Henry, A. R.
Nashville, Tennessee
June 24, 1904
Portions of this letter are published in 5MR 445-446.
My brother A. R. Henry,—
I have a message for you. Let the longings of your soul for the rest of your life be after God. Is it well with your soul? Consider, O consider, and be wise, now, just now. The Lord has charged me to tell you that there is hope for you if you will turn about and serve Him with humility of heart. Break with the tempter, and take your stand under the bloodstained banner of Prince Emmanuel. Spiritual life is offered you if you will repent and obey the law of God. If you will submit your will to the will of Christ and accept of His salvation, you will be justified through the merits of the crucified and risen Saviour. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 1
There is no safety in leaving Christ out of your life for one moment. A vigilant foe is constantly watching to find you off your guard, that he may take you captive. In perfect conformity to the will of God there is perfect safety. All the powers of the being are to be employed in the service of God. We are to ask and receive the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the life of the soul. This is its happiness. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” [Philippians 2:12, 13.] It is that we may have eternal life that God asks us to obey His law. The soul must have an indwelling Christ, or die. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 2
The whole heavenly universe is subject to the laws of heaven. To these laws also man is subject. It is only by observing these laws that he can preserve the harmony and order of his being. If man disregards these laws, the balance of his being is destroyed, and a piece of God’s workmanship becomes a wreck. Obedience to God’s laws brings life and health and peace and joy; disobedience brings weakness and death. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 3
God calls upon those who have backslidden to make a determined effort to obtain liberty and life, regardless of what others may say or do. Self is to be kept very humble. We cannot exalt ourselves and be safe. He who exalts himself and seeks to thwart the purposes of God is in fearful danger. Unless he sees his peril and makes a change, it would be better for him if he had never been born. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 4
I have a message for those in Battle Creek who have been overcome by the temptation of the adversary. I call upon those who are accusing their brethren and who are taking an attitude that hinders the Lord’s work to come into harmony. Criticize yourselves, not your brethren. Come into union with God and Christ; then there will be unity among you and your brethren. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 5
My brethren, I declare to you the only safe course you can pursue for your present and eternal good is to lay hold on the hope set before you in the gospel. “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect the great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?” [Hebrews 2:1-4.] 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 6
“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. For this Man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house. For every house is builded by some man; but He that built all things is God. And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a Son over His own house; whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.” [Hebrews 3:1-6.] 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 7
O my brother, why have you made so many strange and crooked paths for your feet? God laid upon you the responsibility of setting your children a correct example in business and religious matters. Have you done this? 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 8
I beg of you, for Christ’s sake, not to find fault with others, but to deal with your own mistakes. Notwithstanding the trouble and perplexity you have made for others, the Lord is very merciful, and if you repent, He will pardon you. But you cannot gain favor with God by trying to make your brethren appear in the worst light. Your only hope is to deal honestly with yourself. Keep away from worldly lawyers. This is the rock on which many have wrecked their barque. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 9
We are deeply grieved to know that there are in Battle Creek those who, though professing to be medical missionaries, are not always Christlike in their dealings with their brethren. They have need of healing. But it will not help you to point to their deficiencies. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 10
There is hope for all who repent. “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted Me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their hearts; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest. Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 11
“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” [Verses 7-14.] This you have not done. And because you have been regarded as a man of business ability, your influence has led others in wrong paths. I beg of you to stop and consider. Do not make a raid on your brethren. Leave them with God. Take hold of your own case. The question is one of life or death for you. Remember that if God is merciful to you, He will be merciful to others. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 12
Remember that to a large degree you have originated the difficulties that have reacted on you. Improve the opportunity offered you to turn to God in repentance. You are not to convince others of their wrongdoing, but to take yourself in hand, and seek the Lord with all the powers of your being. “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke.” [Verses 15, 16.] Yes, they talked in a heated, excited manner. They stamped their feet and were determined to carry out their plans, even as you have been. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 13
Your perceptions have been sadly interwoven with evil; but it is not too late to repent. Now, just now, the Spirit is calling you to return to the Lord. You have no happiness, no peace. Your desire to obtain money has been your snare. You have allowed this desire to lead you to embarrass the work of God. But is the money that you have obtained worth the anxiety, the toil, the misconception, the perplexity that it costs? 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 14
You are needy, helpless, undone. Plead the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Cease your rebellion against God. Open the door of your heart to the knock of the heavenly Guest. Your prayers are worthless unless you have faith in the One who gave His life for you. He died on the cross of Calvary that you might not perish. This is the great day of atonement, in which all are to humble their hearts before God, trusting in the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 15
The gifts of the Spirit, the promises of pardon, of consolation, the proffers of assistance, the invitations of love—all the provisions peculiar to the gospel are for you. However sinful you may have been, God will receive you if you will now repent. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Open your cold, proud heart to the Saviour. Confess, confess your sins. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” [1 John 1:9.] Confess your own sins, and leave others to confess theirs. Make everything right between your soul and God. Accept Christ’s gracious invitation. He will break the delusion that is upon your mind if you will lay hold of His strength. Will you not cease working in opposition to God? You have wrought out much on Satan’s side, yet the Lord’s hand is stretched out still. He is calling on you to repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Let your heart break; let your love go out to Him who gave His life that you might live. Let your will become submissive to the will of God. Then you will drink at a purer fountain, even the fountain of living water. 19LtMs, Lt 209, 1904, par. 16