A Solemn Appeal - Ellen G. White

would be safe from any improper advances, and be
secure from the prevailing corruption around them.
The apostle has written concerning himself, “But I
keep under my body, and bring it in subjection; lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Corinthians
9:27)
If a minister of the gospel has not control of his
lower passions; if he fails to follow the example of
the apostle, and so dishonors his profession and
faith as to even name the indulgence of sin, the
sisters who profess godliness should not for an
instant flatter themselves that sin and crime lose
their sinfulness in the least because their minister
dares to engage in them. Because men who are in
responsible places show themselves to be familiar
with sin, it should not lessen the guilt and enormity
of the sin in the minds of any. Sin should appear
just as sinful, just as abhorrent, as the word of God
represents it to be, and the one who indulges in sin
should, in the minds of the pure and elevated, be
abhorred and withdrawn from, as they would flee
from a serpent whose sting was deadly.
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