By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. 2 Corinthians 6:7.

Through the ages of moral darkness, through centuries of strife and persecution, the church of Christ has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations to the present time, the pure doctrines of the Bible have been unfolding within her borders. The church of Christ, enfeebled and defective though she may appear, is the one object on earth on which He bestows in a special sense His love and regard. The church is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to make experiments of mercy on human hearts.

The church is God’s fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of her sacred trust is treachery to Him who has bought her with the precious blood of His only begotten Son. All down through the history of the world, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth….

Today, as in the past, all heaven is watching to see the church develop in the true science of salvation…. Christ calls upon us to enter the narrow pathway, where every step means a denial of self. He calls upon us to stand upon the platform of eternal truth, and contend, yes, contend earnestly, for the faith once delivered to the saints….

As we near the time … when Satan’s deceptive power will be so great that, if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect, our discernment must be sharpened by divine enlightenment, that we may not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. The whole treasury of heaven is at our command in the work of preparing the way of the Lord.^{30The Signs of the Times, March 1, 1910 (The Review and Herald, December 4, 1900).}

It is God’s design that His church shall ever advance in purity and knowledge, from light to light, from glory to glory.^{31The Review and Herald, December 4, 1900.}

Our hope is not in man, but in the living God. With full assurance of faith, we may expect that He will unite His omnipotence with the efforts of human instrumentalities, for the glory of His name. Clad with the armor of His righteousness, we may gain the victory over every foe.^{32Prophets and Kings, 111.}