Our Work and the Manner of Doing it

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We have a work to do in the world; and if we are followers of Christ, day by day, and hour by hour, we shall copy the model, and by precept and example teach others to be Christlike. Every one of us is exerting an influence for good or for evil; for no man liveth unto himself. Each one composes a part of the great web of humanity, and is continually exerting a secret, silent influence in spirit, word, or action. If we are converted to God, we shall with heaven-born wisdom seek to put to the best use our capabilities and powers in such a way that we shall glorify God, and benefit humanity. The influence of unselfish work is as far-reaching as eternity.

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But the truth must be brought into the inner sanctuary of the soul. We must by living faith grasp the arm of Omnipotence; for Christ has said, «Without me ye can do nothing.» But if we are laborers together with God, we shall be able to do all things. We shall be tested, we shall be proved to see what kind of material we have brought into our character building. If we have brought material into our life and character that is not of a divine order, this will be made manifest in the moral warfare in which every soul will be called upon to act a part. The truth cannot be justly sustained or defended by words that arouse the unbeliever to resistance and contention. The true spirit that controls the heart will be revealed in a company where ideas are presented that are opposed to ideas that others hold. If those who stand in defense of truth are under the control of the Spirit of Christ, they will be calm and self-possessed, kind and courteous, and will not be betrayed into the use of harsh language. They will not be accusers of those who honestly differ from them in opinion, nor regard their own ideas as infallible, and thus be led to look upon all those who differ with them as enemies and apostates. They will not make them the subjects of jest and ridicule.

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The defendants of the faith once delivered to the saints, must ever come to Jesus and learn of him who is meek and lowly in heart. He says, «Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.» We testify that the yoke of Christ is not grievous to the wearer; for he who bears it, no longer follows his own will, nor does his own pleasure. In difficulties he looks to his Master to direct his course, and follows not the way of his own choosing. The more trying the circumstances under which he is placed, the more closely will he press to the side of Jesus. He understands that God alone is his helper.

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If a brother or a sister has followed a wrong course, the true Christian will not speak to others of the wrong he sees in them, but will feel as Christ feels toward them,-a feeling of pity and sorrow, a longing, tender compassion; for he loves their souls. He will not make a jest of their mistakes, or meet them in the spirit of Satan. He will not talk much, for his soul is filled with tender compassion, and his words, his deportment, will testify of the character which he bears. He who is a devoted child of God will reveal this fact in his association with others.

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Never let him who is named as a child of God, meet another who differs with him in his religious faith with a spirit of ridicule. This was the spirit the persecutors of Protestants had when dealing with those whom they termed «heretics.» They could not show where dissenters were in error from «the law and the testimony,» and therefore they resorted to ridicule, and some of the faithful found it more difficult to bear a sneer, than to face their enemies in open conflict. Soldiers in the army of Jesus Christ have turned cowards before ridicule, and Satan has worked through cold, unconsecrated professors of his name, to intimidate those with the weapon of jest, who never would have been turned from their loyalty to God if the rack, the stake, the dungeon, and death alone had threatened them.

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Let no one from among us ever stoop to the use of ridicule when dealing with men who do not believe our doctrines. When this is done, it is evident that the would-be defender of truth is filled with self-importance and self-righteousness and with the very spirit that prompted the Pharisees to reject the light which God had graciously given them from heaven. When those who are claiming to investigate the Scriptures for truth, cease to have the meekness and the lowliness of Christ, and form a confederacy to resist every doctrine and view that differs from what they have regarded as truth, then Satan himself presides in their assemblies; and when this is the case, all who are brought within the sphere of their influence are leavened with the spirit of doubt, of questioning, and of unbelief, even as were the Pharisees in the days of Christ. All heaven is looking down upon the people who are to be defenders of truth, to see if they will follow the same course of action as did the Pharisees, and as have all the churches when new rays of light have been sent to them in messages of warning and exhortation. The Pharisees rejected Christ because he did not come in the very manner in which they had flattered themselves that he would come, and as a consequence, they were fettered in chains of their own forging, and bound themselves in doubt, in questioning, in criticism and unbelief, and worked their own eternal ruin. Mrs. E. G. White.

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There is danger that when the Lord shall send his people special light, they will also place themselves on the side of the Pharisees. But let not one of the people who have had advanced light, take the position that they have all the light that is to be revealed for all time, and that there are no further rays to shine upon their pathway from the word of God. The more our people search the Scriptures, the more will be revealed the rich and precious gems of truth. Will those who have felt the spirit of oppression from their brethren in the churches, do that which they condemn in others? Will they do as did the self-righteous Pharisees? Will they meet argument with ridicule, jest, and sarcasm? Will they say of the light-bearer as the Pharisees did of the world’s Redeemer, «He hath a devil»? Will they be ready to forbid his message, «because he followeth not with us»? Will the messenger whom the Lord shall send with special light be treated with ridicule and contempt, as Paul was treated by the heathen, who said, «Let us hear what this babbler hath to say»?

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When we are called upon to differ with others, or others express their difference from our opinion, we should manifest a Christian spirit, and keep this fact prominent that we can afford to be quiet and fair; for the truth will bear investigation. The more it is studied, the more will its light shine forth. The Lord frowns upon everything that savors of harshness and severity, and puts his rebuke upon those who cast contempt and reproach upon those who differ with them in opinion, placing them in the worst possible light. All Heaven looks upon those who do this as Heaven looked upon the Pharisees, and pronounces them as ignorant both of the Scriptures and the power of God. The enemies of truth cannot make truth error. They may trample upon the truth, and think that because they have cast it down, and covered it with rubbish, it is overcome; but God will move upon some of his faithful ones to do as Christ did when he was upon earth, — brush away the rubbish, and restore the truth to its appropriate setting in the framework of truth.

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In companies where the truth is a matter of discussion, there will be those who will oppose everything that they have not held as truth; and while they flatter themselves that they are only battling with error, they have need to hear with unprejudiced ears, that they may understand what is truth, and not misrepresent and misinterpret that which is spoken. They have the example of the men in all ages who have fought against truth, and who in so doing, have rejected the council of God against themselves. Heavy will be the responsibility that will rest upon men who have had great light, and great opportunities, and who have yet failed to be wholly on the Lord’s side. Should they venture to be wholly on the Lord’s side, they would be preserved in integrity, even when they were called upon to stand alone. He would enable them to stand courageously, in purity and fairness, contending for uncorrupted principles of righteousness. He would sustain them in battling for the right because it is right, though justice were fallen in the street, and equity could not enter. They would understand what would be pure and undefiled, and in accordance with the life of Christ, and would not turn from the purest principles of Christianity in spirit, word, or action, even though they stood in opposition not only to ignorance, but to those who were cultivated and experienced, and who used the weapons of sophistry to silence them. Through all this strife of error against truth, they would be preserved, and enabled to keep such a course that their enemies could not gainsay or resist them. They would stand as a rock to principle, refusing to compromise with any man, and yet preserving the spirit that would characterize every Christian.

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He who is a follower of Christ will distinguish between the sacred and the common, and will cling to the true evidence of a man’s character and work, for Christ has said, «By their fruits ye shall know them.» The Christian will move forward amid all manner of opposition. He will despise flattery because it is born of Satan. He will detest accusation because it is the weapon of the evil one. They will not cherish envy or indulge in self-exaltation because these are the characteristics of the adversary of God and man. They will not be found as spies; for Satan used the despised Jews in doing this work against Jesus. They will not follow their brethren with a flood of questions as the Jews followed Christ for the purpose of entangling him in his words, and provoking him to speak of many things in order that they might make him an offender for a word.

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Human nature is still human nature, and the tempter is unchanged. He works by the old methods to produce the results of the past, and ruin thousands of souls as he has in the past. We are not safe at any time, or in any place except as we are closely united with Christ, unless we are constantly praying for wisdom from above to resist temptation, and overcome in the conflict. And whenever you see men lifted up in self-sufficiency, feeling no need of seeking God for help and grace, you may be sure whatever may be their profession, that they have placed themselves on Satan’s side of the question. They are moved upon by his power, and their life-actions will produce the fruits of evil. Therefore «watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.» E. G. W.