try 
 
tibrary of trhe theological Seminary 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 the Estate of 
 Rev. David Henderson Goodwlllie 
 BV 4811 .W53 1898 
 White, Ellen Gould Harmon, 
 
 1827-1915. 
 Steps to Christ 
 

 
 LOI5.ID, SAVE TXL^Ll" 
 
BOOKS BY MRS. E. G. WHITE. 
 
 I. THE DESIRE OF AGES. 
 
 The author's greatest production. Contains 87 chap- 
 ters, nearly 900 large octavo pages, 38 full-page en- 
 gmvinps. 87 illuininated chapter headings, besides 
 nearly :<'xl small cuts. Cloth, marbled edges, $3.50; 
 Cloth, gilt edges. $4.25; library, marbled edges, $5.00; 
 full morocco, gilt edges, $7.00. 
 
 II. PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS; 
 
 Or the Oreat Conflict Between Good and Evil 
 as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of 
 Old. 
 Contains 73 chapters, 762 pages, and more than 50 en- 
 gravings. Cloth, marbled edges. $2.25 : cloth, gilt 
 edges, $2.75; library, marbled edges, $3.00; full mo- 
 rocco, gilt edges, $4.50. 
 
 Ill THE GREAT CONTROVERSY 
 
 Between Christ and Satan During the 
 Christian Dispensation. 
 Companion volume to "Patriarchs and Prophets." 
 14th edition. Contains 42 chapters, 704 pages, and 26 
 engravings. Cloth, marbled edges. $2.25 ; cloth, gilt 
 edges, $2.75; library, marbled edges, $3.00; half mo- 
 rocco, gilt edges, $3.50 ; full morocco, gilt edges, $4.50. 
 
 IV. THOUGHTS FROM THE MOUNT OF 
 
 BLESSING. 
 
 A graphic presentation of the Sermon on the Mount. 
 Contains 209 pages, and 15 original half-tone illus- 
 trations. Cloth, embossed in gold, 75 cents ; half 
 calf, marbled edges, $1.00. 
 
 V. STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 A book which has cheered many a discouraged 
 heart. Already issued in fifteen languages. Con- 
 tains 13 chapters, and 163 pages; with frontispiece. 
 Cloth, aluminum back and side stamps, 50 cents ; 
 Presentation Edition, $1.00. 
 
 The above named publications are only a part of Mrs. 
 White's productions. Send for our complete catalogue of 
 English and foreign publications. 
 
 REVIEW & HERALD PUB. CO., 
 
 BATTLE CREEK, MICH. 
 CH,CAG0 - Toronto. ATLANTA - 
 
STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
STEPS TO CHRIST 
 
 m 
 
 n 
 
 2 
 
 ». 
 
 BY 
 MRS. E. G. WHITE 
 
 
 REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 Battle Creek, Mich.; Chicago, III.; Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 1898 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1892, by the 
 
 Fleming H. Revell Company, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C- 
 
 Copyright transferred to 
 
 Review and Herald Publishing Co., 
 
 Battle Creek, Mich. 
 
PUBLISHEKS' NOTE. 
 
 This little volume needs no commendation. A care- 
 ful survey of its contents will show that the author 
 "has been with Jesus," and written with a pen radiant 
 with the light of Heaven. The all-pervading spiritual- 
 ity and wholesome counsel blended through these pages 
 causes the book to meet with very general acceptance. 
 Once read, it is often reread and studied as a guide- 
 book in the way of salvation. 
 
 The English original has rapidly passed through 
 successive editions, and the work is now, through the 
 aid of careful translations, brought out in most of the 
 leading languages of Europe. 1 
 
 So great has been the demand for this small volume 
 that one translation of it in manuscript form exists in 
 South America. And in one of the States west of the 
 Mississippi a Congregationalist pastor distributed five 
 hundred copies among the members of his congregation. 
 
 That "Steps to Christ" may continue to be to the 
 thousands of its readers all that the name implies, is 
 the fervent desire of 
 
 The Publishers. 
 
 October, 1896. 
 
 iThis volume enjoys the reputation of being published in 
 the English, German, French, Holland, Portuguese, "Welsh, 
 Hungarian, Bohemian, Italian, Finnish, and Spanish lan- 
 guages, and the work of translation into other tongues and 
 dialects is still continued. 
 
 [5] 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 G-od's Love for Man 
 The Sinner's Need of Christ 
 Repentance .... 
 Confession . . . 
 Consecration .... 
 Faith and Acceptance . 
 The Test of Discipleship . 
 Growing up into Christ 
 The Work and the Life . 
 A Knowledge of God . 
 The Privilege of Prayer 
 What to do with Doubt 
 Rejoicing in the Lord 
 
 Page. 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 45 
 
 52 
 
 60 
 
 70 
 
 £Z 
 
 96 
 
 106 
 
 116 
 
 133 
 
 146 
 
GOD'S LOYE FOE MAN. 
 
 Nature and revelation alike testify of God's 
 love. Our Father in heaven is the source of 
 life, of wisdom, and of joy. Look at the won- 
 derful and beautiful things of nature. Think 
 of their marvelous adaptation to the needs and 
 happiness, not only of man, but of all living 
 creatures. The sunshine and the rain, that 
 gladden and refresh the earth, the hills and 
 seas and plains, all speak to us of the Creator's 
 love. It is God who supplies the daily needs 
 of all his creatures. In the beautiful words of 
 the Psalmist, — ■ 
 
 " The eyes of all wait upon Thee ; 
 And Thou givest them their meat in due season. 
 Thou openest Thine hand, 
 And satisflest the desire of every living thing." * 
 
 God made man perfectly holy and happy; 
 and the fair earth, as it came from the Creator's 
 hand, bore no blight of decay or shadow of the 
 curse. It is transgression of God's law — the 
 law of love — that has brought woe and death. 
 1 Ps. 145 : 15, 16. 
 
 m 
 
STEPS TO CUBIST. 
 
 Yet even amid the suffering that results from 
 sin, God's love is revealed. It is written that 
 God cursed the ground for man's sake. 1 The 
 thorn and the thistle — the difficulties and trials 
 that make his life one of toil and care — were 
 appointed for his good, as a part of the training 
 needful in God's plan for his uplifting from 
 the ruin and degradation that sin has wrought. 
 The world, though fallen, is not all sorrow and 
 misery. In nature itself are messages of hope 
 and comfort. There are flowers upon the this- 
 tles, and the thorns are covered with roses. 
 
 "God is love," is written upon every open- 
 ing bud, upon every spire of spring grass. 
 The lovely birds make the air vocal with their 
 happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in 
 their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty 
 trees of the forest with their rich foliage of 
 living green, — all testify to the tender, fatherly 
 care of our God, and to his desire to make his 
 children happy. 
 
 The word of God reveals his character. He 
 himself has declared his infinite love and pity. 
 When Moses prayed, ' ' Show me thy glory, ' ' 
 the Lord answered, "I will make all my good- 
 ness pass before thee. ' ' 2 This is his glory. 
 1 Gen. 3 : 17 z Ex. 33 : 18, 19. 
 
GOD'S LOVE FOR MAN. 
 
 The Lord passed before Moses, and proclaimed, 
 "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra- 
 cious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness 
 and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, for- 
 giving iniquity and transgression and sin." 1 
 He < ' is slow to anger, and of great kindness, ' ' 2 
 "because he delighteth in mercy." 3 
 
 God has bound our hearts to him by unnum- 
 bered tokens in heaven and in earth. Through 
 the things of nature, and the deepest and ten- 
 derest earthly ties that human hearts can know, 
 he has sought to reveal himself to us. Yet these 
 but imperfectly represent his love. Though all 
 these evidences have been given, the enemy of 
 good blinded the minds of men, so that they 
 looked upon God with fear, they thought of 
 him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men 
 to conceive of God as a being whose chief at- 
 tribute is stern justice, — one who is a severe 
 judge, — a harsh, exacting creditor. He pic- 
 tured the Creator as a being who is watching 
 with jealous eye to discern the errors and mis- 
 takes of men, that he may visit judgments upon 
 them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by 
 revealing to the world the infinite love of God, 
 that Jesus came to live among men. 
 
 1 Ex. 34 : 6, 7. 2 Jonah 4:2. 3 Aiicah ? : 18. 
 
10 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 The Son of God came from heaven to make 
 manifest the Father. ' ' No man hath seen God 
 at any time; the only begotten Son, which is 
 in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared 
 him." 1 "Neither knowet.h any man the 
 Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever 
 the Son will reveal him." 2 When one of the 
 disciples made the request, ' c Show us the 
 Father," Jesus answered, "Have I been so 
 long time with you, and yet hast thou not 
 known me, Philip ? he that hath seen me hath 
 seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, 
 Show us the Father?" 3 
 
 In describing his earthly mission, Jesus said, 
 The Lord "hath anointed me to preach the 
 gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal 
 the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to 
 the captives, and recovering of sight to the 
 blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."* 
 This was his work. He went about doing good, 
 and healing all that were oppressed by Satan. 
 There were whole villages where there was not 
 a moan of sickness in any house; for he had 
 passed through them, and healed all their sick. 
 His work gave evidence of his divine anoint- 
 
 1 John 1-18 2 Matt. 1 1 : 27. 3 John 14 : 8, 9. 
 
 4 LuKe 4 : 18. 
 
GOD'S LOVE FOR MAN. 11 
 
 ing. Love, mercy, and compassion were re- 
 vealed in every act of his life; his heart went 
 out in tender sympathy to the children of men. 
 He took man's nature, that he might reach 
 man's wants. The poorest and humblest were 
 not afraid to approach him. Even little chil- 
 dren were attracted to him. They loved to 
 climb upon his knees, and gaze into the pen- 
 sive face, benignant with love 
 
 Jesus did not suppress one word of truth, 
 but he uttered it always in love. He exercised 
 the greatest tact, and thoughtful, kind attention 
 in his intercourse with the people. He was 
 never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe 
 word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive 
 soul. He did not censure human weakness. 
 He spoke the truth, but always in love. He 
 denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity; 
 but tears were in his voice as he uttered his 
 scathing rebukes. He wept over Jerusalem, 
 the city he loved, which refused to receive him, 
 the Way, the Truth, and the Life. They had 
 rejected him, the Saviour, but he regarded 
 them with pitying tenderness. His life was 
 one of self-denial and thoughtful care for 
 others. Every soul was precious in his eyes. 
 While he ever bore himself with divine dignity, 
 
12 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 he bowed with the tenderest regard to every 
 member of the family of God. In all men he 
 saw fallen souls whom it was his mission to 
 save. 
 
 Such is the character of Christ as revealed 
 in his life. This is the character of God. It 
 is from the Father's heart that the streams of 
 divine compassion, manifest in Christ, flow out 
 to the children of men. Jesus, the tender, 
 pitying Saviour, was ' < God manifest in the 
 flesh." 1 
 
 It was to redeem us that Jesus lived and 
 suffered and died. He became a ' ' Man of 
 sorrows," that we might be made partakers of 
 everlasting joy. God permitted his beloved 
 Son, full of grace and truth, to come from a 
 world of indescribable glory, to a world marred 
 and blighted with sin, darkened with the shadow 
 of death and the curse. He permitted him to 
 leave the bosom of his love, the adoration of 
 the angels, to suffer shame, insult, humiliation, 
 hatred, and death. "The chastisement of our 
 peace was upon him; and with his stripes we 
 are healed. ' ' 2 Behold him in the wilder- 
 ness, in Gethsemane, upon the cross! The 
 l l Tim. 3:16. 2 Isa 53:5. 
 
GOD'S LOVE FOR MAN. 13 
 
 spotless Son of God took upon himself the 
 burden of sin. He who had been one with 
 God, felt in his soul the awful separation that 
 sin makes between God and man. This wrung 
 from his lips the anguished cry, "My God, 
 my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " * It 
 was the burden of sin, the sense of its terrible 
 enormity, of its separation of the soul from 
 God, — it was this that broke the heart of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 But this great sacrifice was not made in order 
 to create in the Father's heart a love for man, 
 not to make him willing to save. No, no! 
 ' ' God so loved the world, that he gave his 
 only begotten Son. ' ' 2 The Father loves us, 
 not because of the great propitiation, but he 
 provided the propitiation because he loves us. 
 Christ was the medium through which he could 
 pour out his infinite love upon a fallen world. 
 ' * God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
 himself." 3 God suffered with his Son. In 
 the agony of Gethsemane, the death of Calvary, 
 the heart of infinite love paid the price of our 
 redemption. 
 
 Jesus said, ' ' Therefore doth my Father love 
 1 Matt. 27 : 46. 2 John 3:10. 3 2 Cor. 5 :19. 
 
U STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 me, because I lay down my life, that I might 
 take it again." 1 That is, " my Father hath 
 so loved you that he even loves me more for 
 giving my life to redeem you. In becoming 
 your Substitute and Surety, by surrendering 
 my life, by taking your liabilities, your trans- 
 gressions, I am endeared to my Father; for by 
 my sacrifice, God can be just, and yet the 
 Justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." 
 
 None but the Son of God could accomplish 
 our redemption; for only he who was in the 
 bosom of the Father could declare him. Only 
 he who knew the height and depth of the love 
 of God could make it manifest. Nothing less 
 than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ in 
 behalf of fallen man could express the Father's 
 love to lost humanity. 
 
 ' ' God so loved the world that he gave His 
 only begotten Son." He gave him not only 
 to live among men, to bear their sins, and die 
 their sacrifices; he gave him to the fallen 
 race. Christ was to identify Himself with the 
 interest and needs of humanity. He who was 
 one with God has linked himself with the 
 children of men by ties that are never to be 
 Uohn 10:17. 
 
GOD'S LOVE FOR MAN. 15 
 
 broken. Jesus is < ' not ashamed to call them 
 brethren; " * our Sacrifice, our Advocate, our 
 Brother, bearing our human form before the 
 Father's throne, and through eternal ages one 
 with the race he has redeemed, — the Son of 
 man. And all this that man might be uplifted 
 from the ruin and degradation of sin, that he 
 might reflect the love of God, and share the 
 joy of holiness. 
 
 The price paid for our redemption, the infinite 
 sacrifice of our Heavenly Father in giving his 
 Son to die for us, should give us exalted con- 
 ceptions of what we may become through 
 Christ. As the inspired apostle John beheld 
 the height, the depth, the breadth of the 
 Father's love toward the perishing race, he is 
 filled with adoration and reverence, and failing 
 to find suitable language in which to express 
 the greatness and tenderness of this love, he 
 calls upon the world to behold it. ; ' Behold 
 what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
 upon us, that we should be called the sons of 
 God." 2 What a value this places upon man! 
 Through transgression, the sons of man become 
 subjects of Satan. Through faith in the aton- 
 iHeb. 2:11. 2 1 John 3 : 1. 
 
16 STEPS TO CHRIST 
 
 ing sacrifice of Christ, the sons of Adam may 
 become the sons of God! By assuming human 
 nature Christ elevates humanity. Fallen men 
 are placed where, through connection with 
 Christ, they may indeed become worthy of the 
 name "sons of God." 
 
 Such love is without a parallel. Children of 
 the Heavenly King! Precious promise! Theme 
 for the most profound meditation! The match- 
 less love of God for a world that did not love 
 Him. The thought has a subduing power upon 
 the soul, and brings the mind into captivity 
 to the will of God. The more we study the 
 Divine character in the light of the Cross, the 
 more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness 
 blended with equity and justice, and the more 
 clearly we discern innumerable evidences of a 
 love that is infinite, and a tender pity surpass- 
 ing a mother's yearning sympathy for her way- 
 ward child. 
 
 "Every human tie may perish, 
 
 Friend to friend unfaithful prove, 
 
 Mothers cease their own to cherish, 
 Heaven and earth at last remove ; 
 
 But no change 
 
 Can attend Jehovah's love." 
 
THE SINNER'S NEED OF CHRIST. 
 
 Man was originally endowed with noble 
 powers and a well-balanced mind. He was 
 perfect in his being, and in harmony with 
 God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. 
 But through disobedience his powers were 
 perverted, and selfishness took the place of 
 love. His nature became so weakened through 
 transgression that it was impossible for him, 
 in his own strength, to resist the power of 
 evil. He was made captive by Satan, and 
 would have remained so forever had not God 
 specially interposed. It was the tempter's 
 purpose to thwart the divine plan in man's 
 creation , and fill the earth with woe and deso- 
 lation. And he would point to all this evil as 
 the result of God's work in creating man. 
 
 In his sinless state, man held joyful commun- 
 ion with Him ' ' in whom are hid all the treas- 
 ures of wisdom and knowledge." 1 But after 
 his sin, he could no longer find joy in holi- 
 1 Col. 2 : 3. 
 
 [17] 
 
18 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 ness, and he sought to hide from the presence 
 of God. Such is still the condition of the 
 unrenewed heart. It is not in harmony with 
 God, and finds no joy in communion with him. 
 The sinner could not be happy in God's pres- 
 ence; he would shrink from the companion- 
 ship of holy beings. Could he be permitted 
 to enter heaven, it would have no joy for him. 
 The spirit of unselfish love that reigns there 
 — every heart responding to the heart of 
 Infinite Love — would touch no answering 
 chord in his soul. His thoughts, his interests, 
 his motives, would be alien to those that actu- 
 ate the sinless dwellers there. He would be 
 a discordant note in the melody of heaven. 
 Heaven would be to him a place of torture; 
 he would long to be hidden from him who is 
 its light, and the center of its joy. It is no 
 arbitrary decree on the part of God that 
 excludes the wicked from heaven : they are 
 shut out by their own unfitness for its com- 
 panionship. The glory of God would be to 
 them a consuming fire. They would welcome 
 destruction, that they might be hidden from 
 the face of him who died to redeem them. 
 It is impossible for us, of ourselves, to es- 
 
THE SINNER'S NEED OF CHRIST. 19 
 
 cape from the pit of sin in which we are 
 sunken. Our hearts are evil, and we can not 
 change them. " Who can bring a clean thing 
 out of an unclean? — Not one." "The carnal 
 mind is enmity against God; for it is not sub- 
 ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." 1 
 Education, culture, the exercise of the will, 
 human effort, all have their proper sphere, but 
 here they are powerless. They may produce 
 an outward correctness of behavior, but they 
 can not change the heart; they can not purify 
 the springs of life. There must be a power 
 working from within, a new life from above, 
 before men can be changed from sin to holi- 
 ness. That power is Christ. His grace alone 
 can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, 
 and attract it to God, to holiness. The Sav- 
 iour said, " Except a man be born from above," 
 unless he shall receive a new heart, new de- 
 sires, purposes, and motives, leading to a new 
 life, "he can not see the kingdom of God." 2 
 The idea that it is necessary only to develop 
 the good that exists in man by nature, is a 
 fatal deception. " The natural man receiveth 
 not the things of the Spirit of God: for they 
 1 Job 14 : 4 ; Rom. 8:7. 2 John 3 : 3 (margin). 
 
20 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 are foolishness unto liirn ; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must 
 be born again." 1 Of Christ it is written, " In 
 him was life, and the life was the light of men," 
 the only " name under heaven, given among 
 men, whereby we must be saved." 2 
 
 It is not enough to perceive the loving kind- 
 ness of God, to see the benevolence, the fath- 
 erly tenderness, of his character. It is not 
 enough to discern the wisdom and justice of 
 his law, to see that it is founded upon the eter- 
 nal principle of love. Paul the apostle saw all 
 this when he exclaimed, " I consent unto the 
 law, that it is good." " The law is holy, and 
 the commandment holy, and just, and good." 3 
 But he added, in the bitterness of his soul-an- 
 guish and despair, " I am carnal, sold under 
 sin." He longed for the purity, the righteous- 
 ness, to which in himself he was powerless to 
 attain, and he cried out, " O wretched man 
 that I am, who shall deliver me from this body 
 of death ? " * Such is the cry that has gone up 
 from burdened hearts in all lands and in all 
 
 *1 Cor. 2:14; John 3 : 7. 2 John 1:4; Acts 4 : 12. 
 8 Rom. 7 : 16, 12, 14. * Rom. 7 : 24 (margin). 
 
THE SINNER'S NEED OF CHRIST. 21 
 
 ages. To all, there is but one answer, ''Be- 
 hold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the 
 sin of the world." 1 
 
 Many are the figures by which the Spirit of 
 God has sought to illustrate this truth, and 
 make it plain to souls that long to be freed 
 from the burden of guilt. When, after his sin 
 in deceiving Esau, Jacob fled from his father's 
 home, he was weighed down with a sense of 
 guilt. Lonely and outcast as he was, sepa- 
 rated from all that had made life dear, the one 
 thought that above all others pressed upon his 
 soul, was the fear that his sin had cut him off 
 from God, that he was forsaken of Heaven. 
 In sadness he lay down to rest on the bare 
 earth, around him only the lonely hills, and 
 above, the heavens bright with stars. As he 
 slept, a strange light broke upon his vision; 
 and lo, from the plain on which he lay, vast 
 shadowy stairs seemed to lead upward to the 
 very gates of heaven, and upon them angels of 
 God were passing up and down ; while from the 
 glory above, the divine voice was heard in a 
 message of comfort and hope. Thus was made 
 known to Jacob that which met the need and 
 1 John 1 : 29, 
 
22 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 longing of his soul, a Saviour. With joy and 
 gratitude he saw revealed a way by which he, 
 a sinner, could be restored to communion with 
 God. The mystic ladder of his dream repre- 
 sented Jesus, the only medium of communica- 
 tion between God and man. 
 
 This is the same figure to which Christ re- 
 ferred in his conversation with Nathanael, when 
 he said, "Ye shall see heaven open, and the an- 
 gels of God ascending and descending upon the 
 Son of man." 1 In the apostasy, man alienated 
 himself from God; earth was cut off from 
 heaven. Across the gulf that lay between, 
 there could be no communion. But through 
 Christ, earth is again linked with heaven. 
 With his own merits, Christ has bridged the 
 gulf which sin had made, so that the minister- 
 ing angels can hold communion with man. 
 Christ connects fallen man, in his weakness 
 and helplessness, with the source of infinite 
 power. 
 
 But in vain are men's dreams of progress, in 
 
 vain all efforts for the uplifting of humanity, 
 
 if they neglect the one source of hope and help 
 
 for the fallen race. "Every good gift and 
 
 1 John 1 : 51. 
 
THE SINNER'S NEED OF CHRIST. 23 
 
 every perfect gift "Ms from God. There is no 
 true excellence of character apart from him. 
 And the only way to God is Christ. He says, 
 " I am the Way, the Truth., and the Life : no 
 man cometh unto the Father but by me. ' ' 2 
 
 The heart of God yearns over his earthly 
 children with a love stronger than death. In 
 giving up his Son, he has poured out to us all 
 heaven in one gift. The Saviour's life and 
 death and intercession, the ministry of angels, 
 the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working 
 above and through all, the unceasing interest 
 of heavenly beings ; all are enlisted in behalf 
 of man's redemption. 
 
 O let us contemplate the amazing sacrifice 
 that has been made for us ! Let us try to ap- 
 preciate the labor and energy that heaven is 
 expending to reclaim the lost, and bring them 
 back to the Father's house. Motives stronger, 
 and agencies more powerful, could never be 
 brought into operation ; the exceeding rewards 
 for right-doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the 
 society of the angels, the communion and love 
 of God and his Son, the elevation and exten- 
 sion of all our powers throughout eternal ages, 
 1 James 1 : 17. 2 John 14 : 6. 
 
24 STEPS TO CUBIST. 
 
 Are these not mighty incentives and encourage- 
 ments to urge us to give the heart's loving 
 service to our Creator and Redeemer? 
 
 And, on the other hand, the judgments of 
 God pronounced against sin, the inevitable ret- 
 ribution, the degradation of our character, and 
 the final destruction, are presented in God's 
 word to warn us against the service of Satan. 
 
 Shall we not regard the mercy of God ? 
 What more could he do ? Let us place our- 
 selves in right relation to him who has loved 
 us with amazing love. Let us avail ourselves 
 of the means provided for us that we may be 
 transformed into his likeness, and be restored 
 to fellowship with the ministering angels, to 
 harmony and communion with the Father and 
 the Son. 
 
REPENTANCE. 
 
 How shall a man be just with God % How 
 shall the sinner be made righteous ? It is only 
 through Christ that we can be brought into 
 harmony with God, with holiness; but how 
 are we to come to Christ ? Many are asking 
 the same question as did the multitude on the 
 day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they 
 cried out, "What shall we do?" The first 
 word of Peter's answer was, "Repent." At 
 another time, shortly after, he said, " Repent 
 . . . and be converted, that your sins may 
 be blotted out." 1 
 
 Repentance includes sorrow for sin, and a 
 turning away from it. We shall not renounce 
 sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn 
 away from it in heart, there will be no real 
 change in the life. 
 
 There are many who fail to understand the 
 true nature of repentance. Multitudes sorrow 
 that they have sinned, and even make an out- 
 » Acts 2 : 38; 3 : 19. 
 3 [25] 
 
26 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 ward reformation, because they fear that their 
 wrong-doing will bring suffering upon them- 
 selves. But this is not repentance in the 
 Bible sense. They lament the suffering, rather 
 than the sin. Such was the grief of Esau 
 when he saw that the birthright was lost to 
 him forever. Balaam, terrified by the angel 
 standing in his pathway with drawn sword, 
 acknowledged his guilt lest he should lose his 
 life; but there was no genuine repentance for 
 sin, no conversion of purpose, no abhorrence 
 of evil. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his 
 Lord, exclaimed, " I have sinned, in that I 
 have betrayed the innocent blood." 1 
 
 The confession was forced from his guilty 
 soul by an awful sense of condemnation and a 
 fearful looking for of judgment. The conse- 
 quences that were to result to him filled him 
 with terror, but there was no deep, heart-break- 
 ing grief in his soul, that he had betrayed the 
 spotless Son of God, and denied the Holy One 
 of Israel. Pharaoh, when suffering under the 
 judgments of God, acknowledged his sin, in 
 order to escape further punishment, but re- 
 turned to his defiance of Heaven as soon as 
 1 M"tt. 27:4. 
 
REPENTANCE. 27 
 
 the plagues were stayed. These all lamented 
 the results of sin, but did not sorrow for the 
 sin itself. 
 
 But when the heart yields to the influence of 
 the Spirit of God, the conscience will be quick- 
 ened, and the sinner will discern something of 
 the depth and sacredness of God's holy law, 
 the foundation of his government in heaven 
 and on earth. The " Light which lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world," 1 illum- 
 ines the secret chambers of the soul, and the 
 hidden things of darkness are made manifest. 
 Conviction takes hold upon the mind and 
 heart. The sinner has a sense of the righteous- 
 ness of Jehovah, and feels the terror of appear- 
 ing, in his own guilt and uncleanness, before 
 the Searcher of hearts. He sees the love of 
 God, the beauty of holiness, the joy of purity ; 
 he longs to be cleansed, and to be restored to 
 communion with Heaven. 
 
 The prayer of David after his fall, illustrates 
 the nature of true sorrow for sin. His repent- 
 ance was sincere and deep. There was no 
 effort to palliate his guilt ; no desire to escape 
 the judgment threatened, inspired his prayer. 
 
 1 John 1:9. 
 
28 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 David saw the enormity of his transgression; 
 he saw the defilement of his soul; he loathed 
 his sin. It was not for pardon only that he 
 prayed, but for purity of heart. He longed 
 for the joy of holiness, — to be restored to 
 harmony and communion with God. This was 
 the language of his soul: — 
 
 " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose 
 
 sin is covered. 
 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not 
 
 iniquity, 
 And in whose spirit there is no guile." 
 " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving 
 
 kindness; 
 According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies 
 
 blot out my transgressions. 
 For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is 
 
 ever before me. . . . 
 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, 
 
 and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . 
 Create in me a clean heart, O God, 
 And renew a right spirit within me. 
 Cast me not away from thy presence, 
 And take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 
 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; 
 And uphold me with thy free Spirit. . . . 
 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of 
 
 my salvation: 
 And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteous- 
 
 A repentance such as this, is beyond the 
 x Ps. 32:1, 2: 51:1-14. 
 
REPENTANCE. 29 
 
 reach of our own power to accomplish; 
 it is obtained only from Christ, who as- 
 cended up on high, and has given gifts unto 
 men. 
 
 Just here is a point on which many err, and 
 hence they fail of receiving the help that 
 Christ desires to give them. They think that 
 they cannot come to Christ unless they first 
 repent, and that repentance prepares for the 
 forgiveness of their sins* It is true that re- 
 pentance does precede the forgiveness of 
 sins; for it is only the broken and con- 
 trite heart that will feel the need of a 
 Saviour. But must the sinner wait till he has 
 repented, before he can come to Jesus? Is 
 repentance to be made an obstacle between the 
 sinner and the Saviour? 
 
 The Bible does not teach that the sinner 
 must repent before he can heed the invitation 
 of Christ, " Come unto me, all ye that labor 
 and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest. ' ' * It is the virtue that goes forth from 
 Christ which leads to genuine repentance. 
 Peter made the matter clear in his statement 
 to the Israelites, when he said, "Him hath 
 1 Matt. 11 : 28. 
 
30 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 God exalted with his right hand to be a 
 Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance 
 to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." ' We can 
 no more repent without the Spirit of Christ to 
 awaken the conscience thau we can be par- 
 doned without Christ. 
 
 Christ is the source of every right impulse. 
 He is the only one that can implant in the 
 heart enmity against sin. Every desire for 
 truth and purity, every conviction of our own 
 sinfulness, is an evidence that his Spirit is 
 moving upon our hearts. 
 
 Jesus has said, " I, if I be lifted up from 
 the earth, will draw all unto me." 2 Christ 
 must be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour 
 dying for the sins of the world; and as we 
 behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of 
 Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to 
 unfold to our minds, and the goodness of God 
 leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, 
 Christ manifested a love that is incomprehen- 
 sible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it 
 softens the heart, impresses the mind, and 
 inspires contrition in the soul. 
 
 It is true that men sometimes become 
 1 Acts 5: 31. 2 John 12: 32. 
 
REPENTANCE. 31 
 
 ashamed of their sinful ways, and give up 
 some of their evil habits, before they are con- 
 scious that they are being drawn to Christ. 
 But whenever they make an effort to reform, 
 from a sincere desire to do right, it is the 
 power of Christ that is drawing them. An 
 influence of which they are unconscious 
 works upon the soul, and the conscience is 
 quickened, and the outward life is amended. 
 And as Christ draws them to look upon his 
 cross, to behold him whom their sins have 
 pierced, the commandment comes home to the 
 conscience. The wickedness of their life, the 
 deep-seated sin of the soul, is revealed to them. 
 They begin to comprehend something of the 
 righteousness of Christ, and exclaim, " What 
 is sin, that it should require such a sacrifice 
 for the redemption of its victim? Was all 
 this love, all this suffering, all this humilia- 
 tion demanded, that we might not perish, but 
 have everlasting life?" 
 
 The sinner may resist this love, may re- 
 fuse to be drawn to Christ ; but if he does not 
 resist, he will be drawn to Jesus ; a knowledge 
 of the plan of salvation will lead him to the 
 foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, 
 
STEPS TO CEBTST. 
 
 which have caused the sufferings of God's 
 dear Son. 
 
 The same divine mind that is working upon 
 the things of nature is speaking to the hearts 
 of men, and creating an inexpressible craving 
 for something they have not. The things of 
 the world cannot satisfy their longing. The 
 Spirit of God is pleading with them to seek 
 for those things that alone can give peace and 
 rest, — the grace of Christ, the joy of holiness. 
 Through influences seen and unseen, our 
 Saviour is constantly at work to attract the 
 minds of men from the unsatisfying pleasures 
 of sin to the infinite blessings that may be 
 theirs in him. To all these souls, who are 
 vainly seeking to drink from the broken 
 cisterns of this world, the divine message is 
 addressed, " Let him that is athirst come. 
 And whosoever will, let him take the water of 
 life freely." ' 
 
 You who in heart long for something better 
 than this world can give, recognize this long- 
 ing as the voice of God to your soul. Ask 
 him to give you repentance, to reveal Christ 
 to you in his infinite love, in his perfect 
 *Rev. 22:17. 
 
REPENTANCE. 33 
 
 purity. In the Saviour's life the principles of 
 God's law — love to God and man — were per- 
 fectly exemplified. Benevolence, unselfish love, 
 was the life of his soul. It is as we behold 
 him, as the light from our Saviour falls upon 
 us, that we see the sinfulness of our own 
 hearts. 
 
 We may have flattered ourselves, as did 
 Nicodemus, that our life has been upright, 
 that our moral character is correct, and think 
 that we need not humble the heart before God, 
 like the common sinner: but when the light 
 from Christ shines into our souls, we shall see 
 how impure we are; we shall discern the 
 selfishness of motive, the enmity against God, 
 that has defiled every act of life. Then we 
 shall know that our own righteousness is 
 indeed as filthy rags, and that the blood of 
 Christ alone can cleanse us from the defilement 
 of sin, and renew our hearts in his own like- 
 ness. 
 
 One ray of the glory of God, one gleam of 
 the purity of Christ, penetrating the soul, 
 makes every spot of defilement painfully 
 distinct, and lays bare the deformity and de- 
 fects of the human character. It makes ap- 
 
34 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 parent the unhallowed desires, the infidelity 
 of the heart, the impurity of the lips. The 
 sinner's acts of disloyalty in making void the 
 law of God, are exposed to his sight, and his 
 spirit is stricken and afflicted under the search- 
 ing influence of the Spirit of God. He loathes 
 himself as he views the pure, spotless char- 
 acter of Christ. 
 
 When the prophet Daniel beheld the glory 
 surrounding the heavenly messenger that was 
 sent unto him, he was overwhelmed with a 
 sense of his own weakness and imperfection. 
 Describing the effect of the wonderful scene, 
 he says, " There remained no strength in me; 
 for my comeliness was turned in me. into 
 corruption, and I retained no strength." l 
 The soul thus touched will hate its selfishness, 
 abhor its self-love, and will seek, through 
 Christ's righteousness, for the purity of heart 
 that is in harmony with the law of God and 
 the character of Christ. 
 
 Paul says that as "touching the righteous- 
 ness which is in the law," — as far as outward 
 acts were concerned, — he was " blameless ;" 2 
 but when the spiritual character of the law was 
 1 Dan. 10 : 8. 2 Phil. 3 : 6. 
 
REPENTANCE. 35 
 
 discerned, he saw himself a sinner. Judged 
 by the letter of the law as men apply it to the 
 outward life, he had abstained from sin; but 
 when he looked into the depths of its holy 
 precepts and saw himself as God saw him, he 
 bowed in humiliation, and confessed his 
 guilt. He says, " I was alive without the 
 law once; but when the commandment came, 
 sin revived, and I died." 1 When he saw the 
 spiritual nature of the law, sin appeared in 
 its true hideousness, and his self-esteem was 
 gone. 
 
 God does not regard all sins as of equal 
 magnitude; there are degrees of guilt in his 
 estimation, as well as in that of man; but 
 however trifling this or that wrong act may 
 seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small in the 
 sight of God. Man's judgment is partial, im- 
 perfect; but God estimates all things as they 
 really are. The drunkard is despised, and is 
 told that his sin will exclude him from heaven ; 
 while pride, selfishness, and covetousness too 
 often go unrebuked. But these are sins that 
 are especially offensive to God; for they are 
 contrary to the benevolence of his character, 
 1 Rom. 7 : 9, 
 
36 STEPS TO CHRIST, 
 
 to that unselfish love which is the very atmos- 
 phere of the imfallen universe. He who falls 
 into some of the grosser sins may feel a sense 
 of his shame and poverty and his need of the 
 grace of Christ; but pride feels no need, and 
 so it closes the heart against Christ, and the 
 infinite blessings he came to give. 
 
 The poor publican who prayed, " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner," 1 regarded himself as 
 a very wicked man, and others looked upon 
 him in the same light; but he felt his need, 
 and with his burden of guilt and shame he 
 came before God, asking for his mercy. His 
 heart was open for the Spirit of God to do its 
 gracious work, and set him free from the power 
 of sin. The Pharisee's boastful, self-righteous 
 prayer showed that his heart was closed against 
 the influence of the Holy Spirit. Because of 
 his distance from God, he had no sense of his 
 own defilement, in contrast with the perfection 
 of the divine holiness. He felt no need, and 
 he received nothing. 
 
 If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to 
 make yourself better. How many there are 
 who think they are not good enough to come 
 1 Luke 18: 13. 
 
REPENTANCE. 
 
 to Christ. Do you expect to become better 
 through your own efforts? "Can the Ethi- 
 opian change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? 
 then may ye also do good that are accustomed 
 to do evil." 1 There is help for us only in God. 
 We must not wait for stronger persuasions, for 
 better opportunities, or for holier tempers. 
 We can do nothing of ourselves. We must 
 come to Christ just as we are. 
 
 But let none deceive themselves with the 
 thought that God, in his great love and mercy, 
 will yet save even the rejecters of his grace. 
 The exceeding sinfulness of sin can be esti- 
 mated only in the light of the cross. When 
 men urge that God is too good to cast off the 
 sinner, let them look to Calvary. It was be- 
 cause there was no other way in which man 
 could be saved, because without this sacrifice 
 it was impossible for the human race to escape 
 from the defiling power of sin, ancbbe restored 
 to communion with holy beings, — impossible 
 for them again to become partakers of spirit- 
 ual life, — it was because of this that Christ 
 took upon himself the guilt of the disobedient, 
 and suffered in the sinner's stead. The love 
 1 Jer, 13 : 23. 
 
38 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 and suffering and death of the Son of God, all 
 testify to the terrible enormity of sin, and de- 
 clare that there is no escape from its power, no 
 hope of the higher life, but through the sub- 
 mission of the soul to Christ. 
 
 The impenitent sometimes excuse themselves 
 by saying of professed Christians, " I am as 
 good as they are. They are no more self-deny- 
 ing, sober, or circumspect in their conduct than 
 I am. They love pleasure and self-indulgence 
 as well as I do." Thus they make the faults 
 of others an excuse for their own neglect of 
 duty. But the sins and defects of others do 
 not excuse any one ; for the Lord has not given 
 us an erring, human pattern. The spotless 
 Son of God has been given as our example, 
 and those who complain of the wrong course of 
 professed Christians are the ones who should 
 show better lives and nobler examples. If 
 they have so high a conception of what a 
 Christian should be, is not their own sin so 
 much the greater? They know what is right, 
 and yet refuse to do it. 
 
 Beware of procrastination. Do not put off 
 the work of forsaking your sins, and seeking 
 purity of heart through Jesus. Here is where 
 
REPENTANCE. 39 
 
 thousands upon thousands have erred, to their 
 eternal loss. I will not here dwell upon the 
 shortness and uncertainty of life ; but there is 
 a terrible danger — a danger not sufficiently un- 
 derstood — in delaying to yield to the pleading 
 voice of God's Holy Spirit, in choosing to live 
 in sin ; for such this delay really is. Sin, how- 
 ever small it may be esteemed, can be indulged 
 in only at the peril of infinite loss. What is 
 not overcome, will overcome us, and work out 
 our destruction. 
 
 Adam and Eve persuaded themselves that in 
 so small a matter as eating of the forbidden 
 fruit, there could not result such terrible con- 
 sequences as God had declared. But this 
 small matter was the transgression of God's 
 immutable and holy law, and it separated man 
 from God, and opened the flood-gates of death 
 and untold woe upon our world. Age after 
 age there has gone up from our earth a con- 
 tinual cry of mourning, and the whole creation 
 groaneth and travaileth together in pain, as a 
 consequence of man's disobedience. Heaven 
 itself has felt the effects of his rebellion 
 against God. Calvary stands as a memorial of 
 the amazing sacrifice required to atone for the 
 
40 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 transgression of the divine law. Let us not 
 regard sin as a trivial thing. 
 
 Every act of transgression, every neglect or 
 rejection of the grace of Christ, is reacting 
 upon yourself; it is hardening the heart, de- 
 praving the will, benumbing the understand- 
 ing, and not only making you less inclined to 
 yield, but less capable of yielding, to the ten- 
 der pleading of God's Holy Spirit. 
 
 Many are quieting a troubled conscience 
 with the thought that they can change a course 
 of evil when they choose; that they can trifle 
 with the invitations of mercy, and yet be again 
 and again impressed. They think that after 
 doing despite to the Spirit of grace, after cast- 
 ing their influence on the side of Satan, in a 
 moment of terrible extremity they can change 
 their course. But this is not so easily done. 
 The experience, the education, of a life-time, 
 has so thoroughly moulded the character that 
 few then desire to receive the image of Jesus. 
 Even one wrong trait of character, one sin- 
 ful desire, persistently cherished, will eventu- 
 ally neutralize all the power of the gospel. 
 Every sinful indulgence strengthens the soul's 
 aversion to God. The man who manifests an 
 
REPENTANCE. 41 
 
 infidel hardihood, or a stolid indifference to 
 divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of that 
 which he has himself sown. In all the Bible 
 there is not a more fearful warning against 
 trifling with evil than the words of the wise 
 man, that the sinner " shall be holden with the 
 cords of his sins." 1 
 
 Christ is ready to set us free from sin, but 
 he does not force the will ; and if by persistent 
 transgression the will itself is wholly bent on 
 evil, and we do not desire to be set free, if we 
 will not accept his grace, what more can he do ? 
 We have destroyed ourselves by our deter- 
 mined rejection of his love. " Behold, now is 
 the accepted time ; behold, now is the day of 
 salvation." " To-day if ye will hear his voice, 
 harden not your hearts." 2 
 
 " Man looketh on the outward appearance, 
 but the Lord looketh on the heart," 3 the human 
 heart, with its conflicting emotions of joy and 
 sorrow, the wandering, wayward heart, which 
 is the abode of so much impurity and deceit. 
 He knows its motives, its very intents and pur- 
 poses. Go to him with your soul all stained 
 
 iProv. 5:22. ? 2 Cor. 6 : 2 , Heb. 3 : 7, 8. 
 
 3 1 Sam. 16:7. 
 4 
 
42 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 as it is. Like the Psalmist, throw its cham- 
 bers open to the all-seeing eye, exclaiming, 
 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try 
 me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there 
 be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the 
 way everlasting.'" 
 
 Many accept an intellectual religion, a form 
 of godliness, when the heart is not cleansed. 
 Let it be your prayer, " Create in me a clean 
 heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within 
 me." 2 Deal truly with your own soul. Be as 
 earnest, as persistent, as you would be if your 
 mortal life were at stake. This is a matter to 
 be settled between God and your own soul, 
 settled for eternity. A supposed hope, and 
 nothing more, will prove your ruin. 
 
 Study God's word prayerfully. That word 
 presents before you, in the law of God and the 
 life of Christ, the great principles of holiness, 
 without which " no man shall see the Lord." 3 
 It convinces of sin; it plainly reveals the way 
 of salvation. Give heed to it, as the voice of 
 God speaking to your soul. 
 
 As you see the enormity of sin, as you see 
 yourself as you really are, do not give up to 
 
 1 Ps. 139 : 23, 24. 2 Ps. 51 : 10. » Heb. 12 . 14. 
 
REPENTANCE. 43 
 
 despair. It was sinners that Christ came to 
 save. We have not to reconcile God to us, 
 but — wondrous love ! — God in Christ is 
 "reconciling the world unto himself." 1 He is 
 wooing by his tender love the hearts of his 
 erring children. No earthly parent could be 
 as patient with the faults and mistakes of his 
 children, as is God with those he seeks to save. 
 No one could plead more tenderly with the 
 transgressor. No human lips ever poured out 
 more tender entreaties to the wanderer than 
 does he. All his promises, his warnings, are 
 but the breathing of unutterable love. 
 
 When Satan comes to tell you that you are 
 a great sinner, look up to your Redeemer, and 
 talk of his merits. That which will help you 
 is to look to his light. Acknowledge your sin, 
 but tell the enemy that " Christ Jesus came 
 into the world to save sinners," 2 and that you 
 may be saved by his matchless love. Jesus 
 asked Simon a question in regard to two 
 debtors. One owed his lord a small sum, and 
 the other owed him a very large sum ; but he 
 forgave them both, and Christ asked Simon 
 which debtor would love his lord most. Simon 
 *2 Cor. 5:19. 2 1 Tim. 1:15. 
 
44 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 answered, " He to whom he forgave most." 1 
 We have been great sinners, but Christ died 
 that we might be forgiven. The merits of his 
 sacrifice are sufficient to present to the Father 
 in our behalf. Those to whom he has forgiven 
 most will love him most, and will stand nearest 
 his throne to praise him for his great love and 
 infinite sacrifice. It is when we most fully 
 comprehend the love of God that we best 
 realize the sinfulness of sin. When we see 
 the length of the chain that was let down for 
 us, when we understand something of the in- 
 finite sacrifice that Christ has made in our 
 behalf, the heart is melted with teuderness and 
 
 contrition. 
 
 1 Luke 7 : 43. 
 
CONFESSION. 
 
 11 He that covereth his sins shall not pros- 
 per; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them 
 6hall have mercy." 1 
 
 The conditions of obtaining mercy of God. 
 are simple and just and reasonable. The Lord 
 does not require us to do some grievous thing 
 in order that we may have the forgiveness of 
 sin. We need not make long and wearisome 
 pilgrimages, or perform painful penances, to 
 commend our souls to the God of heaven or to 
 expiate our transgression ; but he that confess- 
 eth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy. 
 
 The apostle says, " Confess your faults one 
 to another, and pray one for another, that ye 
 may be healed." 2 Confess your sins to God : 
 who only can forgive them, and your faults to 
 one another. If you have given offense to 
 your friend or neighbor, you are to acknowl- 
 edge your wrong, and it is his duty freely to 
 forgive you. Then you are to seek the for- 
 
 1 Prov. 28 : 13. 2 James 5 : 16. 
 
 [45] 
 
46 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 giveness of God, because the brother you have 
 wounded is the property of God, and in injur- 
 ing him you sinned against his Creator and 
 Redeemer. The case is brought before the 
 only true mediator, our gi 'eat High Priest, 
 who " was in all points tempted like as we are, 
 yet without sin," and who is "touched with 
 the feeling of our infirmities," 1 and is able to 
 cleanse from every stain of iniquity. 
 
 Those who have not humbled their souls 
 before God in acknowledging their guilt, have 
 not yet fulfilled the first condition of accept- 
 ance. If we have not experienced that repent- 
 ance which is not to be repented of, and have 
 not with true humiliation of soul and broken- 
 ness of spirit confessed our sins, abhorring our 
 iniquity, we have never truly sought for the 
 forgiveness of sin; and if we have never 
 sought, we have never found the peace of God. 
 The only reason why we do not have remission 
 of sins that are past is that we are not willing 
 to humble our hearts and comply with the 
 conditions of the word of truth. Explicit in- 
 struction is given concerning this matter. 
 Confession of sin, whether public or private, 
 I Heb. 4 : 15. 
 
CONFESSION. 47 
 
 should be heartfelt, and freely expressed. It 
 is not to be urged from the sinner. It is not 
 to be made in a flippant and careless way, or 
 forced from those who have no realizing sense 
 of the abhorrent character of sin. The con- 
 fession that is the outpouring of the inmost 
 soul finds its way to the God of infinite pity. 
 The Psalmist says, " The Lord is nigh unto 
 them that are of a broken heart; and saveth 
 such as be of a contrite spirit." 1 
 
 True confession is always of a specific char- 
 acter, and acknowledges particular sins. They 
 may be of such a nature as to be brought 
 before God only; they may be wrongs that 
 should be confessed to individuals who have 
 suffered injury through them; or they may be 
 of a public character, and should then be as 
 publicly confessed. But all confession should 
 be definite and to the point, acknowledging 
 the very sins of which you are guilty. 
 
 In the days of Samuel, the Israelites wan- 
 dered from God. They were suffering the 
 consequences of sin; for they had lost their 
 faith in God, lost their discernment of his 
 power and wisdom to rule the nation, lost 
 JPs. 34:18. 
 
48 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 their confidence in his ability to defend and 
 vindicate his cause. They turned from the 
 great Ruler of the universe, and desired to 
 be governed as were the nations around them. 
 Before they found peace, they made this defi- 
 nite confession : ' We have added unto all our 
 sins this evil, to ask us a king. ' * The very sin 
 of which they were convicted had to be con- 
 fessed. Their ingratitude oppressed their 
 souls, and severed them from God. 
 
 Confession will not be acceptable to God 
 without sincere repentance and reformation. 
 There must be decided changes in the life ; 
 everything offensive to God must be put 
 away. This will be the result of genuine sor- 
 row for sin. The work that we have to do on 
 our part is plainly set before us : " Wash you, 
 make you clean ; put away the evil of your 
 doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do 
 evil, learn to do well ; seek judgment, relieve 
 the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for 
 the widow. " 2 " If the wicked restore the pledge, 
 give again that he had robbed, walk in the 
 statutes of life, without committing iniquity ; 
 he shall surely live, he shall not die." 3 Paul 
 
 1 1 Sam. 12 : 19. 2 Isa. 1 : 16, 17. 8 Eze. 33 : 15. 
 
CONFESSION. 49 
 
 says, speaking of the work of repentance, 
 " Ye sorrowed after a godly sort; what careful- 
 ness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of 
 yourselves; yea, what indignation; yea, what 
 fear; yea, what vehement desire; yea, what 
 zeal; yea, what revenge! In all things ye 
 have approved yourselves to be clear in this 
 matter." 1 
 
 When sin has deadened the moral percep- 
 tions, the wrong-doer does not discern the de- 
 fects of his character, nor realize the enormity 
 of the evil he has committed; and unless he 
 yields to the convicting power of the Holy 
 Spirit, he remains in partial blindness to his 
 sin. His confessions are not sincere and in 
 earnest. To every acknowledgment of his 
 guilt he adds an apology in excuse of his 
 course, declaring that if it had not been for 
 certain circumstances, he would not have done 
 this or that, for which he is reproved. 
 
 After Adam and Eve had eaten of the for- 
 bidden fruit, they were rilled with a sense of 
 shame and terror. At first their only thought 
 was how to excuse their sin, and escape the 
 dreaded sentence of death. When the Lord 
 1 2 Cor. 7:11. 
 
50 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 inquired concerning their sin, Adam replied, 
 laying the guilt partly upon God and partly 
 upon his companion: "The woman whom thou 
 gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, 
 and I did eat." The woman put the blame 
 upon the serpent, saying, " The serpent be-, 
 guiled me. and I did eat." 1 Why did you make 
 the serpent ? Why did you suffer him to come 
 into Eden ? These were the questions implied 
 in her excuse for her sin, thus charging God 
 with the responsibility of their fall. The 
 spirit of self -justification originated in the 
 father of lies, and has been exhibited by all 
 the sons and daughters of Adam. Confessions 
 of this order are not inspired by the divine 
 Spirit, and will not be acceptable to God. True 
 repentance will lead a man to bear his guilt 
 himself, and acknowledge it without deception 
 or hypocrisy. Like the poor publican, not 
 lifting up so much as his eyes unto heaven, he 
 will cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and 
 those who do acknowledge their guilt will be 
 justified ; for Jesus will plead his blood in be- 
 half of the repentant soul. 
 
 The examples in God's word of genuine re- 
 
 'Gen. 3:12, 13. 
 
CONFESSION. 51 
 
 pentance and humiliation reveal a spirit of con- 
 fession in which there is no excuse for sin, or 
 attempt at self -justification. Paul did not seek 
 to shield himself ; he paints his sin in its dark- 
 est hue, not attempting to lessen his guilt. He 
 says: "Many of the saints did I shut up in 
 prison, having received authority from the 
 chief priests; and when they were put to death, 
 I gave my voice against them. And I pun- 
 ished them oft in every synagogue, and com- 
 pelled them to blaspheme; and being exceed- 
 ingly mad against them, I persecuted them 
 even unto strange cities." 1 He does not hesi- 
 tate to declare that " Christ Jesus came into 
 the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 
 The humble and broken heart, subdued by 
 genuine repentance, will appreciate something 
 of the love of God and the cost of Calvary; 
 and as a son confesses to a loving father, so 
 will the truly penitent bring all his sins before 
 God. Audit is written, "If we confess our 
 sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our 
 sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- 
 ness." 2 
 
 1 Acts 26 : 10, 11. 2 1 John 1 : 9. 
 
CONSECEATION. 
 
 God's promise is, "Ye shall seek me, and 
 find me, when ye shall search for me with all 
 your heart." 1 
 
 The whole heart must be yielded to God, or 
 the change can never be wrought in us by 
 which we are to be restored to his likeness. 
 By nature we are alienated from God. The 
 Holy Spirit describes our condition in such 
 words as these : " Dead in trespasses and sins ; " 
 < { the whole head is sick, and the whole heart 
 faint;" "no soundness in it." We are held 
 fast in the snare of Satan ; c t taken captive by 
 him at his will."" God desires to heal us, to 
 set us free. But since this requires an entire 
 transformation, a renewing of our whole 
 nature, we must yield ourselves wholly to 
 him. 
 
 The warfare against self is the greatest bat- 
 tle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, 
 surrendering all to the will of God, requires a. 
 
 1 Jer 29 : 13. 2 Eph. 2:1; Isa. 1 : 5, 6 ; 2 Tim. 2 : 2G. 
 [52] 
 
CONSECRATION. 53 
 
 struggle ; but the soul must submit to God be- 
 fore it can be renewed in holiness. 
 
 The government of God is not, as Satan 
 would make it appear, founded upon a blind 
 submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals 
 to the intellect and the conscience. " Come 
 now, and let us reason together," 1 is the Crea- 
 tor's invitation to the beings he has made. 
 God does not force the will of his creatures. 
 He can not accept an homage that is not will- 
 ingly and intelligently given. A mere forced 
 submission would prevent all real development 
 of mind or character; it would make man a 
 mere automaton. Such is not the purpose of 
 the Creator. He desires that man, the crown- 
 ing work of his creative power, shall reach the 
 highest possible development. He sets before 
 us the height of blessing to which he desires 
 to bring us, through his grace. He invites us 
 to give ourselves to him, that he may work his 
 will in us. It remains for us to choose wheth- 
 er we will be set free from the bondage of sin, 
 to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 In giving ourselves to God, we must neces- 
 sarily give up all that would separate us from 
 Usa. 1:18. 
 
54 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 him. Hence the Saviour says, 4 4 Whosoever he 
 be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath 
 he can not be my disciple." 1 "Whatever shall 
 draw away the heart from God must be given 
 up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love 
 of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden 
 chain that binds them to Satan. Keputation 
 and worldly honor are worshipped by another 
 class. The life of selfish ease and freedom 
 from responsibility is the idol of others. But 
 these slavish bands must be broken. We can- 
 not be half the Lord's and half the world's. 
 We are not God's children unless we are such 
 entirely. There are those who profess to serve 
 God, while they rely upon their own efforts to 
 obey his law, to form a right character, and se- 
 cure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by 
 any deep sense of the love of Christ, but they 
 seek to perform the duties of the Christian life 
 as that which God requires of them in order to 
 gain heaven. Such religion is worth nothing. 
 When Christ dwells in the heart, the soul will 
 be so filled with his love, with the joy of com- 
 munion with him, that it will cleave to him ; and 
 in the contemplation of him, self will be for- 
 y Luke 14 : 33. 
 
CONSECRATION. 55 
 
 gotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of 
 action. Those who feel the constraining love 
 of God do not ask how little may be given, to 
 meet the requirements of God ; they do not ask 
 for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect con- 
 formity to the will of their Redeemer. With 
 earnest desire they yield all, and manifest an 
 interest proportionate to the value of the ob- 
 ject which they seek. A profession of Christ 
 without this deep love, is mere talk, dry for- 
 mality, and heavy drudgery. 
 
 Do you feel that it is too great a sacrifice to 
 yield all to Christ? Ask yourself the ques- 
 tion, "What has Christ given for me?" The 
 Son of God gave all — life and love and suffer- 
 ing — for our redemption. And can it be that 
 we, the unworthy objects of so great love, will 
 withhold our hearts from him? Every mo- 
 ment of our lives we have been partakers of 
 the blessings of his grace, and for this very 
 reason we can not fully realize the depths of 
 ignorance and misery from which we have been 
 saved. Can we look upon him whom our sins 
 have pierced, and yet be willing to do despite 
 to all his love and sacrifice ? In view of the 
 infinite humiliation of the Lord of glory, shall 
 
56 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 we murmur because we can enter into life only 
 through conflict and self-abasement ? 
 
 The inquiry of many a proud heart is, "Why 
 need I go in penitence and humiliation before I 
 can have the assurance of my acceptance with 
 God?" I point you to Christ. He was sinless, 
 and more than this, he was the Prince of 
 heaven; but in man's behalf he became sin for 
 the race. " He was numbered with the trans- 
 gressors; and he bare the sins of many, and 
 made intercession for the transgressors." 1 
 
 But what do we give up, when we give all ? 
 A sin-polluted heart for Jesus to purify, to 
 cleanse by his own blood, and to save by his 
 matchless love. And yet men think it hard to 
 give up all! I am ashamed to hear it spoken 
 of, ashamed to write it. 
 
 God does not require us to give up any- 
 thing that it is for our best interest to retain. 
 In all that he does, he has the well-being of 
 his children in view. Would that all who 
 have not chosen Christ might realize that he 
 has something vastly better to offer them than 
 they are seeking for themselves. Man is 
 doing the greatest injury and injustice to his 
 ^sa. 53:12. 
 
CONSECRATION. 57 
 
 own soul when he thinks and acts contrary to 
 the will of God. No real joy can be found in 
 the path forbidden by him who knows what 
 is best, and who plans for the good of his 
 creatures. The path of transgression is the 
 path of misery and destruction. 
 
 It is a mistake to entertain the thought that 
 God is pleased to see his children suffer. 
 All heaven is interested in the happiness of 
 man. Our Heavenly Father does not close 
 the avenues of joy to any of his creatures. 
 The divine requirements call upon us to 
 shun those indulgences that would bring 
 suffering and disappointment, that would close 
 to us the door of happiness and heaven. The 
 world's Redeemer accepts men as they are, 
 with all their wants, imperfections, and weak- 
 nesses; and he will not only cleanse from sin 
 and grant redemption through his blood, but 
 will satisfy the heart-longing of all who con- 
 sent to wear his yoke, to bear his burden. 
 It is his purpose to impart peace and rest to 
 all who come to him for the bread of life. He 
 requires us to perform only those duties that 
 will lead our steps to heights of bliss to which 
 ike disobedient can never attain. The true, 
 
58 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 joyous life of the soul is to have Christ formed 
 within, the hope of glory. 
 
 Many are inquiring, " How am I to make 
 the surrender of myself to God?" You desire 
 to give yourself to him, but you are weak 
 in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and con- 
 trolled by the habits of your life of sin. Your 
 promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. 
 You cannot control your thoughts, your im- 
 pulses, your affections. The knowledge of 
 your broken promises and forfeited pledges 
 weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, 
 and causes you to feel that God cannot accept 
 you; but you need not despair. What you 
 need to understand is the true force of the 
 will. This is the governing power in the 
 nature of man, the power of decision, or of 
 choice. Everything depends on the right 
 action of the will. The power of choice God 
 has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You 
 cannot change your heart, you cannot of your- 
 self give to God its affections ; but you can choose 
 to serve him. You can give him your will, 
 he will then work in you to will and to do ac- 
 cording to his good pleasure. Thus your 
 whole nature will be brought under the con- 
 
CONSECRA TION. 5 9 
 
 trol of the Spirit of Christ; your affections 
 will be centered upon him, your thoughts will 
 be in harmony with him. 
 
 Desires for goodness and holiness are right 
 as far as they go ; but if you stop here, they 
 will avail nothing. Many will be lost while 
 hoping and desiring to be Christians. They 
 do not come to the point of yielding the will 
 to God. They do not now choose to be 
 Christians. 
 
 Through the right exercise of the will, an 
 entire change may be made in your life. By 
 yielding up your will to Christ, you ally your- 
 self with the power that is above all principal- 
 ities and powers. You will have strength 
 from above to hold you steadfast, and thus 
 through constant surrender to God you will be 
 enabled to live the new life, even the life of 
 faith. 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. 
 
 As your conscience lias been quickened by 
 the Holy Spirit, you have seen something of 
 the evil of sin, of its power, its guilt, its woe; 
 and you look upon it with abhorrence. You 
 feel that sin has separated you from God, that 
 you are in bondage to the power of evil. The 
 more you struggle to escape, the more you 
 realize your helplessness. Your motives are 
 impure; your heart is unclean. You see that 
 your life has been filled with selfishness and 
 sin. You long to be forgiven, to be cleansed, 
 to be set free. Harmony with God, likeness 
 to him, — what can you do to obtain it ? 
 
 It is peace that you need, — Heaven's for- 
 giveness and peace and love in the soul. 
 Money cannot buy it, intellect cannot procure 
 it, wisdom cannot attain to it; you can never 
 hope, by your own effort, to secure it. But 
 God offers it to you as a gift, " without money 
 and without price." 1 It is yours, if you will 
 
 1 Isa. 55 : 1. 
 [GO] 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. $i 
 
 but reach out your hand and grasp it. The 
 Lord says, " Though your sins be as scarlet, 
 they shall be as white as snow; though they 
 be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." * 
 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new 
 spirit will I put within you." 2 
 
 You have confessed your sins, and in heart 
 put them away. You have resolved to give 
 yourself to 'God. Now go to him, and ask 
 that he will wash away your sins, and give you 
 a new heart. Then believe that he does this 
 because he has promised. This is the lesson 
 which Jesus taught while he was on earth, 
 that the gift which God promises us, we must 
 believe we do receive, and it is ours. Jesus 
 healed the people of their diseases when they 
 had faith in his power ; he helped them in the 
 things which they could see, thus inspir- 
 ing them with confidence in him concerning 
 things which they could not see, — leading 
 them to believe in his power to forgive sins. 
 This he plainly stated in the healing of the 
 man sick with palsy: " That ye may know thai 
 the Son of man hath power cm earth to forgive 
 sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) 
 Usa. 1:18. 2 Eze. 36:26. 
 
62 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine 
 house." l So also John the evangelist says, 
 speaking of the miracles of Christ, " These 
 things are written that ye might believe that 
 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that 
 believing ye might have life through his 
 name. 
 
 From the simple Bible account of how 
 Jesus healed the sick we may learn something 
 about how to believe in him for the forgive- 
 ness of sins. Let us turn to the story of the 
 paralytic at Bethesda. The poor sufferer was 
 helpless; he had not used his limbs for 
 thirty-eight years. Yet Jesus bade him, 
 " Bise, take up thy bed, and walk." The 
 sick man might have said, "Lord, if thou wilt 
 make me whole, I will obey thy word." But 
 no, he believed Christ's word, believed that he 
 was made whole, and he made the effort at 
 once; he icilled to walk,. and he did walk. He 
 acted on the word of Christ, and God gave the 
 power. He was made whole. 
 
 In like manner you are a sinner. You can- 
 not atone for your past sins, you cannot 
 change your heart, and make yourself holy. 
 1 Matt. 9:6. 2 John 20: 31. 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. 63 
 
 But God promises to do all this for you 
 through Christ. You believe that promise. 
 You confess your sins, and give yourself to 
 God. You will to serve him. Just as surely 
 as you do this, God will fulfill his word to you. 
 If you believe the promise, — believe that you 
 are forgiven and cleansed, — God supplies the 
 fact; you are made whole, just as Christ gave 
 the paralytic power to walk when the man 
 believed that he was healed. It is so if you 
 believe it. 
 
 Do not wait to feel that you are made whole, 
 but say, "I believe it; it is so, not because 1 
 feel it, but because God has promised." 
 
 Jesus says, " What things soever ye desire, 
 when ye pray, believe that ye receive them 
 and ye shall have them." 1 There is a con- 
 dition to this promise, — that we pray accord- 
 ing to the will of God. But it is the will of 
 God to cleanse us from sin, to make us his 
 children, and to enable us to live a holy life. 
 So we may ask for these blessings, and believe 
 that we receive them, and thank God that we 
 have received them. It is our privilege to go 
 to Jesus and be cleansed, and to stand before 
 1 Mark 11 -24. 
 
64 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 the law without shame or remorse. " There 
 is therefore now no condemnation to them 
 which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after 
 the flesh, but after the Spirit." 1 
 
 Henceforth you are not your own; you are 
 bought with a price. < ' Ye were not redeemed 
 with corruptible things, as silver and gold, . . 
 . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of 
 a lamb without blemish and without spot." 2 
 Through this simple act of believing God, the 
 Holy Spirit has begotten a new life in your 
 heart. You are as a child born into the family 
 of God, and he loves you as he loves his Son. 
 
 Now that you have given yourself to Jesus, 
 do not draw back, do not take yourself away 
 from him, but day by day say, "I am Christ's; 
 I have given myself to him;" and ask him 
 to give you his Spirit, and keep you by 
 his grace. As it is by giving yourself to 
 God, and believing him, that you become his 
 child, so you are to live in him. The apostle 
 says, " As ye have therefore received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." 8 
 
 Some seem to feel that they must be on pro- 
 bation, and must prove to the Lord that they 
 'Rom. 8:1 2 1 Peter 1 : 18, 19. 3 Col. 2:G 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. G5 
 
 are reformed, before they can claim his bless- 
 ing. But they may claim the blessing of God 
 even now. They must have his grace, the 
 Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, or 
 they cannot resist evil. Jesus loves to have 
 us come to him just as we are, sinful, helpless, 
 dependent. We may come with all our weak- 
 aess, our folly, our sinfulness, and fall at his 
 feet in penitence. It is his glory to encircle 
 us in the arms of his love and to bind up our 
 wounds, to cleanse us from all impurity. 
 
 Here is where thousands fail: they do not 
 believe that Jesus pardons them personally, 
 individually. They do not take God at his 
 word. It is the privilege of all who comply 
 with the conditions, to know for themselves 
 that pardon is freely extended for every sin. 
 Put away the suspicion that God's promises 
 are not meant for you. They are for every re- 
 pentant transgressor. Strength and grace 
 have been provided through Christ to be 
 brought by ministering angels to every be- 
 lieving soul. None are so sinful that they can 
 not find strength, purity, and righteousness in 
 Jesus, who died for them. He is waiting to 
 strip them of their garments stained and pol- 
 
66 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 luted with sin, and to put upon them the white 
 robes of righteousness ; he bids them live, and 
 not die. 
 
 God does not deal with us as finite men deal 
 with one another. His thoughts are thoughts 
 of mercy, love, and tenderest compassion. He 
 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
 unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him re- 
 turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy 
 upon him ; and to our God, for he will abund- 
 antly pardon." " I have blotted out, as a thick 
 cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy 
 sins." 1 
 
 " I have no pleasure in the death of him 
 that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn 
 yourselves, and live ye." 2 Satan is ready to 
 steal away the blessed assurances of God. He 
 desires to take every glimmer of hope and 
 every ray of light from the soul ; but you must 
 not permit him to do this. Do not give ear to 
 the tempter, but say, "Jesus has died that I 
 might live. He loves me, and wills not that I 
 should perish. I have a compassionate Heav- 
 enly Father; and although I have abused his 
 love, though the blessings he has given me 
 »Isa. 55:7: 44:22. 2 Eze. 18:32. 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. fc>7 
 
 have been squandered, I will arise, and go to 
 my Father, and say, 'I have sinned against 
 heaven, and before thee, and am no more 
 worthy to be called thy son; make me as one 
 of thy hired servants.'" The parable tells 
 you how the wanderer will be received: 
 " When he teas yet a greed way off, his father 
 saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and 
 fell on his neck, and kissed him." 1 
 
 But even this parable, tender and touching 
 as it is, comes short of expressing the infinite 
 compassion of the Heavenly Father. The 
 Lord declares by his prophet, " I have loved 
 thee with an everlasting love ; therefore with 
 loving kindness have I drawn thee." 2 While 
 the sinner is yet far from the Father's house, 
 wasting his substance in a strange country, 
 the Father's heart is yearning over him; 
 and every longing awakened in the soul to re- 
 tarn to God, is but the tender pleading of his 
 Spirit, wooing, entreating, drawing the wan- 
 derer to his Father's heart of love. 
 
 With the rich promises of the Bible before 
 you, can you give place to doubt? Can you 
 believe that when the poor sinner longs to re- 
 1 Luke 15 ; 18-20. 2 j er 31 . 3 
 
68 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 turn, longs to forsake his sins, the Lord stern- 
 ly withholds him from coming to his feet in 
 repentance ? Away with such thoughts ! Noth- 
 ing can hurt your own soul more than to en- 
 tertain such a conception of our Heavenly 
 Father. He hates sin, but he loves the sin- 
 ner, and he gave Himself, in the person of 
 Christ, that all who would, might be saved, 
 and have eternal blessedness in the kingdom 
 of glory. What stronger or more tender lan- 
 guage could have been employed than he has 
 chosen in which to express his love toward us ? 
 He declares, " Can a woman forget her sucking 
 child, that she should not have compassion on 
 the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget; 
 yet will I not forget thee." 1 
 
 Look up, you that are doubting and tremb- 
 ling; for Jesus lives to make intercession for 
 us. Thank God for the gift of his dear Son, 
 and pray that he may not have died for you 
 in vain. The Spirit invites you to-day. Come 
 with your whole heart to Jesus, and you may 
 claim his blessing. 
 
 As you read the promises, remember they 
 are the expression of unutterable love and 
 ^sa. 49:15. 
 
FAITH AND ACCEPTANCE. 69 
 
 pity. The great heart of Infinite Love is 
 drawn toward the sinner with boundless com- 
 passion. " We have redemption through his 
 blood, the forgiveness of sins." 1 Yes, only 
 believe that God is your helper. He wants to 
 restore his moral image in man. As you 
 draw near to him with confession and repent- 
 ance, he will draw near to you with mercy 
 and forgiveness. 
 
 ^ph. 1:7. 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 
 
 " If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
 ture; old things are passed away; behold, all 
 things are become new." ! 
 
 A person may not be able to tell the exact 
 time or place, or to trace all the chain of cir- 
 cumstances in the process of conversion; but 
 this does not prove him to be unconverted. 
 Christ said to Nicodemus, " The wind bloweth 
 where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound 
 thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, 
 and whither it goeth; so is every one that is 
 born of the Spirit." 2 Like the wind, which is 
 invisible, yet the effects of which are plainly 
 seen and felt, is the Spirit of God in its work 
 upon the human heart. That regenerating 
 power, which no human eye can see, begets a 
 new life in the soul ; it creates a new being in 
 the image of God. 
 
 While the work of the Spirit is silent and 
 imperceptible, its effects are manifest. If the 
 
 1 2 Cor. 5 ; 17. 2 John 3 : 8. 
 
 [70] 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 71 
 
 heart has been renewed by the Spirit of God, 
 the life will bear witness to the fact. While 
 we cannot do anything to change our hearts, 
 or to bring ourselves into harmony with God; 
 while we must not trust at all to ourselves or 
 our good works, our lives will reveal whether 
 the grace of God is dwelling within us. A 
 change will be seen in the character, the 
 habits, the pursuits. The contrast will be 
 clear and decided between what they have been 
 and what they are. The character is revealed, 
 not by occasional good deeds and occasional 
 misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual 
 words and acts. 
 
 It is true that there may be an outward cor- 
 rectness of deportment without the renewing 
 power of Christ. The love of influence and 
 the desire for the esteem of others may pro- 
 duce a well-ordered life. Self-respect may 
 lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A 
 selfish heart may perform generous actions. 
 By what means, then, shall we determine 
 whose side we are on? 
 
 Who has the heart? With whom are our 
 thoughts ? Of whom do we love to converse ? 
 Who has our warmest affections and our best 
 
72 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts 
 are with him, and our sweetest thoughts are 
 of him. All that we have and are is conse 
 crated to him. We long to bear his image, 
 breathe his spirit, do his will and please him 
 in all things. 
 
 Those who become new creatures in Christ 
 Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, 
 " love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, 
 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." They 
 will no longer fashion themselves according to 
 the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son 
 of God they will follow in his steps, reflect 
 his character, and purify themselves even as 
 he is pure. The things they once hated, they 
 now love; and the things they once loved, tbey 
 hate. The proud and self-assertive become 
 meek and lowly in heart. The vain and 
 supercilious become serious and unobtrusive. 
 The drunken become sober, and the profligate 
 pure. The vain customs and fashions of the 
 world are laid aside. Christians will seek not 
 the " outward adorning," but " the hidden man 
 of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, 
 even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." 7 
 1 1 Peter 3 : 3, 4. 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 73 
 
 There is no evidence of genuine repentance, 
 unless it works reformation. If lie restore the 
 pledge, give again that he had robbed, confess 
 his sins, and love God and his fellow-men, the 
 sinner may be sure that he has passed from 
 death unto life. 
 
 When as erring, sinful beings we come to 
 Christ and become partakers of his pardoning 
 grace, love springs up in the heart. Every 
 burden is light; for the yoke that Christ 
 imposes is easy. Duty becomes a delight, 
 and sacrifice a pleasure. The path that before 
 seemed shrouded in darkness, becomes bright 
 with beams from the Sun of Bighteousness. 
 
 The loveliness of the character of Christ will 
 be seen in his followers. It was his delight 
 to do the will of God. Love to God, zeal for 
 his glory, was the controlling power in our 
 Saviour's life. Love beautified and ennobled 
 all his actions. Love is of God. The uncon- 
 secrated heart cannot originate or produce it. 
 It is found only in the heart where Jesus 
 reigns. " We love because he first loved us." 1 
 In the heart renewed by divine grace, love is 
 the principle of action. It modifies the char- 
 1 1 John 4 : 19, R. V. 
 
74 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 acter, governs the impulses, controls the pas- 
 sions, subdues enmity, .and ennobles the affec- 
 tions. This love, cherished in the soul, 
 sweetens the life, and sheds a refining influ- 
 ence on all around. 
 
 There are two errors against which the 
 children of God — particularly those who have 
 just come to trust in his grace — especially 
 need to guard. The first, already dwelt upon, 
 is that of looking to their own works, trusting 
 to anything they can do, to bring themselves 
 into harmony with God. He who is trying to 
 become holy by his own works in keeping the 
 law, is attempting an impossibility. All that 
 man can do without Christ is polluted with 
 selfishness and sin. It is the grace of Christ 
 alone, through faith, that can make us holy. 
 
 The opposite and no less dangerous error is, 
 that belief in Christ releases men from keep- 
 ing the law of God ; that since by faith alone 
 we become partakers of the grace of Christ, 
 our works have nothing to do with our re- 
 demption. 
 
 But notice here that obedience is not a mere 
 outward compliance, but the service of love. 
 The law of God is an expression of his very 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 75 
 
 nature; it is an embodiment of the great 
 principle of love, and hence is the foundation 
 of his government in heaven and earth. If 
 our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, 
 if the divine love is implanted in the soul, 
 will not the law of God be carried out in the 
 life? When the principle of love is implanted 
 in the heart, when man is renewed after the 
 image of Him that created him, the new cove- 
 nant promise is fulfilled, "I will put my laws 
 into their hearts, and in their minds will I 
 write them." ' And if the law is written in 
 the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedi- 
 ence — the service and allegiance of love — is 
 the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scrip- 
 ture says, "This is the love of God, that we 
 keep his commandments." " He that saith, I 
 know him, and keepeth not his command- 
 ments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." * 
 Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is 
 faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers 
 of the grace of Christ, which enables us to 
 render obedience. 
 
 We do not earn salvation by our obedience;, 
 for salvation is the free gift of God, to be 
 *Heb. 10:16. *lJohn5:3; 2:4. 
 
76 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 received by faith. But obedience is the 
 fruit of faith. "Ye know that he was 
 manifested to take away our sins, and in him 
 is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth 
 not; whosoever sinneth, hath not seen him, 
 neither known him." 1 Here is the true test. 
 If we abide in Christ, if the love of God 
 dwells in us, our feelings, our thoughts, our 
 actions, will be in harmony with the will of God 
 as expressed in the precepts of his holy law. 
 "Little children, let no man deceive you; he 
 that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as 
 He is righteous." 2 Righteousness is denned 
 by the standard of God's holy law, as ex- 
 pressed in the ten precepts given on Sinai. 
 
 That so-called faith in Christ which pro- 
 fesses to release men from the obligation of 
 obedience to God, is not faith, but presump- 
 tion. " By grace are ye saved through faith." 
 But " faith, if it hath not works, is dead." 3 
 Jesus said of himself before he came to earth, 
 "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, 
 thy law is within my heart." 4 And just 
 before he ascended again to heaven he de- 
 
 1 1 John 3 : 5, 6. 2 1 John 3 : 7. 
 
 3 Eph. 2:8: James 2:17. * Ps. 40 : 8. 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 77 
 
 clared, "I have kept my Father's command- 
 ments, and abide in his love." ' The Scripture 
 says, "Hereby we do know that we know him, 
 if we keep his commandments. . . He 
 
 that saith he abideth in him, ought himself 
 also so to walk, even as he walked." a " Be- 
 cause Christ also suffered for us, leaving us 
 an example, that ye should follow his 
 steps." 8 
 
 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 happi- 
 ness of the whole universe would be imperiled. 
 The way would be open for sin, with all its 
 train of woe aud misery, to be immortalized. 
 
 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, and 
 because of his sin our natures are fallen, and 
 we cannot make ourselves righteous. Since 
 we are sinful, unholy, we cannot perfectly 
 obey a holy law. We have no righteousness of 
 
 UohnlSrIO. 2 Uohn2:3-6. s l Peter 2: 21. 
 
STEPS TO CUEIST. 
 
 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 
 and temptations such as we have to meet. 
 He lived a sinless life. He died for us, and 
 now he offers to take our sins and give us his 
 righteousness. If you give yourself to him, 
 and 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, and 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 
 and the continual surrender of your will to 
 him; and so long as you do this, he will work 
 in you to will and to do according to his good 
 pleasure. So you may say, " The life which I 
 now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the 
 Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself 
 for me." 1 So Jesus said to his disciples, " It is 
 not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your 
 Father which speaketh in you." 2 Then with 
 1 Gal. 2:20. 2 Matt. 10:20. 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLE SHIP. 79 
 
 Christ working in you, you will manifest the 
 same spirit and do the same works, — works of 
 righteousness, obedience. 
 
 So we have nothing in ourselves of which to 
 boast. We have no ground for self-exaltation. 
 Our only ground of hope is in the righteous- 
 ness of Christ imputed to us, and in that 
 wrought by his Spirit working in and through 
 us. 
 
 When we speak of faith, there is a distinc- 
 tion that should be borne in mind. There is 
 a kind of belief that is wholly distinct from 
 faith. The existence and power of God, the 
 truth of his word, are facts that even Satan and 
 his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says 
 that "the devils also believe, and tremble;" 1 
 but this is not faith. Where there is not only 
 a belief in God's word, but a submission of the 
 will to him ; where the heart is yielded to him, 
 the affections fixed upon him, there is faith, — , 
 faith that works by love, and purifies the soul. 
 Through this faith the heart is renewed in the 
 image of God. And the heart that in its un- 
 renewed state is not subject to the law of God, 
 neither indeed can be, now delights in its holy 
 1 James 2 : 19. 
 
80 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 precepts, exclaiming with the Psalmist, " O 
 how love I thy law, it is my meditation all the 
 day." 1 And the righteousness of the law is 
 fulfilled in us, " who walk not after the flesh, 
 but after the Spirit-" 2 
 
 There are those who have known the pardon- 
 ing love of Christ, and who really desire to be 
 children of God, yet they realize that their 
 character is imperfect, their life faulty, and 
 they are ready to doubt whether their hearts 
 have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To 
 such I would say, Do not draw back in despair. 
 We shall often have to bow down and weep at 
 the feet of Jesus because of our short-comings 
 and mistakes ; but we are not to be discour- 
 aged. Even if we are overcome by the enemy, 
 we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected 
 of God. No ; Christ is at the right hand of 
 God, who also maketh intercession for us. 
 Said the beloved John, " These things write I 
 unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man 
 sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ the righteous." 3 And do not forget the 
 words of Christ, " The Father himself loveth 
 you." 4 He desires to restore you to himself, 
 ^s. 119 : 97. 2 Rom. 8:1. 8 1 John 2 : 1. *.Tohn 16 : 27. 
 
THE TEST OF DISCIPLESHIP. 81 
 
 to see his own purity and holiness reflected in 
 you. And if you will but yield yourself to 
 him, he that hath begun a good work in you 
 will carry it forward to the day of Jesus Christ. 
 Pray more fervently ; believe more fully. As 
 we come to distrust our own power, let us 
 trust the power of our Redeemer, and we shall 
 praise him who is the health of our counte- 
 nance. 
 
 The closer you come to Jesus, the more 
 faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for 
 your vision will be clearer, and your imperfec- 
 tions will be seen in broad and distinct contrast 
 to his perfect nature. This is evidence that 
 Satan's delusions have lost their power; that 
 the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is 
 arousing you. 
 
 No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in 
 the heart that does not realize its own sinful- 
 ness. The soul that is transformed by the 
 grace of Christ will admire his divine charac- 
 ter ; but if we do not see our own moral deform- 
 ity, it is unmistakable evidence that we have 
 not had a view of the beauty and excellence of 
 Christ. 
 
 The less we see to esteem in ourselves, the 
 
82 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 more we shall see to esteem in the infinite pu- 
 rity and loveliness of our Saviour. A view of 
 our sinfulness drives us to him who can par- 
 don; and when the soul, realizing its helpless- 
 ness reaches out after Christ, he will reveal 
 himself in power. The more our sense of need 
 drives us to him and to the word of God, the 
 more exalted views we shall have of his char- 
 acter, and the more fully we shall reflect his 
 image. 
 
GEO WING UP IIS TO CHBIST. 
 
 The change of heart by which we become 
 children of God is in the Bible spoken of as 
 birth. Again, it is compared to the germina- 
 tion of the good seed sown by the husband- 
 man. In like manner those who are just con- 
 verted to Christ are, as " new-born babes," to 
 "grow np" 1 to the stature of men and women 
 in Christ Jesus. Or like the good seed sown 
 in the field, they are to grow up and bring 
 forth fruit. Isaiah says that they shall "be 
 called trees of righteousness, the planting of 
 the Lord, that he might be glorified." 2 So 
 from natural life, illustrations are drawn, to 
 help us better to understand the mysterious 
 truths of spiritual life. 
 
 Not all the wisdom and skill of man can 
 produce life in the smallest object in nature. 
 It is only through the life which God himself 
 has imparted, that either plant or animal can 
 live. So it is only through the life from God 
 
 1 1 Peter 2 : 2 ; Eph. 4 : 15. 8 Isa. 61:3. 
 
 r S3 1 
 
84 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 that spiritual life is begotten in the hearts of 
 men. Unless a man is "born from above," 1 
 he cannot become a partaker of the life which 
 Christ came to give. 
 
 As with life, so it is with growth. It is God 
 who brings the bud to bloom and the flower to 
 fruit. It is by his power that the seed devel- 
 ops, " first the blade, then the ear, after that 
 the full corn in the ear." 2 And the prophet 
 Hosea says of Israel, that " he shall grow as 
 the lily." " They shall revive as the corn and 
 grow as the vine." 3 And Jesus bids us "con- 
 sider the lilies, how they grow." 4 The plants 
 and flowers grow not by their own care or 
 anxiety or effort, but by receiving that which 
 God has furnished to minister to their life. 
 The child cannot, by any anxiety or power of 
 its own, add to its stature. No more can you, 
 by anxiety or effort of yourself, secure spiritu- 
 al growth. The plant, the child, grows by re- 
 ceiving from its surroundings that which min- 
 isters to its life, — air, sunshine, and food. 
 What these gifts of nature are to animal and 
 plant, such is Christ to those who trust in him. 
 
 1 John 3 : 3 (margin). 2 Mark 4 : 28. 
 
 3 Hosea 14 : 5, 7. « Luke 12 : 27. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST. 85 
 
 Ha is their " everlasting light," " a sun and a 
 shield." 1 He shall be as " the dew unto Isra- 
 el." " He shall come down like rain upon the 
 mown grass."" He is the living water, "the 
 bread of God . . which cometh down 
 from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. " 3 
 
 In the matchless gift of his Son, God has 
 encircled the whole world with an atmosphere of 
 grace, as real as the air which circulates around 
 the globe. All who choose to breathe this life- 
 giving atmosphere will live, and grow up to the 
 stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. 
 
 As the flower turns to the sun, that the 
 bright beams may aid in perfecting its beauty 
 and symmetry, so should we turn to the Sun of 
 Righteousness, that Heaven's light may shine 
 upon us, that our character may be developed 
 in the likeness of Christ. 
 
 Jesus teaches the same thing when he says, 
 *■ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch 
 cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the 
 vine: no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 
 . Without me ye can do nothing." 4 You 
 are just as dependent upon Christ, in order to 
 
 1 Isa. 60 ; 19 ; Ps. 84 : 11. a Hosea 14 : 5 ; Ps. 72 : 6. 
 s John6:33. * John 15 : 4, 5. 
 
8G STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 live a holy life, as is the branch upon the par- 
 ent stock for growth and fruitfulness. Apart 
 from him you have no life. You have no pow- 
 er to resist temptation or to grow in grace and 
 holiness. Abiding in him, you may flourish. 
 Drawing your life from him, you will not 
 wither nor be fruitless. You will be like a 
 tree planted by the rivers of water. 
 
 Many have an idea that they must do some. 
 part of the work alone. They have trusted in 
 Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but now they 
 seek by their own efforts to live aright. But 
 every such effort must fail. Jesus says> 
 " Without me ye can do nothing." Our growth 
 in grace, our joy, our usefulness, — all depend 
 upon our union with Christ. It is by com- 
 munion with him, daily, hourly, — by abiding 
 in him, — that we are to grow in grace. He is 
 not only the author but the finisher of our 
 faith. It is Christ first and last and always. 
 He is to be with us, not only at the beginning 
 and the end of our course, but at every step of 
 the way. David says, " I have set the Lord 
 always before me; because he is at my right 
 hand, I shall not be moved." 1 
 1 Ps. 16 : 8. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST. 87 
 
 Do you ask, " How am I to abide in Christ?" 
 — In the same way as you received him at first. 
 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus 
 the Lord, so walk ye in him." " The just 
 shall live by faith." 1 You gave yourself to 
 God, to be his wholly, to serve and obey him, 
 and you took Christ as your Saviour. You 
 could not yourself atone for your sins or change 
 your heart; but having given yourself to God, 
 you believed that he for Christ's sake did all 
 this for you. By faith you became Christ's, 
 and by faith you are to grow up in him, — by 
 giving and taking. You are to give all, — your 
 heart, your will, your service, — give yourself 
 to him to obey all his requirements ; and you 
 must take all, — Christ, the fullness of all 
 blessing, to abide in your heart, to be your 
 strength, your righteousness, your everlasting 
 helper, — to give you power to obey. 
 
 Consecrate yourself to God in the morning ; 
 make this your very first work. Let your 
 prayer be, " Take me, O Lord, as wholly thine. 
 I lay all my plans at thy feet. Use me to-day 
 in thy service. Abide with me, and let all my 
 work be wrought in thee." This is a daily 
 
 ^ol. 2:6; Heb. 10:38. 
 
88 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to 
 God for that day. Surrender all your plans 
 to him, to be carried out or given up as his 
 providence shall indicate. Thus day by day 
 you may be giving your life into the hands of 
 God, and thus your life will be moulded more 
 and more after the life of Christ. 
 
 A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. 
 There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there 
 should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your 
 hope is not in yourself ; it is in Christ. Tour 
 weakness is united to his strength, your igno- 
 rance to his wisdom, your frailty to his endur- 
 ing might. So you are not to look to your- 
 self, not to let the mind dwell on self, but look 
 to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon his love,, 
 upon the beauty, the perfection, of his charac- 
 ter. Christ in his self-denial, Christ in his 
 humiliation, Christ in his purity and holiness, 
 Christ in his matchless love, — this is the sub- 
 ject for the soul's contemplation. It is by 
 loving him, copying him, depending wholly 
 upon him, that you are to be transformed into 
 his likeness. 
 
 Jesus says, l 'Abide in me." These words 
 convey the idea of rest, stability, confidence. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST 8$ 
 
 Again he invites, " Come unto me 
 and I will give you rest." 1 The words of the 
 Psalmist express the same thought: "Rest in 
 the Lord, and wait patiently for him." And 
 Isaiah gives the assurance, u In quietness and 
 confidence shall be your strength." 2 This rest 
 is not found in inactivity: for in the Saviour's 
 invitation the promise of rest is united with the 
 call to labor: " Take my yoke upon you, . . 
 and ye shall find rest." 3 The heart that rests 
 most fully upon Christ will be most earnest 
 and active in labor for him. 
 
 When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned 
 away from Christ, the source of strength and 
 life. Hence it is Satan's constant effort to 
 keep the attention diverted from the Saviour, 
 and thus prevent the union and communion of 
 the soul with Christ. The pleasures of the 
 world, life's cares and perplexities and sor- 
 rows, the faults of others, or your own faults 
 and imperfections. — to any or all of these he 
 will seek to divert the mind. Do not be misled 
 by his devices. Many who are really consci- 
 entious, and who desire to live for God, he too 
 
 1 Matt. 11 : 28, 29. 2 Ps. 37 • 7 , Isa. 30 : 15. 
 
 3 Matt. 11; 28, 29. 
 
90 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 often leads to dwell upon their own faults and 
 weaknesses, and thus by separating them from 
 Christ, he hopes to gain the victory. We 
 should not make self the center, and indulge 
 anxiety and fear as to whether we shall be 
 saved. All this turns the soul away from the 
 source of our strength. Commit the keeping 
 of your soul to God, and trust in him. Talk 
 and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in him. 
 Put away all doubt ; dismiss your fears. Say 
 with the apostle Paul, " I live; yet not I, but 
 Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now 
 live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son 
 of God, who loved me, and gave himself for 
 me." 1 Kest in God. He is able to keep that 
 which you have committed to him. If you 
 will leave yourself in his hands, he will bring 
 you off more than conqueror through him that 
 has loved you. 
 
 When Christ took human nature upon him, 
 he bound humanity to himself by a tie of love 
 that can never be broken by any power save 
 the choice of man himself. Satan will con- 
 stantly present allurements to induce us to 
 break this tie, — to choose to separate ourselves 
 1 Gal. 2 : 20. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST. 91 
 
 from Christ. Here is where we need to watch, 
 to strive, to pray, that nothing may entice us 
 to choose another master; for we are always 
 free to do this. But let us keep our eyes fixed 
 upon Christ, and he will preserve us. Look- 
 ing unto Jesus we are safe. Nothing can 
 pluck us out of his hand. In constantly be- 
 holding him, we " are changed into the same 
 image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit 
 of the Lord." 1 
 
 It was thus that the early disciples gained 
 their likeness to the dear Saviour. When 
 those disciples heard the words of Jesus, they 
 felt their need of him. They sought, they 
 found, they followed him. They were with 
 him in the house, at the table, in the closet, 
 in the field. They were with him as pupils 
 with a teacher, daily receiving from his lips 
 lessons of holy truth. They looked to him, as 
 servants to their master, to learn their duty. 
 Those disciples were men "subject to like 
 passions as we are." 2 They had the same 
 battle with sin to fight. They needed the 
 same grace, in order to live a holy life. 
 
 Even John, the beloved disciple, the one 
 1 2 Cor. 3:18. 2 James5:17. 
 
5)2 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 who most fully reflected the likeness of the 
 Saviour, did not naturally possess that loveli- 
 ness of character. He was not only self-as- 
 sertive and ambitious for honor, but impetu- 
 ous and resentful under injuries. But as the 
 •character of the Divine One was manifested to 
 him, he saw his own deficiency, and was 
 humbled by the knowledge. The strength 
 and patience, the power and tenderness, the 
 majesty and meekness, that he beheld in the 
 daily life of the Son of God, filled his soul with 
 admiration and love. Day by day his heart was 
 drawn out toward Christ, until he lost sight 
 of self in love for his Master. His resentful, 
 ambitious temper was yielded to the moulding 
 power of Christ. The regenerating influence of 
 the Holy Spirit renewed his heart. The power 
 of the love of Christ wrought a transformation 
 of character. This is the sure result of union 
 with Jesus. When Christ abides in the heart, 
 the whole nature is transformed. Christ's 
 spirit, his love, softens the heart, subdues the 
 soul, and raises the thoughts and desires to- 
 ward God and heaven. 
 
 When Christ ascended to heaven, the sense 
 of his presence was still with his followers. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST. 93- 
 
 It was a personal presence, fall of love and 
 light. Jesus, the Saviour, who had walked 
 and talked and prayed with them, who had 
 spoken hope and comfort to their hearts had, 
 while the message of peace was still upon his- 
 lips, been taken up from them into heaven, 
 and the tones of his voice had come back to 
 them, as the cloud of angels received him, — 
 "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
 of the world." ' He had ascended to heaven 
 in the form of humanity. They knew that he 
 was before the throne of God, their friend and 
 Saviour still ; that his sympathies were un- 
 changed ; that he was still identified with 
 suffering humanity. He was presenting be- 
 fore God the merits of his own precious blood, 
 showing his wounded hands and feet, in re- 
 membrance of the price he had paid for his 
 redeemed. They knew that he had ascended 
 to heaven to prepare places for them, and 
 that he would come again, and take them to 
 himself. 
 
 As they met together, after the ascension, 
 they were eager to present their requests to 
 the Father in the name of Jesus. In solemn 
 J Matt. 28:20. 
 
94 STEPS TO CHRIST 
 
 awe they bowed in prayei, repeating the as- 
 surance, ; * Whatsoever ye shall ask the Fathei 
 in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto 
 have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, and 
 ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." ! 
 They extended the hand of faith higher and 
 higher, with the mighty argument, "It is 
 Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, 
 who is even at the right hand of God, who 
 also maketh intercession for us." 3 And Pente- 
 cost brought them the presence of the Com- 
 forter, of whom Christ had said, he " shall 
 be in you." And he had further said, " It is 
 expedient for you that I go away; for if I 
 go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you; but if I depart I will send him 
 unto you." 8 Henceforth through the Spirit, 
 Christ was to abide continually in the hearts 
 of his children. Their union with him was 
 closer than when he was personally with them. 
 The light, and love and power of the indwelling 
 Christ shone out through them, so that men, 
 beholding, "marveled; and they took knowl- 
 edge of them, that they had been with Jesus." * 
 
 Uohn 16:33, 24. 2 Rom. 8:34. 
 
 3 John 14 : 17 : 16 : 7. * Acts 4 : 13. 
 
GROWING UP INTO CHRIST. 95 
 
 All that Christ was to the first disciples, he 
 desires to be to his children to-day; for in 
 that last prayer, with the little band of disci- 
 ples gathered about him, he said, "Neither 
 pray I for these alone ; but for them also which 
 shall believe on me through their word- " ' 
 
 Jesus prayed for us, and he asked that we 
 might be one with him, even as he is one 
 with the Father. What a union is this ! The 
 Saviour had said of himself, " The Son can do 
 nothing of himself;" " the Father that dwell- 
 eth in me, he doeth the works." a Then if 
 Christ is dwelling in our hearts, he will work 
 in us "both to will and to do of his good 
 pleasure." * We shall work as he worked ; we 
 shall manifest the same spirit. And thus, 
 loving him and abiding in him, we shall "grow 
 up into him in all things, which is the head, 
 even Christ." 4 
 
 1 John 17 ; 20. 2 John 5:19; 14 : 10. 
 
 3 Phil. 2: 13. *Eph. 4 ; 15. 
 
THE WORK AND THE LIFE 
 
 God is the source of life and light and joy 
 to the universe. Like rays of light from the 
 sun, like the streams of water bursting from a 
 living spring, blessings flow out from him to 
 all his creatures. And wherever the life of 
 God is in the hearts of men, it will flow out to 
 others in love and blessing. 
 
 Our Saviour's joy was in the uplifting and 
 
 redemption of fallen men. For this he counted 
 
 not his life dear unto himself, but endured the 
 
 <?ross, despising the shame. So angels are 
 
 ever engaged in working for the happiness of 
 
 others. This is their joy. That which selfish 
 
 hearts would regard as humiliating service, 
 
 ministering to those who are wretched, and in 
 
 every way inferior in character and rank, is 
 
 ihe work of the sinless angels. The spirit of 
 
 Christ's self-sacrificing love is the spirit that 
 
 pervades heaven, and is the very essence of its 
 
 Miss. This is the spirit that Christ's follow - 
 
 ers will possess, the work that they will do. 
 
 [96] 
 
THE WORK AND TUB LIFE. 97 
 
 When the love of Christ is enshrined in the 
 heart, like sweet fragrance it cannot be hidden. 
 Its holy influence will be felt by all with whom 
 we come in contact. The spirit of Christ in 
 the heart is like a spring in the desert, flowing 
 to refresh all, and making those who are ready 
 to perish, eager to drink of the water of life. 
 
 Love to Jesus will be manifested in a desire 
 to work as he worked, for the blessing and up- 
 lifting of humanity. It will lead to love, ten- 
 derness, and sympathy toward all the creatures 
 of our Heavenly Father's care. 
 
 The Saviour's life on earth was not a life of 
 ease and devotion to himself, but he toiled with 
 persistent, earnest, untiring effort for the sal- 
 vation of lost mankind. From the manger to 
 Calvary he followed the path of self-denial, 
 and sought not to be released from arduous 
 tasks, painful travels, and exhausting care and 
 labor. He said, "The Son of man came not to 
 be ministered unto, but to minister, and to 
 give his life a ransom for many." 1 This was 
 the one great object of his life. Everything 
 else was secondary and subservient. It was 
 his meat and drink to do the will of God and 
 1 Matt. 20 : 38. 
 
98 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 to finish his work. Self and self-interest had 
 no part in his labor. 
 
 So those who are the partakers of the grace 
 of Christ will be ready to make any sacrifice, 
 that others for whom he died may share the 
 heavenly gift They will do all they can to 
 make the world better for their stay in it. 
 This spirit is the sure outgrowth of a soul 
 truly converted. No sooner does one come 
 to Christ, than there is born in his heart 
 a desire to make known to others what a 
 precious friend he has found in Jesus; the 
 saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut 
 up in his heart. If we are clothed with the 
 righteousness of Christ, and are filled with 
 the joy of his indwelling Spirit, we shall not 
 be able to hold our peace. If we have tasted 
 and seen that the Lord is good, we shall 
 have something to tell. Like Philip when 
 he found the Saviour, we shall invite others 
 into his presence. We shall seek to present 
 to them the attractions of Christ, and the 
 unseen realities of the world to come. There 
 will be an intensity of desire to follow in the 
 path that Jesus trod. There will be an 
 earnest longing that those around us may 
 
THE WORK AND THE LIFE. 99 
 
 behold " the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
 the sin of the world." 
 
 And the effort to bless others will re- act in 
 blessings upon ourselves. This was the pur- 
 pose of God in giving us a part to act in the 
 plan of redemption. He has granted men the 
 privilege of becoming partakers of the divine 
 nature, and, in their turn, of diffusing bless- 
 ings to their fellowmen. This is the highest 
 honor, the greatest joy, that it is possible for 
 God to bestow upon men. Those who thus be- 
 come participants in labors of love are brought 
 nearest to their Creator. 
 
 God might have committed the message of 
 the gospel, and all the work of loving ministry, 
 to the heavenly angels. He might have em- 
 ployed other means for accomplishing his pur- 
 pose. But in his infinite love he chose to 
 make us co-workers with himself, with Christ 
 and the angels, that we might share the bless- 
 ing, the joy, the spiritual uplifting, which re- 
 sults from this unselfish ministry. 
 
 We are brought into sympathy with Christ 
 through the fellowship of his sufferings. Ev- 
 ery act of self-sacrifice for the good of others 
 
 1 John 1 : 29. 
 
100 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 strengthens the spirit of beneficence in the 
 giver's heart, allying him more closely to the 
 Redeemer of the world, who " was rich, yet 
 for your sakes became poor, that ye through 
 his poverty might be rich." And it is only 
 as we thus fulfill the divine purpose in our 
 creation that life can be a blessing to us. 
 
 If you will go to work as Christ designs that 
 his disciples shall, and win souls for him, you 
 will feel the need of a deeper experience and a 
 greater knowledge in divine things, and will 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness. You 
 will plead with God, and your faith will be 
 strengthened, and your soul will drink deeper 
 draughts at the well of salvation. Encounter- 
 ing opposition and trials will drive you to the 
 Bible and to prayer. You will grow in grace 
 and the knowledge of Christ, and will develop 
 a rich experience. 
 
 The spirit of unselfish labor for others gives 
 depth, stability, and Christ-like loveliness to 
 the character, and brings peace and happiness 
 to its possessor. The aspirations are elevated. 
 There is no room for sloth or selfishness. 
 Those who thus exercise the Christian graces 
 will grow and will become strong to work for 
 
THE WORK AND THE LIFE. 101 
 
 God. They will have clear spiritual percep- 
 tions, a steady, growing faith, and an in- 
 creased power in prayer. The Spirit of God, 
 moving upon their spirit, calls forth the 
 sacred harmonies of the soul, in answer 
 to the divine touch. Those who thus devote 
 themselves to unselfish effort for the good of 
 others are most surely working out their own 
 salvation. 
 
 The only way to grow in grace is to be disin- 
 terestedly doing the very work which Christ 
 has enjoined upon us, — to engage, to the ex- 
 tent of our ability, in helping and blessing 
 those who need the help we can give them. 
 Strength comes by exercise; activity is the 
 very condition of life. Those who endeavor to 
 maintain Christian life by passively accepting 
 the blessings that come through the means of 
 grace, and doing nothing for Christ, are simply 
 trying to live by eating without working. And 
 in the spiritual as in the natural world, this 
 always results in degeneration and decay. A 
 man who would refuse to exercise his limbs 
 would soon lose all power to use them. Thus 
 the Christian who will not exercise his God- 
 given powers, not only fails to grow up into 
 
102 STEPS TO CHRIST 
 
 Christ, but he loses the strength that he al- 
 ready had. 
 
 The church of Christ is God's appointed 
 agency for the salvation of men. Its mission 
 is to carry the gospel to the world. And the 
 obligation rests upon all Christians. Every 
 one, to the extent of his talent and opportuni- 
 ty, is to fulfill the Saviour's commission. The 
 love of Christ, revealed to us, makes us debtors 
 to all who know him not. God has given us 
 light, not for ourselves alone, but to shed upon 
 them. 
 
 If the followers of Christ were awake to du- 
 ty, there would be thousands where there is 
 one to-day, proclaiming the gospel in heathen 
 lands. And all who could not personally en- 
 gage in the work, would yet sustain it with 
 their means, their sympathy, and their prayers. 
 And there would be far more earnest labor for 
 souls in Christian countries. 
 
 We need not go to heathen lands,or even leave 
 the narrow circle of the home, if it is there 
 that our duty lies, in order to work for Christ. 
 We can do this in the home circle, in the 
 church, among those with whom we associate, 
 and with whom we do business. 
 
THE WORK AND THE LIFE. 103 
 
 The greater part of our Saviour's life on 
 earth was spent in patient toil in the carpen- 
 ter's shop at Nazareth. Ministering angels 
 attended the Lord of life as he walked side by 
 side with peasants and laborers, unrecognized 
 and unhonored. He was as faithfully fulfilling 
 his mission while working at his humble trade 
 as when he healed the sick or walked upon the 
 storm-tossed waves of Galilee. So, in the 
 humblest duties and lowliest positions of life, 
 we may walk and work with Jesus. 
 
 The apostle says, " Let every man, wherein 
 
 he is called, therein abide with God." 1 The 
 
 business man may conduct his business in a 
 
 way that will glorify his Master because of his 
 
 fidelity. If he is a true follower of Christ, he 
 
 will carry his religion into everything that is 
 
 done, and reveal to men the spirit of Christ. 
 
 The mechanic may be a diligent and faithful 
 
 representative of him who toiled in the lowly 
 
 walks of life among the hills of Galilee. Every 
 
 one who names the name of Christ should so 
 
 work that others, by seeing his good works, 
 
 may be led to glorify their Creator and Ee- 
 
 deemer. 
 
 1 1 Cor. 7 : 24 
 
104 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 Many have excused themselves from render- 
 ing their gifts to the service of Christ because 
 others were possessed of superior endowments 
 and advantages. The opinion has prevailed 
 that only those who are especially talented are 
 required to consecrate their abilities to the 
 service of God. It has come to be understood 
 by many that talents are given to only a cer- 
 tain favored class, to the exclusion of others, 
 who, of course, are not called upon to share in 
 the toils or the rewards. But it is not so repre- 
 sented in the parable. When the master of 
 the house called his servants, he gave to every 
 man his work. 
 
 With a loving spirit we may perform life's 
 humblest duties " as to the Lord." 1 If the 
 love of God is in the heart, it will be manifest 
 in the life. The sweet savor of Christ will 
 surround us, and our influence will elevate and 
 bless. 
 
 You are not to wait for great occasions or to 
 expect extraordinary abilities before you go to 
 work for God. Tou need not have a thought 
 of what the world will think of you. If your 
 daily life is a testimony to the purity and sin- 
 
 1 Col. 3 : 23 
 
THE WORK AND THE LIFE. 105 
 
 cerity of your faith, and others are convinced 
 that you desire to benefit them, your efforts 
 will not be wholly lost. 
 
 The humblest and poorest of the disciples 
 of Jesus can be a blessing to others. They 
 may not realize that they are doing any special 
 good, but by their unconscious influence thej 
 may start waves of blessing that will widen 
 and deepen, and the blessed results they may 
 never know until the day of final reward. They 
 do not feel or know that they are doing any- 
 thing great. They are not required to weary 
 themselves with anxiety about success. They 
 have only to go forward quietly, doing faith- 
 fully the work that God's providence assigns, 
 and their life will not be in vain. Their own 
 souls will be growing more and more into the 
 likeness of Christ; they are workers together 
 with God in this life, and are thus fitting for 
 the higher work and the unshadowed joy of 
 the life to come. 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 
 
 Many are the ways in which God is seeking 
 to make himself known to us and to bring us 
 into communion with him. Nature speaks to 
 our senses without ceasing. The open heart 
 will be impressed with the love and glory of 
 God as revealed through the works of his 
 hands. The listening ear can hear and under- 
 stand the communications of God through the 
 things of nature. The green fields, the lofty 
 trees, the buds and flowers, the passing cloud, 
 the falling rain, the babbling brook, the glo- 
 ries of the heavens, speak to our hearts, and 
 invite us to become acquainted with Him who 
 made them all. 
 
 Our Saviour bound up his precious lessons 
 with the things of nature. The trees, the 
 birds, the flowers of the valley, the hills, 
 the lake, and the beautiful heavens, as well 
 as the incidents and surroundings of daily 
 life, were all linked with the words of truth, 
 that his lessons might thus be often recalled 
 [IOC] 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 107 
 
 to mind, even amid the busy cares of man's life 
 of toil. 
 
 God would have his children appreciate his 
 works, and delight in the simple, quiet beauty 
 with which he has adorned our earthly home. 
 He is a lover of the beautiful, and above all 
 that is outwardly attractive he loves beauty of 
 character; he would have us cultivate purity 
 and simplicity, the quiet graces of the flowers. 
 
 If we will but listen, God's created works 
 will teach us precious lessons of obedience and 
 trust. From the stars that in their trackless 
 course through space, follow from age to age 
 their appointed path, down to the minutest at- 
 om, the things of nature obey the Creator's will. 
 And God cares for everything and sustains ev- 
 erything that he has created. He who upholds 
 the unnumbered worlds throughout immensity, 
 at the same time cares for the wants of the lit- 
 tle brown sparrow that sings its humble song 
 without a fear. When men go forth to their 
 daily toil, as when they engage in prayer ; when 
 they lie down at night, and when they rise in 
 the morning ; when the rich man feasts in his 
 palace, or when the poor man gathers his chil- 
 dren about the scanty board, each is tenderly 
 
108 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 watched by the Heavenly Father. No tears 
 are shed that God does not notice. There is 
 no smile that he does not mark. 
 
 If we would but fully believe this, all undue 
 anxieties would be dismissed. Our lives would 
 not be so filled with disappointment as now; 
 for everything, whether great or small, would 
 be left in the hands of God, who is not per- 
 plexed by the multiplicity of cares, or over- 
 whelmed by their weight. We should then 
 enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long 
 been strangers. 
 
 As your senses delight in the attractive love- 
 liness of the earth, think of the world that is to 
 come, that shall never know the blight of sin 
 and death; where the face of nature will no 
 more wear the shadow of the curse. Let your 
 imagination picture the home of the saved, and 
 remember that it will be more glorious than 
 your brightest imagination can portray. In the 
 varied gifts of God in nature we see but the 
 faintest gleaming of his glory. It is written 
 " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
 entered into the heart of man, the things which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 
 1 1 Cor. 2 : 9. 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 109 
 
 The poet and the naturalist have many things 
 to say about nature, but it is the Christian who 
 enjoys the beauty of the earth with the high- 
 est appreciation, because he recognizes his 
 Father's handiwork, and perceives his love in 
 flower and shrub and tree. No one can fully 
 appreciate the significance of hill and vale, 
 river and sea, who does not look upon them as 
 an expression of God's love to man. 
 
 God speaks to us through his providential 
 workings, and through the influence of his 
 Spirit upon the heart. In our circumstances 
 and surroundings, in the changes daily taking 
 place around us, we may find precious lessons, 
 if our hearts are but open to discern them. The 
 Psalmist, tracing the work of God's providence, 
 says, " The earth is full of the goodness of the 
 Lord." 1 "Whoso is wise, and will observe 
 these things, even they shall understand the 
 loving-kindness of Jehovah." 2 
 
 God speaks to us in his word. Here we have 
 in clearer lines the revelation of his character, 
 of his dealings with men, and the great work 
 of redemption. Here is open before us the 
 history of patriarchs and prophets and other 
 ^s. 33:5. 2 Ps. 107:43. 
 
110 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 holy men of old. They were " men subject to 
 like passions as we are." 1 We see how they 
 struggled through discouragements like our 
 own, how they fell under temptation as we 
 have done, and yet took heart again and con- 
 quered through the grace of God: and behold- 
 ing, we are encouraged in our striving after 
 righteousness. As we read of the precious 
 experiences granted them, of the light and love 
 and blessing it was theirs to enjoy, and of the 
 work they wrought through the grace given 
 them, the spirit that inspired them kindles a 
 flame of holy emulation in our hearts, and a 
 desire to be like them in character, — like them 
 to walk with God. 
 
 Jesus said of the Old-Testament Scriptures, 
 — and how much more is it true of the New, — 
 " They are they which testify of me," 2 the Re- 
 deemer, him in whom our hopes of eternal life 
 are centered. Yes, the whole Bible tells of 
 Christ. From the first record of creation, — 
 " for without him was not anything made that 
 was made," 3 — to the closing promise, " Behold, 
 I come quickly," 4 we are reading of his works 
 and listening to his voice. If you would be- 
 
 1 James 5: 17. 2 John 5: 39. 3 Johnl:3. * Rev. 22:12. 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. Ill 
 
 come acquainted with the Saviour, study the 
 Holy Scriptures. 
 
 Fill the whole heart with the words of God. 
 They are the living water, quenching your 
 burning thirst. They are the living bread 
 from heaven. Jesus declares, "Except ye eat 
 the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his 
 blood, ye have no life in you." And he ex- 
 plains himself by saying, " The words that I 
 speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are 
 life." 1 Our bodies are built up from what we 
 eat and drink ; and as in the natural economy, 
 so in the spiritual economy: it is what we med- 
 itate upon that will give tone and strength to 
 our spiritual nature. 
 
 The theme of redemption is one that the 
 angels desire to look into; it will be the sci- 
 ence and the song of the redeemed throughout 
 the ceaseless ages of eternity. Is it not wor- 
 thy of careful thought and study now? The 
 infinite mercy and love of Jesus, the sacrifice 
 made in our behalf, calls for the most serious 
 and solemn reflection. We should dwell upon 
 the character of our dear Kedeemer and Inter- 
 cessor. We should meditate upon the mission 
 UohneiSS, 63. 
 
112 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 of him who came to save his people from their 
 sins. As we thus contemplate heavenly themes, 
 our faith and love will grow stronger, and our 
 prayers will be more and more acceptable to 
 God, because they will be more and more 
 mixed with faith and love. They will be in- 
 telligent and fervent. There will be more 
 constant confidence in Jesus, and a daily, liv- 
 ing experience in his power to save to the ut- 
 termost all that come unto God by him. 
 
 As we meditate upon the perfections of the 
 Saviour, we shall desire to be wholly trans- 
 formed, and renewed in the image of his puri- 
 ty. There will be a hungering and thirsting 
 of soul to become like him whom we adore. 
 The more our thoughts are upon Christ, the 
 more we shall speak of him to others, and rep- 
 resent him to the world. 
 
 The Bible was not written for the scholar 
 alone ; on the contrary, it was designed for the 
 common people. The great truths necessary 
 for salvation are made as clear as noonday; 
 and none will mistake and lose their way ex- 
 cept those who follow their own judgment in- 
 stead of the plainly revealed will of God. 
 
 We should not take the testimony of any 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 113 
 
 man as to what the Scriptures teach, but should 
 3tudy the words of God for ourselves. If we 
 allow others to do our thinking, we shall have 
 crippled energies and contracted abilities. The 
 noble powers of the mind may be so dwarfed 
 by lack of exercise on themes worthy of their 
 concentration as to lose their ability to grasp 
 the deep meaning of the word of God. The 
 mind will enlarge if it is employed in tracing 
 out the relation of the subjects of the Bible, 
 comparing scripture with scripture, and spirit- 
 ual things with spiritual. 
 
 There is nothing more calculated to strength- 
 en the intellect than the study of the Scrip- 
 tures. No other book is so potent to elevate 
 the thoughts, to give vigor to the faculties, as 
 the broad, ennobling truths of the Bible. If 
 God's word were studied as it should be, men 
 would have a breadth of mind, a nobility of 
 character, and a stability of purpose that is 
 rarely seen in these times. 
 
 But there is but little benefit derived from a 
 liasty reading of the Scriptures. One may 
 read the whole Bible through, and yet fail to 
 «ee its beauty or comprehend its deep and hid- 
 den meaning. One passage studied until its 
 
114 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 significance is clear to the mind, and its rela- 
 tion to the plan of salvation is evident, is of 
 more value than the perusal of many chapters 
 with no definite purpose in view and no posi- 
 tive instruction gained. Keep your Bible with 
 you. As you have opportunity, read it ; fix the 
 texts in your memory. Even while you are 
 walking the streets, you may read a passage, 
 and meditate upon it, thus fixing it in the mind. 
 We cannot obtain wisdom without earnest 
 attention and prayerful study. Some portions 
 of Scripture are indeed too plain to be misun- 
 derstood; but there are others whose meaning 
 does not lie on the surface, to be seen at a 
 glance. Scripture must be compared with 
 scripture. There must be careful research and 
 prayerful reflection. And such study will be 
 richly repaid. As the miner discovers veins 
 of precious metal concealed beneath the sur- 
 face of the earth, so will he who perseveringly 
 searches the word of God as for hid treasure, 
 find truths of the greatest value, which are 
 concealed from the view of the careless seeker. 
 The words of inspiration, pondered in the 
 heart, will be as streams flowing from the 
 fountain of life. 
 
A KNOWLEDGE OF GOB. 115 
 
 Never should the Bible be studied without 
 prayer. Before opening its pages we should 
 ask for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, 
 and it will be given. When Nathanael came 
 to Jesus, the Saviour exclaimed, "Behold an 
 Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Na- 
 thanael said, "Whence knowest thou me?" 
 Jesus answered, " Before that Philip called 
 thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw 
 thee." 1 And Jesus will see us also in the se- 
 cret places of prayer, if we will seek him for 
 light, that we may know what is truth. An- 
 gels from the world of light will be with those 
 who in humility of heart seek for divine guid- 
 ance. 
 
 The Holy Spirit exalts and glorifies the 
 Saviour. It is his office to present Christ, the 
 purity of his righteousness, and the great sal- 
 vation that we have through him. Jesus says, 
 " He shall receive of mine, and shall show it 
 unto you." 2 The Spirit of truth is the only 
 effectual teacher of divine truth. How must 
 God esteem the human race, since he gave his 
 Son to die for them, and appoints his Spirit to 
 be man's teacher and continual guide. 
 
 1 John 1 : 47, 48. 8 John 16 : 14. 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 
 
 Through nature and revelation, through his 
 providence and by the influence of his Spirit, 
 God speaks to us. But these are not enough ; 
 we need also to pour out our hearts to him. In 
 order to have spiritual life and energy, we must 
 have actual intercourse with our Heavenly 
 Father. Our minds may be drawn out toward 
 him; we may meditate upon his works, his 
 mercies, his blessings ; but this is not, in the 
 fullest sense, communing with him. In order 
 to commune with God, we must have some- 
 thing to say to him concerning our actual life. 
 
 Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as 
 to a friend. Not that it is necessary, in order 
 to make known to God what we are, but in or- 
 der to enable us to receive him. Prayer does 
 not bring God down to us, but brings us up to 
 him. 
 
 When Jesus was upon the earth, he taught 
 his disciples how to pray. He directed them 
 to present their daily needs before God, and to 
 [116] 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. Ill 
 
 cast all their care upon him. And the assur- 
 ance he gave them that their petitions should 
 be heard, is assurance also to us. 
 
 Jesus himself, while he dwelt among men, 
 was often in prayer. Our Saviour identified 
 himself with our needs and weaknesses, in that 
 he became a suppliant, a petitioner, seeking 
 from his Father fresh supplies of strength, that 
 he might come forth braced for duty and trial. 
 He is our example in all things. He is a 
 brother in our infirmities, " in all points tempt- 
 ed like as we are;" but as the sinless one, his 
 nature recoiled from evil; he endured strug- 
 gles and torture of soul in a world of sin. 
 His humanity made prayer a necessity and a 
 privilege. He found comfort and joy in com- 
 munion with his Father. And if the Saviour 
 of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, 
 how much more should feeble, sinful mortals 
 feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer. 
 
 Our Heavenly Father waits to bestow upon 
 us the fullness of his blessing. It is our privi- 
 lege to drink largely at the fountain of bound- 
 less love. What a wonder it is that we pray 
 so little! God is ready and willing to hear 
 the sincere prayer of the humblest of his 
 
118 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 children, and yet there is much manifest re- 
 luctance on our part to make known our wants 
 to God. What can the angels of heaven think 
 of poor helpless human beings, who are subject 
 to temptation, when God's heart of infinite 
 love yearns toward them, ready to give them 
 more than they can ask or think, and yet they 
 pray so little, and have so little faith? The 
 angels love to bow before God ; they love to be 
 near him. They regard communion with God 
 as their highest joy; and yet the children of 
 earth, who need so much the help that God only 
 can give, seem satisfied to walk without the 
 light of his Spirit, the companionship of his 
 presence. 
 
 The darkness of the evil one incloses those 
 who neglect to pray. The whispered tempta- 
 tions of the enemy entice them to sin ; and it is 
 all because they do not make use of the privi- 
 leges that God has given them in the divine 
 appointment of prayer. Why should the sons 
 and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, 
 when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to 
 unlock heaven's storehouse, where are treas- 
 ured the boundless resources of Omnipotence? 
 Without unceasing prayer and diligent watch- 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 119 
 
 ing, we are in danger of growing careless and 
 of deviating from the right path. The adver- 
 sary seeks continually to obstruct the way to 
 the mercy-seat, that we may not by earnest 
 supplication and faith obtain grace and power 
 to resist temptation. 
 
 There are certain conditions upon which we 
 may expect that God will hear and answer our 
 prayers. One of the first of these is that we 
 feel our need of help from him. He has 
 promised, " I will pour water upon him that is 
 thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground." 1 
 Those who hunger and thirst after righteous- 
 ness, who long after God, may be sure that 
 they will be filled. The heart must be open to 
 the Spirit's influence, or God's blessing can- 
 not be received. 
 
 Our great need is itself an argument, and 
 pleads most eloquently in our behalf. But the 
 Lord is to be sought unto to do these things 
 for us. He says, "Ask, and it shall be given 
 you." And " he that spared not his own Son, 
 but delivered him up for us all, how shall he 
 not with him also freely give us all things ? "* 
 
 If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we 
 1 Isa. 44 : 3. 2 Matt. 7:7; Rom. 8 : 32. 
 
120 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear 
 us : but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul 
 is always accepted. AYhen all known wrongs 
 are righted, we may believe that God will an- 
 swer our petitions. Our own merit will never 
 commend us to the favor of God ; it is the 
 worthiness of Jesus that will save us, his blood 
 that will cleanse us; yet we have a work to do 
 in complying with the conditions of acceptance. 
 
 Another element of prevailing prayer is 
 faith. " He that cometh to God must believe 
 that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them 
 that diligently seek him." Jesus said to his 
 disciples, " What things soever ye desire when 
 ye pray, believe that ye receive tliem, and ye 
 shall have them." 1 Do we take him at his 
 word ? 
 
 The assurance is broad and unlimited, and 
 he is faithful who has promised. When we 
 do not receive the very things we ask for, at 
 the time we ask, we are still to believe that 
 the Lord hears, and that he will answer our 
 prayers. We are so erring and shortsighted 
 that we sometimes ask for things that would 
 not be a blessing to us, and our Heavenly 
 1 Heb. 11:6; Mark 11 : 24. 
 
TEE PRIVILEGE OF PRATER. 121 
 
 Father in love answers our prayers by giving 
 us that which will be for our highest good, — 
 that which we ourselves would desire if with 
 vision divinely enlightened we could see all 
 things as they really are. When our prayera 
 seem not to be answered, we are to cling to the 
 promise ; for the time of answering will surely 
 come, and we shall receive the blessing we need 
 most. But to claim that prayer will always be 
 answered in the very way and for the particu- 
 lar thing that we desire, is presumption. God 
 is too wise to err, and too good to withhold 
 any good thing from them that walk uprightly. 
 Then do not fear to trust him, even though you 
 do not see the immediate answer to your 
 prayers. Rely upon his sure promise. "Ask, 
 and it shall be given you." 
 
 If we take counsel with our doubts and fears, 
 or try to solve everything that we cannot see 
 clearly, before we have faith, perplexities will 
 only increase and deepen. But if we come to 
 God, feeling helpless and dependent, as we re- 
 ally are, and in humble, trusting faith make 
 known our wants to him whose knowledge is 
 infinite, who sees everything in creation, and 
 ^v ho governs everything by his will and word, 
 
122 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 he can and will attend to our cry, and will let 
 light shine into our hearts. Through sincere 
 prayer we are brought into connection with 
 the mind of the Infinite. We may have no 
 remarkable evidence at the time that the face 
 of our Redeemer is bending over us in compas- 
 sion and love ; but this is even so. We may 
 not feel his visible touch, but his hand is upon 
 us in love and pitying tenderness. 
 
 When we come to ask mercy and blessing 
 from God, we should have a spirit of love and 
 forgiveness in our own hearts. How can we 
 pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
 debtors," 1 and yet indulge an unforgiving 
 spirit? If we expect our own prayers to be 
 heard, we must forgive others in the same man- 
 ner, and to the same extent, as we hope to be 
 iorgiven. 
 
 Perseverance in prayer has been made a 
 ^condition of receiving. We must pray always, 
 if we would grow in faith and experience. We 
 are to be " instant in prayer," " to continue in 
 prayer, and watch in the same with thanks- 
 giving. ,2 Peter exhorts believers to be " sober, 
 and watch unto prayer." 8 Paul directs, " In 
 
 1 Matt. 6:12. 2 Rom. 12 : 12; Col. 4 : 2. 3 1 Peter 4: 7. 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 123 
 
 everything by prayer and supplication, with 
 thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
 unto God." 1 "But ye, beloved," says Jude, 
 " praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves 
 in the love of God." 2 Unceasing prayer is the 
 unbroken union of the soul with God, so that 
 life from God flows into our life ; and from our 
 life, purity and holiness flow back to God. 
 
 There is necessity for diligence in prayer; 
 let nothing hinder you. Make every effort to 
 keep open the communion between Jesus and 
 your own soul. Seek every opportunity to go 
 where prayer is wont to be made. Those who 
 are really seeking for communion with God, 
 will be seen in the prayer-meeting, faithful to 
 do their duty, and earnest and anxious to reap 
 all the benefits they can gain. They will im- 
 prove every opportunity of placing themselves 
 where they can receive the rays of light from 
 heaven. 
 
 We should pray in the family circle; and 
 above all we must not neglect secret prayer; 
 for this is the life of the soul. It is impossible 
 for the soul to flourish while prayer is neg- 
 lected. Family or public prayer alone is not 
 1 Phil. 4:6. 2 Jude 20: 21. 
 
124 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 sufficient. In solitude let the soul be laid 
 open to the inspecting eye of God. Secret 
 prayer is to be heard only by the prayer-hear- 
 ing God. No curious ear is to receive the 
 burden of such petitions. In secret prayer the 
 soul is free from surrounding influences, free 
 from excitement. Calmly, yet fervently, will 
 it reach out after God. Sweet and abiding 
 will be the influence emanating from him who 
 seeth in secret, whose ear is open to hear the 
 prayer arising from the heart. By calm, simple 
 faith, the soul holds communion with God, and 
 gathers to itself rays of divine light to strength- 
 en and sustain it in the conflict with Satan. 
 God is our tower of strength. 
 
 Pray in your closet; and as you go about 
 your daily labor, let your heart be often up- 
 lifted to God. It was thus that Enoch 
 walked with God. These silent prayers rise 
 like precious incense before the throne of grace. 
 Satan cannot overcome him whose heart is 
 thus stayed upon God. 
 
 There is no time or place in which it is in- 
 appropriate to offer up a petition to God. There 
 is nothing that can prevent us from lifting up 
 our hearts in the spirit of earnest prayer. In 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRATER. 125 
 
 the crowds of the street, in the midst of a busi- 
 ness engagement, we may send up a petition 
 to God, and plead for divine guidance, as did 
 Nehemiah when he made his request before 
 the King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion 
 may be found wherever we are. We should 
 have the door of the heart open continually, 
 and our invitation going up that Jesus may 
 come and abide as a heavenly guest in the 
 soul. 
 
 Although there may be a tainted, corrupted 
 atmosphere around us, we need not breathe its 
 miasma, but may live in the pure air of heav- 
 en. We may close every door to impure im- 
 aginings and unholy thoughts by lifting the 
 soul into the presence of God through sincere 
 prayer. Those whose hearts are open to re- 
 ceive the support and blessing of God will 
 walk in a holier atmosphere than that of earth, 
 and will have constant communion with Heaven. 
 
 We need to have more distinct views of Je- 
 sus, and a fuller comprehension of the value 
 of eternal realities. The beauty of holiness is- 
 to fill the hearts of God's children ; and that 
 this may be accomplished, we should seek for 
 divine disclosures of heavenly things. 
 
126 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 Let the soul be drawn out and upward, that 
 God may grant us a breath of the heavenly at- 
 mosphere. We may keep so near to God that 
 in every unexpected trial our thoughts will 
 turn to him as naturally as the flower turns 
 to the sun. 
 
 Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, 
 jour cares, and your fears before God. You 
 <?annot burden him; you cannot weary him. 
 He who numbers the hairs cf your head is riot 
 indifferent to the wants of his children. "The 
 Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." 1 
 His heart of love is touched by our sorrows, 
 and even by our utterance of them. Take to 
 him everything that perplexes the mind. Noth- 
 ing is too great for him to bear, for he holds 
 up worlds, he rules over all the affairs of the 
 universe. Nothing that in any way concerns 
 our peace is too small for him to notice. There 
 is no chapter in our experience too dark for 
 him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult 
 'for him to unravel. No calamity can befall the 
 least of his children, no anxiety harass the 
 ■soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the 
 lips, of which our Heavenly Father is unob- 
 1 James 5:11. 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 127 
 
 servant, or in which he takes no immediate in- 
 terest. " He healeth the broken in heart, and. 
 bindeth up their wounds." 1 The relations be- 
 tween God and each soul are as distinct and. 
 full as though there were not another soul for 
 whom he gave his beloved Son. 
 
 Jesus said, " Ye shall ask in my name: and. 
 I say not unto you that I will pray the Father 
 for you; for the Father himself loveth you." 
 " I have chosen you, . . . that whatsoever 
 ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may 
 give it you." 2 But to pray in the name of Je- 
 sus is something more than a mere mention of 
 that name at the beginning and the ending of 
 a prayer. It is to pray in the mind and spirit 
 of Jesus, while we believe his promises, rely 
 upon his grace, and work his works. 
 
 God does not mean that any of us should 
 become hermits or monks, and retire from the 
 world, in order to devote ourselves to acts of 
 worship. The life must be like Christ's life, — 
 between the mountain and the multitude. He 
 who does nothing but pray will soon cease to- 
 pray, or his prayers will become a formal rou- 
 tine. When men take themselves out of social 
 
 1 Ps. 147 : 3. 2 John 16 : 26, 27 ; 15 : 16. 
 
128 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 life, away from the sphere of Christian duty 
 and cross-bearing; when they cease to work 
 earnestly for the Master, who worked earnestly 
 for them, they lose the subject-matter of 
 prayer, and have no incentive to devotion. 
 Their prayers become personal and selfish. 
 They cannot pray in regard to the wants of 
 humanity or the upbuilding of Christ's king- 
 dom, pleading for strength wherewith to work. 
 
 We sustain a loss when we neglect the priv- 
 ilege of associating together to strengthen and 
 encourage one another in the service of God. 
 The truths of his word lose their vividness and 
 importance in our minds. Our hearts cease to 
 be enlightened and aroused by the sanctifying 
 influence, and we decline in spirituality. In 
 our association as Christians we lose much by 
 lack of sympathy with one another. He who 
 shuts himself up to himself is not filling the 
 position that God designed he should. The 
 proper cultivation of the social elements in our 
 nature brings us into sympathy with others, 
 and is a means of development and strength to 
 us in the service of God. 
 
 If Christians would associate together, 
 speaking to each other of the love of God, and 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 129 
 
 of the precious truths of redemption, their own 
 hearts would be refreshed, and they would re- 
 fresh one another. We may be daily learning 
 more of our Heavenly Father, gaining a fresh 
 experience of his grace ; then we shall desire to 
 speak of his love; and as we do this, our own 
 hearts will be warmed and encouraged. If we 
 thought and talked more of Jesus, and less of 
 self, we should have far more of his presence. 
 If we would but think of God as often as we 
 have evidence of his care for us, we should keep 
 him ever in our thoughts, and should delight to 
 talk of him and to praise him. We talk of 
 temporal things because we have an interest in 
 them. We talk of our friends because we love 
 them ; our joys and our sorrows are bound up 
 with them. Yet we have infinitely greater 
 reason to love God than to love our earthly 
 friends, and it should be the most natural thing 
 in the world to make him first in all our 
 thoughts, to talk of his goodness and tell of 
 his power. The rich gifts he has bestowed 
 upon us were not intended to absorb our 
 thoughts and love so much that we should 
 have nothing to give to God; they are 
 constantly to remind us of him, and to bind us 
 
130 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 in bonds of love and gratitude to our heavenly 
 Benefactor. We dwell too near the low-lands 
 of earth. Let us raise our eyes to the open 
 door of the sanctuary above, where the light of 
 the glory of God shines in the face of Christ, 
 who " is able also to save them to the utter- 
 most that come unto God by him." ■ 
 
 We need to praise God more " for his good- 
 ness, and for his wonderful works to the chil- 
 dren of men." 2 Our devotional exercises 
 should not consist wholly in asking and re- 
 ceiving. Let us not be always thinking of our 
 wants, and never of the benefits we receive. 
 We do not pray any too much, but we are too 
 sparing of giving thanks. We are the con- 
 stant recipients of God's mercies, and yet how 
 little gratitude we express, how little we praise 
 him for what he has done for us. 
 
 Anciently the. Lord bade Israel, when they 
 met together for his service, "Ye shall eat be- 
 fore the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in 
 all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your 
 households, wherein the Lord thy God hath 
 blessed thee." 8 That which is done for the 
 glory of God should be done with cheerful- 
 
 1 Heb. 7 : 25. 2 Ps. 107 : 8. 3 Deut. 12 : 7. 
 
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. 131 
 
 ness, with songs of praise and thanksgiving, 
 not with sadness and gloom. 
 
 Our God is a tender, merciful Father. His 
 service should not be looked upon as a heart- 
 saddening, distressing exercise. It should be 
 a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take 
 part in his work. God would not have his 
 children, for whom so great salvation has been 
 provided, act as if he were a hard, exacting 
 taskmaster. He is their best friend ; and when 
 they worship him, he expects to be with them, 
 Jobless and comfort them, filling their hearts 
 with joy and love. The Lord desires his chil- 
 dren to take comfort in his service, and to find 
 more pleasure than hardship in his work. He 
 desires that those who come to worship him 
 shall carry away with them precious thoughts 
 of his care and love, that they may be cheered 
 in all the employments of daily life, that they 
 may have grace to deal honestly and faithfully 
 in all things. 
 
 We must gather about the cross. Christ 
 and him crucified should be the theme of con- 
 templation, of conversation, and of our most 
 joyful emotion. We should keep in our 
 thoughts every blessing we receive from God ; 
 
132 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 and when we realize his great love, we should 
 be willing to trust everything to the hand that 
 was nailed to the cross for us. 
 
 The soul may ascend nearer heaven on the 
 wings of praise. God is worshipped with song 
 and music in the courts above, and as we ex- 
 press our gratitude, we are approximating to 
 the worship of the heavenly hosts. " Whoso 
 offer eth praise glorifieth God." ! Let us with 
 reverent joy come before our Creator, "with 
 thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." 2 
 
 1 Ps. 50 : 23. 2 Isa. 51 : 3. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT. 
 
 Many, especially those who are young in the 
 Christian life, are at times troubled with the 
 suggestions of skepticism. There are in the 
 Bible many things which they cannot explain, 
 or even understand, and Satan employs these 
 to shake their faith in the Scriptures as a reve- 
 lation from God. They ask, "How shall I 
 know the right way ? If the Bible is indeed 
 the word of God, how can I be freed from these 
 doubts and perplexities?" 
 
 God never asks us to believe, without giving 
 sufficient evidence upon which to base our 
 faith. His existence, his character, the truth- 
 fulness of his word, are all established by tes- 
 timony that appeals to our reason; and this 
 testimony is abundant. Yet God has never 
 removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith 
 must rest upon evidence, not demonstration. 
 Those who wish to doubt will have opportunity ; 
 while those who really desire to know the 
 
 [133] 
 
134 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 truth, will find plenty of evidence on which to 
 rest their faith. 
 
 It is impossible for finite minds fully to com- 
 prehend the character or the works of the Infinite 
 One. To the keenest intellect, the most highly 
 educated mind, that holy Being must ever re- 
 main clothed in mystery. " Canst thou by 
 searching find out God? canst thou find out 
 the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high 
 as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than 
 hell; what canst thou know?" ! 
 
 The apostle Paul exclaims, " O the depth of 
 the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
 God! how unsearchable are his judgments, 
 and his ways past finding out!" 9 But though 
 "clouds and darkness are round about him, 
 righteousness and judgment are the foundation 
 of his throne." 3 We can so far comprehend 
 his dealing with us, and the motives by which 
 he is actuated, that we may discern boundless 
 love and mercy united to infinite power. We 
 can understand as much of his purposes as it is 
 for our good to know; and beyond this we must 
 still trust the hand that is omnipotent, the 
 heart that is full of love. 
 
 1 Job 11 : 7, 8. 2 Rom. 11 : 33. 3 Ps. 97 : 2, R. V. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT. 135 
 
 The word of God, like the character of its 
 divine Author, presents mysteries that can nev- 
 er be fully comprehended by finite beings. 
 The entrance of sin into the world, the incar- 
 nation of Christ, regeneration, the resurrec- 
 tion, and many other subjects presented in the 
 Bible, are mysteries too deep for the human 
 mind to explain, or even fully to comprehend. 
 But we have no reason to doubt God's word 
 because we cannot understand the mysteries of 
 his providence. In the natural world we are 
 constantly surrounded with mysteries that we 
 cannot fathom. The very humblest forms of 
 life present a problem that the wisest of phil- 
 osophers is powerless to explain. Everywhere 
 are wonders beyond our ken. Should we then 
 be surprised to find that in the spiritual world 
 also there are mysteries that we cannot fath- 
 om ? The difficulty lies solely in the weakness 
 and narrowness of the human mind. God has 
 given us in the Scriptures sufficient evidence 
 of their divine character, and we are not to 
 doubt his word because we cannot understand 
 all the mysteries of his providence. 
 
 The apostle Peter says that there are in 
 Scripture "things hard to be understood, 
 
136 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 which they that are unlearned and unstable 
 wrest . . . unto their own destruction. " * The 
 difficulties of Scripture have been urged by 
 skeptics as an argument against the Bible; but 
 so far from this, they constitute a strong evi- 
 dence of its divine inspiration. If it contained 
 no account of God but that which we could 
 easily comprehend; if his greatness and majesty 
 could be grasped by finite minds, then the 
 Bible would not bear the unmistakable cre- 
 dentials of divine authority. The very gran- 
 deur and mystery of the themes presented, 
 should inspire faith in it as the word of 
 God. 
 
 The Bible unfolds truth with a simplicity 
 and a perfect adaptation to the needs and long- 
 ings of the human heart, that has astonished 
 and charmed the most highly cultivated minds, 
 while it enables the humble and uncultured to 
 discern the way of salvation. And yet these 
 simply stated truths lay hold upon subjects so 
 elevated, so far-reaching, so infinitely beyond 
 the power of human comprehension, that we 
 can accept them only because God has declared 
 them. Thus the plan of redemption is 
 1 2 Peter 3 : 16. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT. 137 
 
 laid open to us, so that every soul may see 
 the steps he is to take in repentance toward 
 God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 in order to be saved in God's appointed way; 
 yet beneath these truths, so easily understood, 
 lie mysteries that are the hiding of his glory, 
 — mysteries that overpower the mind in its re- 
 search, yet inspire the sincere seeker for truth 
 with reverence and faith. The more he searches 
 the Bible, the deeper is his conviction that it is 
 the word of the living God, and human reason 
 bows before the majesty of divine revelation. 
 
 To acknowledge that we cannot fully com- 
 prehend the great truths of the Bible is only 
 to admit that the finite mind is inadequate to 
 grasp the infinite ; that man, with his limited, 
 human knowledge, cannot understand the pur- 
 poses of Omniscience. 
 
 Because they cannot fathom all its myster- 
 ies, the skeptic and the infidel reject God's 
 word; and not all who profess to believe the 
 Bible are free from danger on this point. The 
 apostle says, " Take heed, brethren, lest there 
 be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in 
 departing from the living God." ' It is right 
 10 » Heb. 3 : 12. 
 
138 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 to study closely the teachings of the Bible, and 
 to search into "the deep things of God," 1 
 so far as they are revealed in Scripture. While 
 " the secret things belong unto the Lord our 
 God," " those things which are revealed be- 
 long unto us." 2 But it is Satan's work to per- 
 vert the investigative powers of the mind. A 
 certain pride is mingled with the consideration 
 of Bible truth, so that men feel impatient and 
 defeated if they cannot explain every portion 
 of Scripture to their satisfaction. It is too 
 humiliating to them to acknowledge that they 
 do not understand the inspired words. They 
 are unwilling to wait patiently until God shall 
 see fit to reveal the truth to them. They 
 feel that their unaided human wisdom is 
 sufficient to enable them to comprehend the 
 Scripture, and failing to do this, they virtu- 
 ally deny its authority. It is true that many 
 theories and doctrines popularly supposed to 
 be derived from the Bible have no foundation 
 in its teaching, and indeed are contrary to 
 the whole tenor of inspiration. These things 
 have been a cause of doubt and perplexity to 
 many minds. They are not, however, charge- 
 1 1 Cor. 2 : 10. 2 Deut. 29 : 29. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT. 139 1 
 
 able to God's word, but to man's perversion 
 of it 
 
 If it were possible for created beings to at- 
 tain to a full understanding of God and his 
 works, then, having reached this point, there 
 would be for them no further discovery of 
 truth, no growth in knowledge no further de- 
 velopment of mind or heart. God would no 
 longer be supreme ; and man, having reached 
 the limit of knowledge and attainment, would 
 cease to advance. Let us thank God that it is 
 not so. God is infinite; in him are "all the 
 treasures of wisdom and knowledge." ' And to 
 all eternity men may be ever searching, ever 
 learning, and yet never exhaust the treasures 
 of his wisdom, his goodness, and his power. 
 
 God intends that even in this life the truths 
 of his word shall be ever unfolding to his peo- 
 ple. There is only one way in which this 
 knowledge can be obtained. We can attain to 
 an understanding of God's word only through 
 the illumination of that Spirit by which the 
 word was given. " The things of God know- 
 eth no man, but the Spirit of God;" " for the 
 Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things 
 1 Col. 2 : 3. 
 
140 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 of God." 1 And the Saviour's promise to his 
 followers was, " When he, the Spirit of truth, 
 is come, he will guide you into all truth . 
 For he shall receive of mine, and shall show 
 it unto you." 2 
 
 God desires man to exercise his reasoning 
 powers; and the study of the Bible will 
 strengthen and elevate the mind as no other 
 study can. Yet we are to beware of deifying 
 reason, which is subject to the weakness and 
 infirmity of humanity. If we would not have 
 the Scriptures clouded to our understanding, 
 so that the plainest truths shall not be com- 
 prehended, we must have the simplicity and 
 faith of a little child, ready to learn, and be- 
 seeching the aid of the Holy Spirit. A sense 
 of the power and wisdom of God, and of our 
 inability to comprehend his greatness, should 
 inspire us with humility, and we should open 
 his word, as we would enter his presence, with 
 holy awe. When we come to the Bible, reason 
 must acknowledge an authority superior to it- 
 self, and heart and intellect must bow to the 
 great I AM. 
 
 There are many things apparently difficult 
 M Cor. 2:11, 10. 2 John 16 : 13, 14. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT, 141 
 
 or obscure, which God will make plain and 
 simple to those who thus seek an understand- 
 ing of them. But without the guidance of the 
 Holy Spirit, we shall be continually liable to 
 wrest the Scriptures or to misinterpret them. 
 There is much reading of the Bible that is 
 without profit, and in many cases is a positive 
 injury. When the word of God is opened 
 without reverence and without prayer; when 
 the thoughts and affections are not fixed upon 
 God, or in harmony with his will, the mind is 
 clouded with doubt ; and in the very study of 
 the Bible, skepticism strengthens. The enemy 
 takes control of the thoughts, and he suggests 
 interpretations that are not correct. Whenev- 
 er men are not in word and deed seeking to be 
 in harmony with God, then, however learned 
 they may be, they are liable to err in their un- 
 derstanding of Scripture, and it is not safe to 
 trust to their explanations. Those who look to 
 the Scriptures to find discrepancies, have not 
 spiritual insight. With distorted vision they 
 will see many causes for doubt and unbelief 
 in things that are really plain and simple. 
 
 Disguise it as they may, the real cause of 
 doubt and skepticism, in most cases, is the love 
 
142 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 of sin. The teachings and restrictions of 
 God's word are not welcome to the proud, sin- 
 loving heart, and those who are unwilling to 
 obey its requirements are ready to doubt its 
 authority. In order to arrive at truth, we must 
 have a sincere desire to know the truth, and a 
 willingness of heart to obey it. And all who 
 come in this spirit to the study of the Bible, 
 will find abundant evidence that it is God's 
 word, and they may gain an understanding of 
 its truths that will make them wise unto sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Christ has said, "If any man willeth to do 
 his will, he shall know of the teaching." ' In- 
 stead of questioning and caviling concerning 
 that which you do not understand, give heed to 
 the light that already shines upon you, and 
 you will receive greater light. By the 
 grace of Christ, perform every duty that 
 has been made plain to your understand- 
 ing, and you will be enabled to understand 
 and perform those of which you are now in 
 doubt. 
 
 There is an evidence that is open to all, — 
 the most highly educated, and the most illiter- 
 1 John 7 : 17, R. V. 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT. 143. 
 
 ate, — the evidence of experience. God invites 
 us to prove for ourselves the reality of his 
 word, the truth of his promises. He bids us 
 "Taste and see that the Lord is good." J In- 
 stead of depending upon the word of another, 
 we are to taste for ourselves. He declares, 
 "Ask, and ye shall receive." 2 His promises 
 will be fulfilled. They have never failed ; they 
 never can fail. And as we draw near to Jesus, 
 and rejoice in the fullness of his love, our 
 doubt and darkness will disappear in the light 
 of his presence. 
 
 The apostle Paul says that God " hath de- 
 livered us from the power of darkness, and 
 hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear 
 Son." 3 . And every one who has passed from 
 death unto life is able to " set to his seal that 
 God is true." 4 He can testify, " I needed help, 
 and I found it in Jesus. Every want was sup- 
 plied, the hunger of my soul was satisfied ; and 
 now the Bible is tome the revelation of Jesus- 
 Christ. Do you ask why I believe in Jesus? 
 — Because he is to me a divine Saviour. Why 
 do I believe the Bible ? — Because I have found 
 it to be the voice of God to my soul." We 
 
 1 Ps. 34 . 8. 2 John 16 : 24. 3 Col. 1:13. * John 3 : 3a 
 
144 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 may have the witness in our ourselves that the 
 Bible is true, that Christ is the Son of God. 
 We know that we are not following cunningly 
 devised fables. 
 
 Peter exhorts his brethren to " grow in grace, 
 and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." l "When the people of God are 
 growing in grace, they will be constantly ob- 
 taining a clearer understanding of his word. 
 They will discern new light and beauty in its 
 sacred truths. This has been true in the his- 
 tory of the church in all ages, and thus it will 
 continue to the end. " The path of the right- 
 eous is as the light of dawn, that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day." 2 
 
 By faith we may look to the hereafter, and 
 grasp the pledge of God for a growth of intellect, 
 the human faculties uniting with the divine, and 
 every power of the soul being brought into di- 
 rect contact with the Source of light. We may 
 rejoice that all which has perplexed us in the 
 providences of God will then be made plain; 
 things hard to be understood will then find an 
 explanation ; and where our finite minds discov- 
 ered only confusion and broken purposes, we 
 1 2 Peter 3:18. 2 Prov. 4 : 18, R. V. (margin). 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH DOUBT 145 
 
 shall see the most perfect and beautiful har- 
 mony. * ' Now we see through a glass, darkly , 
 but then face to face : now 1 know in part ; 
 but then shall I know even as also I am 
 known." ' 
 
 M Cor. 13; J2. 
 10 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 
 
 The children of God are called to be repre- 
 sentatives of Christ, showing forth the good- 
 ness and mercy of the Lord. As Jesus has 
 revealed to us the true character of the Fath- 
 er, so we are to reveal Christ to a world that 
 does not know his tender, pitying love. "As 
 thou hast sent me into the world," said Jesus, 
 " even so have I also sent them into the world." 
 " I in them, and thou in me, . . . that the 
 world may know that thou hast sent me." 1 
 The apostle Paul says to the disciples of Jesus, 
 " Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle 
 of Christ, known and read of all men" 2 
 In every one of his children, Jesus sends 
 a letter to the world. If you are Christ's 
 follower, he sends in you a letter to 
 the family, the village, the street, where you 
 live. Jesus, dwelling in you, desires to speak 
 to the hearts of those who are not acquainted 
 with him. Perhaps they do not read the 
 
 1 John 17: 18, 23. 2 2Cor. 3:3, 2. 
 
 [146] 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 147 
 
 Bible, or do not hear the voice that speaks to 
 them in its pages; they do not see the love of 
 God through his works. But if you are a true 
 representative of Jesus, it may be that through 
 you they will be led to understand something 
 of his goodness, and be won to love and serve 
 him. 
 
 Christians are set as light-bearers on the 
 way to heaven. They are to reflect to the 
 world the light shining upon them from Christ. 
 Their life and character should be such that 
 through them others will get a right concep- 
 tion of Christ and of his service. 
 
 If we do represent Christ, we shall make his 
 service appear attractive, as it really is. 
 Christians who gather up gloom and sadness to 
 their souls, and murmur and complain, are 
 giving to others a false representation of God 
 and the Christian life. They give the impres- 
 sion that God is not pleased to have his chil- 
 dren happy, and in this they bear false witness 
 against our Heavenly Father. 
 
 Satan is exultant when he can lead the chil- 
 dren of God into unbelief and despondency. 
 He delights to see us mistrusting God, doubt- 
 ing his willingness and power to save us. He 
 
148 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 loves to have us feel that the Lord will do us 
 harm by his providences. It is the work of 
 Satan to represent the Lord as lacking in 
 compassion and pity. He misstates the truth 
 in regard to him. He fills the imagination 
 with false ideas concerning God; and instead 
 of dwelling upon the truth in regard to our 
 Heavenly Father, we too often G.x our minds 
 upon the misrepresentations of Satan, and dis- 
 honor God by distrusting him and murmuring 
 against him. Satan ever seeks to make the 
 religious life one of gloom. He desires it to 
 appear toilsome and difficult; and when the 
 Christian presents in his own life this view o£ 
 religion, he is, through his unbelief, second- 
 ing the falsehood of Satan. 
 
 Many, walking along the path of life, dwell 
 upon their mistakes and failures and disap- 
 pointments, and their hearts are filled with 
 grief and discouragement. While I was in 
 Europe, a sister who had been doing this, and 
 who was in deep distress, wrote to me, asking 
 for some word of encouragement. The night 
 after I had read her letter, I dreamed that I 
 was in a garden, and One who seemed to be 
 the owner of the garden was conducting me 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 149 
 
 through its paths. I was gathering the flow- 
 ers and enjoying their fragrance, when this 
 sister, who had been walking by my side, 
 called my attention to some unsightly briers 
 that were impeding her way. There she was, 
 mourning and grieving. She was not walking 
 in the pathway, following the guide, but was 
 walking among the briers and thorns. "O," 
 she mourned, "is it not a pity that this beauti- 
 ful garden is spoiled with thorns ? " Then the 
 guide said, "Let the thorns alone, for they 
 will only wound you. Gather the roses, the 
 lilies, and the pinks. " 
 
 Have there not been some bright spots in 
 your experience? Have you not had some 
 precious seasons when your heart throbbed 
 with joy in response to the Spirit of God? 
 When you look back into the chapters of your 
 life experience, do you not find some pleasant 
 pages? Are not God's promises, like the 
 fragrant flowers, growing beside your path on 
 every hand ? Will you not let their beauty and 
 sweetness fill your heart with joy ? 
 
 The briers and thorns will only wound and 
 grieve you ; and if you gather only these 
 things, and present them to others, are you 
 
150 STEPS TO CHBIST. 
 
 not, besides slighting the goodness of God 
 yourself, preventing those around you from 
 walking in the path of life ? 
 
 It is not wise to gather together all the un- 
 pleasant recollections of a past life, — its iniqui- 
 ties and disappointments, — to talk over them 
 and mourn over them until we are overwhelmed 
 with discouragement. A discouraged soul is 
 filled with darkness, shutting out the light of 
 God from his own soul, and casting a shadow 
 upon the pathway of others. 
 
 Thank God for the bright pictures which he 
 has presented to us. Let us group together 
 the blessed assurances of his love, that we may 
 look upon them continually. The Son of God 
 leaving his Father's throne, clothing his divin- 
 ity with humanity, that he might rescue man 
 from the power of Satan ; his triumph in our 
 behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to 
 human vision the presence chamber where the 
 Deity unveils his glory ; the fallen race up- 
 lifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had 
 plunged it, and brought again into connec- 
 tion with the infinite God, and having endured 
 the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, 
 clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and ex- 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 151 
 
 alted to his throne, — these are the pictures 
 which God would have us contemplate. 
 
 When we seem to doubt God's love, and dis- 
 trust his promises, we dishonor him and grieve 
 his Holy Spirit. How would a mother feel if 
 her children were constantly complaining of 
 her, just as though she did not mean them well, 
 when her whole life's effort had been to for- 
 ward their interests and to give them comfort? 
 Suppose they should doubt her love ; it would 
 break her heart. How would any parent feel 
 to be thus treated by his children? And how 
 can our Heavenly Father regard us when we 
 distrust his love, which has led him to give 
 his only begotten Son that we might have life ? 
 The apostle writes, " He that spared not his 
 own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
 shall he not with him also freely give us all 
 things ? " * And yet how many, by their 
 actions, if not in word, are saying, "The Lord 
 does not mean this for me. Perhaps he loves 
 others, but he does not love me." 
 
 All this is harming your own soul ; for every 
 word of doubt you utter is inviting Satan's 
 temptations ; it is strengthening in you the 
 ^om. 8:32. 
 
152 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 tendency to doubt, and it is grieving from } t ou 
 the ministering angels. When Satan tempts 
 you, breathe not a word of doubt or darkness. 
 If you choose to open the door to his sugges- 
 tions, your mind will be filled with distrust and 
 rebellious questioning. If you talk out your 
 feelings, every doubt you express not only re- 
 acts upon yourself, but it is a seed that will 
 germinate and bear fruit in the life of others, 
 and it may be impossible to counteract the in- 
 fluence of your words. Yon yourself may be 
 able to recover from the season of temptation 
 and from the snare of Satan , but others, who 
 have been swayed by your influence, may not 
 be able to escape from the unbelief you have 
 suggested. How important that we speak only 
 those things that will give spiritual strength 
 and life. 
 
 Angels are listening to hear what kind of 
 report you are bearing to the world about your 
 Heavenly Master. Let your conversation be of 
 him who liveth to make intercession for you 
 before the Father. When you take the hand 
 of a friend, let praise to God be on your lips 
 and in your heart. This will attract his 
 thoughts to Jesus. 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 15£ 
 
 All have trials ; griefs hard to bear, tempta- 
 tions hard to resist. Do not tell your troub- 
 les to your fellow-mortals, but carry everything 
 to God in prayer. Make it a rule never to 
 utter one word of doubt or discouragement. 
 You can do much to brighten the life of others 
 and strengthen their efforts, by words of hope 
 and holy cheer* 
 
 There is many a brave soul sorely pressed 
 by temptation, almost ready to faint in the 
 conflict with self and with the powers of evil. 
 Do not discourage such a one in his hard 
 struggle. Cheer him with brave, hopeful 
 words that shall urge him on his way. Thus 
 the light of Christ may shine from you. 
 " None of us liveth to himself." 1 By our un- 
 conscious influence others may be encouraged 
 and strengthened, or they may be discouraged, 
 and repelled from Christ and the truth. 
 
 There are many who have an erroneous idea of 
 the life and character of Christ. They think that 
 he was devoid of warmth and sunniness, that 
 he was stern, severe, and joyless. In many 
 cases the whole religious experience is colored 
 by these gloomy views. 
 
 11 * Rom. 14:7. 
 
154 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 It is often said that Jesus wept, but that he 
 was never known to smile. Our Saviour was 
 indeed a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
 grief, for he opened his heart to all the woes 
 of men. But though his life was self-denying 
 and shadowed with pain and care, his spirit 
 was not crushed. His countenance did not 
 wear an expression of grief and repining, but 
 ever one of peaceful serenity. His heart was 
 a well-spring of life ; and wherever he went, 
 he carried rest and peace, joy and gladness. 
 
 Our Saviour was deeply serious and intensely 
 in earnest, but never gloomy or morose. The 
 life of those who imitate him will be full of 
 earnest purpose ; they will have a deep sense 
 of personal responsibility. Levity will be 
 repressed ; there will be no boisterous merri- 
 ment, no rude jesting ; but the religion of Jesus 
 gives peace like a river. It does not queuch 
 the light of joy, it does not restrain cheerful- 
 ness, nor cloud the sunny, smiling face. Christ 
 came not to be ministered unto, but to minis- 
 ter ; and when his love reigns in the heart, we 
 shall follow his example. 
 
 If we keep uppermost in our minds the un- 
 kind and unjust acts of others, we shall find it 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 155 
 
 impossible to love them as Christ has loved us, 
 but if our thoughts dwell upon the wondrous 
 love and pity of Christ for us, the same spirit 
 fill flow out to others. We should love and 
 respect one another, notwithstanding the faults 
 and imperfections that we cannot help seeing. 
 Humility and self-distrust should be cultiva- 
 ted, and a patient tenderness with the faults of 
 others. This will kill out all narrowing sel- 
 fishness, and make us large-hearted and gen- 
 erous. 
 
 The Psalmist says, " Trust in the Lord, and 
 do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and 
 verily thou shalt be fed." 1 "Trust in the 
 Lord." Each day has its burdens, its care& 
 and perplexities ; and when we meet, how ready 
 we are to talk of our difficulties and trials. So- 
 many borrowed troubles intrude, so many fears 
 are indulged, such a weight of anxiety is- 
 expressed, that one might suppose we had no 
 pitying, loving Saviour, ready to hear all our 
 requests, and to be to us a present help in 
 every time of need. 
 
 Some are always fearing, and borrowing 
 trouble. Every day they are surrounded with 
 1 Ps. 37 : 3. 
 
156 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 the tokens of God's love; every day they are 
 enjoying the bounties of his providence; but 
 they overlook these present blessings. Their 
 minds are continually dwelling upon something 
 disagreeable, which they fear may come; or 
 some difficulty may really exist, which, though 
 small, blinds their eyes to the many things 
 that demand gratitude. The difficulties they 
 encounter, instead of driving them to God, the 
 only source of their help, separate them from 
 him, because they awaken unrest and repining. 
 
 Do we well to be thus unbelieving? Why 
 should we be ungrateful and distrustful ? Je- 
 sus is our friend; all heaven is interested in our 
 welfare. We should not allow the perplexities 
 and worries of every-day life to fret the mind 
 and cloud the brow. If we do, we shall always 
 have something to vex and annoy. We should 
 not indulge a solicitude that only frets and 
 wears us, but does not help us to bear trials. 
 
 You may be perplexed in business; your 
 prospects may grow darker and darker, and 
 you may be threatened with loss ; but do not 
 become discouraged ; cast your care upon God, 
 and remain calm and cheerful. Pray for wis- 
 dom to manage your affairs with discretion, and 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 157 
 
 thus prevent loss and disaster. Do all you 
 can on your part to bring about favorable re- 
 sults. Jesus lias promised his aid, but not 
 apart from our effort. When, relying upon 
 our Helper, you have done all you can, accept 
 the result cheerfully. 
 
 It is not the will of God that his people 
 should be weighed down with care. But our 
 Lord does not deceive us. He does not say to 
 us, " Do not fear; there are no dangers in your 
 path." He knows there are trials and dan- 
 gers, and he deals with us plainly. He does 
 not propose to take his people out of a world 
 of sin and evil, but he points them to a never- 
 failing refuge. His prayer for his disciple& 
 was, " I pray not that thou shouldst take them 
 out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep 
 them from the evil." " In the world," he says, 
 "ye shall have tribulation; but be of good 
 cheer; I have overcome the world." 1 
 
 In his sermon on the mount, Christ taught 
 his disciples precious lessons in regard to the- 
 necessity of trusting in God. These lessons 
 were designed to encourage the children of 
 God through all ages, and they have come 
 ^0111117:15; 16:33. 
 
158 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 down to our time full of instruction and com- 
 fort. The Saviour pointed his followers to the 
 birds of the air as they warbled their carols of 
 praise unencumbered with thoughts of care, 
 for " they sow not, neither do they reap." And 
 yet the great Father provides for their needs. 
 The Saviour asks, "Are ye not much better 
 than they ? " ■ The great Provider for man 
 and beast opens his hand and supplies all his 
 creatures. The birds of the air are not be- 
 neath his notice. He does not drop the food 
 into their bills, but he makes provision for 
 their needs. They must gather the grains he 
 has scattered for them. They must prepare 
 the material for their little nests. They must 
 feed their young. They go forth singing to 
 their labor, for " your Heavenly Father feed- 
 eth them." And " are ye not much better than 
 they?" Are not you, as intelligent, spiritual 
 worshipers, of more value than the birds of the 
 air? Will not the Author of our being, the 
 Preserver of our life, the One who formed us 
 in his own divine image, provide for our ne- 
 cessities if we but trust in him? 
 
 Christ pointed his disciples to the flowers of 
 1 Matt. 6 : 26. 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 15$ 
 
 the field, growing in rich profusion, and glow- 
 ing in the simple beauty which the Heavenly 
 Father had given them, as an expression of 
 his love toman. He said, " Consider the lilies 
 of the field, how they grow." The beauty and 
 simplicity of these natural flowers, far outrival 
 the splendor of Solomon. The most gorgeous 
 attire produced by the skill of art cannot bear 
 comparison with the natural grace and radiant 
 beauty of the flowers of God's creation. Jesus 
 asks, " If God so clothe the grass of the field, 
 which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the 
 oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O 
 ye of little faith ? " ' If God, the divine artist, 
 gives to the simple flowers that perish in a 
 day, their delicate and varied colors, how much 
 greater care will he have for those who are 
 created in his own image? This lesson of 
 Christ's is a rebuke to the anxious thought, 
 the perplexity and doubt, of the faithless 
 heart. 
 
 The Lord would have all his sons and 
 daughters happy, peaceful, and obedient. Je- 
 sus says, " My peace I give unto you: not as 
 the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not 
 1 Matt. 6 : 28. 30. 
 
160 STEPS TO CHBIST 
 
 your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. u 
 1 'These things have I spoken unto you that 
 my joy might remain in you, and that your joy- 
 might be full." l 
 
 Happiness that is sought from selfish mo- 
 tives, outside of the path of duty, is ill-bal- 
 anced, fitful, and transitory; it passes away, 
 and the soul is filled with loneliness and sor- 
 row ; but there is joy and satisfaction in the 
 service of God ; the Christian is not left to walk 
 in uncertain paths; he is not left to vain re- 
 grets and disappointments. If we do not have 
 the pleasures of this life, we may still be joy- 
 ful in looking to the life beyond. 
 
 But even here Christians may have the joy 
 of communion with Christ; they may have the 
 light of his love, the perpetual comfort of his 
 presence. Every step in life may bring us 
 closer to Jesus, may give us a deeper experi- 
 ence of his love, and may bring us one step 
 nearer to the blessed home of peace. Then let 
 us not cast away our confidence, but have firm 
 assurance, firmer than ever before. " Hitherto 
 hath the Lord helped us," 2 and he will help us 
 ■to the end. Let us look to the monumental 
 1 John 14:27; 15:11. * 1 Sam. 7 : 12. 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 161 
 
 pillars, reminders of what the Lord has done 
 to comfort us and to save us from the hand of 
 the destroyer. Let us keep fresh in our mem- 
 ory all the tender mercies that God has shown 
 us, — the tears he has wiped away, the pains he 
 has soothed, the anxieties removed, the fears 
 dispelled, the wants supplied, the blessings 
 bestowed, thus strengthening ourselves for all 
 that is before us through the remainder of our 
 pilgrimage. 
 
 We cannot but look forward to new perplex- 
 ities in the coming conflict, but we may look 
 on what is past as well as on what is to come, 
 and say, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." 
 "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." l The 
 trial will not exceed the strength that shall be 
 given us to bear it. Then let us take up our 
 work just where we find it, believing that what- 
 ever may come, strength proportionate to the 
 trial will be given. 
 
 And by and by the gates of heaven will be 
 thrown open to admit God's children, and from 
 the lips of the King of Glory the benediction 
 will fall on their ears like richest music, 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 
 1 Deut. 33 : 25. 
 
162 STEPS TO CHRIST. 
 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world." ' 
 
 Then the redeemed will be welcomed to the 
 home that Jesus is preparing for them. There 
 their companions will not be the vile of earth, 
 liars, idolaters, the impure and unbelieving; 
 but they will associate with those who have 
 overcome Satan, and through divine grace have 
 formed perfect characters. Every sinful ten- 
 dency, every imperfection, that afflicts them 
 here, has been removed by the blood of Christ, 
 and the excellence and brightness of his glory, 
 far exceeding the brightness of the sun, is im- 
 parted to them. And the moral beauty, the 
 perfection of his character, shines through 
 them, in worth far exceeding this outward 
 splendor. They are without fault before the 
 great white throne, sharing the dignity and the 
 privileges of the angels. 
 
 In view of the glorious inheritance that may 
 be his, " what shall a man give in exchange for 
 his soul ? " 9 He may be poor, yet he possesses 
 in himself a wealth and dignity that the world 
 could never bestow. The soul redeemed and 
 cleansed from sin, with all its noble powers 
 
 1 Matt. 25 : 34. 2 Matt. 16 : 26. 
 
REJOICING IN THE LORD. 163 
 
 dedicated to the service of God, is of surpass- 
 ing worth ; and there is joy in heaven in the 
 presence of God and the holy angels over one 
 soul redeemed, a joy that is expressed in songs 
 of holy triumph. 
 
the.desire.... 
 of Ages 
 
 1&t 1fi& 1&* tfi^ 
 
 BY MRS. E. G. WHITE 
 
 ^Uafctfhfc\k\k\&\&tfc\l/\b\bvlAfe\)» 
 
 Author of "Patriarchs 
 and Prophets," "The 
 Great Controversy Be- 
 tween Christ and Sa- 
 tan/' ** Thoughts from 
 the Mount of Blessing," 
 " Steps to Christ," and 
 other valuable and 
 well-known works. 
 
 W4W<fW4W'!W4W4 l W4W < !flt 
 
 THIS latest book from her pen 
 is an intensely interesting and 
 beautifully illustrated volume, 
 the key-note of which is the great 
 truth that in Christ the love of the 
 Father is revealed, — that ' ' God 
 was in Christ reconciling the 
 world unto himself." 
 
 It has been the work of Satan 
 to misrepresent the character of 
 God and to deny the authority 
 of His law, while Christ, who 
 was ' ' God manifest in the flesh, ' ' 
 by His death redeems the trans- 
 gressor and maintains the immutability of that law. Thus 
 God's love and justice are vindicated. This book treats of 
 the development of this purpose as wrought out in the life 
 of Christ. 
 
 "The Desire of Ages" will 
 Interest All Classes ^ <£ j* 
 
 For they were all represented in the various individuals that 
 received help and encouragement from the Great Consoler 
 while He was here upon earth. 
 
 It is dedicated to the great family for whom our Elder 
 Brother lived and died. 
 
 The illustrations have been prepared by eminent New 
 York artists and are first-class in every particular. They 
 
consist of 38 full-page engravings, 87 illuminated chapter 
 headings, and nearly 300 small cuts, and were all made es- 
 pecially for this book. 
 
 ra gs 
 
 m ss 
 
 The volume is divided into 
 the f ollowng sections : — 
 
 Section J— AN OUTLOOK 
 Section 2 -EARLY YEARS 
 Section 3 — THE ANOINTED ONE 
 Section 4— THE DAYS OF PROMISE 
 Section 5— FALLING SHADOWS 
 Section 6— THE REJECTED ONE 
 Section 7-NEARING THE END 
 Section 8— THE CRUCIFIED 
 Section 9— TO THE FATHER'S 
 THRONE 
 
 J 
 
 to to to to to 
 
 It9 87 chapters and index form a volume of nearly 900 
 large octavo pages. It is printed on enamel-finish, super- 
 calendered book paper, and is bound as follows : — 
 
 Cloth, narbled Edges, 
 Cloth, QUt Edges, 
 Library, Marbled Edges, 
 Full riorocco, Gilt Edges, - 
 
 $3.50 
 4.25 
 5.00 
 7.00 
 
Patriarchs and Prophets 
 
 The Great Conflict Between Good and Evil as Illustrated in 
 the lives of Holy Men of Old. 
 
 By rtRS. E. G. WHITE. 
 
 THIS book treats on the great 
 themes of Bible History.— 
 Beginning with the rebellion in 
 heaven, the author shows why 
 sin was permitted, why Satan 
 was not destroyed, and why 
 man was tested. It gives a 
 thrilling description of man's 
 temptation and fall, and re- 
 hearses the plan of redemption 
 devised for his salvation. 
 
 This volume traces the great 
 conflict between good and 
 evil from its inception down 
 through the centuries, and 
 shows God's wonderful love for 
 mankind by his dealings with 
 the "holy men of old." 
 
 The life of each of the patri- 
 archs, from Adam to King Da- 
 vid, is carefully scanned, and 
 from each a lesson is drawn, pointing out the consequences of sin 
 and bringing most vividly to mind Satan's studied plan for the over- 
 throw of the race. 
 
 The themes as treated in this volume will stir the soul to Its 
 depths and awaken the liveliest emotions of the mind, yet it it all 
 written in plain, simple style. 
 
 Contains 73 chapters, 762 pages, and more than 50 engravings, 
 over 30 of which are full-page; and many were designed and engraved 
 especially for this book and at great expense, by an artist in Paris, 
 France. The subscriber can choose from the following substantial 
 and attractive bindings: — 
 
 Drab English cloth, emblematical design in jet and gold, marbled edget,$2.25 
 Light green English cloth, emblematical design ia jet & gold, gilt edges, 2.75 
 Library style, full sheep, combed marbled edges, ------- g.00 
 
 Full Turkey morocco, gold side and back, gilt edges, extra finish, - - 4.50 
 
 Also issued in Danish, Swedish, German, Dutch, and Spanish. 
 
The Great Controversy 
 
 Between Christ and Satan During 
 the Christian Dispensation 
 
 . . By . . 
 MRS. E. G. WHITE. 
 
 A COMPANION 
 VOLUME TO . . 
 " PATRIARCHS . . 
 AND PROPHETS " 
 
 This volume presents the 
 most wonderful and intensely 
 interesting history that has ever 
 been written of the great con- 
 flict between Christianity and 
 the powers of darkness, as illus- 
 trated in the lives of Christian 
 martyrs and reformers on the 
 one hand, and wicked men and 
 persecuting powers on the other. 
 Beginning with our Lord's great prophecy given while viewing 
 Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, this book outlines the history 
 of the whole dispensation down to the time when " sin and sinners 
 are no more ; God's entire universe is clean ; and the great contro- 
 versy is forever ended." 
 
 14th Edition. Over 700 Pages, and 26 Illustrations. 
 Work is Handsomely Printed and Bound. 
 
 The 
 
 Cloth, marbled edges, ------- $3.35 
 
 Cloth, gilt edges, 3.75 
 
 Library, marbled edges, ------ 3.00 
 
 Hall morocco, gilt edges, ------- 3-50 
 
 Full morocco, gilt edges, ------ 4.50 
 
 Also issued in Danish, Swedish, German, and French, at the 
 same prices. 
 
Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing. 
 
 . . . by . . . 
 MRS. E. G. WHITE. 
 
 £l GRAPHIC presentation of the 
 © Sermon on the Mount, written 
 in the chaste yet magnetically elo- 
 quent language characteristic of 
 this author. The reader quickly 
 finds himself transported to the 
 mountainside, where with the vast 
 multitude he listens to wonderful 
 lessons, fraught with tender pity 
 and divine love, from the lips of 
 Him who spake as never man spake 
 before. An excellent companion 
 volume to "Steps to Christ," by 
 the same author. 
 
 " Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing " contains 15 original half- 
 tone illustrations, printed on enameled paper. 
 
 Bound in cloth, embossed in gold, 209 pages, ... $ .75 
 Bound in half calf, marbled edges, 309 pages. ... 1.00 
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, 
 
 Bible Student's Library, No. 14, A Tract of 33 Pages, 
 
 Which dwells in the most touching language on the scenes in Geth- 
 semane and at Calvary during the last hours of the Redeemer on 
 earth. It is perfectly calculated to move the hardest heart. 2c. ppd. 
 
 TEMPTED AS WE ARE, 
 
 Bible Studeat's Library, No. 18, 
 
 Is a most comforting tract of sixteen pages, based on the passages, 
 "Tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin," and "In 
 that He himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor 
 them that are tempted." lc. ppd. 
 
 For any of the foregoing, address — 
 
 REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING CO., 
 Chicago, 111. BATTLE CREEK, MICH. Atlanta, Oa. 
 
 B5^~A full line of Religious Publications on a wide range of sub- 
 jects, is kept on hand by the REVIEW AND HERALD PUB. CO. Full 
 catalogues of books, periodicals, and tracts in English and foreign 
 languages, sent free on application. Correspondence solicited. Ad- 
 dress as above, Department "C." 
 
Date Due 
 
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