In The Master's Service

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THE GREATEST SIN OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD

Elder David P. Bridgman ... From "Good Will" Dec. 1956

Dear Fellow Pilgrim: This beautiful morning as I begin to meditate on the Scriptures, having just arisen from my bed, I considered the many good things in this life that many of the saints of God are missing, and then I asked why? The answer that came to me was because of sin. The one big sin that destroys more joy and happiness, and more contentment; the sin that keeps them from running the race set before them; the sin that tears down and destroys the better things they may possess in this life, the sin that enables them to bear the fruits of the flesh and thereby prevents them from bearing the fruits of the Spirit.

Dear Kindred in Christ, we can lay this sin aside if we want to bad enough. If we can see the damage it has done and will continue to do, surely we will want to rid ourselves of it badly enough to do something about it. This sin is why we so often fail to meet with God's children at various places, and why we have failed so often to administer to those whom we felt impressed to. It is why we have failed to visit the sick, the shutns, or to write them the card or letter we felt that we should have written them. This great sin has kept numbers of God's children from possessing Godly patience, and kept them from looking to Jesus instead of some poor creature. It has kept countless numbers of God's children from asking for a home in the church, and kept others, who have confessed their sins and come into the church, from receiving the full benefit of this blessing because they have failed to perfect the love of God in their hearts.

You may say that So and So is responsible in my case, but I feel that this great sin is responsible in most cases when we have not received the full benefit from that eternal life that God has planted in our bosom. You might ask, what one great sin can do so much to destroy the spiritual life of God's little children? It is the great sin of UNBELIEF! If you believe God, when He tells you to seek the kingdom of God first, with the promise that all the needed things of life will be added, then you will do as He commands. We will fully rely upon Him for it all, and will ask that He remove from us any natural possession that would prevent us from running the race set before us with patience. Brethren, if I know anything about it, this is the most important task that lies before you, and I know that many of God's children give this no consideration at all. They do not have time, they say, which is to say that they cannot afford to believe God. They say this in action, if not in word. They say by their actions that if we leave our farm, or our place of business on Saturday, or on any other day, we cannot get along. We can work and give some to the church and people will say that he or she is a real Christian, they have done lots. But in doing this they ignore every word our dear Lord has spoken to them, and every still small voice He has whispered in their ears at midnight, when they have pleaded with Him for peace in time of trouble. They soon forget that.

Oh, how awful it is to consider man and fail to consider God! Dear Brother, Sister and Friend, just because you go to church on Sunday, and maybe are liberal in your offerings, that is not enough unless you believe He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. You will not get the desired results unless you do this and will not have that peace that passeth all understanding. You do not possess true contentment and are not happy in your souls. This is a receipt for true happiness: just simply rid yourself of unbelief. That is the only way I knew how to obtain true happiness. Let us consider Mark 9:22-24, "And oft times it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And, straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." The man believed that He was the Christ and the Saviour of the family of God, and he believed in a fundamental sense, but he doubted that He could take care of him in time.

Thousands of God's children be1ieve that He is God and that He saves poor sinners in heaven, but they do not believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Why can we say this? just because they DO NOT diligently seek Him. This is why so many churches have more empty seats than they do occupied seats. This is why so many people care so little, about the many good religious papers that are being published. That awful sin of UNBELIEF causes one to possess the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father but is of the world. John 2:16. Too many of us are like the poor man in Mark 9:24. Brethren, we can rid ourselves of this great disease. We will have to do it personally for ourselves for no one can help us do it. Won't you begin now to work on this awful disease and begin to show your faith by your works, even as James showed his? You will find more true happiness than you could ever imagine.

The above lines have been written in sincerity.