Beware of Satan’s Delusions, December 8
Beware of Satan’s Delusions, December 8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8.
We need a firm reliance upon God if we would be saved from the power of satanic agencies. If we will keep close to the teachings of the Word, the truths of that Word will be our safeguard, saving us from the delusions of these last days. We need the truth. We need to believe in it. Its principles are adapted to all the circumstances of life. They prepare the soul for duty and brace it for trial. They bear the stamp of the divine Author....
The natural stubbornness of the human heart resists the light of truth. Its natural pride of opinion leads to independence of judgment and a clinging to human ideas and philosophy. There is with some a constant danger of becoming unsettled in the faith by the desire for originality. They wish to find some new and strange truth to present, to have a new message to bring to the people; but such a desire is a snare of the enemy to captivate the mind and lead away from the truth.... The Lord would have those who understand the reasons for their faith rest in their belief of that which they have been convinced is truth, and not be turned from the faith by the presentation of human sophistries.... In these last days we need a large and increasing faith. We need to be established in the faith by a knowledge and wisdom not derived from any human source, but which is found only in the riches of the wisdom of God....
Those who have accepted the truth of the third angel’s message are to hold it fast by faith, and it will hold them from drifting into superstitions and theories that would separate them from one another and from God. Our reception of the truth we hold as Seventh-day Adventists was not a chance experience. It was reached by earnest prayer and careful research of the Inspired Word. The Lord would have us walk and work in perfect unity. His name, Christ Jesus, is to be our watchword, His example our badge of distinction, the principles of His Word the foundation of our piety. In unity of spirit and action will be our strength. [350]