The Unpardonable Sin?

[Leaves of Autumn]

I'm just replying to M. A. Crawfords response to my comment that Hewbrews 10:26 used to scare me.

I just want to apologise if I gave the impression that harsh preaching from the pulpit is the cause of my fear. That certainly is not the case. My fear was brought about by my lack of understanding of the Scriptures (due to my lack of study), and through more careful study the Holy Spirit was able to help me understand better.

God says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:6

We need to be willing to  receive the Word gladly both from the pulpit and from fellow man, but at the same time we need to go away and "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Pastor Dick Barron visited my country not so long ago and spoke a message for the Youth primarily, but one that stirred many adults too. His message was one of God's love for us all. He did not mess around trying to paint over sin. He called sin, sin, just as all honest Christians should. But he also gave a most wonderful message based on the incredible forgiveness and mercy God extended towards Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:1-12). I'm quite sure that gave us Hope and faith too in the promise that God will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness, if we confess our sins. (1 John 1:9 [paraphrased]).

At the end of this sermon, some 15 people stood up to either begin baptismal classes or commit themselves for a new baptism.

It is written, "We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19, and it seems to me one of the best ways to find out about His love for us, is to read the testimony of Jesus Christ, and hear it preached. After all, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 If faith can be gifted this way to us, then so too can love. Afterall, it would be difficult to love what you did not know. This is why hearing Pastor Dick Barron preach about Manasseh was so powerful in sharing the wonderful Light, that God loves you and me, and does not wish that any be lost.

I'll leave you with a couple of Bible Scriptures to consider.

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39

Remember dear brethren, "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 1:21

[M.A. Crawford]

"I just want to apologise If I gave the impression that harsh preaching from the pulpit is the cause of my fear."

There is no need to apologize. I did not get that impression. The particular statement I quoted from your post reminded me that the love of God is not preached from Adventist pulpits as it should be for reasons mentioned in my post. All too often personal agendas take precedence over what actually needs to be said from the desk.

M.A.

[Rene]

My reply is in response to brother Ivan, the first response in this forum. With all good intentions, my brother in Christ, I would like to point out that an opinion that you have expressed could be very damaging to one who is worried or haunted with the apprehension that he/she may have committed the unpardonable sin.  It could lead one from fear and discouragement to the path of hopelessness and eventually even to suicide.  I pray to God that such an eventuality does not happen to anyone who has read your post.  It could be especially dangerous to the one who has a scrupulous conscience. You may have voiced your opinion with a good intention and you may not have understood its seriousness when you posted your comment. But I would request you, in the name of God, to take that down, the portion of your comment that I have mentioned below.

With regard to the unpardonable sin, you had mentioned, “Can we know if we have committed it?  Well, can we know if we are unrepentant?  I think so, but we will not desire to repent.  We will only desire the reward of the repentant. We will want eternal life, or at least want to be saved from punishment, without actually having to make a change in the life.”

Wanting eternal life and the desire to be spared from punishment (the fires of hell) is perfectly all right.  Every person in his right and normal senses will want to be spared of such a punishment. But there is something that marks out an unpardonable sinner. He is not worried about committing the ultimate transgression – the unpardonable sin.  He would lose all concern about God or offending Him.  He will not be interested in the salvation of his soul.

To suppose that a person who fears punishment (and/or who desires the reward of salvation without being repentant) without being repentant is an unpardonable sinner would be wrong. A person may or may not feel repentant; he may not even have the desire to repent, but even that does not make him an unpardonable sinner as long as he chooses salvation, as long as he chooses to do God’s will, as long as he chooses to serve God. I will explain why.  First of all, not only repentance, but also the desire to repent is something which God gives; it is not something that we do on our own.  Ellen White, referring to Philippians 2:13  says, “we cannot change our heart, we cannot of our own give to God it’s affections, but we can choose to serve Him.  He will then work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.”  Now the freedom of choice, the power to choose, is a faculty which God has given man.  And that is one faculty which neither the Almighty God nor satan will interfere with.  That is a faculty which only man has the sole authority over.  And that is the faculty which will never be taken from him, whatever his state of sinfulness or whatever his degree of sanctification.  No matter what the circumstance, man will always have the freedom to choose. And the exercise of that freedom to choose should be possible prior to repentance or prior to even the desire to repent (because these are things which God gives).  The point to be remembered here is we can choose even against our own evil heart, against our own will,  because we are at no point in time devoid of that power to choose. It is always there in us whatever the state of our consciences, whatever the state of our mind.  The scripture clearly says, “It is God who works in you both to WILL and to DO of His own good pleasure.”  Not only the desire to change (the desire to repent, the desire to obey) but even the working out of that desire in our lives – the determination to act out that desire – also is from God.  We can only choose; only God can give us repentance and even the desire to repent.  Choosing is solely ours; giving us the desire and the determination to repent/obey is the work of God.

So what differentiates an unpardonable sinner from a pardonable sinner is not the desire for the reward or the desire to be spared punishment without being repentant, but it is this:  The unpardonable sinner will not choose salvation, he will not choose repentance, he will not choose to obey. The pardonable sinner, in spite of his unrepentant heart, will choose to be saved. 

Now you may think, what then could or would be the motivation or incentives to choose to change or to choose to repent or to choose salvation.  Well, it cannot be repentance or even the desire to repent (that is God’s to give after we choose).  For that, I will quote what Ellen White has said in Steps to Christ: “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 of right doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of angels, the communion and love of God and His Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages – are these not mighty incentives and encouragements 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 retribution, the degradation of our character, and the final destruction are presented in God’s word to warn us against the service of satan.”  Again to quote her (I do not know the exact context, but Ellen white has been referred to in The Principles of Life in the chapter Predestination – Free Choice), “We cannot change our hearts.  We cannot of our own give to God it’s affections, but we can choose to serve Him.  He will then work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.”

So a person may have the desire for the reward of salvation, he may want to be spared the punishment of hell, he may even be unrepentant or he may not even have the desire to repent, but in spite of this he still has the power to choose life, and if he chooses salvation and chooses to serve God, whatever maybe the motive behind that choice (the enjoyment of heaven, the exceeding rewards of right doing, the desire not to be thrown into the fires of hell… ) if he chooses life, if he chooses for God to change his heart,  he has not committed the unpardonable sin.  God works out the repentance when we choose to serve God.

There could be a lot of people who under feelings of guilt and a sense of condemnation would feel a compulsion to obey the commands of God. In their fear and anxiety, they would feel forced to keep a rule and could perhaps attempt at giving into a forced obedience to the will of God.  Again I want to stress that God never forces the will, God never compels the conscience.  To operate from principles of force and compulsion would negate the whole great controversy and it’s evidence accumulated at such tremendous cost.  “If a man it to be convinced, the truth as it is in Jesus must be presented to his mind and must appeal to his heart.  Christ refuses every other method – everything like compulsion or restriction or force.  His only weapons are truth and love.  ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, He says, will draw all men unto me.’  Fallen humanity is drawn, not forced into any position.” – Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, June 28, 1898.

Let it not appear that this is a sanction or freedom to sin.  NOT AT ALL! This is a message to the large number of believers who suffer in silence, haunted by the fear that they may have committed the unpardonable sin.  Also to those who are miserable and in despair, distressed by feelings of guilt and condemnation and feel compelled or forced to obey the laws of God.

May anyone who may be fearful or feeling worried or feeling hopeless that he may have committed the unpardonable sin get solace from these thoughts.  And always remember that God is a God of Love who never forces, but only convicts and draws the sinner, if only he would Choose to serve him.

[Richard Myers]

Rene, welcome to our online family!  Your concern about the "unpardonable sin" is understood. Many feel that they have crossed the line.  There is a song that has caused me so much concern that I rewrote the chorus.  Have You Counted the Cost?  "Have you counted the cost if your soul should be lost, tho you gain the whole world for your own? Even now it may be that the line you have crossed. Have you counted, have you counted, the cost?"

What is the point in telling someone that it may be too late, that they have crossed the line? Some would believe it. The Bible tells us what the unpardonable sin is. "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." Matthew 12:31,32. The sin that cannot be pardoned is willfully attributing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks for bringing up again this most important topic, Rene. We look forward to thoughts in other topics.

[Rene]

My reply is in response to brother Ivan, the first response in this forum. With all good intentions, my brother in Christ, I would like to point out that an opinion that you have expressed could be very damaging to one who is worried or haunted with the apprehension that he/she may have committed the unpardonable sin.  It could lead one from fear and discouragement to the path of hopelessness and eventually even to suicide.  I pray to God that such an eventuality does not happen to anyone who has read your post.  It could be especially dangerous to the one who has a scrupulous conscience. You may have voiced your opinion with a good intention and you may not have understood its seriousness when you posted your comment. But I would request you, in the name of God, to take that down, the portion of your comment that I have mentioned below.

With regard to the unpardonable sin, you had mentioned, “Can we know if we have committed it?  Well, can we know if we are unrepentant?  I think so, but we will not desire to repent.  We will only desire the reward of the repentant. We will want eternal life, or at least want to be saved from punishment, without actually having to make a change in the life.”

Wanting eternal life and the desire to be spared from punishment (the fires of hell) is perfectly all right.  Every person in his right and normal senses will want to be spared of such a punishment. But there is something that marks out an unpardonable sinner. He is not worried about committing the ultimate transgression – the unpardonable sin.  He would lose all concern about God or offending Him.  He will not be interested in the salvation of his soul.

To suppose that a person who fears punishment (and/or who desires the reward of salvation without being repentant) without being repentant is an unpardonable sinner would be wrong. A person may or may not feel repentant; he may not even have the desire to repent, but even that does not make him an unpardonable sinner as long as he chooses salvation, as long as he chooses to do God’s will, as long as he chooses to serve God. I will explain why.  First of all, not only repentance, but also the desire to repent is something which God gives; it is not something that we do on our own.  Ellen White, referring to Philippians 2:13  says, “we cannot change our heart, we cannot of our own give to God it’s affections, but we can choose to serve Him.  He will then work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.”  Now the freedom of choice, the power to choose, is a faculty which God has given man.  And that is one faculty which neither the Almighty God nor satan will interfere with.  That is a faculty which only man has the sole authority over.  And that is the faculty which will never be taken from him, whatever his state of sinfulness or whatever his degree of sanctification.  No matter what the circumstance, man will always have the freedom to choose. And the exercise of that freedom to choose should be possible prior to repentance or prior to even the desire to repent (because these are things which God gives).  The point to be remembered here is we can choose even against our own evil heart, against our own will,  because we are at no point in time devoid of that power to choose. It is always there in us whatever the state of our consciences, whatever the state of our mind.  The scripture clearly says, “It is God who works in you both to WILL and to DO of His own good pleasure.”  Not only the desire to change (the desire to repent, the desire to obey) but even the working out of that desire in our lives – the determination to act out that desire – also is from God.  We can only choose; only God can give us repentance and even the desire to repent.  Choosing is solely ours; giving us the desire and the determination to repent/obey is the work of God.

So what differentiates an unpardonable sinner from a pardonable sinner is not the desire for the reward or the desire to be spared punishment without being repentant, but it is this:  The unpardonable sinner will not choose salvation, he will not choose repentance, he will not choose to obey. The pardonable sinner, in spite of his unrepentant heart, will choose to be saved. 

Now you may think, what then could or would be the motivation or incentives to choose to change or to choose to repent or to choose salvation.  Well, it cannot be repentance or even the desire to repent (that is God’s to give after we choose).  For that, I will quote what Ellen White has said in Steps to Christ: “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 of right doing, the enjoyment of heaven, the society of angels, the communion and love of God and His Son, the elevation and extension of all our powers throughout eternal ages – are these not mighty incentives and encouragements 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 retribution, the degradation of our character, and the final destruction are presented in God’s word to warn us against the service of satan.”  Again to quote her (I do not know the exact context, but Ellen white has been referred to in The Principles of Life in the chapter Predestination – Free Choice), “We cannot change our hearts.  We cannot of our own give to God it’s affections, but we can choose to serve Him.  He will then work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.”

So a person may have the desire for the reward of salvation, he may want to be spared the punishment of hell, he may even be unrepentant or he may not even have the desire to repent, but in spite of this he still has the power to choose life, and if he chooses salvation and chooses to serve God, whatever maybe the motive behind that choice (the enjoyment of heaven, the exceeding rewards of right doing, the desire not to be thrown into the fires of hell… ) if he chooses life, if he chooses for God to change his heart,  he has not committed the unpardonable sin.  God works out the repentance when we choose to serve God.

There could be a lot of people who under feelings of guilt and a sense of condemnation would feel a compulsion to obey the commands of God. In their fear and anxiety, they would feel forced to keep a rule and could perhaps attempt at giving into a forced obedience to the will of God.  Again I want to stress that God never forces the will, God never compels the conscience.  To operate from principles of force and compulsion would negate the whole great controversy and it’s evidence accumulated at such tremendous cost.  “If a man it to be convinced, the truth as it is in Jesus must be presented to his mind and must appeal to his heart.  Christ refuses every other method – everything like compulsion or restriction or force.  His only weapons are truth and love.  ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, He says, will draw all men unto me.’  Fallen humanity is drawn, not forced into any position.” – Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, June 28, 1898.

Let it not appear that this is a sanction or freedom to sin.  It is NOT a sanction to sin! This is a message to the large number of believers who suffer in silence, haunted by the fear that they may have committed the unpardonable sin.  Also to those who are miserable and in despair, distressed by feelings of guilt and condemnation and feel compelled or forced to obey the laws of God.

May anyone who may be fearful or feeling worried or feeling hopeless that he may have committed the unpardonable sin get solace from these thoughts.  And always remember that God is a God of Love who never forces, but only convicts and draws the sinner, if only he would Choose to serve him.

[wigina]

if admonitions are not given then we are going to.the other extreme! God always asked Moses to give the ordinances to His people. Together with these He gave warnings. And ultimately punishment. Now we may hold that Love is our way to salvation in the second covenant but what does the apostle Paul say of the same?
Hebrews 12:3,5-13,15-17,25-29: 10 For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness. 11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. [...] 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there [be] any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. [...] 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape], if we turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this [word], Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God [is] a consuming fire. [...] 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. [...] 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Now let us be bold and chasten for the Lord Himself works on the soul not man so that if any man contemplates performing such unpardonable sins then they are forewarned. But if any man knoweth not whether they have or have not sinned in this way will they be judged? No! But they will be brought to Jesus and will be saved. Only the Holy Spirit works in the soul of man to salvation.

[Rene]

I am sorry if I may have been misunderstood when I pointed to the Love of God.  Whatever it is that God does – chastening, rebuke…, the principle that operates is Love.  I need not mention how many times it has been mentioned in the Bible about the Love of God.  The Holy Spirit Convicts the sinner of sin; the devil Condemns.   We need to make sure of this distinction. When one is Convicted, he feels Drawn to God, and when one feels condemned, he feels withdrawn from God.  The fruits of the Spirit are Love, Joy, Peace….  How can anything that is it’s opposite be from the Spirit??  Resentment, bitterness, hate, discouragement, fear, worry are all opposites of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and should you experience any of these, it is not of the Holy Spirit; it is the oppression of the devil.  These oppressions may be experienced in the conflict between good and evil that goes on within us, but let these oppressions NOT be attributed to the Holy Spirit.  God DRAWS the sinner. (And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will DRAW all men unto me.” John 12:32). And when a sinner thus gives into the Drawing of the Spirit, he obeys out of a Love of God, a Love of Righteousness, and not out of compulsion or force or fear or a sense of obligation.  Let us not even for a moment encourage the thought that God would employ any principle that will contradict His own Spirit in bringing the sinner to repentance.

[Rene]

If you may, please refer to The Great Controversy or The Adventist Lesson Study (Second quarter, year 1997), if you can get hold of a copy.  That will show the Scripture in great light.

[Mimi]

Bless you, Rene, and the chief attribute? Love. It is obvious this is your motivation, as it should be.

We are happy to have you. Welcome.

[wigina]

That He loved us first even in Sin is unrefutable. That He means well in all that He does is the lawbof the universe. My main issue is aemonition and chastisement. Can we say truly that God does not afflict us? I hols that even though Satan is the architect of affliction and tribulations, God allows ii so that we may see the outcome of our mistakes, the mistakes of our predecessors ad more importantly the true nature of satan. Yes Jesus loves us. But do we realise how hard it is to bring back one that has completely renounced their belief? If then we are warned is it wring? Sometimes we ought to give the hard meat so that the people will know their standing with the Lord. Our God is long suffering ane for 6000 yrs has let sin come into fruitation! Even to its own destruction. That all would be saved is true if they turned back from our follies and iniquity. What joy that would be in heaven. Everytime I sin I really grieve tge attending Angel for he cannot come near me lest I see him and die and the dark angels crowd over me and engulf ne with more notions to sin. When I repent all these dark clouds are dispelled and the angels of light glorify GOD and come nearer and show me light. Now the more I sin in these days of investigative judgement, the more dim my chances of repenting and truly accepting Jesus fully. Unpardonable sin comes in when you are in that position that you die and did not repent, when you can no longer seek for atonement. But for us who are living in this end times when the Lord of lords and King of kings announces the completion of the work then we are done for at that time. That is why we must continously watch and repent and exhort each other to continous repentance. Bro. And sisters we know not the our. Oir Lord is ready to take us into his fold but yet again if we are adamant, then wore  unto us! Let us preach Love knowing fully that the devil also knows the love of God and may in sundry times show us the mercies of God urging us to postpone true repentance unto the next day and lo! Suddenly our demise.

[Rene]

Yes Wigina, I guess we both have rightly understood the point now.  God does allow afflictions and tribulations; the story of Job is the greatest example. Trials and temptations are God’s way of disciplining us and are not easy to endure; it is painful when it is happening (God allows us to be tempted by the devil), but God allows this to discipline our lives so that we become strong enough to stand firm lest we be attacked by the enemy. Temptations to discouragement, temptations to fear, temptations to despair are all difficult to endure and can be extremely painful, and more often than not, we may also give into such temptations.  But let us not even for a moment be deceived into believing that the source of fear and discouragement (or anything that would take away our peace or joy) or the temptations to them is and are from God. And let us not forget that even if our weaknesses may prevent us from experiencing perfect repentance, as long as we choose to place ourselves on the side of God, as long as we choose to submit our will to the service of God, we are in safe Hands.  God Bless you.

[Mimi]

Amen, Rene. God does not tempt, He tries the metal to see what it is made of. While reading your post, I was printing a little talk I am giving on this very subject. Many saints are not able to attend campmeeting, so we will have a small group for church Sabbath. The text is from Luke 22:31, 32. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

[Richard Myers]

Why did God ask Abraham to offer his son as a burnt offering?

[wigina]

A test of faith! The Lord knows how much we can endure and only tempts you or lets you be tempted according to that measure not beyond. It is for a strengthening of our faith. Abraham had disbelief and took the advice of Sarah and went in to Hagar. Abrahams faith had to be renewed and strengthened. So the Lord had to know whether He now truly and stedfastly believed. Surely we too maybe tempted of Him to prepare us for total commitment.....!

[Richard Myers]

The Lord knows how much we can endure and only tempts you or lets you be tempted according to that measure not beyond..... So the Lord had to know whether He now truly and stedfastly believed.

My dear brother, this seems to be a bit contradictory.  Did God know how much Abraham could take or did He need to find out?

You are right about why the test came, the closest test ever brought to man. Abraham sinned in calling his wife, his sister. And, he sinned in taking Hagar as wife.

Did God know that Abraham would pass the test? Or did He test him to find out?  If not to find out, then why was Abraham tested so closely?

[Glen]

...what would you say results in the committing of The Unpardonable Sin?

The great I AM acquainted Pharaoh with his mighty works, showing him that he was the ruler of heaven and earth. But the king chose to defy the God of heaven. He would not consent to break his proud heart even before the King of kings, that he might receive the light; for he was determined to have his own way, and work out his own rebellion. His proud disregard of God’s command, “Let my people go,” confirmed him in his determination not to yield, though evidence was piled upon evidence; and every additional evidence of the power of God that the Egyptian monarch resisted, carried him on to a stronger and more persistent defiance of God. Thus the work went on, finite man warring against the expressed will of an infinite God. This case is a clear illustration of the sin against the Holy Ghost. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Gradually the Lord withdrew his Spirit. Removing his restraining power, he gave the king into the hands of the worst of all tyrants,—self. RH July 27, 1897, par. 6

In this our day the sin of the Pharisees is being repeated. Many are turning from light, refusing to listen to the warning of God’s Spirit. But by closing the heart to divine impressions, we put away the forgiveness which our Redeemer is so graciously offering to us. By rejecting mercy and truth, we prepare for a course of resistance which, if followed, will continue till we have no power to do otherwise. A point is reached where the most pointed appeals were without effect. The desire to submit to God and to do his will is no longer felt. The spiritual senses become dulled. Darkness is the result, and how great is that darkness! RH July 27, 1897, par. 7

The Holy Spirit strives with every man. It is the voice of God speaking to the soul. But let that voice be resisted, and we, like the Pharisees, shall stifle conviction and resist evidence, however plain. God will give us up, and we shall be left to our own inclinations. RH July 27, 1897, par. 8