The Signs of the Times
October 11, 1899
“Even your Sanctification”
“This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” The Lord demands all the powers of the being. It is His design that we should be conformed to Him in will, in temper, in spirit, that the soul may hold communion with Him who is full of love, and peace, and power. God would have us keep close to the heart of Infinite Wisdom and Love. He has chosen us from eternity, that we may be holy, our consciences purged from dead works to serve the living God. The Lord gave Himself to die for us, that He might purify us from all iniquity. He will carry on His work of perfection for us if we will allow ourselves to be controlled by Him. ST October 11, 1899, par. 1
This work of righteousness can not be carried forward unless we exercise implicit faith. We must move every day under the guidance of God's mighty power. Every day we need to feel the deep working of the Spirit of God. We must have a faith that emanates from God. Not one thread of selfishness must be drawn into the fabric of our lives. When our faith works by love, the love that Christ revealed in His life, it will be of a firm texture. But not until self dies can Christ live in us; not until self dies can we possess the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Our faith must increase. We must know the sanctification of the Spirit. In earnest prayer we must seek God, that His divine Spirit may control us. God will then be glorified by the example we set. We shall be workers together with Him. Sanctification of soul, body, and spirit, will surround us with the atmosphere of heaven. ST October 11, 1899, par. 2
Christ came to this world to enlighten men and women by His wisdom, by the shining of his righteousness. He came to reveal God's purpose for us. He was a wonderful teacher. His lessons were uttered in the language of independent goodness, and it is our privilege, by studying these lessons and beholding Him, to be changed into His likeness. It is His desire to commit divine instruction to faithful stewards, who will both teach and practise the truth, who will live by every word proceeding from the mouth of God. Those who claim to know and teach the truth, and yet do not live by the Word, can not be laborers together with God. Those who do not walk in the light, bring in the opinions and practises of self. True conversion, true sanctification, will be the cause of a change in our views and feelings toward one another and toward God. ST October 11, 1899, par. 3
Christ declares: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Again Christ says: “As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.” ST October 11, 1899, par. 4
This love goes beyond the expression of the command, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Here men are required to love one another as Christ has loved them. The disciples did not then comprehend the significance of these words. They knew not the high, unselfish character of heavenly love. But after Christ had by His death on the cross demonstrated His love for them, they understood His words. ST October 11, 1899, par. 5
This heaven-born love is not selfish and changeable. It is not a love dependent on human praise. The heart of him who drinks the blood of the Son of God overflows with a holy love for God and for those for whom Christ died. He does not love His fellow-creatures because they love and please Him, because they appreciate His merits and rightly estimate His value, but because they are Christ's purchased possession. ST October 11, 1899, par. 6
God designs that everything possible shall be done to enable us to stand heart to heart, mind to mind, shoulder to shoulder. We have not pressed forward toward the mark of the prize of our high calling. Self has found too much room. The want of genuine faith and love is the lack of the church today. Our Christian experience is imperfect because we do not love as Christ has loved us. While we are filled with admiration for self, while we measure others by ourselves, how can we understand the Scriptures? What comprehension can we have of true faith? The lack of love and confidence in one another weakens our trust in God. ST October 11, 1899, par. 7
What fulness is expressed in the words: “I am the Light of the world.” “I am the Bread of life.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” “I am the good Shepherd.” “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” This life is what we must have, and we must have it more abundantly. God will breathe this life into every soul who dies to self and lives to Christ. But entire self-renunciation is required. Unless this takes place, we carry with us the evil that destroys our happiness. ST October 11, 1899, par. 8
I wish we could be what God would have us,—all light in the Lord. We need to reach a higher standard. But we can never do this until self is laid on the altar, until we let the Holy Spirit control us, molding and fashioning us according to the divine similitude. Truth must be received into the life. Then our words will testify that Christ's Spirit is working through us. God lives and reigns in us, and we bear witness to the truth. Draw nigh to God. Learn from the great Teacher. Surrender all to God. ST October 11, 1899, par. 9
We are not to hold ourselves in our own hands. We are to drop self into the hands of God. Daily we must consecrate ourselves to God's service. We must come to God in faith. If we have accumulated suppositions and imaginary difficulties, which keep us from a perfect union with our brethren, let us at once begin to remove the obstacles. We need to humble ourselves before God. It is self that we have first to deal with. Criticise the heart closely. Search it to see what hinders the free access of God's Spirit. We must receive the Holy Spirit. Then we shall have power to prevail with God. ST October 11, 1899, par. 10
The necessity of the Holy Spirit's working in the heart should be realized by all. Unless this Spirit is accepted and cherished as the representative of Christ, whose work it is to renew and sanctify the entire being, the momentous truths which have been intrusted to us will lose their power on mind and character. Many today are in this position. They refuse to enter into right relation with God, as doers of His Word. They do not see the necessity for this. ST October 11, 1899, par. 11
We need to pray as we have never prayed before for the baptism of the Holy Spirit; for if ever there was a time when we needed this baptism, it is now. There is nothing the Lord has more frequently told us He would bestow upon us, and nothing He would be more glorified in bestowing, than the Holy Spirit. When we partake of this Spirit, we shall be born again. A firm, unwavering faith in God will be manifested. The Sun of Righteousness will be in our midst, with healing in His wings. Souls once lost will be found, brought back, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. ST October 11, 1899, par. 12
“We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” We must take God at His word, and believe that He will do just as He has said. If He chastises us, it is that we may be partakers of the divine nature. It is His purpose to carry on a daily sanctification in us. Shall we not see our work? Shall we not present to others the privilege they have of growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ? ST October 11, 1899, par. 13
A mere assent to truth is not enough. Daily we must live the truth. We must shut ourselves in with God, surrendering all to Him. To listen to the great and grand truths of the Word is not enough. We must ask ourselves the question, Does Christ dwell in my heart by faith? He alone can show us our necessity, and reveal the dignity and glory of the truth. At the altar of self-sacrifice,—the appointed place of meeting between God and the soul,—we receive from the hand of God the celestial torch, which searches the heart, revealing our great need of an abiding Christ. ST October 11, 1899, par. 14
When we feel our heart need, when we long after the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, Christ draws nigh to us. Self is crucified. Christ lives in us, and the power of the Spirit attends our efforts; then the soul is refined and elevated. Light from the heavenly sanctuary shines upon us, and we are enabled to exert an influence which is a savor of life unto life. By a union with Christ, by living faith, we are privileged to enjoy the efficacy of His mediation. We are crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, risen with Christ, to walk in newness of life. ST October 11, 1899, par. 15
Mrs. E. G. White