To those who handle sacred things comes the solemn injunction, “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.”Isaiah 52:11. Of all men, those who have been trusted and honored by the Lord, those who have been given special service to perform, should be circumspect in word and deed. They should be men of devotion, who, by works of righteousness and pure, true words, can lift their fellow-men to a higher level; men who are not unsettled by every passing temptation; men of firm, earnest purpose, whose highest aim is to gather souls to Christ.
(GW 124.1)
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Satan’s special temptations are directed against the ministry. He knows that ministers are but human, possessing no grace or holiness of their own; that the treasures of the gospel have been placed in earthen vessels, which divine power alone can make vessels unto honor. He knows that God has ordained ministers to be a powerful means for the salvation of souls, and that they can be successful in their work only as they allow the eternal Father to rule their lives. Therefore he tries with all his ingenuity to lead them into sin, knowing that their office makes sin in them more exceeding sinful; for in committing sin, they make themselves ministers of evil.
(GW 124.2)
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Those whom God has called to the ministry are to give evidence that they are fit to minister in the sacred desk. The Lord has commanded, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”1 Peter 1:15. “Be thou an example of the believers,” Paul writes. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”1 Timothy 4:12, 16. “The end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”1 Peter 4:7.
(GW 124.3)
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