Many sincere believers are confused and discouraged by their fruitless Christian life. They listen with approval to a preacher reprimanding their bad spiritual state, unaware that they got in such an unenviable state by listening to the teaching of their preacher. They do not relate a cause to the consequence; they do not blame their false religious system for their failure, but the "lack of decisiveness of their will".

People who are discouraged in such a way give up Christianity forever, considering that "they are not for that" and that victory over the sin is not possible. The cause of their failure was in them who, having fought spiritually in a wrong place, believed blindly in the teachings of their spiritual authorities.

Only God's demand provides moral obedience. Demand of man's philosophy does not enable him to live correctly, because it does not have the power to change a heart, to set his nature free from sin. It raises in human heart only the strengths possessed by his sinful nature: pride, selfishness, idolatry, rage, guilt, fear and sentimental feelings. Those are the strengths of fanaticism.

Today, in the time of the reformation of false religiousness many try to solve the lack of fruits of faith by permitting to be moved in their religiousness by the strengths of fanaticism. Let us see how simple and rational is the order directed by God to man:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

A simple God's word directed to the common sense leaves a sinful human heart cold and indifferent. Instead to humiliate itself before God, admit its lostness and rely on divine mercy, such a heart usually discards the work of Holy Spirit: "It leaves my heart cold! That is why I do not believe it is truth!" God says:

"I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing." (Hosea 8:12)

The simple revelations of God's love and goodness, contained in the Holy Scriptures, seem uninteresting to many. The sermon listened by them must be "charged emotionally" in order to have an echo in their hearts. How does our heart become petrified?

"God speaks to men through His servants, giving cautions and warnings, and rebuking sin. He gives to each an opportunity to correct his errors before they become fixed in the character; but if one refuses to be corrected, divine power does not interpose to counteract the tendency of his own action. He finds it more easy to repeat the same course. He is hardening the heart against the influence of the Holy Spirit. A further rejection of light places him where a far stronger influence will be ineffectual to make an abiding impression. He who has once yielded to temptation will yield more readily the second time. Every repetition of the sin lessens his power of resistance, blinds his eyes, and stifles conviction. Every seed of indulgence sown will bear fruit. God works no miracle to prevent the harvest. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7. He who manifests an infidel hardihood, a stolid indifference to divine truth, is but reaping the harvest of that which he has himself sown." (EGW PP 268)

When we postpone our answer to the call of mercy then our heart becomes stony and ,as such ,resistant to God. In the state of indifference toward the reasonable order of God's word we give an opportunity to Satan to tempt us by the deceit of the fanatic religion which is in accordance with our unconverted affinities upon which our sinful heart does not remain mute.

If the revelation of God's love revealed through the Bible leaves us cold and indifferent then there is not any other greater and stronger revelation that can move love in us. The only thing that remains to us, if we do not want to humiliate ourselves before God, is to arouse the fanatical strengths of our nature. Here are several examples of simple orders that arouse fanaticism.

Fanaticism caused by guilt and fear:

"How can you behave in that way?! Are you aware of responsibility you take on yourself for your behavior?"

Fanaticism caused by pride and selfishness:

"Aren't you ashamed of your behavior? Do you know who you are to behave in that way?"

Fanaticism caused by feelings:

"How you are not sorry for yourself on account of such behavior of yours?"

Consequently, since we do not have in our nature the real love that would move us to obedience, we tend to go by the line of least resistance and to excite either sentimental feelings or guilt, or perhaps some other strength of our sinful nature, in order to draw out the strength for our religiousness or any other zeal.