As for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. Psalm 41:12.
Some regard sin as altogether so light a matter that they have no defense against its indulgence or consequence.... With some ..., religion is purely a thing of feeling. You will see a fair show of fervor and devotedness for a time, but soon a change comes.... They want a sip of the pleasure of excitement—the ballroom, the dance, and the show....
If you suppose for a moment that God will treat sin lightly or make provisions or exemptions so that you can go on in committing sin, and the soul suffer no penalty for thus doing, it is a terrible delusion of Satan. Any willful violation of the righteous law of Jehovah exposes your soul to the full assaults of Satan. When you lose your conscious integrity your soul becomes a battlefield for Satan. You have doubts and fears enough to paralyze your energies and drive you to discouragement. The favor of God is gone. Some ... have tried to supply its place and seek compensation for the loss of the Holy Spirit's witness that you are a child of God, in worldly excitement in the society of worldlings. In short, you have plunged deeper into sin....
Remember that temptation is not sin. Remember that however trying the circumstances in which a man may be placed, nothing can really weaken his soul so long as he does not yield to temptation but maintains his own integrity. The interests most vital to you individually are in your own keeping. No one can damage them without your consent. All the satanic legions cannot injure you unless you open your soul to the arrows of Satan. As long as you are firm to do right, your ruin can never take place. If there is not pollution of mind in yourself, all the surrounding pollution cannot taint and defile you.
Eternal life is worth everything to us or it is worth nothing. Those only who put forth persevering effort and untiring zeal with intense desire proportionate to the object they are in pursuit of, will gain that life that measures with the life of God.45Manuscript 70, 1894.
From That I May Know Him - Page 248
That I May Know Him