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کورونا وائرس اور بین الاقوامی ڈاک سروس میں رکاوٹ کی وجہ سے ، ہم نے اپنی ’مُفت چھپی ہوئی کتاب کی سروس‘ کو عارضی طور پر معطّل کردیا ہے۔
اِس صورتحال کی روشنی میں ہم اِس وقت آپ کو کتابیں بھیجنے کے قابل نہیں ہیں۔
دُعا ہے کہ یہ وبائی بیماری جلد ہی ختم ہوجائے اور ڈاک سروس بحال ہو جائے۔

خطبات

Subject 23 : The Epistle to the HEBREWS

[Chapter 5-2] We Too Are Spiritual Priests of God (Hebrew 5:1-14)

We Too Are Spiritual Priests of God
(Hebrew 5:1-14)
“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.’ As He also says in another place:
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’;
who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek,’ of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
 
 
Hebrews chapter 5 explains the High Priest of the earth and the heavenly High Priest by drawing a comparison between the two. The earthly High Priest was appointed from the descendants of Levi to offer sacrificial offerings to God in order to blot out his people’s sins. Even such High Priests of the earth appointed by God had many weaknesses, for they were all human and consequently imperfect. The High Priest could therefore have compassion on his people for their weaknesses and offer sacrifices on their behalf, for he himself was also weak.
Let’s examine today’s Scripture passage by comparing the Old Testament with the New Testament. During the age of the Old Testament, only Aaron’s descendants could become High Priests, but these descendants of Aaron also had many fleshly weaknesses just like everyone else. The role of the High Priest during the days of the Old Testament was that of an interceder mediating between God and the people of Israel. In a sense, this was similar to the role played by a real estate broker meditating between a seller and a buyer, as it was the High Priest’s job to work as a bridge between God and His people to reconcile them. That is why the High Priest offered sacrifices of atonement for the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement. On this Day of Atonement, which fell on the tenth day of the seventh month, the High Priest mediated between God and the people of Israel by offering sacrifices of atonement.
Along the same vein, the role of today’s spiritual priests in this present age of the New Testament is preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to everyone all over the world. These earthly priests are also weak in their flesh, and therefore they can sympathize with all sinners and heal them from their iniquities by preaching the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit to them. Indeed, it is exactly like this because the spiritual priests in this present age of the New Testament are also weak that they can take all the sins of everyone in this world to God, offer an interceding sacrifice of atonement with compassion, and thus help everyone reach their salvation from all their sins. It is these spiritual priests that make it possible for the countless sinners living in this world to know the righteousness of God, believe in it, and thereby be washed from all their sins. Just as the High Priest of the Old Testament fulfilled his priesthood for the people of Israel, in this present age, the righteous who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can also fulfill their priesthood for today’s sinners, for they are able to lead them to the way of salvation by preaching to them this genuine gospel. These sinners can therefore receive the remission of sins by faith and obtain everlasting life if they listen to the gospel of salvation, which has derived from the sacrificial system that God had instituted for His people’s remission of sins. This work is a righteous work that can save all who believe in God’s just salvation and judgment from all their sins. It’s thanks to this work that everyone in this world can be saved from all their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And God has appointed us the born-again as His spiritual priests to entrust this work to us.
It’s written in Hebrews 5:2-3, “He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins.” This passage is speaking of the High Priest of the Old Testament. It explains that the High Priest of the Old Testament did not offer sacrifices just for sinners, but he had to first offer sacrifices for his own sins committed out of his weaknesses. In other words, every High Priest had to offer sacrifices for himself and for his house first, and then he could offer sacrifices of atonement for his people.
Likewise, we ourselves must be remitted from all our sins first by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before we can offer sacrifices to blot out anyone else’s sins. This is an extremely important lesson for all the righteous saints. It teaches us that we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have now become God’s faithful priests on this earth. And this was possible only because we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Because we believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit before everyone else, God has now enabled us to preach the way of salvation to everyone, from those who are following in our footsteps and to those who still remain ignorant of this way. As we now believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can all say to the countless people in this world who are still ignorant of this gospel that we have the Truth that will make it possible for them to receive the remission of sins.
Moreover, Hebrews 5:2 also reminds us that we all commit sin against God, for we are all human. It teaches us that even though we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are still vulnerable to fall into our weaknesses, for we cannot but still have many shortcomings in God’s sight. In times like this, however, we can thank our Lord for the fact that all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit have already become clean despite such shortcomings. Therefore, even though there is no one on this earth who is completely perfect and flawless in his flesh, we have become perfect in God’s sight, for we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Words cannot express just how thankful I am that I can say this with every confidence.
As we carry on with our lives in this world, all of us who know the righteousness of God are always preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to those who still do not know this gospel. However, even though we have already received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is still very important for us to remember that what God wants from each and every one of us is the sacrifice of faith, one that is offered by believing in the righteousness of God. Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have found the Truth that enables everyone to reach true salvation. Now, everyone on this earth must be saved and receive new life by believing in God’s righteousness.
 
 
An Office Selected by God
 
Hebrews 5:4 says that not just anyone can become a High Priest, as it’s written, “And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.” Of course, this passage refers to not only Aaron the High Priest of the Old Testament, but also Jesus Christ.
Even the office of the earthly High Priest is an exceedingly honorable position, and therefore not just anyone can take this honor for himself. Here, the Scripture makes it clear that only those who are called by God like Aaron can fulfill this priesthood. This is the providence of salvation that God dispenses through His priests. God carries out His work through the priests established by Him. In the age of the Old Testament, God granted the priesthood only to the Levites, one of the twelve tribes of Israel; and among the Levites, only the descendants of Aaron could assume the office of the High Priest. It is very important for us to remember here that John the Baptist in the New Testament was a descendant of Aaron from the Old Testament.
This is congruent to the requirements of the sacrificial system which was established by God, which reminds us that God is the Lawgiver of salvation governing over all the rules of salvation, as well their Executor. God not only defined and explained sin through His Law, but He also established the law of salvation and executed it through His High Priests. In the Old Testament, it was through Aaron’s descendants ministering as High Priests that God enforced the law of salvation, while in the New Testament, it was through John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, the High Priests of the Kingdom of Heaven, that God fulfilled salvation once and for all, thus bringing everlasting life and the remission of sins to all those who believe in this Truth and follow it. If God has established the law of salvation requiring everyone living in this world to receive the remission of their sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then all who still remain unsaved ought to obey this will of God now, trust in Him, and be saved by believing in this God-given gospel. This is because the law of salvation established by God is permanent and will never change unless God Himself changes it. This God-established Truth cannot be changed no matter how we humans interpret it in different ways.
In the age of the Old Testament, only the Levites could become a High Priest in the presence of God, but in the age of the New Testament, God entrusted this work to Jesus Christ. Aaron and his descendants assumed priesthood as the High Priest only because God had commanded them to do so. The same is true in this age of the New Testament also, for it is God the Father who decided that Jesus Christ should bear all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist.
If God has established this law of salvation with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and He has decided to save the human race from all its sins through this gospel, then everyone ought to accept this and believe accordingly. Those fulfilling their priesthood on this earth therefore are the ones who obey the will of God. And this work of God can be carried out only by someone who truly believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. It is also because of God the Father’s will that we are ministering as today’s priests on this earth—that is, now that we have received the remission of all our sins once and for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, God has entrusted us with this priesthood. Although we are not the High Priests of the Old Testament, we are nevertheless the spiritual priests in this age of the New Testament called by the righteousness of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
In other words, we have become God’s servants on this earth to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit that holds the righteousness of God. That is why we are preaching the gospel of the water and the Spirit to every sinner in this world and supporting this gospel ministry, so that all sinners would receive the remission of their sins. This gospel of the water and the Spirit preached by us constitutes the absolute standard of salvation for all sinners. Therefore, since it is we who have been entrusted with such an important task of preaching the gospel, we should realize that we ourselves have the most honorable and spiritually precious office in God’s sight. We must understand and believe in the will of God and His providence revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We ought to understand the will of God and His providence through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must grasp the Word of God in our minds, and we must also walk by our faith in the righteousness of God. Otherwise, all our beliefs are simply wrong. If the Word of God has spoken to us of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then we ought to take it as the true gospel and accept it into our hearts.
The problem, of course, is that there are still many people who refuse to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with their hearts, and that’s why so many people still remain sinners. Spiritually speaking, such people are ignorant fools. So, for all these people to be delivered from their sins, they must believe that Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, bore all the sins of the human race by being baptized by John the Baptist.
It is written in Hebrews 5:5-6: “So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.’
As He also says in another place:
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’”
This passage teaches us that it’s not just out of His own volition that Jesus Christ came to this earth to fulfill His priesthood as the High Priest of the Kingdom of Heaven, but He did so to obey the will of God the Father. Put differently, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist because God the Father had made His Son the High Priest of Heaven to fulfill the work of salvation that would deliver everyone on this earth from all their sins.
The same is true for all of you attending the New Life Mission School and taking its classes. It is also because God has called you that you have come to do His work and serve His Church. Likewise, we are supporting the gospel ministry because God has entrusted us with this duty. The Mission School run by God’s Church cannot be attended by just anyone, far less any sinner. You should realize here that it’s you yourselves, the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, who can fulfill spiritual priesthood on this earth, and that you are attending the Mission School to this end. Even Jesus Christ did not assume the office of the High Priest on this earth just out of His own volition, but He did so in obedience to the will of God the Father; He had obeyed His Father to bear all the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist and thus fulfilled all the righteousness of God. It is God the Father who made Jesus bear all the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist.
Likewise, it is also God the Father who has called all of us who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit to carry out His work. Therefore, we must grasp and believe unwaveringly that Jesus Christ has all at once perfected us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by coming to this earth, bearing all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist, shedding His blood to death on the Cross, and rising up from the dead. That is what we ought to realize and believe.
  
 

We Have Been Called into Priesthood Thanks to Jesus Christ’s Obedience to God the Father

 
When we turn to Hebrews 5:7 and onwards, we see the Scripture saying that Jesus Christ endured a great deal of suffering on this earth in obedience to God the Father, and as result, He became the Lord of eternal salvation to anyone who believes in His righteousness. Having sent Jesus Christ to this earth, God the Father had made Him fulfill the office of the High Priest, thus making Him fulfill the righteousness of God. And because Jesus Christ obeyed the will of the Father to achieve this, He could blot out all our sins once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist. We can see here that it’s by being baptized, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again that the Lord has at once saved all of us in this present age who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Imagine what would have happened if Jesus the Son of God had disobeyed God the Father. What would have happened if Jesus had said to the Father, “I don’t want to be baptized by John the Baptist. I won’t obey Your will”? If this happened, it would have been impossible for us be saved from all our sins. Jesus Christ, however, learned obedience by the things that He suffered as asked by God the Father, and therefore He could become the Lord of eternal salvation to us. For us to become God’s children, we must obey the gospel of the water and the Spirit and follow it by faith. We must submit ourselves to the gospel of the water and the Spirit by trusting in the righteousness of God. Instead of just looking around to see what each of us is doing, all of us ought to willingly follow the righteousness of God by faith. Through our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must realize what the true righteousness of God is and follow it in complete obedience.
I cannot emphasize enough just how important it is for all us to understand the righteousness of God and follow the Lord. The knowledge of the righteousness of God is absolutely indispensable, and with this understanding all of us must work diligently as God’s servants to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When it comes to serving the Lord’s righteous, what matters the most is our sincerity. If we just go through the motion of serving the Lord, worry about what others think of us, or try to satisfy our own fleshly desires rather than obeying the will of God wholeheartedly, then we would be of no use to God’s Church. For us to preach the Truth that constitutes God’s righteousness, we ourselves must trust in this righteousness of God and follow it wholeheartedly. Whenever we carry out God’s work, we must trust in God and learn His will first. Even though we have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, some of us still do not know how to obey the will of God by faith with a sincere heart. That’s because we have been too used to the things of the world, many of which do not require sincerity and are instead laden with deception. So even after being born again, it’s very difficult for us to be wholeheartedly faithful in God’s sight.
There is a Greek phrase called “Coram Deo,” which literally means “before the face of God.” This implies that whenever we do something, we do it before God with all our hearts and faith. But some of our young ministers do not understand this fully. They don’t realize that they have reached where they are now all because their predecessors of faith have nurtured them wholeheartedly, guided them devotedly, and loved them sincerely.
Let’s turn to Hebrews 5:12: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”
When enough time goes by since first believing in the righteousness of God, all of us will eventually become teachers. For instance, our Sunday school is taught by some of the long-standing members of God’s Church whose faith has matured. This implies that once you grow in your faith and gain more experience while carrying out God’s work, in due time you will be entrusted with a higher office in God’s Church. This can happen to anyone in God’s Church, so long as his life of faith does not go astray.
What is the elementary faith when it comes to God’s Word? Who are the young in faith? By whom should such spiritually immature saints be taught? There are many saints here who still remain unable to carry out God’s work by faith, as they still find it difficult to feed on the Word of God. Too many people are unable to make the Word of God their spiritual bread. This is particularly more pronounced among those whose faith is still infantile. Those whose faith is still childish ought to be taught by their predecessors of faith. So, those whose faith is still immature need milk, but those whose faith has grown up feed on the meat of the Word of God by faith in their everyday lives (1 Corinthians 3:2).
Whenever we confront any problems, we ought to use our senses to find out what the will of God is for us. It’s very important for us to exercise the senses of faith to make the right judgment and the right decision. But the people of Israel were clouded in their judgment, and that’s why the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews said that their faith was still too immature. And because their faith was too infantile, he also admonished them to trust in the guidance of their church leaders who knew what the Word of God was saying. Therefore, those whose faith is immature should emulate their predecessors of faith and learn from them to actually live out their faith in everyday life. Only then can they really grow up to have a properly mature faith.
Even God’s servants in the Old Testament had to be refined and trained ceaselessly until they became the people of faith. God had to speak to Abraham and guide him constantly. It is because God spoke to Abraham and told him to leave Ur of the Chaldeans that Abraham departed from his homeland in obedience. Actually, Abraham followed the Word of God even though he did not know exactly where he was heading. God had just told him to leave without even telling him his destination. Yet despite this, Abraham went wherever God told him to go, and everywhere Abraham dwelt, he continued to worship God, prayed to Him, sought His instruction, and obeyed Him wholeheartedly. That is why Abraham became such a distinguished father of faith who trusted in and followed the Word of God with all his heart. And that is why Abraham’s faith is viewed so highly even to this day.
In contrast, many misguided Christians nowadays follow the will of their own flesh rather than believing in the Word of God, and justify this behavior with all kinds of implausible excuses. This is completely wrong. It’s absolutely imperative for all of us to cast aside the arrogant thoughts of the flesh and believe in the Word of God with all our hearts. Regardless of how difficult our circumstances might be, we must trust in the Word of God wholeheartedly and follow it in complete obedience. And to do so, we must learn to have true faith from our spiritual predecessors.
  
 

How Should We Conduct Ourselves as God’s Servants?

 
One of the characteristics that distinguish the predecessors of faith in our Church from those whose faith is still immature is the fact that they not only believed in the righteousness of God earlier, but their spiritual thoughts were also very deep. So they haven’t made Biblically unfounded claims stirring up controversy in today’s Christian communities, such as the notion that all Christians are now perfect because they have died in Christ. Sadly, even some of our workers were influenced by this wrong teaching, and as a result, they were spreading fallacious notions to their fellow saints. They even said that they did not commit sin anymore because they had already died with Jesus Christ. But they were certainly reprimanded by the Church for their wrong teachings.
Although we have now become sinless by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit that constitutes the righteousness of God, this does not mean that our flesh now has been perfected to never commit sin again. In other words, even though we are sinless, we are not completely perfect so as not to commit any fleshly sins. On the contrary, we still retain our flesh, and therefore we still cannot but commit sin in our lives. However, because we have become sinless by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can thank God even more for His righteousness. While it’s absolutely true that we no longer have any sin thanks to our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the acts of our flesh still come short of God’s glory. Therefore, all of us who believe in God’s righteousness wholeheartedly must realize that our flesh still remains weak and rely on the righteousness of the Lord. And we must provide the right spiritual guidance to those whose faith is still young so that they may come into the Truth.
Some Christians claim that perfect salvation cannot be reached unless one is crucified with Jesus Christ, but this is not actually true. Whether or not we have perfect salvation does not depend on whether or not we profess to have been crucified with Jesus Christ. Rather, perfect salvation is reachable only because the Lord bore all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist and laid down His life for us on the Cross. That is why whoever believes in the righteousness of God has died with Christ and risen from the dead with Christ. The problem, however, is that some of our saints whose faith is still weak are too easily swayed by these false prophets and fall into confusion. This happens because these saints do not listen to their leaders in God’s Church even though they have abided in the Church for a long time.
The fact that we have died in Christ is therefore made all the more clear when we recognize in our everyday lives of faith that we were also crucified to death when Christ was crucified. Whenever we find it hard to deny our own fleshly thoughts, we must recognize the truth that we have already died with Jesus Christ. After all, how could someone who has already died with Christ insist on his own way? All of us must therefore follow the guidance of our predecessors of faith by trusting in the Word of God. If you allow yourself to be a prisoner of your own thoughts, you will find it very hard to obey and follow your predecessors of faith. In times like this, it’s absolutely indispensable for you to have the belief that you have already died with Christ. You ought to deny your own thoughts and follow the righteousness of the Lord, saying to yourself, “Why should I be so stubborn when I have already died with Christ?” It is only by believing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ that we can follow Him. You and I must be always mindful of the fact that we have died in Christ and been brought back to life with Christ. And we must also remember that this is possible only when we believe that our old selves were also baptized with Jesus Christ when the Lord received His baptism from John the Baptist.
Even if you are leading a proper life of faith now and following the righteousness of the Lord, it’s still possible for you to rely on your own fleshly thoughts too much and thus end up rejecting the will of the Lord. Whenever you find yourself in this situation, you must admit that you have died in Christ together with Him. In other words, whenever you find yourself struggling to follow the Lord because of your fleshly lusts and carnal thoughts, you must deny them all. Self-denial is absolutely necessary when your mind is drawn more to your own fleshly thoughts than the righteousness of God.
Serving the Lord does not necessarily mean leading a flawlessly perfect life. In fact, the more you serve the righteousness of the Lord, the more shortcomings of your flesh are exposed. You may not have experienced this yourself as you are still studying in the Mission School. But once you are actually entrusted with God’s work out in the mission field, you will realize that the more work you are entrusted with, the more your shortcomings are revealed. When the task entrusted to you is small, it’s easy to carry it out, and so it may be unnecessary for you to deny your fleshly thoughts. However, when you are entrusted with an extremely challenging and burdensome task that is beyond your means, you will be so exhausted and frustrated that the wickedness of your flesh will be inevitably exposed. In other words, your shortcomings will be revealed more and more as you carry out an ever more challenging task. If your workload is light, you won’t have any problems fulfilling your tasks, but if you are entrusted with a challenging task, it will take more toil on you, and therefore your shortcomings will be exposed even more. It will be impossible for you to hide the wickedness of your flesh because once you devote yourself to your God-entrusted work; you will run out of your virtues and strength before long.
It’s for this reason that the Bible says, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age” (Hebrews 5:14). This passage means that only those who believe in God’s Word of righteousness can be nourished by it. The Word of God, in other words, is something that one feeds on and experiences by faith alone. It’s therefore very important for all of us to think about what God has done for us and apply it to our everyday lives of faith, rather than just considering it as a matter of intellectual curiosity.
Just as there had to be a High Priest on this earth, there also must be a High Priest in the Kingdom of Heaven. That is because this is what God has determined. The heavenly High Priest and the earthly High Priest had to meet with one another; one of them had to give baptism and the other had to receive it; and the righteousness of God had to be thus fulfilled. Only then could all our sins be passed onto Jesus Christ to be eradicated, so that it would be possible for us to receive the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If this were not the case—that is, if the role of the High Priest was not fulfilled—then our salvation would not have been fulfilled. We cannot reach our salvation unless we listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit which the Lord gave to us and believe in this true gospel. It’s absolutely imperative for all of us to believe in this salvation and accept it into our hearts, for this salvation is bestowed by God Himself.
Many people nowadays don’t think much of the baptism of Jesus, His death, and His resurrection. Even the vast majority of Christians think lightly of what Jesus has done for them even as they profess to believe in Him. The baptism that John the Baptist gave to Jesus on this earth was God’s work, yet so many misguided Christians dismiss this as though it were insignificant. However, it is precisely by being baptized by John the Baptist that Jesus fulfilled the righteousness of God, and this work is not something that can be taken lightly. Not just anyone could become a High Priest on this earth, but one had to be someone called by God without fail. Likewise, Jesus was also called by God the Father to bear all the sins of the entire human race by being baptized by John the Baptist. God the Father had entrusted such an important work to His Son and John the Baptist. Therefore, those who believe in the righteousness of God according to His Word are the ones who have the right faith, and these are the people of great faith. It’s such people whose faith is great.
In contrast, those who claim to have seen a vision while praying or seen God in a dream are not the real people of faith. In fact, far from being inspired by the Word of God, these people are seized by the Devil. Although God sometimes revealed Himself directly to His servants during the age of the Old Testament, He no longer works like this in this present age of the New Testament. Of course, during the Early Church era, when the New Testament was still being written, God revealed Himself directly to the Apostles, but once the New Testament was completed, He ceased to manifest Himself directly. Now, it is through His written Word alone that God reveals Himself to us. Indeed, God said that He would curse anyone who adds anything to the Scripture or subtracts from it. Although God’s revelation was necessary for the Scripture to be written, once it was completed, the Scripture itself became the final authority, and therefore our understanding and faith must be in accordance with this Word of God written in the 66 books of the Scripture. This is the right faith. And this is why we must go wherever the Word of God goes and stop wherever it stops.
The people of faith who believe in the righteousness of God can use their spiritual senses of faith and be refined. The problem, however, is that some saints in the Church still have not been refined enough, and therefore they are prone to fall into confusion. As these saints still have not been refined to strengthen their faith, they are spiritually immature like a little child. If you are such a saint, then the first thing you must do is believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit with all your heart, serve this gospel with all your heart, and trust in the righteousness of God and follow it with all your heart. Only when you take a small step like this and keep on walking with God can you grow into a man of great faith down the road. If you otherwise understand the Word of God and follow it just according to your own fleshly thoughts rather than believing in it and following it with all of your heart, you will end up just like Judas. In the Bible, God said through the gospel of the water and the Spirit that we have died in Christ and been resurrected with Christ, and therefore all of us ought to pay attention to this gospel and learn about the right faith. The Truth that every born-again saint has died in Christ is known to all of us, but if some of us have realized this just now, then they are still spiritually immature like a little child.
Even the tiniest germ can make you sick once it enters your body. Likewise, it’s also harmful for God’s Church to have even just one person who does not really believe in God’s righteousness. It is therefore extremely important for us to sort out all such people and teach them properly. There can be no exception; we ourselves must also believe in the righteousness of God according to the written Word. We must follow the Word of God by faith and unite ourselves with our predecessors of faith. Unless we are completely united with God’s Church and its leaders, we cannot live by the righteousness of God. To phrase this in another way, none of us can ever achieve world mission by oneself. Could you carry out God’s work by yourself? Of course, you might be able to do a small part, but you will not be able to take up the whole cause all by yourself. And that is precisely why all of us ought to pool our faith and strength together to carry out God’s work in unity.
Even though it may not seem like we have done much for world mission, we have in fact made some tremendous strides in preaching the gospel all over the world. The very fact that you are here attending the Mission School shows that you are committed to this great calling, but it’s not enough for you to just listen to the Word of God with your ears. Rather, you must accept God’s Word into your heart and follow it wholeheartedly. If you otherwise don’t do this, then it would be completely useless for you to finish the entire course of the Mission School. Even if you write down everything taught in the Mission School, there is a limit to how useful this can be. While your notes may serve you well down the road, at least when it comes to listening to the Word of God, it’s far more important for you to accept this Word of God into your heart.
I cannot emphasize enough just how important it is for you to always walk by trusting in God and His righteousness. It is therefore absolutely imperative for you to accept the Word of God into your heart. In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Lord spoke about angels, Himself, and the High Priest, and you ought to think about why the Lord deemed these things so indispensable to your life of faith rather than just listening to them as hypothetical notions. You should then apply the Lord’s teachings to your everyday life of faith. Only then can you realize just how important it is for you to strengthen your faith, believe in the Word of God with all your heart rather than just knowing it with your head, understand fully the crucial role played by John the Baptist, and grasp the work of salvation that Jesus has done for you to blot out all your sins. You will then realize that you have not only received the remission of sins, but that you also have the duty to live out your faith sincerely by trusting in the righteousness of God.
I hope and pray that God would give this blessed faith to all of you.