[“Dealing’’ implies that we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to purge away all the difficulties which hinder the growth of life. The more we are being dealt with, the more God’s life grows in us. The more God’s life grows in us, the more we are being dealt with. These two cannot be separated; they are two aspects of the same matter. Therefore, the dealings constitute an extremely important position in our experience of life. We can say that this is a major portion of experience in life.]
[Among all the difficulties which need to be dealt with, sins are the crudest, the most defiling, and the most evident. After having consecrated ourselves, the first thing we need to deal with is sins. Dealing with sins is the first lesson in our experience of dealings.]
[The following references give the scriptural basis for dealing with sins:
Matthew 5:23-26: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go away; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Be well disposed quickly with your opponent, while you are with him in the way, lest the opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the last quadrans.’’ Here, “reconciled’’ and “be well disposed quickly with’’ refer to dealings concerning our relationships with others.
First John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous that He may forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’’ Here “confess’’ is again a kind of dealing.
Proverbs 28:13: “He that covers his transgressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy.’’ Here “confesses’’ and “forsakes’’ speak also of a dealing.
We see from the above scriptures how we are to deal with sins: towards men, we must be reconciled with them and agree with them; towards God, we must confess our sins; and concerning sin, we must forsake it. These kinds of settlement of sin are what we mean by dealing with sins.]
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