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154
Medical Ministry
Sapphira sold their property, and laid part of the proceeds at the feet
of the apostles, pretending they had given it all. They had not been
urged to give all they had to the cause. God would have accepted
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part. But they desired it to be thought that they had given all. Thus
they thought to gain the reputation they coveted, and at the same
time keep back part of their money. They thought they had been
successful in their scheme; but they were cheating the Lord, and He
dealt summarily with this, the first case of deception and falsehood
in the newly formed church. He slew them both, as a warning to all
of the danger of sacrificing truth to gain favor.
We are not to misrepresent what we profess to believe in order
to gain favor. God despises misrepresentation and prevarication.
He will not tolerate the man who says, and does not. The best and
noblest work is done by fair, honest dealing.—
Manuscript 169,
1899.
The Percentage Plan a Snare
The Lord showed me that you made a decided mistake in taking,
in addition to your regular wages, all the money that you obtained
from your eye, ear, and throat work. This was a snare to you. It had
a misleading influence upon you. Your great desire for display led
you into extravagance....
Duty to be Holy and Uncorrupted
Only that which is pure and lovely and of good report is it safe
for us to follow. Human beings are under the most sacred obligations
to God to be holy and uncorrupted; for they have been bought with a
price, even the precious blood of the Son of God. By their baptismal
vows they are solemnly pledged to do nothing which will bring an
evil report upon the Christian name. Before the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, the professing Christian pledges himself to
discourage pride, covetousness, unbelief. And as the true Christian
seeks to fulfill this pledge, he grows in self-distrust. Constantly
he places more dependence upon God. His reverence and love for
the Saviour continually increase, and he is a living witness for his
Master. He realizes what it means to be a child of God. He has a