ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (09/27/90)
Two Principles of Conduct
Part II
2 Cor. 5:7; Matt. 17:3, 5, 8; 1 Cor 4:3, 4; Gen. 2:8, 9, 16, 17.
When I was visiting a certain place, a brother who was exceedingly critical
of the place was a quest there too. He knew the place had much to offer
spiritually, but he disapproved of very much that was done there and was
constantly making adverse comparisons with the place from which he came.
During the two or three months we were there together his criticisms exceeded
those of everyone else. One day he went altogether too far, so I said to
him: "Why ever do you remain here? Why not pack up and leave?" "The reason
lies here," he answered, pointing to his heart. "Every time I prepare to
go, my peace of heart goes. Once I actually departed, and I stayed away
for a fortnight, but I had to ask to be allowed to return." "Brother," I
said, "can't you see these two different lines of conduct--that which is
determined by life and that which is determined by right and wrong?" "Oh!"
he said, "not once or twice merely, but a number of times I have sought to
leave here, and every time my experience has been the same; as soon as I
prepare to go there is an inner forbidding. Even if much that is done here
is wrong, for me to leave is also wrong." This brother saw that if there
was much spiritual help to be gained in that place, then his only way was to
remain there and meet God.
EXTERNALITIES DO NOT GOVERN DECISIONS
One of the most serious misconceptions among the children of God is that
actions are determined by right and wrong. They do what their eyes tell
them is right; they do what their background tells them is right; they
do what their years of experience tell them is right. For a Christian,
every decision should be based on the inner life, and that is something
totally different from all else. I yearn that you should come to see that
a Christian should arrive at no decision other than that which is dictated
by life. If the life within you rises to do a thing, then it is right for
you to to do it; if the life within shrinks back when you advance, then you
should immediately call a halt.
I can recall going to a certain place where the brothers were working to real
effect. God was truely using them. If you were to ask: Was their work
perfect? I should have to answer, No, there was lots of room for
improvement. In great humility they asked me to point out anything I saw
that was not correct, so I pointed out this and that. But no change took
place. Was I annoyed? Not at all. I could only indicate external matters
that called for adjustment; I could not see what God was doing inwardly,
and it would have been folly on my part to touch that. I dared not advise
God what to do in their lives.
In another place I visited, the brothers were not preaching the gospel.
They discussed the matter with me and asked if I did not think they ought
to be doing so. "Doctrinely you certainly ought," I answered. They
admitted that they felt the same, but the surprising thing was that God did
not give them the life to do so. Under such circumstances, if we know God we
can only stand aside in silence, for our pathway is governed by His life
alone, not by right and wrong. Brothers and sisters, the contrast between
these two principles of life is immense. So many people are still questioning:
"Is it right for me to this? Would it be wrong for me to do that? The one
question for the Christian to ask is, Does the divine life within me rise
or fall when I comtemplate this thing? The reaction of the divine life within
me must determine the course I follow at every point. This is a heart matter.
"HEAR HIM"
On the Mount of Transfiguration Moses was present, representing the law;
and Elijah was present, representing the prophets. The legal standard was
there, and the prophetic standard was there too: but the two who throughout the
Old Testament dispensation were qualified to speak were put to silence by
God. "This is my beloved son;" He said, "hear ye him." Today the
standard for the Christian is neither the law nor the prophets; it is
Christ, the Christ who dwells within us. Therefore, the question is not,
Am I right or am I wrong? but, Does the divine life in me acquiesce to this?
We shall often find that what we ourselves approve of, the life within us
disapproves. When that is so, we cannot do what we thought right.
THE DIVINE LIFE MUST BE SATISFIED
I recall a story of two brothers who both cultivated paddy-fields. Their
fields were half way up the hill; others were lower down. In the great
heat they drew water by day and went to sleep at night. One night, while
they were sleeping, the farmers lower down the hill dug a hole in the
irrigation channel surrounding the brother's fields and let all the water
flow down on their own fields. Next morning the brothers saw what had
happened, but they said nothing. Again they filled the troughs with water,
and again all the water was drawn off the following night. Still no word
of protest was uttered when the next day dawned and they discovered what a
mean trick the same farmers had played on them. Were they not Christians?
ought not Christians to be patient? This game was repeated seven nights in
succession, and for seven days in succession these two brothers silently
suffered the wrong. One would have thought that Christians who could allow
themselves to be treated like that day after day, and never utter a word of
reproach, should surely be overflowing with joy. Strange to say, they were
not happy at all, and their unhappiness distressed them to such an extent
that they brought the matter to a brother who was in the Lord's service.
Having stated their case, they asked him: "How does it come about that,
having suffered all this wrong for a full week, we are still unhappy?" This
brother had some experience and he replied: "You're unhappy because you've
not gone the full length. You should first irrigate those farmers' fields
and then irrigate your own. You go back and test it out and see whether
or not your hearts find rest." They agreed to try, and off they went. Next
morning they were afoot earlier than ever, and their first business was to
irrigate the fields of those farmers who had so persistently robbed their
fields of water. And this amazing thing happened--the more they labored on
their persecutor's land, the happier they became. By the time they had
finished watering their own land their hearts were at perfect rest. When
the brothers had repeated this for two or three days, the farmers called to
apologize and added: "If this is Christianity, then we want to hear more
about it."
Here we see the difference between the principle of right and wrong and the
principle of life. Those two brothers had been most patient: was that not
right? They had labored in the intense heat to irrigate their paddy-fields
and without a word of complaint had suffered others to steal their water:
was that not very good? What then was lacking that they had no peace of
heart? They had done what was right: they had done what was good: they had
done all that man could require of them: but God was not satisfied. They
had no peace of heart because they had not met the demands of His life.
When they conformed to His standard, joy and peace welled up in their hearts.
The demands of the divine life must be met; so we dare not stop short of
God's satisfaction.
What is the Sermon on the Mount? What is taught us in Matthew chapters
5-7? Is it not this, that we dare not be satisfied with anything less than
that which meets the demands of the life that God has put within us? The
Sermon on the Mount does not teach that, provided we do what is right, then
all is well. Man would say: If anyone smites you on the one cheek, why
present the other? Surely you have attained the utmost degree of for-
bearance if you take such an offense without retort. But God says
otherwise. If, when you are smitten on the one cheek, you do no more than
bow your head and depart, you will find that the inner life will not be
satisfied. There will be no inner satisfaction till you turn the other cheek
to the smiter for the same treatment. To do so will prove that there is no
resentment within. That is the way of life.
Many people say that matthew 5-7 is too difficult; it is beyond us. I
admit it is. It is a sheer impossibility. But here is the point--you have an
inner life, and that tells you that unless you do as the Sermon on the Mount
requires, you will find no rest. The whole question lies here, are you
walking in the way of life or in the way of good and evil?
THERE SHOULD BE FULLNESS OF LIFE WITHIN
Sometimes a brother acts very foolishly. You feel his actions call for strong
exhortation or even serious reproof; so one day you set out for his home.
yes, you must give him a good talking-to; that is only right; he has been
very wrong. You reach the door; you raise your hand to the doorbell; just
as you are about to ring, your hand falls limp by your side. But, you ask,
isn't it right to talk to him? The question is not whether it is right to
talk to him, but whether the divine life within you allows you to do so. You
may exhort that brother, and he may receive your exhortation with courtesy
and promise to do what God says, but the more you preach to him, the more the
life within you wilts. When you return home you will have to admit, I have
done wrong.
One day I met a needy bother. He was extremely poor, and there was no
prospect of help coming to him from any direction, so I thought I certainly
must do something for him. Just at that point I myself had no superabundance,
so it was at great sacrifice that I came to his aid. I should have been full
of joy when I parted with my much-needed money, but the reverse was the
case. I felt lifeless, and a voice within said, You were not acting in
life; you were just acting on the ground of natural kindness and responding
to human need. God did not ask that of you. When I reached home I had to
confess my sin and ask His forgiveness.
OUR ACTIONS MUST BE CONTROLLED BY LIFE
Brothers and sisters, let me repeat that all our conduct must be determined,
not by good and evil, but by the life within. If you act apart from the
requirement of that life, even if what you do is good, you will meet with the
divine reproof. We need to discern between life and death. If what I have
done has sapped my inner life, however the good the deed may be, I shall have
to acknowledge my sin before God and seek His pardon. In 1 Corinthians 4:4
Paul said: "I know nothing against myself: yet am I not hereby justified:
but he that judgeth me is the Lord." It is easy to distinguish between good
and evil, but Paul was not governed by good and evil. Even when he was
unaware of having done anything wrong, he still did not dare affirm that
all was right with him; he acknowledged that the Lord was his judge. At
the judgement seat it is the Lord who will judge us, but His life is in us now
and is directing our way. For that reason Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7,
"We walk by faith, not by sight." We do not come to decisions on the basis
of an outward, legal standard, but on the basis on an inner life. It is a
fact that the Lord Jesus Christ dwells within the believer, and He is constantly
expressing Himself in us; so we must become sensitive to His life and learn
to discern what that life is saying. A great change will take place in us
when our conduct is no longer governed by the principle of good and evil,
but only by the principle of life.
The proceeding is from Watchman Nee's "Two Principles of Conduct."
Robert W. Johnson
ROBERT at FIRIEN (Bitnet)
ROBERT at KONTU.UTU.FI (InterNet)
The prceeding is my opinion and may not reflect that of my employer and has
nothing to do with my employer.