"Be not curious in unnecessary matters: for more things are shewed unto thee than men understand.
For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment." -Ecclesiasticus 3: 23 & 24, KJV
"A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish therein.
An obstinate heart shall be laden with sorrows; and the wicked man shall heap sin upon sin." -Ecclesiaticus 3: 26 & 27
"The natural mind leans toward pleasure and self-gratification. It is Satan's policy to manufacture an abundance of this." -Ellen G. White, Adventist Home p. 521
"Follow not thine own mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart: And say not, Who shall controul me for my works? for the Lord will surely revenge thy pride. Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me? for the Lord is longsuffering, he will in no wise let thee go." -Ecclesiasticus 5:2-4, KJV
"There are special communications which the Lord makes through His word and His Spirit which always agree; but some peculiar bias of mind, some cultivated traits of character, make it impossible for the Lord to work us by His Holy Spirit, because we think we know how to work ourselves." -Ellen G. White, Letter 147, 1897, p. 6.
Men put God out of their knowledge and worshiped the creatures of their own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased. The psalmist describes the effect produced upon the worshiper by the adoration of idols. He says, "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." Psalm 115:8. It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. Man will rise no higher than his conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking lower and lower. The worshipers of false gods clothed their deities with human attributes and passions, and thus their standard of character was degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity. They were defiled in consequence. "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence." God had given men His commandments as a rule of life, but His law was transgressed, and every conceivable sin was the result. The wickedness of men was open and daring, justice was trampled in the dust, and the cries of the oppressed reached unto heaven. -Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 91
For many are deceived by their own vain opinion; and an evil suspicion hath overthrown their judgment." -Ecclesiasticus 3: 23 & 24, KJV
"A stubborn heart shall fare evil at the last; and he that loveth danger shall perish therein.
An obstinate heart shall be laden with sorrows; and the wicked man shall heap sin upon sin." -Ecclesiaticus 3: 26 & 27
"The natural mind leans toward pleasure and self-gratification. It is Satan's policy to manufacture an abundance of this." -Ellen G. White, Adventist Home p. 521
"Follow not thine own mind and thy strength, to walk in the ways of thy heart: And say not, Who shall controul me for my works? for the Lord will surely revenge thy pride. Say not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me? for the Lord is longsuffering, he will in no wise let thee go." -Ecclesiasticus 5:2-4, KJV
"There are special communications which the Lord makes through His word and His Spirit which always agree; but some peculiar bias of mind, some cultivated traits of character, make it impossible for the Lord to work us by His Holy Spirit, because we think we know how to work ourselves." -Ellen G. White, Letter 147, 1897, p. 6.
Men put God out of their knowledge and worshiped the creatures of their own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased. The psalmist describes the effect produced upon the worshiper by the adoration of idols. He says, "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." Psalm 115:8. It is a law of the human mind that by beholding we become changed. Man will rise no higher than his conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking lower and lower. The worshipers of false gods clothed their deities with human attributes and passions, and thus their standard of character was degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity. They were defiled in consequence. "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. . . . The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence." God had given men His commandments as a rule of life, but His law was transgressed, and every conceivable sin was the result. The wickedness of men was open and daring, justice was trampled in the dust, and the cries of the oppressed reached unto heaven. -Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 91