158
Christian Service
Persecution Essential
When they were scattered by persecution, they went forth filled
with missionary zeal. They realized the responsibility of their mission.
They knew that they held in their hands the bread of life for a famishing
world; and they were constrained by the love of Christ to break this
bread to all who were in need.—
The Acts of the Apostles, 106
.
God means that testing truth shall be brought to the front, and
become a subject of examination and discussion, even if it is through
the contempt placed upon it. The minds of the people must be agitated.
Every controversy, every reproach, every slander, will be God’s means
of provoking inquiry, and awakening minds that otherwise would
slumber.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:453
.
Why Persecution Slumbers
The apostle Paul declares that “all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Why is it, then, that persecution seems
in a great degree to slumber? The only reason is, that the church has
conformed to the world’s standard, and therefore awakens no opposi-
tion. The religion which is current in our day is not of the pure and holy
character that marked the Christian faith in the days of Christ and His
apostles. It is only because of the spirit of compromise with sin, be-
cause the great truths of the Word of God are so indifferently regarded,
because there is so little vital godliness in the church, that Christianity
[160]
is apparently so popular with the world. Let there be a revival of faith
and power of the early church, and the spirit of persecution will be
revived, and the fires of persecution will be rekindled.—
The Great
Controversy, 48
.
Threefold Persecuting Union
Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and
Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions.
While the former lays the foundation of Spiritualism, the latter creates
a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States
will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the
hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands
with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union,