Testimonies Slighted
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time, those who were really seeking light did not cast his message
aside as only a common letter. No, indeed. The Lord had shown him
the difficulties and dangers which would arise in the churches, that
when they should develop he might know just how to treat them.
He was set for the defense of the church. He was to watch for souls
as one that must render account to God, and should he not take notice
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of the reports concerning their state of anarchy and division? Most
assuredly; and the reproof he sent them was written just as much under
the inspiration of the Spirit of God as were any of his epistles. But
when these reproofs came, some would not be corrected. They took
the position that God had not spoken to them through Paul, that he had
merely given them his opinion as a man, and they regarded their own
judgment as good as that of Paul.
So it is with many among our people who have drifted away from
the old landmarks and who have followed their own understanding.
What a great relief it would be to such could they quiet their conscience
with the belief that my work is not of God. But your unbelief will not
change the facts in the case. You are defective in character, in moral
and religious experience. Close your eyes to the fact if you will, but
this does not make you one particle more perfect. The only remedy is
to wash in the blood of the Lamb.
If you seek to turn aside the counsel of God to suit yourselves, if
you lessen the confidence of God’s people in the testimonies He has
sent them, you are rebelling against God as certainly as were Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram. You have their history. You know how stubborn
they were in their own opinions. They decided that their judgment
was better than that of Moses and that Moses was doing great injury to
Israel. Those who united with them were so set in their opinions that,
notwithstanding the judgments of God in a marked manner destroyed
the leaders and the princes, the next morning the survivors came to
Moses and said: “Ye have killed the people of the Lord.” We see what
fearful deception will come upon the human mind. How hard it is to
convince souls that have become imbued with a spirit which is not of
God. As Christ’s ambassador, I would say to you: Be careful what
positions you take. This is God’s work, and you must render to Him
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an account for the manner in which you treat His message.
While standing over the dying bed of my husband, I knew that
had others borne their part of the burdens, he might have lived. I