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The Youth’s Instructor

168/477

August 8, 1895

Confession of Christ

EGW

Now is the time to confess Christ before the world; by a consistent life and conversation to be a witness for Jesus Christ. By so doing you will exercise an influence over others, and will aid others to confess that Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The more light you have, and the more Christ works through the Holy Spirit to win you from a course of guilt, the more responsible you will be for resisting his mercy and refusing his invitation. The Jewish nation rejected Christ, and the darkness that came upon them corresponded to the great light that had been given them. So it will be with you. The greater the light you have, the greater will be the darkness that will enshroud you. You will press closer to the enemy of Christ, and make it more manifest than before that it is your choice to be Satan's slave rather than Christ's free man. Not enlisting in the service of the Captain of our salvation, you show to the world that you have chosen another leader. YI August 8, 1895, par. 1

The kingdom of heaven has come near unto you, and you have seen the Father and the Son. You think that the time will never come when you will mock and deride Jesus. You think that if you had lived upon earth when Christ was here, your voice would not have been raised with that of the multitude who cried, “Away with him! Crucify him!” But if you persist in rejecting Christ, you will be at the mercy of the enemy, and will do his bidding at last. I beseech of you to take your stand without delay on the side of Christ. Jesus has bought you with an infinite price because he loves you. Why not reveal to the world that you do not hate and reject Jesus? Why do you not manifest that you love the attributes and the service of Christ more than you love the attributes and the service of Satan? Why do you ventilate what you call skepticism, when you know that Jesus Christ came into the world to save just such foolish sinners as yourselves? Why do you look upon religion as a restraint, when the practise of godliness will keep you from ruining your happiness in this life, and will give you a title to the future, immortal life? O let it not be said of you, “Ye have seen and hated both me and my Father.” YI August 8, 1895, par. 2

Jesus has done much for you, and he is willing to do much more. Every blessing, every talent, every capability you possess has come to you through Jesus Christ. Those who reject Christ, reject their only hope of happiness in this life, and cut themselves off from the hope of eternal life. Every step of rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of the goodness of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit. It is evident that not one who stands under the banner of Jesus Christ, who serves him as a faithful soldier, has committed this sin. The sin against the Holy Ghost is not confined to any one period of time, or limited to any one generation. The Jewish nation who rejected Christ committed the unpardonable sin, but by taking the same course that they took in refusing the invitation of mercy, we may commit the same error. You offer insult to the Prince of life, and put him to an open shame before the synagogue of Satan. “We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.” You should not delay one day. The peril is too great. You may lose your life. Satan is watching every opportunity in order that he may destroy both soul and body; but Jesus is ready to pardon all your sins, and to make you a child of God, an heir of heaven. YI August 8, 1895, par. 3

Mrs. E. G. White