468
Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
God. Those who neglect the Lord’s poor, and who feel no burden for
the widow and the fatherless, not making these cases their own and
laboring to see justice and equity between man and man, are guilty of
neglecting Christ in the person of His saints, because the cause that
[513]
they know not they do not search out. They have no burdens, and
make no effort to sustain the right. If most earnest vigilance is not
manifested at the great heart of the work to protect the interests of
the cause, the church will become as corrupt as the churches of other
denominations.
All who live in Battle Creek will have a fearful account to render to
God if they suffer sin upon a brother. It is an alarming fact that indif-
ference, sleepiness, and apathy have characterized men in responsible
positions, and that there is a steady increase of pride and an alarming
disregard of the warnings of the Spirit of God. The barriers which
God’s word places about His people are being broken down. Men
who are acquainted with the way in which God has led His people
in the past, instead of inquiring for the old paths and defending our
position as a peculiar people, have linked hands with the world. The
most alarming feature in the case is that warning voices have not been
heard in remonstrance, entreaties, and warnings. The eyes of God’s
people seem to be blinded, while the church is fast drifting into the
channel of worldliness.
God does not desire wooden men to guard the interests of His
institutions and the church, but He wants living, working men,—men
who have ability and quick perception,—men who have eyes, and open
them that they may see, and hearts that are susceptible to the influences
of His Spirit. He holds men to a strict accountability in guarding the
interests of His cause at Battle Creek.
There are some in Battle Creek who have never fully submitted
to reproof. They have taken a course of their own choosing. They
have ever, to a greater or less degree, exerted an influence against
those who have stood up to defend the right and reprove the wrong.
The influence of these persons upon individuals who come here, and
who are brought in contact with them as roomers or boarders, is very
bad. They fill the minds of these newcomers with questionings and
doubts in regard to the testimonies of the Spirit of God. They put false
[514]
constructions upon the Testimonies; and instead of leading persons to
become consecrated to God and to listen to the voice of the church,