For You, O Creator, have proved us: You have tried us, as silver is tried. (Psalms 66:10).
Untried character is not reliable. Christians need to be tried by temptation in order that we may learn to seek wisdom from God and to flee to the stronghold in time of trouble. Only those will be successful in resisting temptation who find their help and grace from God. Individually we stand as did our first parents–face to face with manifold temptations that solicit mind and heart. All heaven is watching with intense interest to see whether we will look unto Jesus and submit ourselves to His will, or whether in the temptation we shall follow the inclinations of the natural heart and the solicitations of the evil one.
Let those who are perplexed with temptation go to God in prayer. Persevere in prayer and watch thereunto without doubting, and the Holy Spirit will work in the human agent, bringing heart and mind into subjection to right principles.
Those who through faith are kept by the power of God (1 Pet 1:5)learn good and precious things. They experience the peace of Christ which passeth understanding. (Phil 4:7) In resisting temptation we refuse to be confederate with Satan, and place ourselves under the banner of Jesus Christ. In the sight of heavenly intelligences you develop yourself as a conqueror. It is made manifest that you are a Child of God. (John 1:12)
You represent Christ in true goodness of character, and understand what these words signify:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14-16).
You receive grace, you develop grace; and as you reveal grace in your words, in your spirit and actions, God pours upon you a larger measure of grace.
In proportion as you surrender yourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit you are supplied with heavenly grace. You are molded and fashioned a vessel unto honor, and you will then become a channel through which God makes manifest His grace to the world.
Pure religion is an imitation of Christ. A religion that is built on self-confidence and selfishness is worthless. The true Christian is a follower of Christ. This following means walking in the light. The heart must be opened to receive the heavenly guest. As long as the heart is closed against His entrance, there can be in it no abiding peace. No sunshine can flood the chambers of the soul temple, breaking through the mist and cloud. {6BC 1101.2}
Patchwork religion is not of the least value with God. He requires the whole heart. No part of it is to be reserved for the development of hereditary or cultivated tendencies to evil. To be harsh, to be severe, too self-important, selfish, to look out for one’s own selfish interest and yet be zealous that others shall deal unselfishly is a religion which is an abomination to God. Many have just such an experience daily, but it is a misrepresentation of the character of Christ. {6BC 1101.6}
Christians are brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or reeducated—we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Col 2:6-7). At conversion we do not merely turn over a new leaf; we begin a new life under a new Master.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom 12:1-2, NIV)
God has good, pleasing, and perfect plans for his children. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey him. Because he wants only what is best for us, and because he gave his Son to make our new life possible, we should joyfully give ourselves as living sacrifices for his service.