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Testimonies for the Church Volume 3
you have turned many souls away from the truth by your manner of
treating them. You are not always impatient and unapproachable;
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when you feel like it you will take time to answer questions candidly;
but frequently you are uncourteous and exacting, and are pettish and
irritable like a child.
A concealed golden wedge and a Babylonish garment troubled the
entire camp of Israel. The frown of God was brought upon the people
because of the sin of one man. Thousands were slain upon the field
of battle because God would not bless and prosper a people among
whom there was even one sinner, one who had transgressed His word.
This sinner was not in holy office, yet a jealous God could not go forth
to battle with the armies of Israel while these concealed sins were in
the camp.
Notwithstanding the apostle’s warning is before us to “abstain from
all appearance of evil,” some persist in pursuing a course unbecoming
Christians. God requires His people to be holy, to keep themselves
separate from the works of darkness, to be pure in heart and life, and
unspotted from the world. The children of God, by faith in Christ, are
His chosen people; and when they stand upon the holy ground of Bible
truth they will be saved from fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness.
Brother R, you have stood directly in the way of the work of God
and have brought great darkness and discouragement upon His cause.
You have been blinded by Satan; you have worked for sympathy and
have obtained it. Had you stood in the light you could have discerned
the power of Satan at work to deceive and destroy you. The children of
God do not eat and drink to please the appetite, but to preserve life and
strength to do their Master’s will. They clothe themselves for health,
not for display or to keep pace with changing fashion. The desire of
the eye and the pride of life are banished from their wardrobes and
from their houses, from principle. They move from godly sincerity,
and their conversation is elevated and heavenly.
God is very pitiful, for He understands our weaknesses and our
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temptations; and when we come to Him with broken hearts and contrite
spirits, He accepts our repentance, and promises that, as we take hold
of His strength to make peace with Him, we shall make peace with
Him. Oh, what gratitude, what joy, should we feel that God is merciful!