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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
Every Christian must stand on guard continually, watching every
avenue of the soul where Satan might find access. He must pray for
divine help and at the same time resolutely resist every inclination to
sin. By courage, by faith, by persevering toil, he can conquer. But let
him remember that to gain the victory Christ must abide in him and he
in Christ.
A union of believers with Christ will as a natural result lead to a
union with one another, which bond of union is the most enduring
upon earth. We are one in Christ, as Christ is one with the Father.
Christians are branches, and only branches, in the living Vine. One
branch is not to borrow its sustenance from another. Our life must
come from the parent vine. It is only by personal union with Christ,
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by communion with Him daily, hourly, that we can bear the fruits of
the Holy Spirit.
There has come into the church at Battle Creek a spirit that has no
part in Christ. It is not a zeal for the truth, not a love for the will of
God as revealed in His word. It is a self-righteous spirit. It leads you
to exalt self above Jesus and to regard your own opinions and ideas
as more important than union with Christ and union with one another.
You are sadly lacking in brotherly love. You are a backslidden church.
To know the truth, to claim union with Christ, and yet not to bring
forth fruit, not to live in the exercise of constant faith—this hardens
the heart in disobedience and self-confidence. Our growth in grace,
our joy, our usefulness, all depend on our union with Christ and the
degree of faith we exercise in Him. Here is the source of our power in
the world.
Many of you are seeking honor of one another. But what is the
honor or the approval of man to one who regards himself as a son of
God, a joint heir with Christ? What are the pleasures of this world to
him who is daily a sharer in the love of Christ which passes knowledge?
What are the contempt and opposition of man to him whom God
accepts through Jesus Christ? Selfishness can no more live in the
heart that is exercising faith in Christ than light and darkness can exist
together. Spiritual coldness, sloth, pride, and cowardice alike shrink
from the presence of faith. Can those who are as closely united with
Christ as the branch to the vine, talk of and to everyone but Jesus?
Are you in Christ? Not if you do not acknowledge yourselves
erring, helpless, condemned sinners. Not if you are exalting and