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Who Has Our Friendship?, October 29
Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of
God.
James 4:4
.
The Scriptures furnish abundant evidence that it is safer to be joined to
the Lord and lose the favor and friendship of the world, than to look to the
world for favor and support and forget our dependence upon God....
The Lord Himself has established a separating wall between the things
of the world and the things which He has chosen out of the world and
sanctified to Himself. The world will not acknowledge this distinction....
But God has made this separation, and He will have it exist. In both the
Old and the New Testaments the Lord has positively enjoined upon His
people to be distinct from the world, in spirit, in pursuits, in practice; to be
a holy nation, a peculiar people, that they may show forth the praises of
Him who hath called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. The
east is not farther from the west than are the children of light, in customs,
practices, and spirit, from the children of darkness. This distinction will be
more marked, more decided, as we near the close of time....
There is an element called love which would teach us to praise and
flatter our associates and not to faithfully tell them of their dangers and warn
and counsel them for their good. This love is not Heaven-born. Our words
and actions should be serious and earnest, especially before those who
are neglecting their soul’s salvation.... If we unite with them in lightness,
trifling, pleasure seeking, or in any pursuit which will banish seriousness
from the mind, we are constantly saying to them by our example, “Peace,
peace; be not disturbed. You have no cause for alarm.” This is saying to
the sinner, “It shall be well with thee.
If we profess to be sons and daughters of God we should pursue such
a course toward the unbelieving that our souls will be clear of their blood
when we meet them in the great day of final reckoning
[309]
40
The Review and Herald, January 8, 1884
.
41
Ibid
.
318