The Power of Satan by John Nevins Andrews

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 25, 1871

The Power of Satan.

By John Nevins Andrews

HOW TERRIBLE is the power of the devil! He begins to bind us by a fine thread, our first and least transgressions of the law of God. We know these indeed, at the time, to be wrong, but it seems to us that without difficulty we can break their power and put them away from us when we will. And so we dare to continue in them. Use makes us insensible to our danger; and each repetition of our sin binds us with a new thread, and these by many additions come at last to make a strong cord that can be broken only by earnest effort on our part, and by the special help of God united to our faithful action. If we neglect all these sins, and make no effort to repent, Satan draws us into greater transgressions, and binds us with stronger cords than that which we have already formed by our repeated transgressions. And so the power of sin increases with every transgression, and every time we sin against God our adversary binds us with another and a stronger cord. Finally Satan has us bound with the cords of our sins till we are almost utterly helpless in his hands. Look at the case of those who go on in sin till old age comes upon them. They have obeyed Satan till he has put out their eyes, paralyzed their strength, destroyed their sensibilities, hardened their hearts, and bound them hand and foot with a rope that is stronger than a cable. It is a dreadful thing to sin against God. And when men dare to go on in sin from youth to old age, it is almost impossible that they should ever be rescued from the hands of Satan. Reader, if you have lived long in sin, repent to-day if peradventure you can. And if you are just entering the paths of sin, stop this very moment and seek God. J. N. A.