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Testimonies for the Church Volume 8
God’s workers do this, and not till then, His work will be a complete,
symmetrical whole.
A Word of Caution
God desires His institutions and His chosen, adopted children to
honor Him by revealing the attributes of Christian character. The
work that the gospel embraces as missionary work is a straightforward,
substantial work, which will shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect
day. God does not want the faith of His people to take on the features or
appearance of the humanitarian work now called medical missionary
work. The means and talents of His people are not to be buried in the
slums of New York or Chicago. God’s work is to be carried on in right
lines.
Self-denial and self-sacrifice are to be shown. We are to work as
Christ worked, in simplicity and meekness, in lowliness and conse-
cration. Thus we shall be enabled to do a work distinct from all other
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missionary work in our world.
There are many of those who are supposed to be rescued from the
pit into which they have fallen who cannot be relied on as counselors,
or trusted to engage in the work in these last days. The enemy is
determined to mix error with truth. To do this he uses the opportunity
given him by the debased class for whom so much labor and money
are expended, the class whose appetites have been perverted through
indulgence, whose souls have been abused, whose characters are
misshapen and deformed, whose habits and desires are groveling, who
think habitually upon evil. Such ones can be transformed in character;
but how few there are with whom the work is thorough and lasting!
Some will be sanctified through the truth; but many make a super-
ficial change in their habits and practices, and then suppose that they
are Christians. They are received into church fellowship, but they are a
great trouble and a great care. Through them Satan tries to sow in the
church the seeds of jealousy, dishonesty, criticism, and accusing. Thus
he tries to corrupt the other members of the church. The disposition
that has mastered them from childhood, that led them to break away
from all restraint and brought them down to degradation, still controls
them. They are reported to be rescued, but too often time shows that
the work done for them did not make them submissive children of