Judas was left without excuse in the evil course he afterward
pursued. Judas might have become a doer of the word, as were
eventually Peter and James and John and the other disciples. Jesus gave
precious lessons of instruction, so that those who were associated with
Him might have been converted, and have no need of clinging to the
defects that marred their characters.
The Church Not Perfect
Some people seem to think that upon entering the church they will
have their expectations fulfilled, and meet only with those who are pure
and perfect. They are zealous in their faith, and when they see faults
in church members, they say, “We left the world in order to have no
association with evil characters, but the evil is here also;” and they ask,
as did the servants in the parable, “From whence then hath it tares?”
But we need not be thus disappointed, for the Lord has not warranted
us in coming to the conclusion that the church is perfect; and all our
zeal will not be successful in making the church militant as pure as
the church triumphant. The Lord forbids us to proceed in any violent
way against those whom we think erring, and we are not to deal out
excommunications and denunciations to those who are faulty.
Finite man is likely to misjudge character, but God does not leave
the work of judgment and pronouncing upon character to those who are
not fitted for it. We are not to say what constitutes the wheat, and what
the tares. The time of the harvest will fully determine the character of
the two classes specified under the figure of the tares and the wheat. The
work of separation is given to the angels of God, and not committed into
the hands of any man.
False doctrine is one of the satanic influences that
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work in the church, and brings into it those who are unconverted in
heart. Men do not obey the words of Jesus Christ, and thus seek for
unity in faith, spirit, and doctrine. They do not labor for the unity of
spirit for which Christ prayed, which would make the testimony of
Christ’s disciples effective in convincing the world that God had sent
His Son into the world, “that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” If the unity for which Christ prayed
existed among the people of God, they would bear living testimony,
would send forth a bright light to shine amid the moral darkness of the
world.
Satan Permitted to Tempt
Instead of the unity which should exist among believers, there is
disunion; for Satan is permitted to come in, and through his specious
deceptions and delusions he leads those who are not learning of Christ
meekness and lowliness of heart, to take a different line from the church,
and break up, if possible, the unity of the church. Men arise speaking
perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. They claim
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that God has given them great light; but how do they act under its
influence? Do they pursue the course that the two disciples pursued
on their journey to Emmaus? When they received light, they returned
and found those whom God had led and was still leading, and told them
how they had seen Jesus and had talked with Him.
Have the men who have claimed to have light conc