Instruction to All God’s Workers
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February 18, 1909 Instruction to Ministers
Mrs. E. G. White
In these last days ministers need to guard the churches against the dangers
arising from the acceptance of fanciful and erroneous theories by preaching the
plain truths of the Word regarding individual duty and responsibility. The
people of God are to be educated to hate and forsake all unrighteousness if
they would be prepared for a place in the kingdom of heaven. Teach that the
fruits of repentance are to be seen in the life in deeds of righteousness. By
lives of faith and devotion, and reliance upon the Word of God as the
foundation of all faith, by acts of unselfishness and sincerity, teach them to
make known the saving grace of Christ. {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 1}
The qualifications which shine brightest in the eyes of men and are most
attractive in the kingdom of the world, have no
recognition in the kingdom of God. The rewards of Christ's kingdom are not for
the covetous, the selfish, the proud. No, no; those who enter
into eternal life enter it because the perfection of Christ's character has
been imparted to them. In the kingdom of God nobility and holiness of character are
accounted wealth. That which is pure and lovely counts. The knowledge
of the truth in the heart, virtue of character, the manifestation of love such
as Christ possessed,--those who are possessors of these are sharers in the
kingdom of Christ. {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 2}
The lesson of the barren fig-tree is one that we should keep continually before
us. It is not profession of righteousness that will meet the needs of the world
today, and fulfil the will of God for the human family. God is looking
for fruit-bearing branches. "Feed my sheep with pure provender," is the Lord's
command to those who stand as teachers of the gospel of salvation. He has made
provision that the gospel's saving power shall be presented in all places. {RH,
February 18, 1909 par. 3}
This gospel, Paul declares, must be preached to every creature under heaven;
"whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which
is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God." The apostle bears the
burden of the stewardship given him. He must co-operate with God in the work of
saving souls, dispensing faithfully as one who must give an account. And as he labors, he sees by the eye of faith the results of his
work; souls who were without God and without hope in the world would receive
the faith, and in their turn preach the gospel they had received. "Now in
Christ Jesus," he declares, "ye who sometimes were far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ. . . . For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all
the building fitly framed together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord." {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 4}
Conditions to our
knowledge of the mystery of God are plainly stated, "If ye continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel." This calls for much searching of the Scriptures. We can not be settled in the faith unless we educate and train
every faculty of the mind. To continue in the faith means to have a
determined purpose to use every God-given power in becoming an experienced and
competent builder with God, building up the souls of those in the faith, and
striving to reach those who have not yet come to a knowledge of the truth. {RH,
February 18, 1909 par. 5}
I was shown that mistakes have been made that have left wrong impressions upon
minds, because there were allowed to preside over important interests
men who were deficient in the saving grace of the gospel, who had not made its
purity and simplicity a part of their lives, and who did not seek God often in
earnest, humble prayer. Righteous, self-denying works were not regarded by them as being
a necessary part of Christian experience. They did not see the necessity of having the
Spirit of Christ and of emulating his example in their work of ministry. {RH, February
18, 1909 par. 6}
I
am instructed to say to our ministers, Be careful that
the work of cleansing and sanctifying shall go on in your own individual souls. Let your first
thought be to make your calling and election sure. Your example is
to be full of kindness and encouragement. No masterful spirit is to come in,
but let the heart be filled with the tenderness and love and compassion of
Christ. Work every day for sanctification of the spirit through belief
of the truth. Let all realize that they are chosen of God to reveal that they
understand the mystery of godliness. {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 7}
As
a people we are to be purified from our natural evil habits and desires. Our
hearts must be changed, or we can not correctly
represent the Lord Jesus, who gave his life for us. The Son of God
took humanity upon him that he might make it possible for humanity to take hold
upon divinity through the exercise of a perfect faith. Christ is our example
for the development of a perfect character. Through the strength we receive
from him, we may be overcomers. In seeking him
for those things that we need, we must exercise a faith that will not be
denied. We must represent him by following humbly in his footsteps. Through faith
in his merits and practise of the truth, we shall receive of his grace, and
this will be revealed in kindness of heart and of action, and in singleness of
purpose. Courtesy and sympathy will be revealed in our lives. By a daily
opening of the heart to truth and righteousness, as they are found in Jesus, we
shall be able to reveal that truth and that righteousness in our dealings with
others. {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 8}
The
Spirit of Christ is grieved when any of his followers give evidence of
possessing a harsh, unfair, or exacting spirit. As laborers
together with God, each should regard the other as part of God's great firm. He
desires that they shall counsel together. There is to be no drawing apart, for
the spirit of independence dishonors the truth we
profess. One special evidence that the Spirit of
Christ is abiding in his church is the unity and harmony which exist among its
members. This is the brightest witness to the possession of true religion; for
it will convert and transform the natural man, and fashion him after the divine
similitude. {RH, February 18, 1909 par. 9}
Note by Ron:
The omega of apostasy new movement, new organization, drew apart from God and
from pillar doctrines of Adventism. The leaders of that new movement will allow
nothing to stand in their way. It is impossible to counsel together with them
on the truths of God’s Word. End note.
The
converting power of Christ is the agency that will overcome our individual
defects of character, and make us laborers together
with God. By the truth held in its purity souls will be reached who could
not otherwise be influenced to obey. The Holy Spirit is to be our counselor and guide in every branch of the work. The will
of God made manifest in the life reveals the power of the Word to overcome the
natural traits of character, and to change the believer "from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
{RH, February 18, 1909 par. 10}
March 10, 1903 The Workers Needed
Mrs. E. G. White
God's people have a mighty work before them, and it must continually rise to
greater prominence. At the beginning, this work was small. Only a few were
engaged in carrying it forward. But gradually the work has enlarged; God has
brought it from a small beginning to great importance. His truth was to be
defended; for men were placing contempt upon the Sabbath of creation. God
wrought with power; as often as the opposers sought to destroy his work, they
were defeated. And the progress of the work in the future is to be much greater
than it has been in the past. {RH, March 10, 1903 par. 1}
A great crisis is just before us. In their blindness men boast of wonderful
progress and enlightenment, but to the eye of Omniscience is revealed the
inward guilt and depravity. The heavenly Watcher sees the earth filled with
robbery and crime. Wealth is obtained by every species of robbery, not robbery of
men only, but of God. Men are using his means to gratify their selfishness. Everything
that they can grasp is made to minister to their greed. Avarice and sensuality
prevail. Men [leaders] revenge themselves on those [true reformers] who,
they suppose, have hindered the success of their ambitious projects. They cherish
the attributes of the great deceiver. They have accepted him as God, and have
become imbued with his spirit. {RH, March 10, 1903 par. 2}
God is now restraining the forces of evil, that the
last warning may be given to the world. Now is the time to work. Many more
workers ought to be in the field. There should be one hundred workers where
there is now but one. Many who have not been ordained or licensed may work in their
own neighborhoods and in the regions about them. {RH,
March 10, 1903 par. 3}
Note by Ron:
Our educational facilities were supposed to be for the purpose of training
missionaries and other full time workers in the cause. End note.
There are lessons for us to learn at this time from the experience of those who
labored for God in past generations. How little we
know of the conflicts and trials and labors of these
men, as they fitted themselves to meet the armies of Satan. Putting on the
whole armor of God, they were able to stand against
the wiles of Satan. Their word was: "My brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the
whole armor of God, that ye
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
{RH, March 10, 1903 par. 4}
These
men who in the past gave themselves to God and to the uplifting of his cause
were as true as steel to principle. They were men who would not fail nor be
discouraged; men who, like Daniel, were full of reverence and zeal for God,
full of noble purposes and aspirations. They were as weak and helpless as any
of those who are now engaged in the work, but they put their whole trust in
God.
They
had wealth, but it consisted of mind and soul culture. This every one may have
who will make God first and last and best in everything. Although
destitute of wisdom, knowledge, virtue, and power, we may receive all these if
we will learn from Christ the lessons that it is our privilege to learn.
{RH, March 10, 1903 par. 5}
In this time we have opportunities and advantages that it was not easy to
obtain in generations past. We have increased light, and this has come through
the work of those faithful sentinels who made God their dependence, and
received power from him to let light shine in clear, bright rays to the world.
In our day we have increased light to improve, as in times past men and women
of noble worth improved the light that God gave them. They toiled long to learn
the lessons given them in the school of Christ, and they did not toil in vain.
Their persevering efforts were rewarded. They bound themselves up with the
mightiest of all powers, and yet they were ever longing for a deeper, higher,
and broader comprehension of eternal realities, that they might successfully present
the treasures of truth to a needy world. {RH, March 10, 1903 par. 6}
Workers of this character are needed now. Those who are men in the sight of God, and who
are thus recorded in the books of heaven, are those who, like Daniel, cultivate every faculty in such a way as best to represent the
kingdom of God in a world lying in wickedness. Progress in
knowledge is essential; for when employed in the cause of God, knowledge is a
power for good. The world needs men of thought, men of principle, men who are
constantly growing in understanding and discernment. The press is
in need of men to use it to the best advantage, that the truth may be given
wings to speed it to every nation, and tongue, and people. {RH, March 10, 1903
par. 7}
We need to make use of the youth who will cultivate honest industry, who are
not afraid to put their powers to task. Such youth will find a position
anywhere, because they falter not by the way; in mind and soul they bear the
divine similitude. Their eye is single, and constantly they press onward and
upward, crying, Victory. But there is no call for the indolent, the
fearful and unbelieving, who by their lack of faith and their unwillingness to
deny self for Christ's sake, keep the work from advancing. {RH, March 10,
1903 par. 8}
There are men who possess excellent faculties, but who have come to a
standstill. They do not go forward to victory. And the ability with which God
has endowed them is of no value to his cause, because it is unused. Many of these
men are found among the grumblers. They grumble because, they say, they are not
appreciated. But they do not appreciate themselves sufficiently to co-operate
with the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. {RH, March 10,
1903 par. 9}
Of what use is it for those who do nothing to long to
rise higher than they are? Let them work. Let them rise and advance. Keep step
with the great Leader. If you have gone as high as your capabilities will
permit, why do you cherish dissatisfaction? Why complain that others do not
appreciate you? If you think that you can stand in a higher position, prove
yourselves worthy of that position, and still advance. {RH, March 10, 1903 par.
10}
Those who have sown the seeds of indolence and ignorance will reap that which
they have sown. It is hard study, hard toil, persevering diligence, that obtain
victories. Waste no hours, no moments. The results of work, earnest, faithful work,
will be seen and appreciated. Those who wish for stronger minds can gain them
by diligence. The mind increases in
power and efficiency by use. It becomes strong by hard thinking. He who uses
most diligently his mental and physical powers will achieve the greatest
results. Every power of the being strengthens by action. {RH, March 10,
1903 par. 11}
We need as workers men and women who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, who
realize that they are united in church capacity that they may use their
influence and power to save those who are without God and without hope in the
world. In the name of Christ we call upon every church-member to deny self,
take up the cross, and follow Jesus. {RH, March 10, 1903 par. 12}
God calls for those who will be workers together with him. Connected with
Christ, human nature becomes pure and true. Christ supplies the efficiency, and
man becomes a power for good. Truthfulness and integrity are attributes of God, and he who
possesses these attributes possesses a power that is invincible.
{RH, March 10, 1903 par. 13}
March 3, 1903 A Neglected Work
Mrs. E. G. White
God's people are neglecting a work that is close beside them. They do not
realize the responsibility resting on them to proclaim the truth in the unwarned cities of America. There are many cities in which
no effort has been made to give to the people the message for this time. I
entreat those who know the truth to take up their neglected work, and no longer
let the Master look on fields whose barrenness rebukes their neglect. Every one who believes the truth is responsible to give to
those in darkness the light he has received. {RH, March 3, 1903 par. 1}
God says to his people, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the
glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." Why, then, do they feel so little
burden to plant the standard of truth in new places? Why do they not obey the
word, "Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax
not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth
not"? Why do they not return to the Lord his own, to be invested in
heavenly merchandise? Why is there not a more earnest call for volunteers to
enter the whitening harvest field? Unless more is done than has been done for
the cities of America, ministers and people will have a heavy account to settle
with the One who has appointed to every man his work.
{RH, March 3, 1903 par. 2}
We repeat the prayer, "Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Are we doing our part to
answer this prayer? We claim to believe that the commission which Christ gave
to his disciples just before his ascension is given also to us. Are we
fulfilling it? May God forgive our terrible neglect in not doing the work that
as yet we have scarcely touched with the tips of our fingers.
When will this work be done? It makes my heart sick and sore to see such blindness on the
part of the people of God. There are thousands in America perishing in ignorance and sin.
And looking afar off to some distant field, those who know the truth are
indifferently passing by the most needy fields close by them. Christ says,
"Go work today in my vineyard." "Say not ye,
There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold,
I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white
already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that
both he that soweth and he that reapeth
may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One
soweth, and another reapeth.
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor:
other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors." {RH, March 3, 1903 par. 3}
Wake up, wake up, my brethren and sisters, and enter the fields in America that
have never been worked. After you have given something for foreign fields, do
not think your duty done. There is work to be done in America. In New York City
a few faithful laborers have been toiling for God.
Have you shown a practical, unselfish interest in their efforts? Have you
helped them by your sympathy and your gifts? I do not want any
one to withhold help from foreign fields, but I do urge our people no
longer to dishonor God by neglecting such fields as
New York City. There is a work to be done in foreign fields, but there is a
work to be done in America which is just as important. In the cities of America
there are people of almost every language. These need the light that God has
given to his church. {RH, March 3, 1903 par. 4}
In the Power of the Spirit
The Lord lives and reigns. Soon he will arise in
majesty to shake terribly the earth. A special message is now to be borne,--a
message that will pierce the spiritual darkness, and convict and convert souls.
"Haste thee, flee for thy life," is the call to be given to those
dwelling in sin. We must now be terribly in earnest. We have not a
moment to spend in criticism and accusation. Let those who have done this in
the past fall on their knees in prayer; and let them beware how they place
their words and their plans in the place of God's words and his plans. Hundreds
are waiting for the warning to escape for their life, and lay hold on the hope
set before them in the gospel. Far less labor is to
be given to those who know the truth, and far more to those who are without God
and without hope in the world. {RH, March 3, 1903 par. 5}
In every part of the world a straightforward message is to be proclaimed in the
power of the Holy Spirit. God says to his workers everywhere, "Cry aloud,
spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their
transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." We need to feel
the importance of proclaiming the gospel message with earnestness and power.
Not with tame, lifeless utterance is it to be given, but with clear, decided,
stirring tones. The messengers themselves must know the power of salvation. {RH, March 3,
1903 par. 6}
We have no time for dwelling on matters that are of no importance. Our time
should be given to proclaiming the last message of mercy to a guilty world. Men
are needed who move under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The sermons
preached by some of our ministers will have to be much more powerful than they
are now, or many backsliders will carry a tame, pointless message, which lulls
people to sleep. Every discourse should be given under a sense of the awful
judgments soon to fall on our world. The message of truth is to be proclaimed
by lips touched with a live coal from the divine altar. Christ refers
to the lifeless, purposeless messages given in our churches, when he says,
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my
mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and
anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." {RH, March 3,
1903 par. 7}
Night
after night I get up at twelve or one o'clock, and walk the floor in intense
anguish, because of the tame messages borne by some of our ministers, when they
have a message of life and death to bear to the people. The ministers
are asleep; the lay members are asleep; and a world is perishing in sin. May God help
them to arouse, and walk and work as men on the borders of the eternal world!
Soon an awful surprise is coming upon the inhabitants of the earth. Suddenly,
with power and great glory, Christ will come. There will then be no time to prepare to meet
him. Now is the time for us to give the warning message. {RH, March 3,
1903 par. 8}
We are stewards, intrusted by our absent Lord with
the care of his household and his interests, which he came to the world to
serve. He has returned to heaven, leaving us in charge, and he expects us to
watch and wait for his second coming. Let us be faithful to our trust, lest
coming suddenly, he finds us sleeping. {RH, March 3, 1903 par. 9}
January 5, 1897 The Unfaithful Servant.
By Mrs. E. G. White.
"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not
sown, and gathering where thou hast not strewed: and I was afraid, and went and
hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord
answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I
have not strewed: thou oughtest therefore to have put
my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine
own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which
hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he
hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth." {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 1}
The teaching of this parable is plain. All the gifts of intellect or of property
which any one has are entrusted to him. They are the Lord's goods, and are to
be used to his honor and glory. They are to be improved and increased by use,
that the Lord may receive returns from them. But the Lord receives no returns
from many talents; for, like the unfaithful servant, those to whom they are
entrusted put them where they are not increased. {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 2}
All in whose hearts selfishness is cherished will listen to the temptations of
Satan, and will act the part of the unfaithful, slothful servant. They will
hide their entrusted treasure, neglecting to use their talents for the Lord.
All such can reap only as they have sown. They have sown sparingly, or not at
all, and they will reap sparingly. But although the Lord has told them this in
words too plain to be honestly misconstrued, they cherish dissatisfaction in
their hearts, and complain that the Lord is a hard master; that they are dealt
hardly and unjustly with. By this they sow in other minds the seeds of
discontent and unbelief. Agents of the enemy, by precept and example they lead
others to neglect to obey God. Disaffection is sown, to yield a harvest of
disaffection. {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 3}
Today this work is being done by many who claim to know God. They speak in a
repining, complaining manner of the Lord's requirements. They do not directly
charge God with being unjust, but they complain of everything touching the
question of using their influence or their means in his service. Whoever they
may be, if those to whom the Lord has entrusted his gifts do not make the best
use of their endowments, if they do not co-operate with the heavenly angels by
trying to be a blessing to their fellow men, they will receive the denunciation
from the Lord, Thou wicked and slothful servant. You had my gifts to use, but
you neglected to use them. You claimed to know me, but your words in regard to
my requirements were unjust. You, who thought you knew so much wickedly
misrepresented me, and led others to think that I was unjustly hard and
exacting. "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." In that day these unfaithful
servants will see their mistake, and will realize that by selfishly putting
their talents where the Lord could receive no increase from them, they have not
only lost all they had, but have lost also the eternal riches. {RH, January 5,
1897 par. 4}
The Lord has spoken regarding those who complain of his dealings with them:
"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have
kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of
Hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set
up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." This spirit is cherished
in the hearts of many. They are not sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and are
discourteous, even to the Lord of Hosts, charging him with partiality and
injustice. But those who reveal this distrustful, murmuring, jealous spirit do
not keep the ordinances of the Lord, and their service is not accepted by him. {RH, January
5, 1897 par. 5}
Never
will a murmur that the Lord has dealt unjustly, reaping where he has not sown,
and gathering where he has not strewed, pass the lips of the true servant of
God.
Those who accept Jesus as their personal Saviour will live lives of humility,
patience, and love. They did not give themselves to the Lord for the sake of the
profit they should receive. They have become one with Christ, as Christ is one with the
Father, and daily they receive their reward in being partakers of the humility,
the reproach, the self-denial, and the self-sacrifice of Christ. They find
their joy in keeping the Lord's ordinances. In true service they find hope, and
peace, and comfort; and with faith and courage they go forward in the path of
obedience, following him who gave his life for them. By their consecration and
devotion they reveal to the world the truth of the words, "I live; yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me." {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 6}
"They
that feared the Lord," writes the prophet Malachi, "spake often one
to another; and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was
written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his
name." Were the words spoken, words of complaint, of faultfinding, of
self-sympathy?--No; in contrast to those who speak against God, those who fear
him speak words of courage, of thankfulness, and of praise. They do not cover
the altar of God with tears and lamentations; they come with faces lighted up
with the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and praise God for his goodness.
{RH, January 5, 1897 par. 7}
Such words make all heaven rejoice. Those who utter them may be poor in worldly
possessions, but by faithfully giving to God the portion he claims, they
acknowledge their indebtedness to him. Self-serving does not
make up the chapters of their life-history. In love and gratitude, with
songs of joy upon their lips, they bring their offerings to God, saying as did
David, Of thine own we freely give thee. "And
they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his
own son that serveth him." Let there be silence while you think whether
you are among the number that fear the Lord, and that think upon his name. {RH,
January 5, 1897 par. 8}
Christians are to recognize the fact that they are doing God's work. They must
be faithful in the improvement of their days and hours, conscientiously
discharging their God-given duties; for God will not accept haphazard work. We
need to fear lest covetousness, which is idolatry, shall become a prevailing
power; lest God's professed people shall stand before him guilty of the same
sins as was the unfaithful servant. Those who truly serve God will fear him,
but not as did the unfaithful servant, who hid his talent in the earth because
he was afraid the Lord would receive his own. They will fear to dishonor their Maker by failing to improve their talents.
{RH, January 5, 1897 par. 9}
Those who work unselfishly, with an eye single to the glory of
God, will grow in humility, in goodness, and in true Christian courtesy toward
God and their brethren. Those who thus grow in humility and obedience will gain a knowledge of God's will, and will have increased power with God. The powers of
darkness will press against them to hinder their progress in the divine life,
and to hedge up the way, that the word of God may not be presented to others;
but they depend upon an arm more mighty to save than
that of man, and in his strength they gain the victory. {RH, January 5, 1897
par. 10}
Christ has identified himself with suffering humanity, and in the lessons given
just prior to his crucifixion, he has plainly specified the work he desires his
servants to do. Any neglect on the part of professed Christians of the duty they
owe to their brethren is an offense against Christ. Those who hide
their talents, who refuse to impart their blessings to others, dishonor Christ in the person of his saints. Please read
the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, and let all who have these illustrations
before them think whether the words are applicable to them. We need to be
filled with the breath and life of Christ, that we may be co-workers with him;
for thousands are unconverted, thousands are dying without hope and without God
in the world. {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 11}
All are to be judged according to their works, not according to their profession.
What revelations will be made in the day of Judgment!
Many who have called themselves Christians will be found to have been not
servants of God, but servants of themselves. Self has been their center;
self-service has been their life-work. By living to please themselves
and to gain all they could for themselves, they have crippled and dwarfed the
capabilities and powers entrusted to them by God. They have not dealt honestly
with God. Their lives have been one long system of robbery. These now complain
against God and their fellow men, because they are not recognized and favored
as they think they ought to be. But their unfaithfulness will be revealed in
that day when the Lord judges the cases of all. He will return "and
discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and
him that serveth him not." {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 12}
In that day those who think that God will accept meager
offerings and unwilling service will be disappointed. God will not put his
superscription upon the work of any man, high or low, rich or poor, that is not
done heartily, faithfully, and with an eye single to his glory. But those who
have belonged to the family of God here below, who have striven to honor his
name, have gained an experience that will make them as kings and priests unto
God; and they will be accepted as faithful servants. To them the words will be
spoken, "Well done, good and faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the
joy of thy Lord." {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 13}
"And I saw a great white throne," writes John, "and him that sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and
the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life;
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works." "And he said unto me, It
is done. . . . He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." "Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they may have
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city." Is not this promise worth everything to us? Is not the reward which
is to be given to every faithful servant large enough? And shall we not make it
our life-work to offer our Maker faithful service, to keep his commandments,
that we may be "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," counted
worthy to "inherit all things"? {RH, January 5, 1897 par. 14}