Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. Eph. 6:14.

One of the characters in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is Mr. Valiant for Truth. Said Valiant for Truth, "Let a man have one of these blades, with a hand to wield it and skill to use it, and he may venture upon an angel with it." Who is this Valiant for Truth? And what is this sword that is so effective in the Christian fight. "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).

Valiant for Truth means that the truth is in our heart. That we are basically pure, honest, upright in heart. The Holy Spirit has brought the truth into our lives. This is the kind of character we are to have. We love the truth. We are prepared to stand for it at any cost to ourselves. Let us remember that by the Spirit the Word of God acts directly upon our minds and lives, setting in motion God's eternal principles of truth. The Spirit speaks directly to us, inspires us, leads us. At this point doubts are dissolved. We naturally obey from the heart those truths and standards whose moral and spiritual beauty long tantalized us from afar. Instead of being weary of trying, we live with exhaustless energy from God. Every truth-led Christian is assured of this fact when the Holy Spirit draws nigh to us, and our lives are stirred and captured for God. All that is evil and sinful is overcome.

Let us not impede the transforming power of God's truth in our lives by unbelief, worldliness, and unfaithfulness of life. We must not neglect the royal power of God's Word by the Spirit, but avail ourselves of it to master all evil, to transform, uplift, and renew us in Christ's image.

Have we joined the remnant church today with the clear understanding that God has commissioned us with a special message to the world? I know of no conception of our life that so dignifies and inspires us as the realization that God has called us and chosen us to carry His last message to the world. I cannot imagine our coming to God and saying, "Lord, why did You call me to be a Seventh-day Adventist?" and then hearing God say, "Well, I really had nothing specific in mind at all." We too are Valiant for Truth. By firsthand experience we will discharge all the duties of Christ's ambassadors.