Chapter 102—To Unify the Church
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good
thing that the heart be established with grace.
Hebrews 13:9
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The Lord in His wisdom has arranged that by means of the close
relationship that should be maintained by all believers, Christian shall be
united to Christian and church to church. Thus the human instrumentality will
be enabled to cooperate with the divine. Every agency will be subordinate
to the Holy Spirit, and all the believers will be united in an organized and
well-directed effort to give to the world the glad tidings of the grace of God.
God deals with men as individuals, giving to everyone his work. All are
to be taught of God. Through the grace of Christ every soul must work out
his own righteousness, maintaining a living connection with the Father and
the Son....
While it is true that the Lord guides individuals, it is also true that
He is leading out a people, not a few separate individuals here and there,
one believing this thing, another that. Angels of God are doing the work
committed to their trust. The third angel is leading out and purifying a people,
and they should move with him unitedly....
Some have advanced the thought that as we near the close of time, every
child of God will act independently of any religious organization. But I
have been instructed by the Lord that in this work there is no such thing as
every man’s being independent.... In order that the Lord’s work may advance
healthfully and solidly, His people must draw together.
Each member of the church should feel under sacred obligations to guard
strictly the interests of the cause of God.... Jesus has opened to everyone a
way by which wisdom, grace, and power may be obtained. He is our example
in all things, and nothing should divert the mind from the main object in life,
which is to have Christ in the soul, melting and subduing the heart. When
this is the case, every member of the church, every professor of the truth,
will be Christlike in character, in words, in actions.
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