STEPS TO CHRIST | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Nov 18, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 45.

STEPS TO CHRIST.

(BY A CHILD )

The Sinner's Need of Christ.

ORIGINALLY man was endowed with a pure and noble mind, but by partaking of the forbidden fruit of transgression, his mind became sullied and impure. In the beginning his thoughts were pure, his aims were holy. But, through his disobedience, the strength of his good powers was weakened and love was replaced by selfishness. Satan made man his captive, and when man left his glorious home for an estate of sin and misery, he left behind something that never could have been regained had God not especially interposed.

It was Satan's plan to thwart the divine purpose of creation and fill the earth with wo and desolation. And to all he would point this evil as the result of God's work in creating man.

The sinner could not be happy in the presence of God; he would shrink from holy companionship. Tho he entered heaven, it would have no joy for him, for the spirit of unselfish love that reigns there would awaken no responding chord in his soul. Heaven would be to him a place of torture, and he would gladly welcome a consuming fire if it took him from the presence of his Redeemer. The sinner is not excluded from heaven by God's will, but by his own unfitness to dwell there.

Our hearts are evil, and we alone are powerless to change them. When Jesus died on the cross, he died to redeem us from our sins. The crown of thorns that pierced his brow, the sword that pierced his side, were that our souls might be cleansed from sin.

Accomplishments may give an outward appearance of purity, but it can not change the heart. There must be something working within, a new power from above. That power is Christ. Only his grace can quicken the faculties of the soul and change the impurities of human minds to holiness. Our Saviour said, "Except a man be born from above," that is, except he has new motives, new desires, new purposes, leading to a new life, "he can not see the kingdom of God."

It is not enough to perceive the loving-kindness and benevolence of God's character, to discern the justice and wisdom of his law, to see that it is founded upon the eternal principles of love. Paul, the apostle, saw all this when he exclaimed, "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." "But" he added, in the bitterness of despair, "I am carnal, sold under sin." He longed for purity and righteousness, which in himself he was powerless to give, and he cried, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Such is the cry that has gone up from burdened hearts in all lands and in all ages. There is but one answer, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

The heart of God yearns over his earthly children with a love that is stronger than death. He has poured out to us all heaven in one gift, by giving up his Son. O, let us seek for better motives and purposes, for higher aspirations, that we may enjoy the home prepared for us by Jesus!

Repentance.

Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We can not denounce sin unless we see our sins, and there is no true repentance until we have turned away from our sinful ways. Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned, and even make an outward confession, but there is no true repentance if they return to their sinful ways again. They do this because they fear their wrong-doing will bring suffering upon them. They lament the suffering rather than the sin. But when the heart yields to the influence of the Spirit of God, the sinner will understand something of the depth of God's holy law. He sees the love of God, the joy of purity, and the beauty of holiness, and he longs to be cleansed and return to the communion of heaven.

It is the virtue that goes forth from Christ that brings true repentance. When the sinner makes an effort to reform, Jesus reaches out a helping hand and helps him from the pit of sin and shame to the holy communion of heaven. Tho an outward reformation is made, we must see the enormity of our sins, and cry out to God for forgiveness, and turn from the path of destruction. Christ is the course of every right desire. When a wish of purity and holiness comes to us, it is a sign that the Spirit of God is working within.

Confession.

The Lord does not require an enormous sin that we may be forgiven. Neither need we go on long, wearisome pilgrimages, or perform painful penances, to commend our souls to the God of heaven. But the sinner should not be pushed into confession when he does not discern the true sense. Besides, we can not confess

sins until we see the sins that must be confessed. God gives mercy to all who confess their sins and pray for forgiveness. If offense has been given to a neighbor, we should ask his pardon; then it is his duty to grant it. We must afterward ask forgiveness of God, for he is God's creature, for when we offend him, we offend God. Those who have not humbled their souls before God, have not fulfilled the first step of confession. If we have never sought we shall never find God's peace.

All confessions should be definite and to the point, acknowledging the very sins of which we are guilty. Confession will not be acceptable to God without sincere repentance. True repentance will lead to bearing his sin himself, and acknowledging it without deception or hypocrisy. Those who acknowledge their guilt shall be justified, for the blood of Jesus will cleanse the soul of the repentant one.

(Concluded next week.)