How to Meet a Controverted Point of Doctrine
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They were not in a condition to appreciate sacred and eternal things;
but Jesus promised to send the Comforter, who would teach them all
things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever He had
said unto them. Brethren, we must not put our dependence in man.
“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is
he to be accounted of?” (
Isaiah 2:22
). You must hang your helpless
souls upon Jesus. It does not become us to drink from the fountain of
the valley, when there is a fountain in the mountain. Let us leave the
lower streams; let us come to the higher springs. If there is a point
of truth that you do not understand, upon which you do not agree,
investigate, compare scripture with scripture, sink the shaft of truth
down deep into the mine of God’s Word. You must lay yourselves and
your opinions on the altar of God, put away your preconceived ideas,
and let the Spirit of Heaven guide you into all truth.
My brother said at one time that he would not hear anything con-
cerning the doctrine we hold, for fear he should be convinced. He
would not come to the meetings, or listen to the discourses; but he
afterward declared that he saw he was as guilty as if he had heard them.
God had given him an opportunity to know the truth, and He would
hold him responsible for this opportunity. There are many among us
who are prejudiced against the doctrines that are now being discussed.
They will not come to hear, they will not calmly investigate, but they
put forth their objections in the dark. They are perfectly satisfied with
their position. “Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and
have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not
appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent”
(
Revelation 3:17-19
).
This scripture applies to those who live under the sound of the
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message, but who will not come to hear it. How do you know but that
the Lord is giving fresh evidences of His truth, placing it in a new
setting, that the way of the Lord may be prepared? What plans have
you been laying that new light may be infused through the ranks of
God’s people? What evidence have you that God has not sent light
to His children? All self-sufficiency, egotism, and pride of opinion