O man, whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things" (Rom. 2,1-3).

4. All passages alike stress the fact that the soul only dies when it commits sin, up to that point being alive to God, and by His grace able to resist temptation, and therefore justly under His wrath when it deliberately and unnecessarily chooses to do that for which it would blame another.

5. Temptation is a blessing allowed by God to strengthen our moral nature and give the soul victory over the flesh, the inevitable point of weakness. "The spirit truly is ready but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14,38). Thus it was the Holy Spirit who led Christ into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil, and into the Garden of Gethsemane.51 Temptation, though the pathway to victory and honour, is not rashly to be approached in one's own strength, but only at the direct leading of the Holy Spirit and at God's time, as in the case of Abraham at Mt. Moriah (Gen. 22,1-14). The temptation of a fool leads to disgrace and failure, for pride goeth before a fall: only the wise are blessed thereby and promoted to honour, as were Daniel and the three Children.52

6. It is not always realised that temptation to be disobedient to the Law of Love is inevitable to the purest soul. Both Lucifer and his Angels, and Adam and Eve, were all created perfect and lived in perfect surroundings; yet all fell to a temptation which derived its strength from the natural desire to please themselves and have their own way, rather than obey someone else. It is inevitable that we should desire happiness but we are not to purchase it at another's expense.

The safety of the soul lies, not in the absence of temptation but in immunity to its blandishments, won as the result of experience. Adam and Eve were meant to know good and evil not by eating of the tree and thus committing evil, but by resisting the lies of Satan and driving him from the garden by continuous resistance and refusal.

The fight, though not the defeat, of Adam and Eve and Everyman (Rom. 7,7-25), is inevitable, and is the only path to victory and final perfection of character, and security against any possibility of failure in the future.