M - Quotes
Mark the perfect man, & behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. Psalms 37:37
God requires perfection of His children. COL 315
Perfection alone can meet the standard of Heaven. As God himself is perfect in his exalted sphere, so should his children be perfect in the humble sphere they occupy. Thus only can they be fit for the companionship of sinless beings in the kingdom of Heaven. Christ addresses to his followers these words that establish the standard of Christian character: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” 2SP 224
God requires moral perfection in all. Christ took upon Him our human nature, & lived our life, to show us that we may be like Him... FLB 140
Many will not be fitted to enter heaven, because they do not see the importance of imitating the perfect Pattern. RH Sept. 8, 1885
God's work is perfect as a whole because it is perfect in every part, however minute. He fashions the tiny spear of grass with as much care as He would exercise in making a world. If we desire to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect, we must be faithful in doing little things. MYP 144
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2 Timothy 3:17
The development of all our powers is the first duty we owe to God & to our fellow men. No one who is not growing daily in capability & usefulness is fulfilling the purpose of life. In making a profession of faith in Christ we pledge ourselves to become all that it is possible for us to be as workers for the Master, & we should cultivate every faculty to the highest degree of perfection, that we may do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. The Lord has a great work to be done, & He will bequeath the most in the future life to those who do the most faithful, willing service in the present life. The Lord chooses His own agents, & each day under different circumstances He gives them a trial in His plan of operation. In each true-hearted endeavor to work out His plan, He chooses His agents not because they are perfect but because, through a connection with Him, they may gain perfection. God will accept only those who are determined to aim high. He places every human agent under obligation to do his best. Moral perfection is required of all... We need to understand that imperfection of character is sin. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole, & every one who receives Christ as a personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes. And those who would be workers together with God must strive for perfection of every organ of the body & quality of the mind... But Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-round character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits & grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, & allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected. Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not, then you can not overcome. The real difficulty arises from the corruption of an unsanctified heart, & an unwillingness to submit to the control of God. Many whom God has qualified to do excellent work accomplish very little, because they attempt little. Thousands pass through life as if they had no definite object for which to live, no standard to reach. Such will obtain a reward proportionate to their works. Remember that you will never reach a higher standard than you yourself set. Then set your mark high, & step by step, even though it be by painful effort, by self-denial & sacrifice, ascend the whole length of the ladder of progress. Let nothing hinder you. Fate has not woven its meshes about any human being so firmly that he need remain helpless & in uncertainty. Opposing circumstances should create a firm determination to overcome them. The breaking down of one barrier will give greater ability & courage to go forward. Press with determination in the right direction, & circumstances will be your helpers, not your hindrances. Be ambitious, for the Master's glory, to cultivate every grace of character. In every phase of your character building you are to please God. This you may do; for Enoch pleased Him though living in a degenerate age. And there are Enochs in this our day. Stand like Daniel, that faithful statesman, a man whom no temptation could corrupt. Do not disappoint Him who so loved you that He gave His own life to cancel your sins. He says, “Without Me ye can do nothing.” Remember this. If you have made mistakes, you certainly gain a victory if you see these mistakes & regard them as beacons of warning. Thus you turn defeat into victory, disappointing the enemy & honoring your Redeemer. A character formed according to the divine likeness is the only treasure that we can take from this world to the next. Those who are under the instruction of Christ in this world will take every divine attainment with them to the heavenly mansions. And in heaven we are continually to improve. How important, then, is the development of character in this life. The heavenly intelligences will work with the human agent who seeks with determined faith that perfection of character which will reach out to perfection in action. To everyone engaged in this work Christ says, I am at your right hand to help you. As the will of man co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent. Whatever is to be done at His command may be accomplished in His strength. All His biddings are enablings. COL 329-333
The ethics inculcated by the gospel acknowledge no standard but the perfection of God's mind, God's will. God requires from His creatures conformity to His will. Imperfection of character is sin, & sin is the transgression of the law. All righteous attributes of character dwell in God as a perfect, harmonious whole. Every one who receives Christ as his personal Saviour is privileged to possess these attributes. This is the science of holiness... Before the world, God is developing us as living witnesses to what men & women may become through the grace of Christ. We are enjoined to strive for perfection of character. The divine Teacher says, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Would Christ tantalize us by requiring of us an impossibility? Never, never! What an honor He confers upon us in urging us to be holy in our sphere, as the Father is holy in His sphere! He can enable us to do this, for He declares, “All power is given unto me in heaven & in earth.” This unlimited power it is our privilege to claim... God works with those who properly represent His character. Through them His will is done on earth as it is done in heaven... It is our lifework to be reaching forward to the perfection of Christian character, striving constantly for conformity to God’s will. Day by day we are to press upward, ever upward, until of us it can be said, “Ye are complete in him.” Christ presents before us the highest perfection of Christian character, which throughout our lifetime we should aim to reach... Concerning this perfection Paul writes: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”... How can we reach the perfection specified by our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ - our Great Teacher? Can we meet His requirement & attain to so lofty a standard? We can, else Christ would not have enjoined us to do so. Our Saviour does not require impossibilities of any soul. He expects nothing of His disciples that He is not willing to give them grace & strength to perform. He would not call upon them to be perfect if He had not at His command every perfection of grace to bestow on the ones upon whom He would confer so high & holy a privilege. He has assured us that He is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him than parents are to give good gifts to their children. TMK 130-131
Upon all who believe in Christ is laid the obligation of walking worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, to reveal the character of Christ. The cross will honor every Christian who honors it. TMK 174
Our heavenly Father claims not at our hands that which we cannot perform. He desires His people to labor earnestly to carry out His purpose for them. They are to pray for power, expect power, & receive power, that they may grow up into the full stature of men & women in Christ Jesus. Not all members of the church are cultivating personal piety; therefore they do not understand their personal responsibility. They do not realize that it is their privilege & duty to reach the high standard of Christian perfection... Mar 212
Are we striving with all our God-given powers to reach the measure of the stature of men & women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever reaching higher & higher, trying to attain to the perfection of His character? When God’s servants reach this point, they will be sealed in their foreheads. The recording angel will declare, “It is done.” They will be complete in Him whose they are by creation & by redemption. LDE 222
He made an offering so complete that through His grace every one may reach the standard of perfection. HP 7
Through the measure of His grace furnished to the human agent, not one need miss heaven. Perfection of character is attainable by every one who strives for it. This is made the very foundation of the new covenant of the gospel. 1SM 211
It is the sophistry of Satan that the death of Christ brought in grace to take the place of the law. RH Mar. 8, 1881
In requiring obedience to the laws of His kingdom, God gives His people health & happiness, peace & joy. He teaches them that the perfection of character He requires can only be attained by becoming familiar with His Word. 3BC 1143
The Ten Commandments are called in the New Testament the royal law of liberty. In obeying the divine precepts, men will assimilate to the divine character; for the character of God is expressed in his holy law. ...We are in a world of imperfection, & on every hand is the image of false Christs, - Christians who are Christians only in name; for they are retaining objectional attributes of character, that mark them as subjects of the enemy, rather than subjects of the Prince Emmanuel. Were they under the control of Christ, they would bear his image & superscription; but they are false christs, misrepresenting Jesus, denying him every day in character, although professing to believe on his name. Christ expounded the precepts of the law in his sermon on the mount; for he knew that some who were departing from it, would return to allegiance, & become representatives of the Son & the Father. ST Oct. 17, 1895
The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been, - just what it was in Paradise before the fall of our first parents, - perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect righteousness. If eternal life were granted on any condition short of this, then the happiness of the whole universe would be imperiled. It was possible for Adam, before the fall, to form a righteous character by obedience to God’s law. But he failed to do this, & because of his sin our natures are fallen & we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly obey the holy law. We have no righteousness of our own with which to meet the claims of the law of God. But Christ has made a way of escape for us. He lived on earth amid trials & temptations such as we have to meet. He lived a sinless life. He died for us, & now He offers to take our sins & give us His righteousness. If you give yourself to Him, & accept Him as your Saviour, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ’s character stands in place of your character, & you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned. More than this, Christ changes the heart. He abides in your heart by faith. You are to maintain this connection with Christ by faith & the continual surrender of your will to Him; & so long as you do this, He will work in you to will & to do according to His good pleasure. SC 62
What a God is our God! He rules over His kingdom with diligence & care, & He has built a hedge - the ten commandments - about His subjects, to preserve them from transgression. 3BC 1143
Satan had claimed that it was impossible for man to obey God’s commandments; & in our own strength it is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of humanity, & by His perfect obedience He proved that humanity & divinity combined can obey every one of God’s precepts. COL 314
By His (Christ’s) example of perfect obedience in His human nature. He teaches us that men may be obedient. 7LtMs, Lt 16, 1892
...sin is unmanly... TMK 314
Christ took humanity & bore the hatred of the world that He might show men & women that they could live without sin, that their words, their actions, their spirit, might be sanctified to God. We can be perfect Christians if we will manifest this power in our lives. 24LtMs, Ms 97, 1909
True sanctification means perfect love, perfect obedience, perfect conformity to the will of God... Great possibilities, high & holy attainments, are placed within the reach of all. AA 565
What does God require? Perfection, nothing less than perfection. But if we would be perfect, we must put no confidence in self. Daily we must know & understand that self is not to be trusted. We need to grasp God’s promises with firm faith. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit with a full realization of our own helplessness. Then when the Holy Spirit works we shall not give self the glory. The Holy Spirit will graciously take the heart into His keeping, bringing to it all the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness. We shall be kept by the power of God through faith. When we are daily under the control of God’s Spirit, we shall be commandment-keeping people. We may show to the world that obedience to God’s commands brings its own reward, even in this life, & in the future life eternal blessedness. 12MR 52
The true Christian will never complain that the yoke of Christ is galling to the neck. He accounts the service of Jesus as the truest freedom. The law of God is his delight. Instead of seeking to bring down the divine commands, to accord with his deficiencies, he is constantly striving to rise to the level of their perfection. T5 220
It is God’s pleasure & will that the blessings bestowed on man shall be given in perfect completeness. He has made provision that every difficulty may be overcome, every want supplied through the Holy Spirit. Thus He designs that man shall perfect a Christian character. OFC 281
But no man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work. Then the language of the soul will be, Lord, take my heart; for I cannot give it. It is Thy property. Keep it pure, for I cannot keep it for Thee. Save me in spite of myself, my weak, unchristlike self. Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure & holy atmosphere, where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul. It is not only at the beginning of the Christian life that this renunciation of self is to be made. At every advance step heavenward it is to be renewed. All our good works are dependent on a power outside of ourselves. Therefore there needs to be a continual reaching out of the heart after God, a continual, earnest, heartbreaking confession of sin & humbling of the soul before Him. Only by constant renunciation of self & dependence on Christ can we walk safely. COL 159
Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, & faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience. SC 60
I have been shown that we have a great work before us to search our own hearts, & watch ourselves with jealous care. We should learn wherein we fail, & then guard ourselves upon that point. We must have perfect control over our own spirit. 1T 307
I assure you that if you work in right lines, God will make your enemies to be at peace with you. He will uphold & strengthen you. Make a covenant with God that you will guard well your words. “If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, & able also to bridle the whole body.” Remember that a revengeful speech never makes one feel that he has gained a victory. Let Christ speak through you. Do not lose the blessing that comes from thinking no evil. 7T 243
We are supposed to be pursuing a course that will represent the character of perfect humanity, the pure, elevated character of Christ. MM 170
We can never see our Lord in peace, unless our souls are spotless. We must bear the perfect image of Christ. Every thought must be brought into subjection to the will of Christ. RH May 30, 1882
We are all sinful, but we have a Saviour who can take away our sins, for in Him is no sin. We all have many difficulties to meet, many perplexing problems to solve. But we have an all-powerful Helper, who will listen to our requests as willingly & gladly as He listened to the requests of those who, when He was on this earth in person, came to Him for help... Do you make mistakes? Do not let this discourage you. The Lord may permit you to make small mistakes in order to save you from making larger mistakes. Go to Jesus, & ask Him to forgive you, & then believe that He does. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins, & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” HP 124
I am glad indeed that our feelings are not evidence that we are not children of God. The enemy will tempt you that you have done things that have separated you from God & that He no longer loves you, but our Lord loves us still as we may know by the words He has placed on record for just such cases as yours. "If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." "If we confess our sins, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ...I have evidence that God loves you, & that precious Saviour who gave Himself for you that you might be saved will not thrust you from Him because you are tempted, & in your weakness may have been overcome. He loves you still. Peter denied his Lord in the hour of His trial, but Jesus did not forsake poor Peter; although Peter hated himself, the Lord loved him; & after His resurrection, He lovingly remembered Peter & called him by name & sent to him a loving message. Oh, what a kind, loving, compassionate Saviour we have, & He loves us though we err. Now do not worry yourself out of the arms of the dear Jesus, but lie trustingly in faith. He loves you, He cares for you, He is blessing you, & He will give you His peace & grace. He is saying to you, Thy sins be forgiven thee. Notwithstanding you may be depressed with bodily infirmities, yet this is no evidence that the Lord is not working in your behalf every day." 5LtMs, Lt 38, 1887
Unitedly we are to help one another gain perfection of character. To this end, we are to cease all criticism. Onward & still onward we may advance toward perfection, until at last there will be ministered unto us an abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom. RH May 26, 1904
We shall never attain to this condition without earnest effort. We must strive daily against outward evil & inward sin, if we would reach the perfection of Christian character. Those who engage in this work will see so much to correct in themselves, & will devote so much time to prayer & to comparing their characters with God’s great standard, the divine law, that they will have no time to comment & gossip over the faults or dissect the characters of others. A sense of our own imperfections should lead us to humility & earnest solicitude lest we fail of everlasting life. RH May 30, 1882
When we read the lives of men who have been eminent for their piety we often regard their experiences & attainments as far beyond our reach. But this is not the case. The prophets & apostles did not perfect Christian character by a miracle. They used the means which God had placed within their reach; & all who will put forth the same effort will secure the same results. SL 83
With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus... The Lord spoke through them, & as they went from place to place, the poor had the gospel preached to them, & miracles of divine grace were wrought. So mightily can God work when men give themselves up to the control of His Spirit... The promise of the Holy Spirit is not limited to any age or to any race. Christ declared that the divine influence of His Spirit was to be with His followers unto the end. From the Day of Pentecost to the present time, the Comforter has been sent to all who have yielded themselves fully to the Lord & to His service. To all who have accepted Christ as a personal Saviour, the Holy Spirit has come as a counselor, sanctifier, guide, & witness. The more closely believers have walked with God, the more clearly & powerfully have they testified of their Redeemer’s love & of His saving grace. The men & women who through the long centuries of persecution & trial enjoyed a large measure of the presence of the Spirit in their lives, have stood as signs & wonders in the world. Before angels & men they have revealed the transforming power of redeeming love. Those who at Pentecost were endued with power from on high, were not thereby freed from further temptation & trial. As they witnessed for truth & righteousness they were repeatedly assailed by the enemy of all truth, who sought to rob them of their Christian experience. They were compelled to strive with all their God-given powers to reach the measure of the stature of men & women in Christ Jesus. Daily they prayed for fresh supplies of grace, that they might reach higher & still higher toward perfection. Under the Holy Spirit’s working even the weakest, by exercising faith in God, learned to improve their entrusted powers & to become sanctified, refined, & ennobled. As in humility they submitted to the molding influence of the Holy Spirit, they received of the fullness of the Godhead & were fashioned in the likeness of the divine. The lapse of time has wrought no change in Christ’s parting promise to send the Holy Spirit as His representative. It is not because of any restriction on the part of God that the riches of His grace do not flow earthward to men. If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be. If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit. Wherever the need of the Holy Spirit is a matter little thought of, there is seen spiritual drought, spiritual darkness, spiritual declension & death. Whenever minor matters occupy the attention, the divine power which is necessary for the growth & prosperity of the church, & which would bring all other blessings in its train, is lacking, though offered in infinite plenitude. Since this is the means by which we are to receive power, why do we not hunger & thirst for the gift of the Spirit? Why do we not talk of it, pray for it, & preach concerning it? The Lord is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to those who serve Him than parents are to give good gifts to their children. For the daily baptism of the Spirit every worker should offer his petition to God. Companies of Christian workers should gather to ask for special help, for heavenly wisdom, that they may know how to plan & execute wisely. Especially should they pray that God will baptize His chosen ambassadors in mission fields with a rich measure of His Spirit. The presence of the Spirit with God’s workers will give the proclamation of truth a power that not all the honor or glory of the world could give. With the consecrated worker for God, in whatever place he may be, the Holy Spirit abides. The words spoken to the disciples are spoken also to us. The Comforter is ours as well as theirs. The Spirit furnishes the strength that sustains striving, wrestling souls in every emergency, amidst the hatred of the world, & the realization of their own failures & mistakes. In sorrow & affliction, when the outlook seems dark & the future perplexing, & we feel helpless & alone, - these are the times when, in answer to the prayer of faith, the Holy Spirit brings comfort to the heart. The Spirit is constantly seeking to draw the attention of men to the great offering that was made on the cross of Calvary, to unfold to the world the love of God, & to open to the convicted soul the precious things of the Scriptures. Having brought conviction of sin, & presented before the mind the standard of righteousness, the Holy Spirit withdraws the affections from the things of this earth & fills the soul with a desire for holiness. “He will guide you into all truth,” the Saviour declared. If men are willing to be molded, there will be brought about a sanctification of the whole being. AA 48-52