True Love for Sinners and the Peril of Spiritual Slumber

While it is true that we are called to manifest a religion of love rather than bigotry, this love must be distinguished from a deceptive pretense that blots out the line between right and wrong1888 1145.2+1. We are instructed to catch every ray of light from heaven and let it shine, yet there remains a broad, clear line drawn by God between His children and the children of the wicked one1888 1145.2+1.

The Nature of Christian Love

The Spirit of Christ leads us to a specific type of love that hates sin while remaining willing to make any sacrifice to save the sinner5T 171.2.

• Hating the Sin: True followers of Christ can feel no harmony with sin and must abhor that which is evil while cleaving to what is good Romans 12:95T 171.2.

• Seeking to Save: We should lift up Christ as the One who hates sin but loves the sinner, working as Paul did to impart His righteousness to all, whether learned or ignorantCM 43.2.

• Ministry of Restoration: If someone is overtaken in a fault, those who are spiritual should seek to restore them in a spirit of meekness, remembering their own susceptibility to temptation Galatians 6:12TT 114.3.

Caution Regarding Association

While we are to love all, we must be extremely careful about our choice of companions and the influence of the ungodlyCH 414.3+1.

• Avoiding Corruption: Associating with the vain, superficial, or skeptical often leads to moral depravity, as the atmosphere surrounding such individuals can be charged with poisonous influencesBDOC 6.34+1.

• Separation for Safety: We are commanded to come out from among the ungodly and be separate, touching not the unclean thing 2 Corinthians 6:17PP 458.2.

• Purposeful Interaction: Followers of Christ should choose the society of sinners only when there is a distinct opportunity to do them good or communicate light and knowledge5T 112.1+1.

• The Danger of Amusements: Satan often succeeds in alluring Christians into sin by leading them to unite with the ungodly in their worldly amusements and customsPP 458.2.

The Final Distinction

The Bible warns that a time is coming when the distinction between those who serve God and those who do not will be made perfectly clear Malachi 3:181888 1145.2.

• The Path of the Just: The path of the righteous is like a shining light that grows brighter, while the way of the wicked is utter darkness Proverbs 4:18-19ARSH December 13, 1853, page 183.2.

• The End of the Ungodly: Those who persist in rebellion and reject the offer of mercy will eventually face the day of the Lord’s anger and be destroyed from the earth Zephaniah 2:2-3ExV54 44.3+1.

• The Reward of the Faithful: While the ungodly will perish like chaff, the man who does not walk in their counsel but delights in the law of the Lord will be blessed and prosper Psalms 1:1-34SP 420.2+1.

In summary, our love for the ungodly must be a transformative mission to bring them to a noble, elevated standard of truth, rather than a compromise that lowers our own spiritual standingBDOC 6.34+1. We are to be kind and compassionate, but we must never align ourselves with the principles or practices of those who hate the Lord5T 171.2+1.

It is a solemn and heartbreaking reality that many remain in a state of spiritual insensibility while the final moments of mercy are fast slipping awayPaM 197.1. This condition of being careless and stupid during the last hours of probation is an identical description of the peril facing both the pulpit and the pew todayT17 173.2+1.

The Danger of Spiritual Slumber

The current state of the religious world is often characterized by a deathlike slumber that prevents people from realizing that Christ is at the very doorPaM 197.1+1.

• Sleeping Ministers: When those called to watch are themselves asleep, they merely repeat the theory of truth without being stirred by it, rendering their efforts for souls entirely without effectPaM 197.1+1.

• Listless Presentation: A cold, unfeeling manner in preaching will never arouse a people who are already indifferent to the solemnity of the timesT17 173.2.

• Spiritual Stupidity: Many are drifting with the current of pleasure and worldly business, oblivious to the fact that every case is about to be eternally decided1MR 379.3+1.

• The Midnight Thief: The decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny will come silently and unnoticed, much like a thief in the night 1 Thessalonians 5:3GCB April 7, 1901, page 107.7.

A Call to Urgent Action

Because we are living in the eleventh hour, there is a desperate need for a spiritual revival and a reformation that goes through the churches1SM 127.3+1.

• Fervent Zeal: Ministers must possess an intense love for souls and show by their very manners and prayers that they believe the end of all things is at handPaM 197.1+1.

• Personal Testimony: We are bidden to strive to arouse others by telling them of the joy found in Jesus and the blessings of His serviceChS 124.3+1.

• The Power of the Spirit: Without the vivifying power of the Holy Spirit, there is a total loss of spiritual life and a torpidity of conscienceRH January 17, 1893, par. 9.

• Preparing for the Crisis: We must utilize the present golden moments to prepare for the future life, for it is utter folly to defer this preparation until the last hourDD 36.3+1.

The Lord is still knocking at the door of the heart, pleading for His people to buy the gold of faith and the eyesalve of spiritual discernment before the door of mercy is forever shut Revelation 3:18FE 354.2.

...r acts and words, and by their preaching and praying, that they believe that Christ is at the door. Men and women are in the last hours of probation, and yet are careless and stupid, and preachers have no power to arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping ministers preaching to a sleeping people!—Testimonies for the Church 2:337— PaM 197.1 (1995)

... efforts would be without effect. Their love for souls must be intensified, and their zeal fervent. Their listless, unaffected, unfeeling manner of presenting the truth will never arouse men and women from their death-like slumber. They must show in their manners, in their acts and words, in their preaching and praying, that they believe that Christ is at the door. Men and women are in the last hours of probation, and yet careless and stupid, and ministers have no power to arouse them; they are asleep themselves. Sleeping preachers preaching to people who are asleep! A great work must be accomplished for ministers, in order for them to make the preaching of the tru...— T17 173.2 (1869)

...agencies at work to stir the elements of the world, in order that men may be deceived, deluded, and kept occupied and entranced until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door be forever shut— FE 354.2 (1923)

...st, messengers of God's appointment are calling the attention of a judgment-bound world to the solemn events soon to take place in connection with the closing hours of probation and the appearance of Christ Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Soon every man is to be judg...— PK 716.1 (1917)

Another thought: What will be the condition or the attitude of the people of God in preaching the gospel when probation ends? They will be preaching right along, to the very time. I understand there never will be a time in the history of the gospel from the days of Adam, w...— GCDB February 13, 1893, page 247.10