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M. E. GUILFORD

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 1, 1873

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 41, No. 16.

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M. E. GUILFORD

By M. E. Guilford

Perfection.

The standard of Christian perfection is a high and holy one. Says Jesus, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” Is it possible for mortals to attain to this high state of perfection? Yes, it is possible, or it would not have been required of us. And, nothing short of this perfection will entitle us to a place in the heavenly inheritance.
The word of God affords us ample instruction in the ways of righteousness, that we may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Christ is our perfect pattern. If we abide in him, and obey his word, the love of God will be perfected in our hearts, and we shall be able, “so to walk even as he walked.” And John testifies, “He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he [Christ] is righteous.”
The ways and means for our advancement toward Christian perfection are clearly defined. Hear James: “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” And Paul: “Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” And Peter exhorts: “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” And again Paul, in Col. 3: 12-14: “Put on therefore . . . bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering . . . and above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfection.”
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Gal. 5: 22, 23. We must cultivate these graces of the Spirit, and labor earnestly and perseveringly, that the fruits thereof, in our hearts, may ripen unto perfection. To successfully accomplish this work, we must heed the counsel of the apostle Peter: “Giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And he adds, “For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”
Let us then encourage our hearts and press on. With our eyes fixed upon the prize—feeling our entire dependence upon Him who is mighty to save—with firm faith, relying upon the promises of God, may we get hold from above, and urge our way onward through the strife and conflicts of the Christian warfare, overcoming every obstacle, surmounting every difficulty, nor yielding the battle until, having washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, we can shout the victor’s song of triumph, and exclaim with Paul, “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.”
May we never lay down the armor, nor cease the warfare, until we are prepared to stand “without fault before the throne of God.”

M. E. GUILFORD

Castalia, Ohio.