Brother C is thoughtless of his words and actions. Idle words, for which he must render an account in the day of God, are almost continually falling from his lips. He places himself upon the enemy’s ground and, as the result, has not the Spirit of Christ. He will sometime see that he has made a great mistake, that he has been losing precious, golden moments which he might have employed in purifying his own heart. He has been picking flaws in others, living on their mistakes; and this is spiritual starvation. Every revival is liable to bring persons into the church who are not really converted. They hold the truth nominally, but are not sanctified by its sweet influence. Being destitute of grace, they are selfish, hard, and unyielding. Such persons are always unreliable. They will ever be doing and saying things contrary to our faith. The church that has such a burden inflicted upon it deserves pity. The world is in opposition to the church, and Satan and his angels are constantly at war with it. Therefore the defects of these unworthy members are held up before those who are sound in the faith. {5T 286.2}

Bror C er tankeløs i sine ord og handlinger. Tomme ord, hvilke han må aflægge regnskab for på Guds dag, falder næsten hele tiden af hans læber. Han sætter sig selv på fjendens grund og har, som følge deraf, ikke Kristi Ånd. Nogle gange vil han se at han har gjort en stor fejltagelse, at han har mistet dyrebare, gyldne øjeblikke, som han kunne havde brugt til at rense sit eget hjerte. Han har slået revner hos andre, levet på deres fejltagelser; og dette er åndelig sult. Al opvækkelse er tilbøjelig til at få personer ind i menigheden, som ikke er virkelig omvendte. De fremholder sandheden nominelt, men er ikke helliget ved dens liflige indflydelse. Blottet for nåde, er de selviske, (287) hårde og uovergivne. Sådanne personer er altid upålidelige. De vil altid gøre og sige ting modsat vor tro. Den menighed, der har sådan byrde på sig, fortjener medynk. Verden er i imod menigheden og Satan og hans engle er hele tiden i krig med den. Derfor fremholdes disse uværdige medlemmer, for dem, som er sunde i troen.