Chapter 29—Influence of Unbelief The church in ----- has greatly backslidden from God. It is no longer in a state of healthful prosperity. Each individual member of the church has had burdens and discouragements of his own to bear, but these he should have borne and kept his soul alive before God without weakening others in the church. He should have added to the strength of the church instead of diminishing it. Brother C has not taken a position to strengthen his own faith or that of the church. He has been acting on the side of the enemy to dishearten and discourage. Satan is constantly encouraging unbelief. He notes the mistakes and failings of Christ’s professed followers, and taunts the angels of God with them. He is an accuser of the brethren, and he will influence as many as possible to do the same work. Those who take it upon themselves to watch their neighbor’s garden instead of weeding their own plot of ground will surely find their own gardens so grown up to weeds that every precious plant will be crowded out. {5T 285.2}

Menigheden i ___ ___ er faldet stærkt bort fra Gud. Den er ikke længere i en sund tilstand. Hvert enkelt medlem i menigheden har haft sin egen byrde og skuffelse at bære, men dette burde han have båret og holdt deres sjæle i live, for Gud, uden at svække andre i menigheden. Han burde have lagt til menighedens styrke, i stedet for at formindske den. Bror C har ikke et standpunkt, der styrker hans egen tro eller menighedens. (286) Han har handlet på fjendens side og berøvet medlemmerne modet. Satan ansporer hele tiden til vantro. Han bemærker Kristi bekendende efterfølgeres fejltagelser og fejl og håner Guds engle for det. Han er brødrenes anklager og han vil påvirke så mange så muligt, til at gøre det samme. Dem som påtager sig at vogte deres næstes have i stedet for at lue deres eget lille grundstykke, vil visselig finde deres egne haver så overgroede med ukrudt, at alle kostbare planter er dækkede til.