Kindred Company
The mind can dwell on the great things of God,
which in company, is almost impossible,
unless the company is kindred-
Brother Robert Roberts
~
It is so difficult to get on with men when they are in love with themselves,
and so easy to get on with men when they are in love with God.
Brother Robert Roberts
My Days and My Ways
~
Do not presume on friendship.
Help rather than seek help.
Every man has just enough to do
to manage his own affairs,
and strength enough to endure the evil of the time
with a smile.
Therefore, if you make a practice
of using your friends for your own advantage,
you will scare them off,
and deprive yourself of the value of their sympathy and their cheer.
If you must use them, lean lightly,
and discharge obligations punctually,
and when an opportunity comes, help readily.
Thus, the thin crust of human good may last
you in your evil day.
The Christadelphian 1887
~
It is not pleasant to lose ones old friends,
but if they are determined that we shall teach what we do not believe,
or suppress what we do - to please them,
or forfeit their goodwill and be turned adrift,
we accept the latter, and adrift we go!
Brother John Thomas 1869
~
The Truth first;
friendship and fellowship next,
and a living sacrifice to God ever after...
Brother Robert Roberts
~
The Truth is very old and friendly,
and all who are of the truth are soon old friends;
as will appear shortly, at the great muster of Christ's presence at his coming,
when thousand upon thousands who never heard of each other
till they came to the judgment seat,
will joyfully and affectionately be at home at once...
Brother Robert Roberts
~
The Diary of a Voyage
Be not misled by the public indifference
and the polite skepticism of the age.
It was foretold as a characteristic of the end.
Be not carried away by the tide of practical unbelief that swells and roars on every side.
Open your eyes to truth and fact; embrace them, however unpopular;
hold on to them, however difficult the task for the time.
Make yourselves of that little company
who will be found faithfully looking and prepared for the Lord at his coming;
some of whom have organized this meeting
with no other aim than that of doing the duty of believers in their day,
generation, and town, by upholding the testimony of God,
whether their neighbors will hear or whether they will forbear.
Brother Robert Roberts
1884
~
We must take our example from the good - and not from the evil.
We must, therefore, preach the word, be instant in season and out of season,
reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine.
We must affirm constantly,
that they which believe in God be careful to maintain good works.
The adoption of this plan will be sure to call forth the disfavour of some
who will talk about the standard being too high and the call to duty too incessant;
but against all such murmurings a wise man will set his face as a flint.
The exhortation is the apostle's, the standard is Christ's,
and to tamper with either is a crime.
"Yes, but-" say some,
“We can read it in the Bible for ourselves; we don't want to be told about it?”
What does that mean, but that the commandments are distasteful,
and ought not to be spoken of by one to another?
An enlightened heart,
rejoicing as David did in the statutes and commandments as found in the Word,
rejoices in them as re-echoed from the lips of a brother.
Brother Robert Roberts
1875
~
Do not presume on friendship.
Help rather than seek help.
Every man has just enough to do
to manage his own affairs,
and strength enough to endure the evil of the time
with a smile.
Therefore, if you make a practice
of using your friends for your own advantage,
you will scare them off,
and deprive yourself of the value of their sympathy and their cheer.
If you must use them, lean lightly,
and discharge obligations punctually,
and when an opportunity comes, help readily.
Thus, the thin crust of human good may last
you in your evil day.
The Christadelphian 1887
~
Prov 25:17
Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
Do what you can for people;
utterly disregard of whether they are grateful or not.
The only man who can successfully do this through life
is the man who does good because Christ commands-
and not because people approve.
The Christadelphian 1887
~
As a man's natural tastes and appetites
should be subject to the well-being of the whole body:
so also in the body of Christ,
the benefit of the entire community should overrule
all mere personal interest or self gratification.
Brother F. R. Shuttleworth
~
Dr. Thomas is not an apostle as a matter of commission:
but as a matter of fact,
he has fulfilled the function of an apostle for the truth in relation to this age of the world.
He has brought to light and expounded the gospel when humanly speaking,
it would never have been known in the nineteenth century.
His patient and clear minded studies, providentially directed,
have extracted from the mists of theological absurdity on the one hand,
and philosophical speculation on the other,
the clear shining of the truth as harmoniously developed in the whole scriptures of Moses,
the prophets, and the apostles,
and his self-sacrificing labors have made it known
over an extended circle which would otherwise have remained unilluminated.
This is a fact which no generous and candid mind can ignore.
It is a fact which entitles Dr. Thomas apart from all other considerations,
to the deference and esteem of those who are sufficiently wise to appreciate the truth he has made manifest.
In saying this, we do not inculcate hero worship.
It is a scriptural principle to hold in reputation,
and esteem highly those who are distinguished in the work of ministering the truth to perishing men;
and this principle needs no defense.
It is only strictly accordant with the feeling which actuates the bosom of Deity,
and which will find judicial expression in causing to shine as the stars
those who have turned many to righteousness.
Brother Robert Roberts
The Christadelphian 1865
~
To please everybody is impossible;
but there are those that please nobody.
This is because they seek only to please themselves, and even in this,
in the long run, they entirely fail.
The rule that works best is to seek the good of others
in those ways that righteousness permits.
The Christadelphian
1888
~
Not only rough experience,
but an increasing acquaintance with the nature of things
dispels the fond idea of keeping on good terms with everybody.
The Christadelphian 1895
~
Where there is a profession of obedience, and an external consistency;
we are to throw a broad mantle overall.
Think the best and act the kindliest;
take no notice of all weaknesses you see-forget things.
This is our duty.
It is a misfortune to our own selves
if we have that feverish tendency to be critical which some exhibit
-that unhappy nervousness about other people's failings.
It destroys happiness.
No man can grow spiritually who is in a continual state of acrimony.
Brother Robert Roberts
1868
~
Doesn't anyone know what it is to suffer long?
not to be easily provoked? not to jump to hot conclusions? not to be rash?
not to behave in an unseemly manner?
Yes; everybody understands these beautiful traits of character
with the others mentioned.
Observe the lesson, then, that unless we exhibit these fruits of the spirit,
our belief will go for nothing.
Besides believing the gospel and understanding mysteries, then,
let us see to it that we are long-suffering in our relations to men.
Let us never resent injuries, nor return evil for evil; be not overcome of evil.
Be kind; charity is kind. If we are not kind, we have no part nor lot in this matter;
a selfish individual will not enter into the kingdom of God.
We must look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of other.
Consider others; serve others. Be like Christ,
of whom it is testified that he came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
Kindness consists in doing things that are for the well-being,
convenience, and comfort of others;
and it is part of the duty of those who are Christ's, to distinguish themselves in this way.
If, having a knowledge of the things concerning the kingdom of God
and the name of Christ, we are still outside these acts of kindness,
our knowledge is but an inert principle, which will not save us.
Faith without works is dead.
The kingdom of God will be the administration of the law of kindness;
the things concerning the name of Jesus Christ
are but the doctrinal development of divine kindness.
The truth is, therefore, a system of kindness;
and what has that person to do with it who is not himself kind?
1 Corinthians 13
Brother Robert Roberts
1869
~
Nothing more easily blights friendship
and very good work connected with it,
and nothing is more liable to wreck an ecclesia,
and all the beautiful interests associated with its existence,
than the general habit of neglecting the Scriptural method prescribed
for dealing with matters of wrong (Matt. 18),
and resorting to the natural-man method of talking over evil reports,
instead of either being silent or going to the person concerned.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
That which is commonly talked about as "love"
is not the apostolic "love."
The popular love consists of an emasculated mind and honeyed words.
The apostolic
"knitting together in love"
is on the goodly foundation of
"all riches of the full assurance of UNDERSTANDING."
It is a love springing from identical convictions-
a common love resulting from a common enlightenment;
a mutual affection spontaneously generated by
unity of knowledge and judgment,
and not in the scanty form of "opinion,"
or the cold uncertainty of "views,"
but in the richness of a positive and pronounced
"assurance of understanding" :
enthusiastic convictions, if you will,
without which there can be no true discipleship of Christ.
This is the state of mind that stops not short at
"good words and fair speeches,"
but shows its faith by its "works,"
without which, a man, whatever his knowledge
and understanding, or ability to speak
with even higher than human tongues, is "sounding brass, or tinkling cymbal."
*
There be many fig trees fair and promising to look upon, which,
when the Master comes to inspect them and finds nothing but leaves,
will wither up before his destroying curse.
Brother Robert Roberts
Seasons of Comfort
~
The relationships of Paul toward Timothy and Timothy to Paul
are warmly expresses by the Apostle:
"Timothy, my dearly beloved son;
I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.
I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee." (2 Tim. 1:2-6)
"From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus."
(2 Tim. 3:15).
"Timothy, my beloved son, and faithful to the Lord,
shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every ecclesia. (1 Cor. 4:17)
What bound Paul and Timothy so close together?
It was their mutual respect and love of the Word of God;
their admiration of each other's dedication,
and their determination that divine principles should have first place in their lives.
Paul was stimulated by Timothy; and Timothy was motivated by Paul...
Combined, the aged Apostle and the young disciple, exemplified the words of wisdom:
"The glory of young men is their (spiritual) strength;
and the beauty of the old men is the gray head." (Prov. 20:29)
By manifesting mutual consideration and respect,
by bending our will to the requirements of the Word,
we can strengthen ecclesias and help develop the members thereof,
and so witness to each other and the world without that
"we have been with Jesus and have learned of him."
"No man liveth to himself', scripture teaches.
The example we set and the cooperation we render may help both us and others to more successful living in the Truth.
In that regard, the times are significant, the issues are vital,
we owe it to ourselves and to the ecclesia of which we are members,
to live according to God's way...
Brother H.P. Mansfield
Logos Vol. 50 page 68
~
It pays to take cheery views of other people's intentions.
In a great measure they take their color of thought from ourselves.
A genial countenance thaws the ice everywhere:
A bitter visage clouds the clear surface of the water around us.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
Next to love in the truth, we have to cultivate kindness.
We are to do good unto all men, as we have opportunity.
Christ says that if we do good only to those who do good to us,
we are no better than the Pharisees and the sinners.
Patient commiserative benevolence must characterize our dealings with those without. In the world, from the highest politician to the meanest street sweep,
retaliation is the order of the day.
As soon as anybody shows the cold shoulder, the result is to resent.
This must not be so with us. Christ has given commandment how we ought to walk. John says we deceive ourselves if we say we are children of God,
and do not His commandments.
We are commanded to overcome evil with good, and not return evil for evil.
The good deeds of those who are God's will not depend upon external incitement,
or attraction, or upon personal benefit,
but will bud forth as from an internal sap, and well up as from a spring.
The Ambassador
1868
~
Between the well gifted and the ill gifted there should be no schism.
The one should be modest and kind,
and the other, contented cheerful and kind.
There should be no schism in the body.
Loving cooperation ought to be the rule all around.
It is highly necessary to remember these things.
Brother Robert Roberts
~
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Phil 2:3-5
A gentle heart is like ripe fruit,
which bends so low, that it is at the mercy
of every one that chooses to pluck it,
while the harder fruit keeps out of reach.
Herald of the Age to Come
1852
~
Friendship that is of value -
is a steady stream.
A friend loveth at all times
Prov 17:17
Brother Robert Roberts