Recently, some have criticized my ministry, saying, “Brother Lee has given many legalities to us. He says that we need to legally come to the Word every morning and legally pray and contact the Lord every day.” I admit that I have encouraged the saints to be legal in these matters. If we do not have some legalities, we cannot be normal persons. If we are sloppy and careless, depending on inspiration to wash, eat, or breathe, we may claim that we are liberated, free, and not under any bondage, but we will actually be killing ourselves. The healthiest person is the most legal person. From the moment a man enters the military service, he must do everything according to instructions, which are legalities. Servicemen do not have an inch of freedom. Day and night they are governed by legalities. Without legalities no military force could be formed, built up, or trained. Without certain necessary legalities, it is impossible to have governments, corporations, schools, or even families. The United States is a free and open democratic country, one that receives all kinds of people, but only a normal, proper, legal person would be elected into public office. We should not be loose Christians. The more legalities we have, the more normal we will be, and the more success we will have.
We all need to practice certain legalities. If we would be legal in our physical eating by taking three meals every day at certain times and not eating too much or too little, we will be healthy. If not, we may develop health problems. Likewise, we need to have certain spiritual legalities. Every morning we need to be legal to spend fifteen minutes in the Word to be in God’s presence, to breathe Him in, to be refreshed, to be nourished, and to be watered. In this sense, we need to be legal Christians.
Romans 6:14b says, “You are not under the law but under grace.” The law mentioned in this verse is the old law, the law of the Old Testament. Today we Christians should be under the new law, the law of the New Testament. The new law is more binding than the old law. The old law was objective, written on tablets of stone, but the new law is subjective, written on our hearts (Heb. 10:16). It spreads into all our inward parts, controlling our mind, emotion, and will. The New Testament economy is one that restricts us.
Every kind of life has certain principles, which are laws. Life is not loose; it does not give us liberty. Life restricts. The higher the life, the more it restricts. This principle can be seen even in humanity. Whoever regulates and restricts himself the most is the highest person. The loosest person is the lowest person. This is a fact. If we desire to be a high Christian, we must keep certain legalities. However, we should not be legal toward others but only toward ourselves. We should not allow ourselves to be loose. Rather, we should restrict ourselves by being legal in keeping all the healthy spiritual practices.
I once brought a young American brother to visit the Far East. I sent him from Taiwan to Manila to preach the gospel. The church there treated him well and placed him in the best room in a co-workers’ home. A few days later I arrived and stayed in the same home. One day the sisters who took care of the home asked me to look in on the other brother’s room. I saw a messy room with socks thrown carelessly about. I felt ashamed that I had sent such a brother there to preach the gospel. It was a shame to the gospel. We should not be this kind of Christian.
To be transformed means not only to be changed but also to be regulated. We need to learn to be legal with ourselves. Some may think that I was simply born with a proper, orderly disposition. On the contrary, I was not born this way. However, today I am very legal with myself. In my study I have several book cases containing many reference books and different versions of the Bible. When I am working there each morning according to my schedule, I never need to guess where a certain book is. I can find any book with my eyes closed. Efficiency comes from being legal. When we are young, we need to learn to be legal to build up a good character. We should not become loose with ourselves in anything.