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There are some who say that the Bible does not teach perfection. There are some who say that even though the word “perfect” does appear in both the Old and New Testament, it is a mistranslation, or it has a different shade of meaning, as the word would in a modern language like English or Spanish.
We can know the truth of the matter through two things… first, what does the word itself mean in the language of its origin? Second, and perhaps more importantly, how is the word used?
I was recently speaking to someone whose first language wasn’t English, but Nepalese. He had heard the expression, “These are meager times,” and he asked me what that meant. I told him that the word itself, meager, means to be thin. When applied to a year, though, or a period of time, it means that there is a lack of enough resources, like food, to be comfortable. The same idea is there, so the usage is consistent, but the language uses an idea intended for one purpose, and applies it figuratively to another.
All languages are like that, and so it is often not enough to go with the raw definition of a word. We say that the Bible must be used to interpret itself, and this is what we mean. We must find verses and passages that use a term, and see what meaning it is intended to convey.
Are Creation Seventh-day Adventists over-stating the Bible’s usage of the word “perfection” when we apply it to victory over sin? Are we being overly literal in our position, that the born-again believer is perfectly free from sin, and does not ever deliberately transgress the Law of our Father?
Here are some places, and contexts, in which the word is used. First, from the Old Testament, we find: “Thou shalt be perfect with Yahweh thy God.” (Deu 18:13) This was a promise given by Yahweh to Israel… but what did it mean? By definition, the word itself in Hebrew means to be “without blemish,” “upright,” and “complete,” so that seems to match the English translation pretty well. It is found, translated differently, in verses like this one: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats.” (Exo 12:5) This is a sacrificial animal that, as we know, represents Christ Himself. Thus, any notion of “perfection” here, while literally describing the physical body of the animal, represents spiritual and ritual perfection as well. It is a freedom from spiritual as well as physical flaw, and would very much indicate the idea of being free from sin. In the context of Deuteronomy 18, where it is translated simply as “perfect,” Yahweh is describing His people as being separate from the pagan beliefs and practices of the nations around them, as separate from the prevailing evils of the world… human sacrifices, divination, and various abominations which, if we see them as applicable to more modern concepts, presents exactly this idea: “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing,” (James 1:4) and how? How do we accomplish this? We read in the same chapter, “But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:22, 27)
The word “religion” is not at all a negative one in the language of Christ’s apostles. Religion, especially organized religion, is a concept to be feared and avoided in the language of modern Christianity, but we see from the Scriptures that true religion is the obedience and faith of those to whom the word “perfect” may be rightly applied. We are perfectly separated from the mindset of this world, and therefore perfectly pure.
Because the world is evil, and men are not used to seeing genuine faith, Yahshua was often misunderstood. His faith in the Father was mistaken for arrogance. His claim to be One with the Father was taken for blasphemy. His rightful declaration that He was to be King was misconstrued as rebellion against Rome, and for this He was killed by a jealous and corrupt priesthood on behalf of a people who had not been properly prepared to receive Him.
Because the world is evil, and men are not used to seeing genuine faith, CSDAs are often misunderstood. Our faith in the Father, our trust in His promises, like that one we just read, “Thou shalt be perfect with Yahweh thy God,” (Deu 18:13) is mistaken by the enemies of the Gospel for arrogance. Our claim to be One with the Father, and One with one another, is taken for denominationalism, or “Churchianity,” which are modern words for blasphemy, making organization and order evil premises. Our rightful declaration that we are children of the King, and His Royal Priesthood, is misconstrued as rebellion against the kings and courts of the modern world. “You cannot say you are a Seventh-day Adventist,” they tell us. “You have no right to go against the SDA Church and claim that royal title.” And for this, a jealous and corrupt priesthood seeks to kill us, to silence our message, on behalf of a people who have not been properly prepared to receive the returning Savior. We could spend all day pointing out parallels.
But we do not wish to be misunderstood. We have a work to do that Yahshua did not. His work was to be our Sacrifice, our Lamb, and to lay the foundation for the Church. A part of that involved being misunderstood by His enemies. Our work is to take that message, that unifying Church Family’s invitation, to the world… so we must not always speak in parables and dark sayings as He did. We must attempt to avoid being mistaken for things that we are not. And so we explain, yes, our Father has called us to be perfect, that is, without blemish or flaw. With regard to sin, we are perfectly free from its power; we do not choose it when we see what it is, and if we do not see it immediately, we learn. Even James, from whom I am quoting, does not suppose that the Christian, who is promised “perfection,” will be incapable of error. In fact, he says just this: “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:6) If it were not possible to err, this warning would be meaningless; but we are hereby told that it is possible not to err, otherwise the instruction would be equally meaningless.
Hopefully, you understand the difference. It is not impossible for the Christian to err, but it is possible for the Christian not to err. And the 144,000 are those who will have learned not to err, because they have believed in the promises, trusted in the righteousness, and learned the character, of the Father and Son.
And so we explain that righteousness by faith is both a gift to be claimed, and a maturation process to experience, “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.” (Mark 4:28) If people can understand that, then they will have understood what our Father has promised us… perfection, yes, rightly identified by that very word, and also patience as we go from glory to glory, never backsliding, never falling back into known transgressions, but ever seeing and reaching for the next rung on the ladder. This is very similar to the symbolism that Paul uses, a ladder, when explaining this very thing to the church two thousand years ago. He says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Yahshua. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Yahshua. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” (Phil 3:12-16)
We are familiar with this passage, but we must be able to explain it in its complexity, and in its simplicity, an idea that I touched on last week. The idea here, the conclusion of it all, is simple enough, and must be simple enough, that even children and the uneducated, the non-theologians, must grasp it in a practical, applicable way. At the same time, the mechanics of how it works is so complex that we will be studying it, with glorified minds and bodies, in the eternal ages to come.
But what do we understand of this? We have pointed out in previous studies that Paul does use two different words that are translated as “perfect” in this passage; and he was right to do so. Furthermore, the translators were perfectly justified in using the word “perfect” for both of them. The context is sufficient to tell you what he means in both cases. When he says, “either were already perfect,” he explains that he means he has not yet “apprehended.” That is to fully obtain or grasp something, to the point where it is entirely possessed or understood. None would say, “I have fully grasped the concept of righteousness, and know how to speak and act in every conceivable circumstance.” No… we may trust that as such circumstances arise, we will be taught what to do by the Spirit, but that is not what Paul is describing here.
Similarly, when he speaks of the saints as those who “be perfect,” it is because they are actively pressing toward the mark of their calling. It is because they are reaching forward to what is ahead, like the next rung of a ladder. It is because what they have already attained, that is, what they have already understood, they live by that, and do not entangle themselves again in what they have already escaped.
The definition, and the context, of the way that both the Old and New Testaments use the word “perfect” give us a very clear meaning that we apply to what we have received, and consciously experience, in Christ. And of course, so far, much of this has been a bit of a review, a reinforcement of your understanding.
In a study from a couple of weeks ago, though, I mentioned that I wanted to examine the idea of perfection from the perspective of another Biblical figure, Job, who actually has a view of Yahweh, and himself, that is remarkably similar to Paul’s. These two men, separated by time, culture, covenant, and daily experience, nevertheless share a common spirit.
Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” (2Tim 4:7, 8) Here is a passage that, if claimed by a modern Christian, will often draw rebuke. “You might sin tomorrow; you cannot say you have kept the faith,” some will protest. “Don’t you know that only those who endure until the end can claim to have a crown of righteousness waiting for them?”
But Job has the same testimony, who never read the Gospel records, and he says, “My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death, not for any injustice in mine hands; also my prayer is pure. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. Also now, behold, my witness is in Heaven, and my record is on high.” (Job 16:16-19) Also, “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” (Job 19:25-27) Both Job and Paul prophecy. Both have certainty about their futures, and anticipate a glorified life with the Father and Son.
Because Job had suffered many misfortunes, his legalistic friends were attempting to convince him that he must have sinned. But Job replies that his lack of apparent blessings is not a reliable sign of his soul’s state, calling on his record in Heaven to bear witness to his innocence. Paul knows he has a crown waiting for him in Heaven. Job knows that Heaven is where his record is kept, and that he will see the appearing of Christ in resurrected flesh.
Paul says to the Corinthians that because he has been called as a minister of Christ, he is often in danger, “in jeopardy every hour,” (1Cor 15:30) but it is not guilt for sin that draws him into trials. It is because he clings to the promises of Yahweh, that he has been made free from sin, and an inheritor of everlasting life. Because he believes this, and teaches it to others, the Enemy of souls seeks to destroy him.
Again, we see a parallel to Job. We read near the very beginning of his book: “And Yahweh said unto Satan, ‘Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst Me against him, to destroy him without cause.’” (Job 2:3)
We cannot have a higher letter of recommendation than that which comes from Yahweh, who calls His servant “a perfect and an upright man” who “holdeth fast his integrity.” These are the words of Yahweh Himself, and yes, the word used in that verse for “perfect” is not some rare or unique term… it is simply, and correctly, rendered in English as perfect, the same quality possessed by those who claim Yah’s promises in Deuteronomy 18:13, and the same quality possessed by the lamb that represents Christ in Exodus 12:5.
Job’s existence is a rebuke to Satan. Satan has said that none can find favor in the exacting and merciless reckoning of Yahweh. None can ever please Him, or be good enough. Yahweh has, indeed, impossible standards, but He has given us the impossible. He has done for us the unbelievable, so that we may be accepted in His Son, and bear the testimony of His Son, the works that please the Father, and the Spirit of Prophecy by which we know it and declare it. (John 8:29, Rev 19:10) Paul prophesies by that Spirit, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” (2Tim 4:8)
Job, like Paul, testifies that Yahweh is righteous, and also merciful. He is holy, and also loving and full of forgiveness. He is separate from sin, but He is accepting of all who come to Him in faith. This will not do for Satan’s purposes; he must destroy every image of Yahweh on the earth, including and especially in the character and testimony of human beings.
Yahweh has declared Job a “perfect” man. This does not mean that Job was free of error, or had a complete understanding of all righteousness. In fact, near the end of the record, Yahweh corrects Job on his misunderstanding, that he has a right to be discontent at his trials, claiming something to the effect of, “I am innocent. I have done no wrong; therefore, I am entitled to be free from suffering.” Yahweh replies, “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it. Wilt thou also disannul My judgment? Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be righteous? Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret. Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.” (Job 40:2, 8, 12-14)
Job’s response is to recognize that He does not know what Yahweh knows. He had no idea what good his record and testimony would do down through the ages, and while our Creator invites questions, He also demands trust, especially when we cannot see very far ahead. Job accepts the rebuke, and learns from his experience, revealing the truth of Yahweh’s assessment of his “perfect” servant, saying, “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5, 6) There is no hesitation to repent and be humble. This is what Yahweh calls perfect.
This is the attitude, this is the spirit, of a Creation Seventh Day Adventist. We claim victory over sin, Christ’s own and perfect victory, which has been offered to us a gift. We know that we have a crown waiting for us in Heaven, and that the record against our name is the testimony of our Father, our Creator, who says of us, “This is a perfect and upright man, or woman, or child.” But never, and not for one moment, does this create in us anything like the pride of the world. We know that we are but dust and ashes, except that our Father has called us precious. Diamonds, rubies and emeralds are just stones, it's just that someone thinks they are valuable.
We are eager to learn of righteousness, so that we can say, when we find some new thing, “Ah, I had heard about this with my ears, but now I see it with my eyes.” We repent of our misunderstanding, in lowliness of spirit, but not with self-pity or discouragement, and we rejoice.When we do that, when we take on that character, then we are priests indeed. Note what Yahweh instructs Job’s friends to do right after his new understanding and repentance: “Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept, lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.” (Job 42:8)
Job is ready, in that moment, to be an intercessor on behalf of his fellow man.
And one might say, “Wait a moment. Why does Yahweh say that Job spoke of Him what is right, even though He just corrected him for an error, and for some very serious misunderstandings?” This is the grace of Yahweh, which we have had from the beginning. Yahweh knows all, but keeps no record of wrongs. He will not tolerate sin, but He draws in sinners that He might teach them how to be saints. His longsuffering is our salvation, so the instant we repent of sin and error, in that moment He acts on the eternal love and honor He has held for us from the foundation of the world. What a Father we have in Yahweh…
Now, there is one passage in the Book of Job that I’d like to examine a bit before we close, and as you read it, you will see why it is of interest. It is found here: “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me. If I say, ‘I am perfect,’ it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul; I would despise my life. This is one thing, therefore I said it, ‘He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.’” (Job 9:20-22)
Here, some may find some purchase to deny the testimony of Christ in His saints. They may say, “Even if what you teach is true on some spiritual level, it must never come out of your mouth. You must never consider yourself to be perfect, or declare it, otherwise you actually prove that you are perverse.” People have said this to us, almost with those very words, because they knew that they could not claim victory with their own lips. They knew that they were condemned before Yahweh as sinners if it were possible to be free from sin, but not something that they had chosen to receive for themselves. If freedom from sin is available, but they are either ignorant of it or reject it, then that means they are not born again. They are not Christians. They do not have everlasting life. Therefore they, like Satan himself, have no choice but to rise up against the testimony against them, and seek to destroy or silence the voice of the Living Witness.
So, what do we say about this passage? We have Yahweh Himself declaring that Job is perfect according to His estimation, and Job here is saying, “I can’t agree with that, or I condemn myself.” Of course, Job did not hear what Yahweh said to Satan, and we do not directly hear what Yahweh says of us… so wouldn’t it be “safer” not to make any assumptions? Wouldn’t it be the case that only the prideful and arrogant disregard this teaching, and claim perfection anyway? How do we reconcile these ideas?
For one thing, the Bible’s concept of growth: “first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear,” (Mark 4:28) doesn’t just apply to the individual soul’s experience, but the People of Yahweh collectively. The things required of Job to be “perfect” in Yahweh’s eyes are not the same as are required of us. This is why it is written, “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mat 5:20) The scribes and Pharisees compared themselves to Moses and Abraham, yet they did not understand true righteousness, seeing it through the lens of the Law, rather than through faith. Again, this is why it was written of Moses, and Abraham, and Daniel, and Job, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb 11:39, 40)
Job spoke prophetically, embracing and declaring the same faith that Paul would possess after experiencing the glory of Yahshua for himself, and the fellowship of the New Testament saints. And yet, Job was not required to stand before the Father without an Intercessor, to endure the Time of Trouble, or to be glorified in the body without seeing death. These are better things than the Old Covenant would generally allow, and we are privileged above all human beings who ever lived, that we are called to such a destiny.
What Job was not called to do, we are called to do. What Job was not called to say, we are called to say, because Yahshua said this, “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.” (John 15:15) We have not yet understood the power of this verse. All the things that Yahshua has heard His Father say, including what He has heard His Father say about us, He has made known unto us.
This is light that Job did not have; He did not hear the Father’s testimony of him. But we know what Yahweh’s judgment of us is, and what it shall be on that Great Day. Our judgment is like His judgment, because we are sons indeed, daughters indeed; and Yahshua, by His in-dwelling Spirit, has told us what our testimony to the world must be. If you are born again, if you are Christ’s, then you are His friend, and He has told you that the Father has said of you: “Hast thou considered my servant, that there is none like him or her in the earth, a perfect and an upright person, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”
What a thing to know, that your salvation is not a work of coincidence, or good fortune. What a thing to know, that you are accepted by the King of the Universe. What a thing to know, that Yahweh has found pleasure in us, and has held us out to the universe as a testimony of His righteousness, patience, and love. We prove that it is possible to keep the Law of Yahweh; indeed, when the Son of Yah dwells within us, it is impossible not to keep the Law of Yahweh. “He cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1John 3:9)
We have not failed to interpret the Scriptures correctly. What we teach was believed by Moses, and Job, and Paul, and is expressed more clearly, more powerfully today, because we are called in the Fourth Angel of Revelation 18 to repeat the Three Angels’ Message to the world in a final voice of invitation and warning.
Job’s statement here is nothing new. It is yet another clear parallel to the teachings of Paul. Job says, “Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul.” Doesn’t Paul say the same? “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified. But he that judgeth me is Yahweh.” (1Cor 4:3, 4)
Now, look at how the light has increased. In the days of Job, Job had Yahweh’s testimony that he was perfect… not free from error, not without the capacity and need for growth, but perfect according to what was expected of him in the light that he had. Job did not know what Yahweh had testified of him, and therefore was not called to agree with that testimony in his own words. Even so, Job does not deny the testimony either. He says, “I am innocent. I do not do wrong. I do not sin. Heaven bears my record.” Job does not claim to know Yahweh’s declaration, but he agrees with it by faith nonetheless, and says, “He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.” In other words, whether or not I am perfect has nothing to do with my suffering. That wasn’t the issue he was addressing, but his friends attempts to get him to accept condemnation for sins that he had not committed.
Again, look at how light has increased. By the time of Paul, Paul is better able to articulate this potentially complicated idea. Job says, “I cannot justify myself by my words,” and that is why he believed that in saying “I am perfect,” even in the proper sense of the term, he would be proving his perversity. Note how he begins the statement: “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me.” This is perfectly right, and Paul agrees, but says, “He that judgeth me is Yahweh.” It is Yahweh’s opinion, not even my own about myself, that is the truth. Thus, if Yahweh says, “You have the victory. You are free from sin. You are perfect according to the light that you have,” that is what is true, not what we judge even of ourselves.
And now, in this last generation, the 144,000 know who they are. Yahshua, their Friend, tells them all that He hears from the Father, and so they are made aware that they are a spectacle to the universe. They are aware that they are being held up as examples, like Paul, and like Job, in the Great Controversy. They know that they are innocent of sin, and that their Heavenly Record will bear this out. They know that should they ever recognize ignorance or error in themselves, they will repent in dust and ashes, maintaining their ability to be intercessors for others, and to stand before the Throne of judgment with clean robes. These are things they know, and in their integrity, will not deny the Judgment of Yahweh. For the world, you see, that phrase, “the Judgment of Yahweh,” is fear, destruction, and condemnation… but for the saints the Judgment of Yahweh is His smile. It is His approval… His seal of approval. It is our salvation.
The saints of Yahweh do not think like the world, or nominal Christianity. We know what the Father and Son have said of us, and we agree. Remember, however, that our ministry to the world involves avoiding unnecessary misunderstandings. So, I am not going to go visit a Baptist Church, or a Catholic Church, or even an Adventist Church, and stand up and say, “I am perfect! God has told me that I am perfect, so listen to my teachings!”
No, even if I were to speak the truth, I would not be understood. The word “perfect” in English generally does have the connotation of nothing more to learn, no learning left to do. This is why, when we say to Christians, “We have victory over sin,” they say, “Oh, then you are saying you no longer need Christ.”
Christ, to them, is pulling them up constantly from the ditches into which they fall, so they misunderstand the symbolism, and thus the teaching. Christ, to us, is dwelling inside of us, and keeping us from falling. Therefore it is by our dependence upon Him that we have and maintain or victory, now and always.
We do not justify ourselves. We do not save ourselves. We do not sanctify ourselves. We participate in these things by agreement, by acceptance, by correcting false thoughts and replacing them with true ones. That is the labor, the struggle, the spiritual “work” of faith that results in the outward works of righteousness. It is righteousness by faith. Nothing else is correct, and this is the nature of the perfection.
When we say, “I have the victory,” it is not, as Job rightly rejects, a statement of self-justification. It is, as Paul explains, a declaration that Yahweh has justified us, and our present lives are those free from sin as a result. We know our Father, better than Job did, better than Moses, or Abraham, or Peter, or Paul, or Ellen White… we have all the light that they did, and now more. Because we hear and declare what our Father has said to us, and of us, some better thing awaits us than awaited them. We will see the glory of the Father, and we will inherit everlasting life, and we shall do so without feeling the sting of death.
It is not for our own merits. It is not because we have justified ourselves. We say things in faith that are true that would be false if said by the carnal mind. The Pharisee says, “I thank you, God, that I am righteous,” but he is self-deceived, because his statement comes from self-assurance rather than reliance on the continuous indwelling of Christ by His Spirit, the same Christ Yahshua that he would soon thereafter condemn to the cross. The publican says, “I thank you, God, that I am righteous.” The words are the same, but the spirit is different. The publican has seen his sin. He has beat on his chest in frustration, because he cannot make himself righteous. He asks for forgiveness, for mercy… and if he will hear the voice from Heaven saying to Him, “I have forgiven you; go, and sin no more,” (cf. John 8:11) then his declaration would be one of joy, of thanksgiving, not of pride or carnal self-reliance.
Let no one make a mistake here; the standard is perfection, in every sense. How we have served others, as friends, as mothers and fathers, as sisters and brothers, as Church brethren, will be brought up in the accounting. When we have applied the principles and character of Christ to these spheres of our influence, then we may know that we have understood the will of our Father, and will declare it to the world.
This is the message we have had from the beginning. As much as we learn, and gain new light, the message is the same now as it has always been. And this we say: the Bible is perfect, and consistent, on what the Gospel is, and what it means to us. It is not always perfectly translated into every language in which it is read, and so at times we must do a little digging, but that search is always greatly rewarded with divine knowledge, and we gain strength to push back the darkness, and find more souls to reclaim for our Father’s Kingdom.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“It is not His plan that His people shall present something which they have to suppose, which is not taught in the Word. It is not His will that they shall get into controversy over questions which will not help them spiritually, such as, Who is to compose the hundred and forty-four thousand? This those who are the elect of God will in a short time know without question.” [Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 174]
“We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.” [Selected Messages, Book 1, p. 37]
“It is your privilege to trust in the love of Jesus for salvation, in the fullest, surest, noblest manner; to say, He loves me, He receives me; I will trust Him, for He gave His life for me. Nothing so dispels doubt as coming in contact with the character of Christ. He declares, ‘Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out;’ that is, there is no possibility of My casting him out, for I have pledged My word to receive him. Take Christ at His word, and let your lips declare that you have gained the victory. Is Jesus true? Does He mean what He says? Answer decidedly, Yes, every word. Then if you have settled this, by faith claim every promise that He has made, and receive the blessing; for this acceptance by faith gives life to the soul.” [Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 517]