68
Testimonies for the Church Volume 6
and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as
a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Revelation 3:1-3
.
The warning for the last church also must be proclaimed to all
who claim to be Christians. The Laodicean message, like a sharp,
two-edged sword, must go to all the churches: “I know thy works,
that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew
thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel
thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that
thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent.”
Verses 15-19
. It is our work to proclaim this
message. Are we putting forth every effort that the churches may be
warned?
We have a work to do for the ministers of other churches. God
wants them to be saved. They, like ourselves, can have immortality
only through faith and obedience. We must labor for them earnestly
that they may obtain it. God wants them to have a part in His special
[78]
work for this time. He wants them to be among the number who are
giving to His household meat in due season. Why should they not be
engaged in this work?
Our ministers should seek to come near to the ministers of other
denominations. Pray for and with these men, for whom Christ is
interceding. A solemn responsibility is theirs. As Christ’s messengers
we should manifest a deep, earnest interest in these shepherds of the
flock.
The call to be given in “the highways” is to be proclaimed to
all who have an active part in the world’s work, to the teachers and
leaders of the people. Those who bear heavy responsibilities in public
life—physicians and teachers, lawyers and judges, public officers and
businessmen..should be given a clear, distinct message. What shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Mark 8:36, 37
.