Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29. AG 301.1
I have a continual longing for Christ to be formed within, the hope of glory. I long to be beautified every day with the meekness and gentleness of Christ, growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ up to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus. I must as an individual, through the grace given me of Jesus Christ, keep my own soul in health by keeping it as a divine channel through which His grace, His love, His patience, His meekness, shall flow to the world. This is my duty and no less the duty of every church member who claims to be a son or a daughter of God. AG 301.2
The Lord Jesus has made His church the depositary of sacred truth. He has left with her the work of carrying out His purposes and His plans to save the souls for whom He has manifested such interest, such unmeasured love. Like the sun in relation to our world, He rises amid the moral darkness—the Sun of Righteousness. He said of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). He said to His followers, “Ye are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).... By reflecting the image of Jesus Christ, by the beauty and holiness of their characters, by their continual self-denial and their separation from all idols, large or small, they reveal that they have learned in the school of Christ.46Our High Calling, 247. AG 301.3
The Scripture says of Christ that grace was poured into His lips that He might “know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary” (Psalm 45:2; Isaiah 50:4). And the Lord bids us, “Let your speech be alway with grace” (Colossians 4:6) “that it may minister grace unto the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). AG 301.4
In seeking to correct or reform others we should be careful of our words. They will be a savor of life unto life or of death unto death.... All who would advocate the principles of truth need to receive the heavenly oil of love. Under all circumstances reproof should be spoken in love. Then our words will reform but not exasperate. Christ by His Holy Spirit will supply the force and the power. This is His work.47Christ's Object Lessons, 336, 337. AG 301.5