Individual Preparation for Christ’s Coming
By C. D. Cook
BRO. C. D. COOK writes from Kansas: When I think of the time in which we are living, and what manner of persons we ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness, it causes me to fear and tremble, lest I shall at last be weighed in the balances and found wanting. Let us bear in mind that God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, and then make an extra effort to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. So that when the Lord, who is our life, shall appear, we may appear with him in glory. Let us bear in mind that we are under the sound of the last message of mercy, and that the next event is to be the Son of Man upon the white cloud, and if one unpardoned sin is then found against us, it will forever shut us out of the kingdom. Oh, awful thought! to be banished from the presence of God and the holy angels forever. Let us remember that each of us has an individual work to do. Our brethren, our sisters, our friends, cannot save us; but we can save ourselves by living out the truths of God's word. And then, others seeing our good works may be led to glorify our Father which is in Heaven. While reading the question which W. Randall asked Bro. Andrews concerning the testimonies, it caused my heart to ache, and I could not refrain from tears, as I saw the gifts that God has placed in the church to point out the sins of poor erring selfish mortals whom God designs to save, if possible, so lightly esteemed and spoken against by one professing to be trying to live out the truths of God's holy word. I feel as though I would like to take Bro. R. by the hand and say, My dear brother, be careful lest you mislead and misguide precious ones, and cause them to be shut out of the kingdom. May the Lord help us to dig deep, and lay our foundation upon the rock Christ Jesus.