150 Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists
and stain in others; they watch diligently for something to reprove,
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and they become narrower and narrower in their ideas, until they are
ready to make one an offender for a word. In the Sabbath meetings,
when all should be individually engaged in the worship of God, an
accusing spirit is allowed to come in, and one bears testimony against
another. This spirit is wholly unlike Christ, and leads to dissension
and wrangling. God no more accepts such worship than he accepted
Cain’s offering. There is no more effectual hindrance to growth in
grace than this disposition to criticize and condemn others. We have
in our experience seen this accusing spirit gradually enter the hearts of
church-members until it had leavened nearly the entire church, and the
result was that little of real godliness or of the spirit of Christ remained.
The disposition to gossip, which is so wide-spread, is displeasing
to God. If those who indulge in unkind criticism or idle talk could
realize that an angel of God is noting down their words, and that all
are to appear against them in the Judgment, they would be far more
careful as to what is entered on that book of records. How must the
continual fault-finding appear to the heavenly messengers who are sent
forth to minister to God’s people. Would that the eyes of all might
be opened, that they might see the holy angels walking among them.
Surely they would be more guarded; instead of judging their brethren
and sisters, and talking of their weaknesses, they would be seeking
God with the whole heart.
When Christ appointed to Peter his work, the apostle, turning to a
brother disciple, asked, “Lord, what shall this man do?” Jesus gently
reproved him, saying, “What is that to thee? Follow thou me.” Here
is our work,—to look to Jesus, and pattern after his character; and
we should be very jealous of ourselves, lest we shall fail to meet the
divine standard. I remember when we were looking for the Saviour
to come in 1844, how great was the anxiety of each to know that his
own heart was right before God. When we met together, the question
would be asked by one and another, “Brethren, have you seen anything
in me that is not right? I know that we are often blind to our own
faults, and if you have seen anything wrong in me, I want you to
tell me.” Sometimes errors would be pointed out, and we would all
bow before God and seek forgiveness. If any variance or alienation
existed, we felt that we could not separate until all were in harmony.
Sometimes brethren who had difficulty would be seen going away