again. {SpTB07 46.1}
The part of the Christian is to persevere in overcoming every fault. Constantly he is to pray to the Saviour to heal the disorders of his sin-sick soul. He has not the wisdom or the strength to overcome; these belong to the Lord, and He bestows them on those who in humiliation and contrition seek Him for help.--The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 530-532. {RC 314.6}
The Bible is the standard by which to test the claims of all who profess sanctification. Jesus prayed that His disciples might be sanctified through the truth, and He says, "Thy word is truth" (John 17:17); while the psalmist declares, "Thy law is the truth" (Psalm 119:142). All whom God is leading will manifest a high regard for the Scriptures in which His voice is heard. The Bible will be to them "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16). "Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). {FW 51.2}
We need no other evidence in order to judge of men's sanctification; if they are fearful lest they shall not obey the whole will of God, if they are listening diligently to His voice, trusting in His wisdom, and making His Word the man of their counsel, then, while they make no boasts of superior goodness, we may be sure that they are seeking to attain to perfection of Christian character. But if the claimants of holiness even intimate that they are no longer required to search the Scriptures, we need not hesitate to pronounce their sanctification spurious. They are leaning to their own understanding instead of conforming to the will of God. {FW 51.3}
What God Requires
God requires at this time just what He required of the holy pair in Eden--perfect obedience to His requirements. His law remains the same in all ages. The great standard of righteousness presented in the Old Testament is not lowered in the New. It is not the work of the gospel to weaken the claims of God's holy law but to bring men up where they can keep its precepts. {FW 52.1}
The faith in Christ that saves the soul is not what it is represented to be by many. "Believe, believe," is their cry; "only believe in Christ, and you will be saved. It is all you have to do." While true faith trusts wholly in Christ for salvation, it will lead to perfect conformity to the law of God. Faith is manifested by works. And the apostle John declares, "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). {FW 52.2}
It is unsafe to trust to feelings or impressions; these are unreliable guides. God's law is the only correct standard of holiness. It is by this law that character is to be judged. If an inquirer after salvation were to ask, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" the modern teachers of sanctification would answer, "Only believe that Jesus saves you." But when Christ was asked this question He said, "What is written in the law? how readest thou?" And when the questioner replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself," Jesus said, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:25-29). {FW 52.3}
True sanctification will be evidenced by a conscientious regard for all the commandments of God, by a careful improvement of every talent, by a circumspect conversation, by revealing in every act the meekness of Christ. {FW 53.1}
Our Guide into All Truth
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. John 14:16.
Christ declared that, after His ascension, He would send to His church, as His crowning gift, the Comforter, who was to take His place. This Comforter is the Holy Spirit--the soul of His life, the efficacy of His church, the light and life of the world. With His Spirit, Christ sends a reconciling influence and a power to take away sin. {TDG 257.1}
God has instructed me to tell you and all His people to be very careful not to resist the working of the Holy Spirit--the Comforter that Christ sends. Fear to take the first presumptuous step in resistance. When Christ spoke to the disciples of the Holy Spirit, He sought to uplift their thoughts and enlarge their expectations to grasp the highest conception of excellence. Let us strive to understand His words. Let us strive to appreciate the value of the wonderful gift He has bestowed on us. Let us seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. {TDG 257.2}
I see no other way for us than to heed the words of Christ, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). These words we must obey if we gain eternal life. The Majesty of heaven came to this world to teach us this lesson by a life of constant self-denial. Shall we not heed His instruction? {TDG 257.3}
In order to be saved, we must have a full and complete experience in the things of God. The atonement for sin has been made by the gift of the Son of the infinite God. {TDG 257.4}
To bring the sinner to Christ is the work of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Saviour is the divine Example, the perfection of holiness, and He fashions the soul anew. We are privileged to receive from Christ all the excellence necessary for perfection of character. But in order for us to obtain this excellence, we must show more self-denial, more self-sacrifice. {TDG 257.5}
Christ has made every provision for us to be children of God. Oh, my heart says, Praise His holy name that of His fullness we can receive grace for grace. Let us strive, by receiving His word, to reach the high standard of perfection. We are safe only when seeking the qualities that make us children of God, possessors of sanctified excellence.
--Letter 155, Sept. 5, 1902, to Judge and Mrs. Arthur, Adventist attorney at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. {TDG 257.6}
by Ellen G. White
PERFECTION NOW?
(A study into the life which we are to attain)
by E.G. White
