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Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers
avoid acknowledging the truth. We should beware of indulging the
spirit which controlled the Jews. They would not learn of Christ,
because His explanation of the Scriptures did not agree with their
ideas; therefore they became spies upon His track, “laying wait
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for Him, and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that
they might accuse Him.” Let us not bring upon ourselves the fearful
denunciation of the Saviour’s words, “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye
have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves,
and them that were entering in ye hindered.”
In Simplicity and Faith
It does not require much learning or ability to ask questions that
are difficult to answer. A child may ask questions over which the
wisest men may be puzzled. Let us not engage in a contest of this
kind. The very same unbelief exists in our time as prevailed in the
days of Christ. Now as then the desire for preferment and the praise
of men leads people away from the simplicity of true godliness.
There is no pride so dangerous as spiritual pride.
Young men should search the Scriptures for themselves. They
are not to feel that it is sufficient for those older in experience to
find out the truth; that the younger ones can accept it from them as
authority. The Jews perished as a nation because they were drawn
from the truth of the Bible by their rulers, priests, and elders. Had
they heeded the lessons of Jesus, and searched the Scriptures for
themselves, they would not have perished.
Young men in our ranks are watching to see in what spirit the
ministers come to the investigation of the Scriptures; whether they
have a teachable spirit, and are humble enough to accept evidence,
and receive light from the messengers whom God chooses to send.
We must study the truth for ourselves. No man should be relied
upon to think for us. No matter who he is, or in what position he
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may be placed, we are not to look upon any man as a criterion for
us. We are to counsel together, and to be subject one to another; but
at the same time we are to exercise the ability God has given us, in
order to learn what is truth. Each one of us must look to God for
divine enlightenment. We must individually develop a character that