You are professedly the servants of Christ. Do you then yield to Him ready and willing obedience? Do you earnestly inquire how you shall best please Him who has called you to be soldiers of the cross of Christ? Do you both lift the cross and glory in it? Answer these questions to God. All your acts, however secret you may think they have been, are open to your heavenly Father. Nothing is hidden, nothing covered. All your acts and the motives which prompt them are open to His sight. He has full knowledge of all your words and thoughts. It is your duty to control your thoughts. You will have to war against a vain imagination. You may think that there can be no sin in permitting your thoughts to run as they naturally would without restraint. But this is not so. You are responsible to God for the indulgence of vain thoughts; for from vain imaginations arises the committal of sins, the actual doing of those things upon which the mind has dwelt. Govern your thoughts, and it will then be much easier to govern your actions. Your thoughts need to be sanctified. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” When you come into this position, the work of consecration will be better understood by you both. Your thoughts will be pure, chaste, and elevated; your actions pure and sinless. Your bodies will be preserved in sanctification and honor, that you may present them “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” You are required to deny self in little as well as in greater things. You should make an entire surrender to God; you are not approved of Him in your present state. {3T 82.2}

Efter bekendelse er I Kristi tjenere. Giver I ham da en parat og villig lydighed? Forhører I jer alvorligt om hvordan I bedst kan behage ham som har kaldet jer til at være Kristi kors soldater? Løfter I begge korset og forherliges ved det? Besvar disse spørgsmål til Gud. [Alle jeres handlinger, hvor lønlige I end måtte anse dem for at være, er åbenbare for jeres himmelske fader. Intet er skjult, intet er tildækket. Alle jeres handlinger og de bevæggrunde, der fremkalder dem, ligger åbne for hans øjne. Han har fuldt kendskab til alle jeres ord og tanker. Det er jeres pligt at beherske jeres tanker. I må stride imod en forfængelig indbildning. I tænker måske, at der ikke kan være nogen synd i, at I tillader jeres tanker at løbe utøjlet i deres naturlige spor. Men sådan er det ikke. Gud holder jer ansvarlige for hengivelse til forfængelige tanker; for af tomme forestillinger kommer udøvelsen af synd, virkeliggørelsen af de ting, sindet har dvælet ved. Styr jeres tanker, så vil det falde meget lettere at styre jeres (83) handlinger. Jeres tanker trænger til at blive helliget. Paulus skriver til korinterne: »Vi nedbryder tankebygninger og alt hovmod, der rejser sig imod erkendelsen af Gud og tager enhver mennesketanke til fange ind under lydighed mod Kristus.« Når I kommer i denne stilling, vil I begge bedre forstå helligelsens værk. Jeres tanker vil blive rene, kyske og ophøjede; jeres handlinger vil være rene og fri for synd. Jeres legemer vil blive bevaret i hellighed og ære, så I må kunne fremstille dem »som et levende, helligt, Gud velbehageligt offer; dette er jeres åndelige gudsdyrkelse«. Det kræves af jer, at I fornægter jeget i små ting såvel som i større. Jeres overgivelse til Gud bør være fuldstændig; han bifalder ikke jeres nuværende tilstand. Vejl f menigh bd. 1 side 250]