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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
are heaping future woe upon themselves. The church in-----should
inquire closely if they have not, like the Jews, made the temple of God
a place of merchandise. Christ said: “It is written, My house shall be
called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”
Are not many of our people falling into the sin of sacrificing their
religion for the sake of worldly gain; preserving a form of piety, yet
giving all the mind to temporal pursuits? God’s law must be considered
first of all and obeyed in spirit and in letter. If God’s word, spoken in
awful solemnity from the holy mountain, is lightly regarded, how will
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the Testimonies of His Spirit be received? Minds that are so darkened
as not to recognize the authority of the Lord’s commandments given
directly to man can receive little good from a feeble instrument whom
He has chosen to instruct His people.
Your age does not excuse you from obeying the divine commands.
Abraham was sorely tested in his old age. The words of the Lord
seemed terrible and uncalled-for to the stricken old man, yet he never
questioned their justice or hesitated in his obedience. He might have
pleaded that he was old and feeble, and could not sacrifice the son
who was the joy of his life. He might have reminded the Lord that this
command conflicted with the promises that had been given in regard
to this son. But the obedience of Abraham was without a murmur or a
reproach. His trust in God was implicit.
The faith of Abraham should be our example, yet how few will
patiently endure a simple test of reproof for the sins which imperil their
eternal welfare. How few receive reproof with humility, and profit by
it. God’s claim upon our faith, our services, our affections, should meet
with a cheerful response. We are infinite debtors to the Lord and should
unhesitatingly comply with the least of His requirements. In order to
be a commandment breaker it is not necessary that we should trample
upon the whole moral code. If one precept is disregarded, we are
transgressors of the sacred law. But if we would be true commandment
keepers we should strictly observe every requirement that God has
enjoined upon us.
God allowed His own Son to be put to death in order to answer the
penalty of the transgression of the law; then how will He deal with
those who, in the face of all this evidence, dare venture upon the path
of disobedience, after having received the light of truth? Man has no
right to urge his convenience or wants in this matter. God will provide;