SELF-DECEPTION by H. F. Phelps

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Apr 27, 1876

SELF-DECEPTION

By H. F. Phelps

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” The carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”

In view of these scriptures how very careful every one should be lest he should be deceived, and lose life at last. Nothing but entire consecration and obedience to the will of God can save us. It is a great thing to be able to understand the mind of the Spirit of God, and to detect the influence of Satan. The only safety is in clinging to the word of God. If a spirit leads me to use my tongue in speaking evil of my neighbor, and teaches another that he must keep the door of his lips, the word of God must decide against me, and it will be seen that my spirit is an evil one.

And how will it be in regard to the seventh and first-day Sabbaths? Says one, I have been greatly blessed while in the observance of the first-day as the Sabbath. I have prayed God to show me my duty, and if God will convince me that it is my duty to keep the Sabbath I will do it. Thus they rest, waiting for God to perform some miracle to convince them against their will. Evidently the word of God should settle this controversy, and the true child of God should say, “That word I will follow.”

Here is great danger of self-deception. Our kind Father in Heaven has graciously given us his law, has seen fit to choose his own rest-day, has never altered one iota of that law, and has never promised any other evidence aside from his word, assisted by the Holy Spirit, to convince his erring children. And the Spirit and the word agree.

The case of the trance medium spoken of by Bro. Osborn, in REVIEW, is a good illustration. This man, with others, read the Bible, and prayed God to guide him in his investigation of spiritualism. This man, for aught we know, had been a Christian. Where did he make his mistake? Evidently in looking into spiritualism instead of the word of God. There he would have found spiritualism denounced; he could have seen that the curse of God was upon it, and that it was a serpent from the bottomless pit. But he read the word, and then, with prayer upon his lips, went into spiritualism.

Oh! how many are making the same sad mistake in their investigation of the solemn work of the third message. They fear, yea, they are almost persuaded that this is the work of God. But they look at their circumstances, at the world, their worldly comfort, and at past experience, and finally settle down, with the word of God before them, and prayer upon their lips, waiting for high Heaven to convince them. Oh, fatal delusion! They will be convinced, but too late. May we be awake to the deception of the human heart, and overcome at last.

H. F. Phelps.