By giving these illustrations I simply wish to point out our need to drop all the ordinances. If some saints desire to speak in tongues, give them that liberty. Although you may not like it, you should not stop them. If some saints receive profit from calling on the name of the Lord, we should not criticize them. We have no ordinances regarding this matter. If we still have ordinances, we cannot have the new man. To have the new man all the ordinances must be slain. It is not a matter of a loud meeting or a quiet meeting. It is a matter of a meeting according to Christ. We should have no preferences. When I am hungry, I have no preference; I simply desire to eat. One day the Lord’s disciples were hungry and broke the Sabbath by eating grain. Today the saints must have the same liberty. We should not keep any regulations. Because the Brethren observe certain regulations, they kill their meetings. But we in the Lord’s recovery must never set up regulations in the church life. Rather, we must come together as the Spirit leads. We do not have regulations; we have the living Spirit. As He leads, we move and act. But this also requires our cooperation.
Throughout the years, saints from various backgrounds have come to our meetings and tried to convince us to take their way. We told them that we could not take their way. If we did, we would be sectarian, just as they were. Although we did not ask them to change, we told them that they could not expect us to take their way. Neither would we expect them to take our way. Deep within, you may feel that you do not like our kind of meeting. Who are you to criticize? Are you the Lord? Are you sure that you are one hundred percent right? None of us can be sure of this. Thus, we must learn to let others have their liberty. Those who criticize us are narrow-minded. In the past a number have tried to convince us to take speaking in tongues. We replied, “If you like to speak in tongues, feel free to do it in the meetings. We will not stop you. But neither will we be convinced by you to practice a meeting centered on speaking in tongues. If we did this, we would lose our ground of being general.” Others may enjoy pray-reading and calling on the name of the Lord. Who are you to criticize it, or to say that only your way is the right way? This is neither right nor fair. If you are not happy with the practice of pray-reading and calling on the name of the Lord in the meetings, then do not do it. But do not criticize others for doing it. Have you never read Romans 14? A very clear word is given in Romans 14:2 and 3: “One believes that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him.” If we do not drop the ordinances, it will be impossible to have the new man. Rather, we shall be a sect.
Some who read this message may already have been poisoned by the rumors that we are narrow and that we like to convince all others to be like us. This is an absolute lie. We have no intention of convincing others. Our expectation is that other Christians would give us liberty and that we would give them liberty. This surely is a fair attitude. If you do not like to speak in tongues, then do not speak in tongues. But if I want to do it, please give me the liberty to do so. I may be profited by my speaking in tongues. What is wrong with this? You may not agree with the matter of calling on the name of the Lord. But why must you criticize us for calling on His name? We are nourished when we call on Him. There is no reason for you to reject it. Look at today’s pitiful situation. Where is the new man? Instead of the new man, there are ordinances everywhere. Some of our brothers attended certain meetings and at the beginning they were charged not to say a word. They were told that if they said anything, they would be disciplined and put out of the meeting. What a sectarian spirit this is! This is dictatorship. How could anyone with such an attitude have the new man? Throughout the years, thousands of people have visited our meetings. We have not forbidden anyone to speak; our meetings are open. If you want to say something, you are free to do so. If I attend your meeting, will you have the same attitude? If I began to speak, would you stop me?
It is those who are narrow themselves who condemn others for being narrow. Brother Nee once told us that only robbers are afraid that others would steal from them. If you are not one who steals from others, you will not have the fear that others will steal from you. If I am afraid that the brother standing near me will steal my wallet, surely I must be a thief myself. Likewise, those who accuse us of being narrow are the ones who are narrow. Examine the situation of their meetings to see if their meetings are open.