Perseverance Amid Trials
125
glory, so the Sun of Righteousness sheds its light, shining more and
more unto the perfect day.
[197]
Those who cling to old customs and hoary errors have lost sight of
the fact that light is ever increasing upon the path of all who follow
Christ; truth is constantly unfolding to the people of God. We must
be continually advancing if we are following our Leader. It is when
we walk in the light that shines upon us, obeying the truth that is
open to our understanding, that we receive greater light. We cannot
be excusable in accepting only the light which our fathers had one
hundred years ago. If our God-fearing fathers had seen what we see,
and heard what we hear, they would have accepted the light, and
walked in it. If we desire to imitate their faithfulness, we must receive
the truths open to us, as they received those presented to them; we
must do as they would have done, had they lived in our day.
Just before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples, “Sanctify
them through Thy truth; thy word is truth.” It is the duty of every one
to search the Scriptures for himself. We cannot accept the assertions of
men as infallible. To those who oppose and denounce our faith we say,
Show us from the Bible that we are in error. God’s word is to judge
us at the last day, and we want to know what saith the Scripture. We
are regarded with jealousy and bitterness because we will not accept
as evidence the assertions of men and the testimony of the Fathers;
but we cannot purchase peace and unity by sacrificing the truth. The
conflict may be long and painful, but at any cost we must hold fast the
word of God. “The Bible, and the Bible only,” must be our watchword.
I would say to those who have turned their feet into the way of
God’s commandments, It is not enough to profess to keep the law of
God; do you carry its precepts into your daily life? To profess the truth
and not be sanctified through it, is to dishonor God. We want the truth
on every point, and we are to put it in practice daily. Come to Christ
in simplicity and faith, and he will enlighten your understanding, and
enable you to walk so humbly and circumspectly before your fellow-
men that they can speak no evil of you except for the same reason that
men spoke evil of Christ. While you follow in the path of humble
obedience day by day, you will be gaining a living experience in the
things of God,—an experience which you must have in order to stand
in the troublous times before you.