There is a story of a person who had been a preacher for many years. One day after a meeting he was standing by the entrance of the chapel. The missionary who had delivered the sermon that day approached him and asked, “Have you been born again?” This missionary preached specifically on repentance and regeneration, and whenever he met people, he would ask if they were born again. This preacher then replied, “I have been born again.” The missionary nodded his head and said, “The way you look shows that you have not yet been born again. You say that you have been born again, but your tone reveals that you have not been born again.” When the preacher went home, the more he thought about the matter, the angrier he became. He felt that he had been humiliated in public, and he considered going to the missionary and beating him up. At this juncture, God’s sovereignty was manifested, and the Holy Spirit worked within him, saying, “How could you be such a bad person? Someone told you that you have not been regenerated, and you want to beat him up?” He considered it a little bit and then felt that it really was true that he had not been regenerated. Then he knelt down and confessed his sins, realizing that although he was no longer a bad person, had joined the church, and had become a preacher, inwardly he was still wicked to the uttermost. The more he confessed, the more sorrowful he became. After praying, however, he became so joyful within that he could not wait until the next meeting. He immediately went to the missionary’s home. When the missionary opened the door and saw the preacher, he said, “Congratulations, you have been saved and born again!”
All of us who have had the experience of salvation and have been brought through it by God know what it is to be saved, to repent and turn to God, to contact the Lord, and to have the presence of the Lord. We also know what inward repentance and the sense of the spirit are. In regard to contacting people, there may be a number of ways to sense a person’s condition within, but the reality of his condition is the same. Because we often do not see people’s inward condition, we may receive someone who has the doctrinal understanding but does not have the Lord in him, or we may reject someone who has the Lord within but is confused concerning doctrine. When the church in Foochow started to have a revival, there were many young people who were saved and wanted to be baptized. This forced us to put aside all our old, traditional practices. One time during an interview for a baptism, I asked the student who wanted to be baptized, “Would you feel good about giving the coat you are wearing now to the poor?” He said, “Yes.” I asked him why, and he said, “Since the Lord Jesus shed His blood on the cross for me, how could I not give this coat to others?” At this point there was no need to ask him how many gods there are or who the Triune God is. If you ask people with your mind, they will answer you with their mind, but if you ask them questions that touch their inner being, their condition within will be clearly revealed.
I asked another one, “Why are you here?” He said, “I am here to be baptized.” I asked, “Why do you want to be baptized?” He said, “I am saved.” I asked, “How do you know that you are saved?” He said, “I used to enjoy watching movies. Even when my mother prohibited me, I still watched them. However, ever since I heard the gospel and received the Lord Jesus, I have seen how lovely the Lord is, so I do not watch movies anymore.” At that point there was no need to ask him, “Do you believe in the eternal life? Do you believe in the coming judgment?” He surely believed. I asked still another one, “What is the meaning of baptism?” He said, “Baptism means that we have died with the Lord and were buried with Him and that we are no longer in union with the world. Although I am not clear yet about the Bible, once I am baptized, I want nothing else besides the Lord.” You can baptize this kind of person without asking him anything further.
This may be likened to buying flour. When we go to the flour mill to buy flour, we do not need to open the sacks one by one to look at the contents. We only need to stick a testing needle into the sack and then draw it out and look. In this way we know what is inside. Do not test people’s minds. Instead, try to touch their inner condition. Some say that this way of interviewing for baptism is too quick and may not be dependable. However, wheat flour is always wheat flour. You cannot turn it into rice by opening the sack and studying it. We care about the real condition within a person. Has he really met God? Has he received the Lord as his Savior? Has he repented? Has he called on the Lord? Does he sense God’s presence? We want to touch the real situation within a man to see if he is truly saved. Doctrines received in the mind have no effect on a person’s salvation. Some people do not understand the doctrine, but they have a living Lord within them who is their life and is reigning within them. This is the way to receive people based upon the Scriptures.
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