Search the Community

Search the Scriptures. Dear Bro. Thomas:—It is of the greatest importance that every person acquire the habit of appealing to the Scriptures of truth for the foundation of their faith, and not to any human authority, whether “confessions of faith,” “church standard,” or the opinions of any man even though decorated with D. D., and other collegiate mummery. Search the Scriptures, for in them are contained the words of eternal life, and these are they which testify regarding the Christ; and all Scripture, given by inspiration of God, is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Therefore let the word of God dwell in us richly, and every one prove his own work, that he may have rejoicing in himself and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden. Every facility which can legitimately be brought to render the investigation of Scripture as easy as the subject will admit of, cannot be too extensively known. Many persons have a great deal of Scripture in their memories which exists as mere verbiage,—they fail to compare Scripture with Scripture—don’t collate so as to eliminate the truth, and consequently miss the prime object of Scriptural study—to know what is the mind of the Spirit. In many instances this arises not so much from a wilful perversion of the word as from the inability to see the truth in a connected form, caused either by the want of a talent to classify and arrange portions of holy writ, lying apart, or from a defective education in youth. In the hope that every little may be in some measure successful in helping to contend against the delusive fallacy of “Spiritualizing” and helping some one to use the sword of the Spirit in contending earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, I transcribe the following, which, if you think worthy, you may give a place in the Herald, that unflinching advocate of “the truth.” Fraternally in the one hope, JAMES FOREMAN. June 10th, 1859.