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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
religion. They do not comprehend that perfection of character which
will receive the commendation: “Well done.”
Brethren, your duty, happiness, future usefulness, and final salva-
tion call upon you to sever the tendrils of your affections from every-
thing earthly and corruptible. There is an unsanctified sympathy that
partakes of the nature of lovesick sentimentalism and is earthly, sen-
sual. It will require no feeble effort for some of you to overcome this
and change the course of your life, for you have not placed yourselves
in connection with the Strength of Israel and have become enfeebled
in all your faculties. Now you are loudly called upon to be diligent
in the use of every means of grace, that you may be transformed in
character and may grow to the full stature of men and women in Christ
Jesus.
We have great victories to gain, and a heaven to lose if we do not
gain them. The carnal heart must be crucified; for its tendency is to
moral corruption, and the end thereof is death. Nothing but the life-
giving influences of the gospel can help the soul. Pray that the mighty
energies of the Holy Spirit, with all their quickening, recuperative,
and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on the palsy-
stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring the
whole man from his dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness.
You will thus become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust; and in your souls will
be reflected the image of Him by whose stripes you are healed.
Tithes and Offerings
The Lord requires that we return to Him in tithes and offerings a
portion of the goods He has lent us. He accepts these offerings as an
act of humble obedience on our part and a grateful acknowledgment
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of our indebtedness to Him for all the blessings we enjoy. Then let us
offer willingly, saying with David: “All things come of Thee, and of
Thine own have we given Thee.” Withholding more than is meet tends
to poverty. God will bear long with some, He will test and prove all;
but His curse will surely follow the selfish, world-loving professor of
truth. God knows the heart; every thought and every purpose is open
to His eye. He says: “Them that honor Me I will honor, and they that
despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” He knows whom to bless and