Chapter 75—Church Duties
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is meekness, patience, gentle-
ness, and long-suffering. A true disciple of Christ will seek to imitate
the Pattern. He will study to do the will of God on earth as it is done
in heaven. Those whose hearts are still defiled with sin cannot be
zealous of good works. They fail to keep the first four precepts of
the Decalogue, defining the duty of man to God; neither do they keep
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the last six, defining the duty of man to his fellow men. Their hearts
are filled with selfishness, and they are constantly finding fault with
others who are better than themselves. They put their hands to a work
which God has not given them, but leave undone the work He has left
for them to do, which is to take heed to themselves, lest any root of
bitterness springing up, trouble the church and defile it. They turn
their eyes outward to watch lest the character of others should not be
right, when their eyes should be turned inward to scan and criticize
their own actions. When they empty the heart of self, envy, evil sur-
mising, malice, they will not be climbing on the judgment seat and
pronouncing sentence upon others who are in God’s sight better than
they.
He who would reform others must first reform himself. He must
obtain the spirit of his Master and be willing, like Him, to suffer
reproach and to practice self-denial. In comparison with the worth
of one soul, the whole world sinks into insignificance. A desire to
exercise authority, to lord it over God’s heritage, will, if indulged,
result in the loss of souls. Those who really love Jesus will seek to
conform their own lives to the Pattern and will labor in His spirit for
the salvation of others.
In order to secure man to Himself and ensure his eternal salvation,
Christ left the royal courts of heaven and came to this earth, endured
the agonies of sin and shame in man’s stead, and died to make him
free. In view of the infinite price paid for man’s redemption, how
dare any professing the name of Christ treat with indifference one
of His little ones? How carefully should brethren and sisters in the
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