The Fruits of Repentance by Francis M. Wilcox

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 17, 1914

The Fruits of Repentance

By Francis M. Wilcox

By letters from various parts of the field we learn that in some of our churches and conferences where revivals have been taking place there has been a return on the part of many to the old-time simplicity of dress, diet, and general living. This is good news. A repentance which works no tangible reformation in the life amounts to very little.

That there is need for many in the church to return to their first love, to their old-time zeal and earnestness and conscientious Christian living, is very evident. Too greatly has the spirit of worldliness entered the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Among some of our people there is not the old-time regard for Sabbath observance that once existed. There has been a wide departure in many homes from the principles of healthful living. The old-time plainness and simplicity of dress has given place to a patterning after the standards and fashions of the world. Display, ornamentation, and useless extravagance are witnessed. In the general prosperity of our work, in our freedom from opposition, in the peaceful conditions which have existed in the world generally, many have relaxed their vigilance, and in consequence the enemy has stolen in unawares and gained victories in their lives.

We believe that as we near the end of time, we shall see a change regarding these matters among the remnant people, and we rejoice that with many a reformation has begun. In some of these particulars, quite as much as in Sabbath observance and in some of the more formal features of Christian experience, there is indicated the real conversion of the heart and the dedication of the life to the service of God.

We need to pay more diligent heed to the special instruction that has been given this people through the spirit of prophecy. The instruction relating to dress and diet should be carefully studied and consistently practiced. In this study and in the application of the principles each one needs to give careful attention to his own experience, and not exercise an undue burden regarding the experience of his brother. In relation to these things in the past, we have had altogether too much judging in the church and too little personal study with a view to the application of the principles to individual needs. Let us seek for divine wisdom to determine how we can best represent the principles of the kingdom in our own individual experience.

F. M. W.