The Acts of the Apostles
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 55: Transformed by Grace
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John yielded his resentful, ambitious temper to the molding power of Christ, and divine love wrought in him a transformation of character.
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In the life of the disciple John true sanctification is
exemplified. During the years of his close association with Christ, he was often
warned and cautioned by the Saviour; and these reproofs he accepted. As the
character of the Divine One was manifested to him, John saw his own
deficiencies, and was humbled by the revelation. Day by day, in contrast with
his own violent spirit, he beheld the tenderness and forbearance of Jesus, and
heard His lessons of humility and patience. Day by day his heart was drawn out
to Christ, until he lost sight of self in love for his Master. The power and
tenderness, the majesty and meekness, the strength and patience, that he saw in
the daily life of the Son of God, filled his soul with admiration. He yielded
his resentful, ambitious temper to the molding power of Christ, and divine love
wrought in him a transformation of character. {AA 557.1}
In striking contrast to the sanctification worked out in the
life of John is the experience of his fellow disciple, [558] Judas.
Like his associate, Judas professed to be a disciple of Christ, but he
possessed only a form of godliness. He was not insensible to the beauty of the
character of Christ; and often, as he listened to the Saviour's words,
conviction came to him, but he would not humble his heart or confess his sins.
By resisting the divine influence he dishonored the Master whom he professed to
love. John warred earnestly against his faults; but Judas violated his
conscience and yielded to temptation, fastening upon himself more securely his
habits of evil. The practice of the truths that Christ taught was at variance
with his desires and purposes, and he could not bring himself to yield his
ideas in order to receive wisdom from heaven. Instead of walking in the light,
he chose to walk in darkness. Evil desires, covetousness, revengeful passions,
dark and sullen thoughts, were cherished until Satan gained full control of
him. {AA 557.2}
John and Judas are representatives of those who profess to
be Christ's followers. Both these disciples had the same opportunities to study
and follow the divine Pattern. Both were closely associated with Jesus and were
privileged to listen to His teaching. Each possessed serious defects of
character; and each had access to the divine grace that transforms character.
But while one in humility was learning of Jesus, the other revealed that he was
not a doer of the word, but a hearer only. One, daily dying to self and
overcoming sin, was sanctified through the truth; the other, resisting the
transforming power of grace and indulging selfish desires, was brought into
bondage to Satan. [559] {AA 558.1}
Such transformation of character as is seen in the life of
John is ever the result of communion with Christ. There may be marked defects
in the character of an individual, yet when he becomes a true disciple of
Christ, the power of divine grace transforms and sanctifies him. Beholding as in
a glass the glory of the Lord, he is changed from glory to glory, until he is
like Him whom he adores. {AA
559.1}
John was a teacher of holiness, and in his letters to the
church he laid down unerring rules for the conduct of Christians. "Every
man that hath this hope in him," he wrote, "purifieth himself, even
as He is pure." "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 3:3; 2:6. He taught that the
Christian must be pure in heart and life. Never should he be satisfied with an
empty profession. As God is holy in His sphere, so fallen man, through faith in
Christ, is to be holy in his sphere. {AA 559.2}
"This is the will of God," the apostle Paul wrote,
"even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3. The sanctification
of the church is God's object in all His dealings with His people. He has
chosen them from eternity, that they might be holy. He gave His Son to die for
them, that they might be sanctified through obedience to the truth, divested of
all the littleness of self. From them He requires a personal work, a personal
surrender. God can be honored by those who profess to believe in Him, only as
they are conformed to His image and controlled by His Spirit. Then, as
witnesses for the Saviour, they may make known what divine grace has done for
them. [560]
{AA 559.3}
True sanctification comes through the working out of the
principle of love. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16. The life of him in whose heart Christ
abides, will reveal practical godliness. The character will be purified,
elevated, ennobled, and glorified. Pure doctrine will blend with works of
righteousness; heavenly precepts will mingle with holy practices. {AA 560.1}
Those who would gain the blessing of sanctification must
first learn the meaning of self-sacrifice. The cross of Christ is the central
pillar on which hangs the "far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory." "If any man will come after Me," Christ says, "let
him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." 2 Corinthians
4:17; Matthew 16:24. It is the fragrance of our love for our fellow men that
reveals our love for God. It is patience in service that brings rest to the
soul. It is through humble, diligent, faithful toil that the welfare of Israel
is promoted. God upholds and strengthens the one who is willing to follow in
Christ's way. {AA 560.2}
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day,
but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the
result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs
cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble,
intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline,
and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will
be our conflict the next. So long as Satan reigns, we shall have self to
subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be
no [561]
stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained.
Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience. {AA 560.3}
None of the apostles and prophets ever claimed to be without
sin. Men who have lived the nearest to God, men who would sacrifice life itself
rather than knowingly commit a wrong act, men whom God has honored with divine
light and power, have confessed the sinfulness of their nature. They have put
no confidence in the flesh, have claimed no righteousness of their own, but
have trusted wholly in the righteousness of Christ. {AA 561.1}
So will it be with all who behold Christ. The nearer we come
to Jesus, and the more clearly we discern the purity of His character, the more
clearly shall we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the less shall we
feel like exalting ourselves. There will be a continual reaching out of the
soul after God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin and
humbling of the heart before Him. At every advance step in our Christian
experience our repentance will deepen. We shall know that our sufficiency is in
Christ alone and shall make the apostle's confession our own: "I know that
in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing." "God forbid
that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Romans 7:18; Galatians 6:14. {AA 561.2}
Let the recording angels write the history of the holy
struggles and conflicts of the people of God; let them record their prayers and
tears; but let not God be dishonored by the declaration from human lips,
"I am sinless; I am [562] holy." Sanctified lips will
never give utterance to such presumptuous words. {AA 561.3}
The apostle Paul had been caught up to the third heaven and
had seen and heard things that could not be uttered, and yet his unassuming
statement is: "Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect: but I follow after." Philippians 3:12. Let the angels of heaven
write of Paul's victories in fighting the good fight of faith. Let heaven rejoice
in his steadfast tread heavenward, and that, keeping the prize in view, he
counts every other consideration dross. Angels rejoice to tell his triumphs,
but Paul makes no boast of his attainments. The attitude of Paul is the
attitude that every follower of Christ should take as he urges his way onward
in the strife for the immortal crown. {AA 562.1}
Let those who feel inclined to make a high profession of
holiness look into the mirror of God's law. As they see its far-reaching
claims, and understand its work as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart, they will not boast of sinlessness. "If we," says John,
not separating himself from his brethren, "say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." "If we say that we
have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." "If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8, 10, 9. {AA 562.2}
There are those who profess holiness, who declare that they
are wholly the Lord's, who claim a right to the promises of God, while refusing
to render obedience to His [563] commandments. These
transgressors of the law claim everything that is promised to the children of
God; but this is presumption on their part, for John tells us that true love
for God will be revealed in obedience to all His commandments. It is not enough
to believe the theory of truth, to make a profession of faith in Christ, to
believe that Jesus is no impostor, and that the religion of the Bible is no
cunningly devised fable. "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His
commandments," John wrote, "is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby
know we that we are in Him." "He that keepeth His commandments
dwelleth in Him, and He in him." 1 John 2:4, 5; 3:24. {AA 562.3}
John did not teach that salvation was to be earned by
obedience; but that obedience was the fruit of faith and love. "Ye know
that He was manifested to take away our sins," he said, "and in Him
is no sin. Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not
seen Him, neither known Him." 1 John 3:5, 6. If we abide in Christ, if the
love of God dwells in the heart, our feelings, our thoughts, our actions, will
be in harmony with the will of God. The sanctified heart is in harmony with the
precepts of God's law. {AA
563.1}
There are many who, though striving to obey God's
commandments, have little peace or joy. This lack in their experience is the
result of a failure to exercise faith. They walk as it were in a salt land, a
parched wilderness. They claim little, when they might claim much; for there is
no [564]
limit to the promises of God. Such ones do not correctly represent the sanctification
that comes through obedience to the truth. The Lord would have all His sons and
daughters happy, peaceful, and obedient. Through the exercise of faith the
believer comes into possession of these blessings. Through faith, every
deficiency of character may be supplied, every defilement cleansed, every fault
corrected, every excellence developed. {AA 563.2}
Prayer is heaven's ordained means of success in the conflict
with sin and the development of Christian character. The divine influences that
come in answer to the prayer of faith will accomplish in the soul of the
suppliant all for which he pleads. For the pardon of sin, for the Holy Spirit,
for a Christlike temper, for wisdom and strength to do His work, for any gift
He has promised, we may ask; and the promise is, "Ye shall receive." {AA 564.1}
It was in the mount with God that Moses beheld the pattern
of that wonderful building that was to be the abiding place of His glory. It is
in the mount with God—in the secret place of communion—that
we are to contemplate His glorious ideal for humanity. In all ages, through the
medium of communion with heaven, God has worked out His purpose for His
children, by unfolding gradually to their minds the doctrines of grace. His
manner of imparting truth is illustrated in the words, "His going forth is
prepared as the morning." Hosea 6:3. He who places himself where God can
enlighten him, advances, as it were, from the partial obscurity of dawn to the
full radiance of noonday. [565] {AA 564.2}
True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience,
perfect conformity to the will of God. We are to be sanctified to God through
obedience to the truth. Our conscience must be purged from dead works to serve
the living God. We are not yet perfect; but it is our privilege to cut away
from the entanglements of self and sin, and advance to perfection. Great
possibilities, high and holy attainments, are placed within the reach of all. {AA 565.1}
The reason many in this age of the world make no greater
advancement in the divine life is because they interpret the will of God to be
just what they will to do. While following their own desires, they flatter
themselves that they are conforming to God's will. These have no conflicts with
self. There are others who for a time are successful in the struggle against
their selfish desire for pleasure and ease. They are sincere and earnest, but
grow weary of protracted effort, of daily death, of ceaseless turmoil.
Indolence seems inviting, death to self repulsive; and they close their drowsy
eyes and fall under the power of temptation instead of resisting it. {AA 565.2}
The directions laid down in the word of God leave no room
for compromise with evil. The Son of God was manifested that He might draw all
men unto Himself. He came not to lull the world to sleep, but to point out the
narrow path in which all must travel who reach at last the gates of the City of
God. His children must follow where He has led the way; at whatever sacrifice
of ease or selfish indulgence, at whatever cost of labor or suffering, they
must maintain a constant battle with self. [566] {AA 565.3}
The greatest praise that men can bring to God is to become
consecrated channels through whom He can work. Time is rapidly passing into
eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not
refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given with merit, cannot be denied
without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by
creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is
His. He asks for your money; give it to Him; it is His. "Ye are not your
own, for ye are bought with a price." 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20. God requires
the homage of a sanctified soul, which has prepared itself, by the exercise of
the faith that works by love, to serve Him. He holds up before us the highest
ideal, even perfection. He asks us to be absolutely and completely for Him in
this world as He is for us in the presence of God. {AA 566.1}
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"This is the will of God" concerning you,
"even your sanctification." 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Is it your will
also? Your sins may be as mountains before you; but if you humble your heart
and confess your sins, trusting in the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour,
He will forgive and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God demands of
you entire conformity to His law. This law is the echo of His voice saying to
you, Holier, yes, holier still. Desire the fullness of the grace of Christ. Let
your heart be filled with an intense longing for His righteousness, the work of
which God's word declares is peace, and its effect quietness and assurance
forever. [567] {AA 566.2}
As your soul yearns after God, you will find more and still
more of the unsearchable riches of His grace. As you contemplate these riches
you will come into possession of them and will reveal the merits of the
Saviour's sacrifice, the protection of His righteousness, the fullness of His
wisdom, and His power to present you before the Father "without spot, and
blameless." 2 Peter 3:14. {AA 567.1}
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