December 17, 1894

Sin and its Penalty

EGW

God is King, He is high and lifted up, and the train of His glory fills the temple. God is to be feared, He alone is to be worshipped. His laws are holy; they are the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. How weak and foolish is the position taken by finite opposers of His government, as they declare that the law of the Governor of all intelligences is abolished. Who put these words into the mouth of men? Certainly it is not the One who is mighty in counsel; for God will never contradict Himself.BEcho December 17, 1894, par. 1

God has seen fit plainly to present in His holy word the consequences of the sin of Adam, which opened the flood-gates of woe upon our world, that men might be warned not to do as did Adam. The penalty of sin is death; and to listen to the deceitful temptations of Satan, to venture in the path of transgression, is to imperil the soul. We are not to follow the words of men, however wise they may appear to be, unless their testimony is in harmony with a “thus saith the Lord.” Temptations will come to us in the most seductive guise, but it is at our peril that we turn from the plain command of God to follow the assertions of men.BEcho December 17, 1894, par. 2

It is never safe for us to enter into controversy with Satan, or to linger to contemplate the advantages to be reaped by yielding to his suggestions. Sin is blinding and deceiving in its nature. Disobedience to God's commandments is too terrible to be contemplated for a moment. Sin means dishonour and disaster to every soul that indulges in transgression of God's holy law, which is immutable.BEcho December 17, 1894, par. 3

Although the consequences and the penalty of transgression of God's law have been clearly presented in the word of truth, many are proving disloyal to the God of heaven, and are teaching their children and the world at large by both precept and example, that the law of God is no longer binding upon the human family. Thus they are cutting souls adrift from the great moral standard of righteousness. Light is being presented from the Scriptures on this vital question, and those who give no heed to the light will have to suffer the fatal consequences of their indifference to the heavenly message.BEcho December 17, 1894, par. 4

No one need be blinded by any delusion. He who makes the word of God his guide and counsellor, and will listen to no voice that would lead him to take the words of men instead, will always dwell safely. Let him bring the principles of the law of God into his life to regulate and control his conduct, and his life will be a success. He will grasp the righteousness of Christ by faith, and, becoming a partaker of the divine nature, will thus become a doer of the divine law. But let him remember that there is no madness in our world so disastrous as that which leads men to live in rebellion against God.BEcho December 17, 1894, par. 5

Mrs. E. G. White