p. 85 | EXCUSES | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 7, 1869

EXCUSES

Ever since sin entered our world men have sought excuses under which to hide themselves, rather than to put away their sin by earnest and hearty repentance. How unreasonable and worthless these are, every one could see were not their minds darkened by their sinful course. There can be no excuse for wrong doing. Whatever is wrong must be repented of, and put away. There are indeed greater and lesser degrees of guilt, according to the circumstances of the person and the case. But wrong is wrong. It must be put away from us. We cannot extenuate the wrong and hold it fast without bringing upon ourselves the guilt of willful and deliberate transgression. What was at first only a fault in which we are overtaken by sudden temptation, becomes, by being excused instead of repented of, a deliberate and outbreaking sin. We deliberately and coolly cherish, and excuse, and extenuate, a wrong which we can now see in its true character. The guilt of wrong doing is wonderfully enhanced by the excuses which men study up for their guilt. Let us never play into the hands of Satan by hiding under excuses.

In the day of Judgment excuses are useless. Even those who have so many now to offer will not bring forward a single one in the hour of their extremity. The man without the wedding garment in the final examination was speechless. He had plenty of excuses that he could have offered to his fellow-men, and perhaps he would have done it so fluently that himself, at least, would have thought he had made out a strong case. But in the presence of the all-seeing Judge these excuses vanished into nothing. He saw then how inexcusable is wrong doing; how hateful is sin; and how unjustifiable the course of those who choose to follow their own course rather than to obey God. Beware of hiding under excuses. They are not capable of hiding us from the sight of our final Judge.