128 Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists
of Lutherans, and point back to Luther, to his work and his testimony,
[199]
but they have not cherished his spirit. They do not, like Luther, test
their doctrines by the Bible, but by their creed, their church customs,
the practices of the Fathers. Their so-called Lutheranism is little better
than Catholicism with the name of Luther attached to it.
The moral standing of a community is dependent upon the dif-
fusion of Bible knowledge and the growth of true religion. Where
the religious teachers bar the people from obtaining light from the
Scriptures, unbelief, skepticism, and infidelity cannot but prevail. And
with such examples as are given by these pastors, who are seeking to
benefit themselves and not their flock, it is not strange that the people
are self-indulgent, pleasure-loving, and sensual. But the Lord will
cause the light of truth to shine forth amid the moral darkness; and
those who receive the truth should be careful to correctly represent its
sanctifying power upon their life and character, to show the contrast
between the influence of truth and that of error.