Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 5 (1887-1888)

Lt 47a, 1887

Frey, Henri

Basel, Switzerland

May 7, 1887

Edited copy of Lt 47, 1887. Previously unpublished.

Brother Frey:

I have hoped to see you occupying ere this a far different position spiritually than you now do, but I know you do not see your danger or realize your situation. You do not follow the light that God has given you. You do not heed good counsel. I know that you cannot grow spiritually without making more decided, determined, persevering effort. You do not seem inclined to come up to a high, holy standard; and until you do, you will ever be wanting in spiritual knowledge and strength. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 1

You ask me whether it would be wrong to associate with a young man who is an unbeliever—should you avoid his company? Now, my brother, you know perfectly well whether the influence of that young man is more to your disadvantage than your influence is to his advantage. You should not be a child in discerning these things. You said you thought you might do him good. But I ask, Are you doing him good? You will either show in your conversation and deportment the grace of Christ and the beauty of a truly reformed character, giving evidence of a true heartwork, or you will surely imbibe his spirit and engage in evil practices with him. Instead of your helping him, he will be molding you. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 2

You do not have a determination to be a man in the sight of God—a man of faith, constantly growing in experience according to the light which shines upon you. You forsake the fountain of living waters and are seeking to drink at turbid streams. You are constantly reaching out for sympathy and longing to be propped up by human aids; but even here you do not obtain that help which you might have if you would place yourself in connection with those who have strength of character and experience. You do not seem to desire this kind of society, but prefer to associate with those who are as weak in moral power as yourself. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 3

I view your case as a very dangerous one, because you do not in your very heart love purity and holiness and do not distinguish between the sacred and the common. Should your life close as it is, you would never be an inhabitant of heaven, because you have not clean hands and a pure heart. You do not use your powers and capabilities as God has given you light. You are not united with the living Vine and are not bearing fruit to the glory of God. Said Christ, “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.” [John 15:8.] 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 4

While you remain in your present position, the Spirit of God cannot abide in your heart, and hence you are not in harmony with God. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you.” [2 Corinthians 6:17, 18.] You must comply with the conditions God has laid down in His Word before you can be acknowledged as a child of God. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 5

You need an experience which you are very slow in gaining. Unless you awake to your sore needs, you will come no nearer to God or the truth and will finally be separated from His work. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 6

You trust too much to feeling and impulse and do not move from firm principle. Feelings, of whatever nature, will prove no shield against temptation. The assaults of the enemy will surely prevail unless you put on the whole armor of righteousness. The adversary of souls is holding you in the slavery of sin. Feelings which are not traceable to any conviction of judgment have no stability in them. They are dependent on outward circumstances, affected by prevailing influences. Temptation will change these feelings and leave you without confidence in yourself or in God. You have great need of that inward assurance which will strengthen your purposes to stand against the devices of the enemy. Foes who eagerly seek your destruction will succeed unless you watch unto prayer. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 7

You should be alarmed; for you are losing spiritual strength. As long as the light of truth shines upon you in such clear and steady rays, and its sacred principles are not interwoven in your character; as long as you could be under right influences, and yet you show no inclination to choose them, but rather avoid them; so long you will be less and less impressed by divine influences. Your salvation is at stake. You must make a decided separation from wrong influences. Throw away all these human props; cut loose from this unadvised, sympathetic sentimentalism; grasp the cord that binds you to Jesus. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 8

There is but one course before you, and that is to give up every sinful practice; for if you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will nor hear your prayers, and He cannot impart strength to you. The influence you exert in your present weakness can be no help to the cause of God; and unless your heart is in the work, you would better be separated from it. While you are molded by the influence of your chosen associates, your own influence will be detrimental. It cannot elevate, ennoble, or refine anyone who is connected with you. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 9

The sympathy of women which has been lavished upon you has had its deleterious influence. It has bewildered your sense. It is more pleasant to you than you realize, leading to neglect of even the hours of prayer. There is a kind of sympathy that is fascinating to the human heart, but it is one of Satan’s snares. It is deceptive and tarnishes the soul. The unsanctified affection given you is no way in accordance with the position women should assume. But it has affected you just as Satan designed it should. It has deceived you and lessened your respect for women. You need a deep and thorough experience in divine things; and to hinder you from gaining it Satan will provide this sentimental sympathy that leads you to lean upon human aid instead of upon God. You need to see yourself as a weak, sinful, erring creature, one who needs special help, not from those who are as weak as yourself, but from the living God. Cut off these sources of sentimentalism, and place your undivided affections upon God. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 10

You must wholly renounce this kind of experience before you can be a strong man in the truth. Satan assails you on your weakest points. It is not sympathy you need, but influences that are uplifting, that will refine and ennoble you, and fit you for positions of sacred trust. You will just as surely be swept away from the truth as you continue to gratify self, and thus parley with Satan and invite his temptations. Your religion will be like a structure built on sliding sand, having no more foundation, and as easily swept away by the storm of trial. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 11

Your friends do not know how weak you are in moral power. They do not know that your thoughts are not elevated, that your conversation naturally flows in a common, low channel, that your manners are not naturally elevated and refined, but altogether too gross. Every one of these women who have given you special attention would be disappointed when they became thoroughly acquainted with you. The truth of God lowers no one, but brings all who practice it up to meet the elevated standard of righteousness. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 12

I care for your soul, and I wish you had a care for it also. Do you intend to remain as you are? Are you not alarmed for yourself? I fear you are resting on a false hope. Let the repentant sinner look to Jesus as his intercessor. Let his attention be diverted from himself to the Son of God, dying upon the cross, a sacrifice to save him. Let his faith lay hold of the merits of Christ. Let him see the way, the truth, and the life; and then his faith will work by love. He will hate sin because Christ hates it. The transforming grace of Christ will stamp the divine image upon his soul. O how changed he is! Gratitude springs up in his heart. A strong tide of love flows in, and he is willing and ready to suffer, to deny self, for Christ’s sake. The heart is broken, and Jesus, the loving Saviour, takes possession of the soul. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 13

The repentant sinner should not rely upon a form of religion, but strive for a living experience. That which will prove the greatest hindrance to the publishing house in _____ is the irreligious lives of those who claim to be religious, who have made a profession of godliness, but have no love for genuine truth and practical piety. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 14

The truth must be brought into your life to sanctify your character. You must make more decided efforts, or Satan will surely gain possession of all your powers. You must break away from every association that does not have an elevating tendency and place yourself, in your present spiritual weakness, where temptation will not be so powerful. You must seek, as never before, to have a firm belief in the great truths of God’s Word; and as a result you will have a constant realization of God’s presence and an unwavering confidence in Him. Reason must be satisfied that God has spoken; then faith must seize with a firm grasp what He has said. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 15

The divine message, if received as words spoken to you from God, produces on the heart and life a corresponding impression; for God’s Word and God’s Spirit work in harmony. Addressed to every part of man’s nature, it touches every part, is received into every part, and fits the receiver to exert a commanding influence. It has sway over every power of the being. It will testify for Christ by words, by actions, and by influences unseen, but felt. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 16

The important truths with which you are daily brought in contact will prove to you a source of life unto life or of death unto death. Unless you are bringing your life and character to meet the realities of the times, then it would be better had you no connection with the cause. God alone can be your helper. Flee to the stronghold. The Lord is willing to be gracious if you will only come where He can help you. Jesus will never leave you alone in your sore struggles. To lay hold of the power of God by living faith will alone give you strength to resist the enemy. Your conscience is not clear. You are under condemnation and feel easier when you are with those who, like yourself, have no spiritual discernment, no spiritual strength. All these influences are shutting you away from the favor of God. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 17

His displeasure is upon you, and in His name I tell you, you will lose what qualifications for His work you already have, unless you place yourself in communion with God. Do not connect with the enemy of souls and with evil angels. When Joseph was tempted by his master’s wife, he exclaimed, “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” [Genesis 39:9.] 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 18

Your soul is in peril. Will you see it? The principles of truth which you hear and which you are handling have very little influence upon you, or they would take hold upon your life. They do not sanctify your soul. Temptations are constantly appealing to your inclinations and appetite. You associate with those who have no fear of God, who have not the light of truth, and this association is of itself enough to weaken moral power and cause you to become like them to a great degree—one in spirit, one in indulgence. If your health is injured, you are unfitted for work and for all religious exercises. You must have a thorough conversion, or you will never be saved. You must have a close connection with God. You give evidence that you do not love God or the principles of truth. No one who has any realizing sense of his relation to God and his accountability to his fellow men will choose the society of those who are not connected with God. The truth which takes hold of eternal realities will give no relish for insipid and degrading pleasures or low, common themes of conversation. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 19

If you expect to be one of that number who shall stand around the throne of God with the crown of glory upon their brows, you must prepare for this great change here in this life. Your thoughts must be of an altogether different character from what they are at present. The work must begin with the heart. That must be cleansed of moral defilement and made pure for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Here is your work—cleansing the soul temple of its moral defilement through Jesus Christ. God help you to make haste before it shall be too late. 5LtMs, Lt 47a, 1887, par. 20