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 Sometimes when a part of a church insists on and adopts the wrong, had I not better yield than to create division in the church? A church that requires disobedience to God to maintain peace in it is already an apostate church; it has rejected God as its only Ruler. For one to go with a church in a wrong is to encourage them in apostasy. It injures both the church and the person going with the church in the wrong. While forbearance and love should be exercised in seeking to show them the right and persuading them to do it, it is sinful to so affiliate with them as to encourage and build up a church that is going wrong. It is a greater sin for those who know it is wrong to go with those in the wrong than for those who think it right, because those who know it wrong sin against light and knowledge. The greater sinners in every congregation that departs from God's order in these things are those who know the wrongs, yet remain with and build up the congregations in the practice of the wrongs. “That servant, which knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.” (Luke 12: 47, 48, R. V.) There can be no doubt that those who cling to the church and build it up, knowing that it is maintaining practices contrary to the word of God, are worse sinners before God than those who introduce them believing they are right. Sometimes persons think that as the Lord tolerated these sins in Israel he will tolerate them under Christ. This would be to subvert the purpose of his examples so as to make what he gave as a warning to be avoided an example to be followed. It would nullify the purpose of the Jewish law. (See 1 Cor, 10: 1-10.)

Often our lifelong friends and associates are in the church, our children and grandchildren are there, our brothers and sisters. Shall I leave them or remain with them? To leave them is to bear earnest testimony to them for the truth and to warn them there is danger and ruin in departing from the law of God; to go with them is to 17