The third governing factor is the regulations of a holy life. What are these regulations? In the book of Leviticus, we have the offerings, the priesthood, and many kinds of regulations. Leviticus can be divided into these three parts: the first, dealing with the offerings, is from chapters 1 through 7; the second, dealing with the priesthood, is from chapters 8 to 10; the third, from chapter 11 through the end of the book, deals with many regulations. There are all kinds of regulations regarding a holy life, a holy living. We cannot go into detail now regarding them all. If we could, we would see how interesting, how sweet, and how pregnant with meaning they are. There are many regulations about what is clean and what is unclean, about what is separated and what is not separated from common and worldly things, about how to act and how not to act. All these are regulations for a holy life.
These regulations can be summed up for the sake of simplicity into three minor principles. The first is that we are the people who belong to the Lord. This is a minor principle which must regulate us. Remember that you belong to the Lord; you are the Lord’s people. If you remember this, you will be kept from many things. Do you think that while remembering you are the Lord’s people, you could attend a theater? The very thought will make you shrink from it. Do you think that you can quarrel with someone and at the same time remember that you belong to the Lord? Try it. You will see what will become of your quarrel.
One time in the Far East I engaged a rickshaw man for a ride. He told me at first that he would charge five dollars, to which I agreed. When I arrived at my destination, however, I saw that I only had a ten dollar bill, so I handed it to him and waited for the change. After looking around in his pockets, he eventually said he was sorry, for he only had four dollars with which to refund me. This is their trick. I began to quarrel with him, but suddenly I remembered that I was a child of God. Just this remembrance caused me to drop it. I said, “All right, all right, forget it; one dollar does not matter.” How could I who am a child of the Lord argue with a rickshaw boy? That would put the name of the Lord to shame.
Whenever you are about to do something, you must remember that you are one of the Lord’s children. Do not say that this is too legal. You and I must be legal in such a way. Sometimes the sisters, especially in the Far East, wear dresses which are really not becoming to a child of the Lord. If they would only remember that they belong to the Lord, the very thought would cause them to shrink from such attire. They simply forget that they are children of the Lord and proceed to dress like daughters of the devil. To remember that we are the Lord’s people is the first minor principle of the regulations.
The second is that we have been separated from this world. The Lord said, “I have set you apart from the peoples” (Lev. 20:26). We have been separated from the peoples of the world by the Lord. What they can do, we cannot. What they can say, we cannot. What they can possess, we cannot. Many times I have gone to the department store and have been unable to buy anything. All I could do was shake my head and say, “No, no, there is nothing for me. I am separated.”
From Seattle to San Francisco and then to Los Angeles I have been trying to get a pair of shoes. There are so many peculiar and modern styles, it is rather difficult to find a suitable pair as a child of God. If I were to buy some of them, I fear that I would not be able to stand and minister to the Lord’s children. Oh, the things, the worldly things these department stores are selling! If all the worldly people would be converted and remember that they are children of the Lord and separated from this world, all the department stores would be forced to close. There would be no business for them. It is regrettable that the majority of people are not converted, but the greatest pity is that those who are converted by the Lord are still not separated from this world. At least we who are converted by the Lord must remember that we are those whom the Lord has separated from this world. This is also one of the principles which must govern us. Do not say that this is too legal. We must be so legal.
The third minor principle is that the Lord is holy, so we too must be holy. The Lord is separated and different from all other things, so we too must be sanctified from all things. We must be holy in all things just as He is holy.
These three minor principles compose one of the major governing principles, and these are the regulations of a holy life. What are they? First, remember that you are the Lord’s children; second, remember that you have been separated from this world; third, remember that your God is a holy God and you must be just as holy as He. These three regulations should govern everything in your life.
In conclusion, the Lord’s presence is the guidance for us as a group. Whether we should go or stay, we may know by the presence of the Lord. We must be guided by nothing but His presence. This is the first governing principle. Then, if there is some problem among us, we need not seek any solution in an outward way. We have the court of the priesthood. By the fellowship among us with the Lord under the anointing of the Holy Spirit and through the studying with love of all the brothers and sisters in the light of the Word, we may obtain the needed judgment, the proper decision. This is the second govern ing principle. As to our daily life and daily activities, we must be always ruled by the remembrance that we are the Lord’s children, that we are separated from this world, and that we must be holy as the Lord is holy. This is the third governing principle. If we are ruled by these principles, we will be prepared and qualified to go on to possess that good land; we will be enabled to enter into the all-inclusiveness of Christ.