Review
and Herald, May 29, 1888 Be of One Mind.
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By Mrs.
E. G. White.
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The message of God for this time must go
to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. The Bible is to be opened to the
understanding of men, women, and children in every part of the world; but there
is so great an indifference to the teaching of the holy word of God, that those
who accept the responsibility of enlightening others, must themselves be
enlightened, so that they may be able to present the truth with clearness, and
in such a manner that it will be recommended to the best judgment of honest
minds. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 1}
There are many workers in the cause who
are not properly equipped for this great work, and when they are given some
measure of success, they are in danger of becoming elated and self-sufficient.
They work in their own strength, and do not discern their danger, and
therefore, do not avoid the perils that are in their pathway. Erroneous ideas
will be brought into the work, and presented as a part of the truth to the
people; but everything that God has not connected with the truth will only
serve to weaken the message and lessen the force of its claims. Satan is
constantly seeking to divert the mind from the real work to a spurious work;
and those who have but little experience in the dealings of God, are in danger
of becoming bound about with overstrained notions, and of holding ideas similar
in character to those which bound the Jews in the days of the Saviour's sojourn
with men. The rigorous exactions of the Pharisees, the heavy yokes of the
traditions of men, made of none effect the commandment of God, and the work of
Christ was to free the truth from the rubbish of error and superstition, that
men might behold the true character of God, and serve him in spirit and in
truth. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 2}
Those who proclaim the truth for today
have a similar work to do. The truth must be lifted from the obscurity of men's
traditions and errors that the world may behold the marvelous light of the
gospel of the Son of God. There are those who turn away from this great and
all-important work, to follow their own way. They have independent ideas and
will not receive counsel. They choose to follow their own course, until the
third angel's message becomes a thing of minor importance, and finally it loses
all its value. They hold another doctrine, opposed in principal to the doctrine
of the Bible. They do not comprehend the nature of the work, and instead of
leading the people to the firm platform of truth, they lead them to place their
feet on the sandy foundations of error. They induce men to wear a yoke that is
not the yoke of the meek and lowly Jesus.
{RH, May 29, 1888 par. 3}
We cannot exercise too great care in
sending laborers into the cause of God. If one is left to engage in the work
without thorough discipline, he is left to shape his own course. He is left
with insufficient experience, with too limited knowledge of the truth, and the
old errors which have not been thoroughly uprooted, will bear a part in his
teaching and influence. His trumpet will not give a certain sound. The doctrine
of truth will be mingled with error, and the result will be that those who are
taught will cherish error as they do the truth. Those who are raised up under
such a teacher, are in need of the most arduous and patient labor. It will be
more difficult to reach and correct their errors, than to bring a company into
the truth from the darkness of complete ignorance of the truth. It would have
been better if they had not heard this mingling of the truth with falsehood,
for then the truth in its purity would be more effective in reforming their
lives and characters. More harm can be done by one who has a mixture of truth
and error, than many who teach the whole truth can undo and correct. There is
in the human heart a natural affinity for error and evil. Error takes root in
the soil of the heart more readily, and grows more vigorously than the precious
seeds of truth. Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive
me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." The
Jews rejected the divine Son of God; but they were ready to accept many an
impostor who came in his own name, making empty boasts of his power and
authority. And so it is in our day. Men turn away their ears from hearing the
truth and are turned unto fables. {RH,
May 29, 1888 par. 4}
Those who would labor in word and
doctrine, should be firmly established in the truth before they are authorized
to go out into the field to teach others. The truth, pure and unadulterated,
must be presented to the people. It is the third angel's message that bears the
true test to the people. Satan will lead men to manufacture false tests, and
thus seek to obscure the value of, and make of none effect, the message of
truth. The commandment of God that has been almost universally made void, is
the testing truth for this time. The Sabbath of Jehovah is to be brought to the
attention of the world, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear.
The word of the Lord, by the prophet Isaiah, declares to the men of this time,
"Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold
on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from
doing any evil." The Lord has said that the Sabbath was a sign between him
and his people forever. The time is coming when all those who worship God will
be distinguished by this sign. They will be known as the servants of God, by
this mark of their allegiance to Heaven. But all man-made tests will divert the
mind from the great and important doctrines that constitute the present
truth. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 5}
It is the desire and plan of Satan to
bring in among us those who will go to great extremes,--people of narrow minds,
who are critical and sharp, and very tenacious in holding their own conceptions
of what the truth means. They will be exacting, and will seek to enforce
rigorous duties, and go to great lengths in matters of minor importance, while
they neglect the weightier matters of the law,--judgment and mercy and the love
of God. Through the work of a few of this class of persons, the whole body of
Sabbath-keepers will be designated as bigoted, Pharisaical, and fanatical. The
work of the truth, because of these workers, will be thought to be unworthy of
notice. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 6}
God has a special work for the men of
experience to do. They are to guard the cause of God. They are to see that the
work of God is not committed to men who feel it their privilege to move out on
their own independent judgment, to preach whatever they please, and to be
responsible to no one for their instructions or work. Let this spirit of
self-sufficiency once rule in our midst, and there will be no harmony of
action, no unity of spirit, no safety for the work, and no healthful growth in
the cause. There will be false teachers, evil workers who will, by insinuating
error, draw away souls from the truth. Christ prayed that his followers might
be one as he and the Father were one. Those who desire to see this prayer
answered, should seek to discourage the slightest tendency to division, and try
to keep the spirit of unity and love among brethren. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 7}
God calls for laborers; but he wants
those who are willing to submit their wills to his, and who will teach the
truth as it is in Jesus. One worker who has been trained and educated for the
work, who is controlled by the Spirit of Christ, will accomplish far more than
ten laborers who go out deficient in knowledge, and weak in the faith. One who
works in harmony with the counsel of God, and in unity with the brethren, will
be more efficient to do good, than ten will be who do not realize the necessity
of depending upon God, and of acting in harmony with the general plan of the
work. {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 8}
The instruction of Paul to Titus is
applicable to this time, and to our workers: "Speak thou the things which
become sound doctrine." The apostle had to contend with evils of a similar
character to those with which we will have to contend. He speaks of the
faithful worker as "holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught,
that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially
they of the circumcision: whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole
houses, teaching things which they ought not. . . . Wherefore rebuke them
sharply, that they may be sound in the faith; not giving heed to Jewish fables,
and commandments of men, that turn from the truth." {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 9}
There were those in Paul's day who were
constantly dwelling upon circumcision, and they could bring plenty of proof
from the Bible to show its obligation on the Jews; but this teaching was of no
consequence at this time; for Christ had died upon Calvary's cross, and
circumcision in the flesh could not be of any further value. The typical
service and the ceremonies connected with it were abolished at the cross. The
great antitypical Lamb of God had become an offering for guilty man, and the
shadow ceased in the substance. Paul was seeking to bring the minds of men to
the great truth for the time; but these who claimed to be followers of Jesus
were wholly absorbed in teaching the tradition of the Jews, and the obligation
of circumcision. {RH, May 29, 1888 par.
10}
Instruction for the workers today is
given in the word of truth: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth." "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every
man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." "Now the God of
patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another
according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and and one mouth glorify
God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." "Now I beseech you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." {RH, May 29, 1888 par. 11}
Let those who contemplate giving
themselves to the work, place themselves in connection with those who have had
a good experience in the ways of God, and a knowledge of his cause. Let all
seek a clear understanding of the Scriptures of truth. See to it that the
living Saviour is your Saviour, and that you are following in his footsteps.
Cultivate piety and humility of mind. Combat intellectual laziness and
spiritual lethargy. Be ready for every work that you can do for the Master.
Instead of catching up every new and fanciful interpretation of the Bible,
cling to the message. Let not every influence affect you; but seek to develop a
character that is consistent, meek, teachable, and yet firm and cheerful; and
with all this, be sober and watch unto prayer. Walk in a perfect way. Let the
high, sacred truth you profess be constantly elevating your character,
ennobling and refining you, and fitting you for the heavenly courts. The
learners in Christ's school must show that they are not unappreciative
scholars. Let the sanctifying grace of God strengthen, soften, and subdue your
entire nature. You must yourself be what you wish others to be. Christ prayed
concerning his disciples, "I sanctify myself, that they also might be
sanctified." Bring into your life the piety, the Christian courtesy, the
respect for one another that you wish to see reflected in those who embrace the
truth through your instrumentality.
{RH, May 29, 1888 par. 12}