For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
A person can do nothing against the truth but only for it, and doing what is honest remains right even if others judge him disapproved, calling him to examine and prove whether he is in the faith and whether Christ is within him. Conscience and the Holy Spirit never lead anyone to take a stand against the truth, for God gives no commission to do so and never leads in crooked paths contrary to truth and righteousness. Ministers and all correction and authority must serve the truth to build up and not to destroy, exalting it and working in harmony rather than sowing doubt, shaking faith, or following private judgment away from it. No opposition can ultimately prevail against, hinder, or overthrow the truth, but efforts to suppress, attack, or persecute it only cause it to spread more widely, shine more clearly, and bear away the victory by the Lord's providence. Contempt, reproach, restriction of conscience, imprisonment, hostile meetings and books, and affliction of messengers only bring the truth forward by awakening interest, leading people to hear, examine, and decide for it, while men may resist men but cannot resist the work of God who stands by His messenger.
Meaning and Personal Duty
Nothing can be done against the truth, but only for it, and to do what is honest remains right even when others judge the doer as disapproved. The call is to examine oneself and prove whether one is in the faith, choosing to do honest good rather than doing evil merely in order to appear approved.
Conscience and the Holy Spirit never lead a person to take a position against the truth, and God gives no commission to do so. God is a God of truth who never leads anyone to walk in crooked paths directly contrary to the principles of truth and righteousness, so claims of conscience or of the Spirit do not authorize conduct opposed to them.
Ministers must act only to support the truth and never to oppose it, exalting it and triumphing with it and making a success of their work. Faithfulness requires using entrusted talents in the appointed work instead of framing a course of private judgment away from it, and standing approved by working in harmony with brethren in the Spirit of Christ to advance the work. Working for the truth forbids sowing a single doubt, showing unbelief in the testimonies, and shaking the faith of others, for that is Satan's special work and does not bring souls nearer to God nor make them stronger in truth, devotion, piety, purity, and holiness. Past fruit and the judgment test the work, whether it elevates the standard rather than lowering it to a common level, serves Jehovah rather than Baal, brings gold, silver, and precious stones able to stand the fires of the last days, puts on every piece of the armor, and goes forth weeping bearing precious seed to return with rejoicing bringing sheaves.
Christian correction and discipline must serve the truth and build up rather than destroy, and apostolic authority is for edification and not destruction. The truth belongs with the call for each person to examine and prove whether he is in the faith and whether Christ is within, lest he be reprobate. The prayer is to do no evil and to do what is honest, with gladness when ministers are weak if believers are strong, and with desire for their perfection and strength.
Opposition Serves the Truth
Nothing done against the truth can ultimately prevail against it, hinder it, harm it, or defeat it, but can only serve its cause. Efforts to suppress the gospel instead spread it more widely. By providence the Lord causes truth to bear away the victory, and when those who walk humbly with God trusting Him alone witness His salvation, hearers receive the word, decide for the truth, and become deeply interested.
Attacks help the truth by drawing attention to it and by strengthening the resolve of others to defend it. Truth shines more clearly under opposition and under Satan's sophistries and cannot be defeated by them, so God's people are to present it plainly and decisively, trusting its strength as they prepare others for the perils of the last days.
Men may resist men, but they cannot resist the work of God, and no human threat or effort to silence reproof can overthrow the truth. The Lord lives and rules in heaven and on earth and stands beside His messenger to supply words that expose hidden darkness and shame the enemies of righteousness, so that silencing one word only leads to many more words being given, and even bringing the work before authorities so it is better understood cannot succeed against it. Those who try to bring God to their own terms act without knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent, in whom believing brings everlasting life instead of perishing. When God is working and manifesting His power, to place oneself under the enemy's power and work against the light and evidences of the Spirit leaves no excuse of ignorance, resting only on false reasoning, perversion of words and positions, and misunderstanding, for God is jealous and will not be trifled with, and to disbelieve His manifested power is very near the sin against the Holy Spirit.
Persecution and contempt serve to bring truth forward, for through the affliction of God's messengers people hear of God, examine the truth, and are stirred from indifference. Efforts to restrict liberty of conscience and every reproach can therefore help awaken minds, causing sympathy and interest. When believers were refused the use of a baptistry and driven to baptize in a lake, the opposition created sympathy and awakened an interest that would not otherwise have existed, so the effort to block the work only advanced it. No evil work lasts long but comes to nothing, and everything said and done against those who do God's words, while they hold fast to Jesus, results in confirming and strengthening them in the faith, and if God allows evil to triumph for a while it is only so that final victory may be more certain.
Imprisonment in Russia was met with confidence that the truth would still go forward there. Five ministers concentrated their efforts at Ashfield and Petersham to make the proclamation of no effect, yet souls were constantly added and more than forty embraced the truth, with intense opposition keeping it a live subject and constantly bringing souls in. When direct opposition failed, opponents tried to force believers out of their hired pleasant hall and to deny any other hall except at enormous prices, which forced the erection of a cheap commodious church to hold the people. When ministers gathered against the presentation of Bible truth and preached opposition discourses, God helped in reviewing and answering them and made that opposition the means of great good, so interest did not abate. Misrepresentations and falsehoods, the circulation of hostile books, rival meetings held to draw people away, and personal attacks on advocates of the truth did nothing of consequence against it and ended in serving its progress.
A person can do nothing against the truth but only for it, and doing what is honest remains right even if others judge him disapproved, calling him to examine and prove whether he is in the faith and whether Christ is within him. Conscience and the Holy Spirit never lead anyone to take a stand against the truth, for God gives no commission to do so and never leads in crooked paths contrary to truth and righteousness. Ministers and all correction and authority must serve the truth to build up and not to destroy, exalting it and working in harmony rather than sowing doubt, shaking faith, or following private judgment away from it. No opposition can ultimately prevail against, hinder, or overthrow the truth, but efforts to suppress, attack, or persecute it only cause it to spread more widely, shine more clearly, and bear away the victory by the Lord's providence. Contempt, reproach, restriction of conscience, imprisonment, hostile meetings and books, and affliction of messengers only bring the truth forward by awakening interest, leading people to hear, examine, and decide for it, while men may resist men but cannot resist the work of God who stands by His messenger.
Meaning and Personal Duty
Nothing can be done against the truth, but only for it, and to do what is honest remains right even when others judge the doer as disapproved. The call is to examine oneself and prove whether one is in the faith, choosing to do honest good rather than doing evil merely in order to appear approved.
Conscience and the Holy Spirit never lead a person to take a position against the truth, and God gives no commission to do so. God is a God of truth who never leads anyone to walk in crooked paths directly contrary to the principles of truth and righteousness, so claims of conscience or of the Spirit do not authorize conduct opposed to them.
Ministers must act only to support the truth and never to oppose it, exalting it and triumphing with it and making a success of their work. Faithfulness requires using entrusted talents in the appointed work instead of framing a course of private judgment away from it, and standing approved by working in harmony with brethren in the Spirit of Christ to advance the work. Working for the truth forbids sowing a single doubt, showing unbelief in the testimonies, and shaking the faith of others, for that is Satan's special work and does not bring souls nearer to God nor make them stronger in truth, devotion, piety, purity, and holiness. Past fruit and the judgment test the work, whether it elevates the standard rather than lowering it to a common level, serves Jehovah rather than Baal, brings gold, silver, and precious stones able to stand the fires of the last days, puts on every piece of the armor, and goes forth weeping bearing precious seed to return with rejoicing bringing sheaves.
Christian correction and discipline must serve the truth and build up rather than destroy, and apostolic authority is for edification and not destruction. The truth belongs with the call for each person to examine and prove whether he is in the faith and whether Christ is within, lest he be reprobate. The prayer is to do no evil and to do what is honest, with gladness when ministers are weak if believers are strong, and with desire for their perfection and strength.
Opposition Serves the Truth
Nothing done against the truth can ultimately prevail against it, hinder it, harm it, or defeat it, but can only serve its cause. Efforts to suppress the gospel instead spread it more widely. By providence the Lord causes truth to bear away the victory, and when those who walk humbly with God trusting Him alone witness His salvation, hearers receive the word, decide for the truth, and become deeply interested.
Attacks help the truth by drawing attention to it and by strengthening the resolve of others to defend it. Truth shines more clearly under opposition and under Satan's sophistries and cannot be defeated by them, so God's people are to present it plainly and decisively, trusting its strength as they prepare others for the perils of the last days.
Men may resist men, but they cannot resist the work of God, and no human threat or effort to silence reproof can overthrow the truth. The Lord lives and rules in heaven and on earth and stands beside His messenger to supply words that expose hidden darkness and shame the enemies of righteousness, so that silencing one word only leads to many more words being given, and even bringing the work before authorities so it is better understood cannot succeed against it. Those who try to bring God to their own terms act without knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent, in whom believing brings everlasting life instead of perishing. When God is working and manifesting His power, to place oneself under the enemy's power and work against the light and evidences of the Spirit leaves no excuse of ignorance, resting only on false reasoning, perversion of words and positions, and misunderstanding, for God is jealous and will not be trifled with, and to disbelieve His manifested power is very near the sin against the Holy Spirit.
Persecution and contempt serve to bring truth forward, for through the affliction of God's messengers people hear of God, examine the truth, and are stirred from indifference. Efforts to restrict liberty of conscience and every reproach can therefore help awaken minds, causing sympathy and interest. When believers were refused the use of a baptistry and driven to baptize in a lake, the opposition created sympathy and awakened an interest that would not otherwise have existed, so the effort to block the work only advanced it. No evil work lasts long but comes to nothing, and everything said and done against those who do God's words, while they hold fast to Jesus, results in confirming and strengthening them in the faith, and if God allows evil to triumph for a while it is only so that final victory may be more certain.
Imprisonment in Russia was met with confidence that the truth would still go forward there. Five ministers concentrated their efforts at Ashfield and Petersham to make the proclamation of no effect, yet souls were constantly added and more than forty embraced the truth, with intense opposition keeping it a live subject and constantly bringing souls in. When direct opposition failed, opponents tried to force believers out of their hired pleasant hall and to deny any other hall except at enormous prices, which forced the erection of a cheap commodious church to hold the people. When ministers gathered against the presentation of Bible truth and preached opposition discourses, God helped in reviewing and answering them and made that opposition the means of great good, so interest did not abate. Misrepresentations and falsehoods, the circulation of hostile books, rival meetings held to draw people away, and personal attacks on advocates of the truth did nothing of consequence against it and ended in serving its progress.