Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 4 (1883 - 1886)

Lt 83, 1886

Charles

1886

Previously unpublished.

Charles:

I feel an interest in your case because Jesus died for you. Shall He have died for you in vain? Will you from this time be a Christian? Are you pleased and satisfied with the service of sin? That which ye sow ye shall also reap. What kind of a crop are you sowing? And what will the harvest be? 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 1

“Wilt thou not from this time cry unto Me, My Father, Thou art the guide of my youth” (Jeremiah 3:4)? No halfway work will do in your case. You cannot be half on the Lord’s side. He requires all the heart without reserve. You are going in the path where Satan is leading you. You are selfish, blinded, and enslaved by sin. You have had good impulses, but have not yet experienced the regenerating grace of Christ. You are exposed to ruin, imperiling your soul, selling your soul to Satan. The powers God has given you, you are corrupting. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 2

A full and free salvation has been purchased for you at infinite cost, even the agony and death of the Son of God. And to those who will repent and will have true contrition of soul, forsake their sins and accept Christ as their Saviour, He will be very precious. Jesus died to draw men to a pure and holy life. A full and free pardon is offered to all who will accept it on the terms proposed; and if this salvation is neglected and despised by you, as it has been, then your case is hopeless. You are losing much every day that you occupy the position you now do. You are a channel of darkness through whom Satan works to bring others into as miserable a position as yourself. I urge upon you immediate action, that you break off your sins at once, that you leave the ranks of Satan and come under Christ’s banner. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 3

You have so long been instigated and controlled by Satan that nothing but a determined effort will do for you now. Be not ashamed to take your position decidedly without delay. Sign the pledge of total abstinence; leave off drinking beer, wine, or anything of the kind. Your thoughts are not pure; your heart is polluted. Your soul temple is defiled; God’s name is dishonored. The evidences of a Christian life are not found in you. Should you die now, you would be lost. Make no delay. It is not too late now to perfect a Christian character, but it rests with you whether you will be in the service of God or in the service of Satan. You are either in one army or the other; there is no middle ground. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 4

Will you now see your life as it is—miserable and corrupt? Will you take your stand on the Lord’s side boldly, heartily, promptly? Will you come under the Lord’s banner? He will accept no halfway work. Your life hitherto has been almost an entire failure. Sin has been chosen, righteousness and godliness discarded. But if you will now turn, change your course decidedly, and seek the grace which Christ freely imparts to those who really desire it, you may yet be a true child of God, and Jesus will write pardon over against your name. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 5

God keeps what we call a reckoning with the nations and with every individual. There is a point beyond which His forbearance will not reach. It is decided by the degree of light given. God takes an account of the light and the resistance and disregard of that light; and when God’s mercy has been so abundant and is despised and rejected, this mercy of God—being rejected—is changed into wrath, and His long-deferred vengeance comes upon the disobedient, unthankful, and unholy. I wish you to distinctly understand that there are limits to the forbearance of God, and it is folly and madness to pursue a course of sin as you have been doing. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 6

Do not lose sight of the principles in God’s dealings with men, that a register is kept of the sins of every individual, and that with unerring accuracy of the great God, the Ruler of the heavens and of the earth. With some the figures are rapidly accumulating. God has borne with you and has given you privileges and opportunities to obtain a knowledge of His truth, of His will, and of His requirements. But you have withdrawn yourself as much as you dared from these good influences, you have given your heart up to evil practices, and the figures in the books of heaven are increasing against you. If God does not shield you as He has done, how easily will you, in a reckless manner, which is a fault with you, expose yourself, and the protecting angels withdraw their guardianship and you lose your life. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 7

There was one who was of our number believing the truth, to whom I sent warnings and reproofs just as I am sending to you. He apparently accepted them, but did not make a decided change. Wrong habits were corrupting his soul temple, and his influence over others was not to lead them to virtue and the keeping of God’s commandments. Three times I warned him. He was a man who had high aspirations and large talents for usefulness. The Lord had done much for him. Had these qualities and powers been sanctified, he would have been a bright, shining light to lead others to heaven, but he sometimes went on the enemy’s ground, gratifying his own inclinations. While on a pleasure excursion he ventured to travel on the Sabbath, thinking he would attend a meeting, and thus he made an excuse. The cars came in collision, and he was killed without a moment’s warning. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 8

We can none of us realize how much we need the guardianship of heavenly angels. When anyone will persist, against light and knowledge, to pursue a course of sin, God withdraws His protection from him and leaves him to the control of Satan who will gladly take him away in his sins. You are in positive danger of eternal ruin. Whose side will you be on? The time has come when your obstinacy, your determined spirit to pursue a wrong course, must be given up and you make an entire surrender to God. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 9

Charles, there are good qualities in you, but you are smothering them. Your success in life depends upon yourself. Accordingly as you build your own character will you stand or fall. Lay the foundation well. Let God be your wisdom and your trust. Your only safe foundation is Jesus Christ. Everything else is sliding sand. Build for time and for eternity. You want to cultivate manliness, strict fidelity, gentleness, thoroughness, perseverance, and obedience to the Word of God. Cultivate industry, and ever be faithful and true wherever you may be employed. Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. Study the guide, God’s Word, which teaches you the way to heaven. 4LtMs, Lt 83, 1886, par. 10