1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org 1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

11.07.2015 Views

sore distressed. The Apostle assures us that this is theDivine will; and that such a prayer would be in accordancewith it. He says that God will not suffer us to betempted above that we are able, but will with every temptationprovide also a way of escape. The temptationsare of the Adversary, and of our own fallen natures--through our own flesh, and through the weaknesses ofothers. God is not responsible for these; but He is ableto guide the way of His people that they shall not beoverwhelmed in these natural difficulties, weaknesses,besetments, nor by the wiles of the Adversary."DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE"There never was a time when there was greater needof this petition than at the present. The Evil One isspecially seeking to trap and ensnare the Lord's peopleat the present time; and the Scriptures inform us thatGod is permitting this; and that thus He is sending strongdelusions upon the world and upon the nominal church.Our Father is permitting this because the time has comefor a complete separation of the "wheat" from the "tares."He has promised, however, that those who are truly ofthe "wheat" class--the sanctified in Christ Jesus, who areseeking to walk in His steps--shall not be stumbled, shallnever fall, but shall have an abundant entrance ministeredunto them into the everlasting Kingdom. The question,then, is one of loyalty of heart to the Lord.The trial of this "day shall try the work of every man[in the Church] of what sort it is." This trial will be sopage 81severe that if it were possible the "very elect" would bedeceived; but this will not be possible; for the Lord willspecially care for these. Nevertheless, the Lord will beinquired of by His people in respect to these matterswhich He has already promised, and as they pray, "Deliverus from the Evil One," they surely will labor in thesame direction. It is our expectation that very shortlynow the forces of evil will gain much greater strengththan at present, "with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."Meantime the Lord is staying the adverse forcesthat His true people may put on the armor of God andbe able to stand when the evil day shall come.R4984 : page 81====================THE SCRIPTURAL RULE FOR ADJUSTING MISUNDERSTANDINGSWE CANNOT IMAGINE a case in which abrother with average intelligence wouldneed comfort and counsel in a misunderstandingother than that for which the

Lord has provided in Matt. 18:15-17. If hehas been in the habit of seeking sympathyin a busy-bodying manner, the sooner heknows that his course is wrong the better.He should learn to use his own mind alonglines where there is positive instruction inthe Scriptures. The Lord says to any one who has aughtagainst his brother, "Go and tell him his fault betweenthee and him alone." If the matter is too small to mentionto the brother, it is too small to notice and shouldbe forgotten.There are no exceptions to the rule laid down in Matt. 18:15-17;but there might be, under some circumstances,an interpretation of the rule. For instance, if the matterwere in a family, there might be circumstances in whichit would be proper to go to the head of the family. If itwere in an institution, where the individual might bemerely a representative of the Society, it would be properto go to the head of the Society. Such a course wouldresult from following Matt. 18:15, in its logical trend.But these are minor applications of the rule, which isneither voided nor avoided, but in applying which wisdomis being used in determining how the matter may be carriedout.There is no doubt that much of the trouble in theworld is the result of misunderstanding. It therefore behoovesevery one of the Lord's people to "put on love,which is the bond of perfectness," and to overlook muchof what others do. (Col. 3:14.) And yet it would beproper for one who thinks that he has been wronged togo to the offending brother and have a clear understanding.To do so would result favorably in nearly everycase.The instruction in Matt. 18:15-17 is given, of course,only to the brethren, the Church, and is not, therefore, tobe applied outside. But whoever learns to apply this ruleto the brethren will find that it commends itself to hisbest judgment as a wise course of conduct in all the affairsof life. Thus his natural inclination will be to applythe same principles in connection with worldly mattersand worldly people. He must, however, use wisdom inconsidering which would be the wise way to deal withthe world. Some of the deep and precious things whichbelong to the Church the world would resent. So theLord admonishes that we should not "cast our pearls beforeswine."While we are endeavoring to do good to all men, yetin the case of the brethren there should be no discriminationin this matter. We might say, however, that some ofthe Lord's people seem to be unduly and unreasonablyexercised along some lines. For instance, if a brothershould find another brother in the Truth who seemed todiscriminate in his feelings and apparently to be more appreciativeof another than of himself, he should not takeoffense. He should say, "There are differences of characterand temperament; and Brother B. might commend

sore distressed. The Apostle assures us that this is theDivine will; and that such a prayer would be in accordancewith it. He says that God will not suffer us to betempted above that we are able, but will with every temptationprovide also a way of escape. The temptationsare of the Adversary, and of our own fallen natures--through our own flesh, and through the weaknesses ofothers. God is not responsible for these; but He is ableto guide the way of His people that they shall not beoverwhelmed in these natural difficulties, weaknesses,besetments, nor by the wiles of the Adversary."DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE"There never was a time when there was greater needof this petition than at the present. The Evil One isspecially seeking to trap and ensnare the Lord's peopleat the present time; and the Scriptures inform us thatGod is permitting this; and that thus He is sending strongdelusions upon the world and upon the nominal church.Our Father is permitting this because the time has comefor a complete separation of the "wheat" from the "tares."He has promised, however, that those who are truly ofthe "wheat" class--the sanctified in Christ Jesus, who areseeking to walk in His steps--shall not be stumbled, shallnever fall, but shall have an abundant entrance ministeredunto them into the everlasting Kingdom. The question,then, is one of loyalty of heart to the Lord.The trial of this "day shall try the work of every man[in the Church] of what sort it is." This trial will be sopage 81severe that if it were possible the "very elect" would bedeceived; but this will not be possible; for the Lord willspecially care for these. Nevertheless, the Lord will beinquired of by His people in respect to these matterswhich He has already promised, and as they pray, "Deliverus from the Evil One," they surely will labor in thesame direction. It is our expectation that very shortlynow the forces of evil will gain much greater strengththan at present, "with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."Meantime the Lord is staying the adverse forcesthat His true people may put on the armor of God andbe able to stand when the evil day shall come.R4984 : page 81====================THE SCRIPTURAL RULE FOR ADJUSTING MISUNDERSTANDINGSWE CANNOT IMAGINE a case in which abrother with average intelligence wouldneed comfort and counsel in a misunderstandingother than that for which the

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