Based on the writings of Ellen White, here are key principles and guidance for overcoming temptation: ### The Possibility of Victory You are not destined to fail. Even if you have fallen in the past, you can gain victory through Christ. * **Hope After Failure:** "Feeling the terrible power of temptation, the drawing of desire that leads to indulgence, many a man cries in despair, “I cannot resist evil.” Tell him that he can, that he must resist. He may have been overcome again and again, but it need not be always thus." (MH 174.6) * **Jesus is Your Helper:** "Although you may have been overcome, although moral debasement may have marked your course, it need not always be thus. Jesus is your helper. In his strength you can overcome the beguiling power of appetite." (CTBH 147.2) ### The Role of Divine Power and Human Effort Victory comes from a combination of relying on God's strength and exercising your own will. * **Rely on God's Strength:** "Temptations to the indulgence of appetite possess a power which can be overcome only by the help that God can impart. But with every temptation we have the promise of God that there shall be a way of escape." (CTBH 22.2) * **Exercise Your Willpower:** "You must then answer your own prayer as far as possible by resisting temptation, and leave that which you cannot do for yourselves for Jesus to do for you." (3T 378.1) * **The Choice is Yours:** "It is Satan's act to tempt you, but your own act to yield. It is not in the power of all the host of Satan to force the tempted to transgress. There is no excuse for sin." (4T 623.2) ### The Power of Prayer and Faith Prayer is an essential weapon in the fight against temptation. * **Cry Out for Help:** "When assailed by temptation, steadfastly resist the evil promptings; say to your soul, “How can I dishonor my Redeemer? I have given myself to Christ; I cannot do the works of Satan.” Cry to the dear Saviour for help to sacrifice every idol and to put away every darling sin." (SL 90) * **Agonize in Prayer:** "When temptations and trials rush in upon us, let us go to God, and agonize with him in prayer. He will give us grace and strength to overcome, and break the power of the enemy." (2SG 290.1) * **Claim His Promise:** "Cry unto the Lord, tempted soul. Cast yourself, helpless, unworthy, upon Jesus, and claim His very promise. The Lord will hear. He knows how strong are the inclinations of the natural heart, and He will help in every time of temptation." (5T 177.2) ### Practical Steps for Resistance Ellen White provides actionable advice for daily life. * **Know Your Weaknesses:** "He who understands well his own character, who is acquainted with the sin that most easily besets him and the temptations that will be most likely to overcome him, should not expose himself needlessly, and invite temptation by placing himself upon the enemy's ground." (GW92 371) * **Control of Appetite:** A significant focus is placed on physical self-control as a foundation for moral strength. "Through intemperance, Satan works to destroy the mental and moral powers that God gave to man as a priceless endowment. Thus it becomes impossible for men to appreciate things of eternal worth." (DA 122.1) * **Draw Near to God:** "So we may resist temptation, and overcome Satan. The Lord says to us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” James 4:7, 8." (SJ 48.5)

Of course. Based on the writings of Ellen White, which consistently point to the Bible as the foundation of all belief, here is an explanation of those key topics for study. ### 1. The Sabbath The Sabbath is presented not as a new institution but as one established at the foundation of the world, a memorial of God's creative power. * **Origin at Creation:** The Sabbath was instituted by God after the first six days of creation. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made" (Genesis 2:1-3). * **The Fourth Commandment:** The Sabbath is enshrined within the Ten Commandments. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8, 11). Ellen White emphasizes, "The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation." (DA 283.1) * **Christ's Example:** Jesus and the apostles honored the Sabbath. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read" (Luke 4:16). ### 2. The Law and Grace The law and grace are not opposing forces; they are two integral parts of God's plan of salvation. * **The Purpose of the Law:** The moral law (the Ten Commandments) is a reflection of God's perfect character. It cannot save, but it reveals sin. "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). Ellen White explains, "The law reveals to man his sins, but it provides no remedy. While it promises life to the obedient, it declares that death is the portion of the transgressor." (GC 467.3) * **The Power of Grace:** Grace is God's unmerited favor, given to humanity through Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift, received by faith, not by works. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). * **Working Together:** Grace does not abolish the law. Rather, it provides forgiveness for past transgressions and empowers the believer to live in joyful obedience to God's law. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31). ### 3. Modesty in Dress The Bible teaches that a Christian's appearance should be characterized by modesty, simplicity, and appropriateness, reflecting a focus on inner character rather than outward adornment. * **Guiding Principles:** The apostle Paul advises, "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works" (1 Timothy 2:9-10). * **Inner Beauty:** The focus is on the heart. "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Peter 3:3-4). * **A Witness to the World:** Ellen White counsels, "Our dress is to be inexpensive—not with ‘gold, or pearls, or costly array.’... By our plain dress we shall be witnessing to the world that our affections are not placed on the things of this life." (CG 422.2) ### 4. The State of the Dead The Bible consistently describes death as an unconscious state, often referred to as a "sleep," from which believers will be awakened at the resurrection. * **Death is a Sleep:** Jesus referred to death as a sleep before raising Lazarus (John 11:11-14). The Old Testament is clear: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing... Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished" (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6). When a person dies, "his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalm 146:4). * **The Hope of the Resurrection:** The great hope for the Christian is not an immediate journey to heaven at death, but the resurrection at Christ's second coming. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16). ### 5. The True Church The Bible describes the characteristics of God's faithful people in the last days, often called the "remnant church." * **Key Characteristics:** Revelation identifies this group with two distinct features: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 12:17). 1. **Keeping the Commandments:** This includes all ten, including the fourth commandment regarding the seventh-day Sabbath. 2. **The Testimony of Jesus:** This is further defined as "the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10). * **A Global Movement:** This is not about a single denomination but a worldwide movement of people who align with these biblical principles. Ellen White states, "From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth." (AA 11.2) ### Other Relevant Topics * **The Sanctuary:** The sanctuary service in the Old Testament was a visual lesson of the plan of salvation, pointing forward to the work of Jesus. The book of Hebrews explains that Christ is now our High Priest ministering in the true sanctuary in heaven, "which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Hebrews 8:1-2). * **The Second Coming:** The Bible promises the literal, personal, and visible return of Jesus Christ to the earth. "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This is the "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) for all believers. If you would like a more in-depth study on any of these topics, please let me know.