In my study of biographies and history, I have received much help from the living and practices of two persons, George Muller and Hudson Taylor. George Muller, a leading one among the British Brethren, rose up every morning to walk in the open air and to read the Bible and pray as he walked. As he read, he prayed. He testified that from this practice he received the best nourishment, edification, knowledge, and building up in his Christian life. The practice of Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission, was very similar. He also rose up in the morning to spend time with the Lord in the Word, and he testified of the nourishment he received.
I mention the practice of George Muller and Hudson Taylor because I am concerned for the Christian life of the young ones. In the Christian life, spiritual birth is only the beginning. If a human being is to be raised properly and to grow adequately in every phase of life, he must be raised in a good home and attend school from kindergarten through high school. This is the law according to the physical life. The principle is the same in the Christian life. We need a spiritual home where we can grow and a spiritual school where we can receive a proper education. In addition, we need to behave ourselves, cooperating with both the home and the school. This is the law according to the spiritual life.
When we were regenerated, we received another life-the divine life, the life of God-which is different from our natural life. Whether our natural life is good or bad, we need to forget that life and go along with the second life, the divine life. In this second life there is a law that corresponds to the five laws in Leviticus 6 and 7 concerning the enjoyment of Christ in five aspects. Today, we need to go along strictly with this second life. If we do this, we will receive much spiritual benefit.
Every life has its own law and its own sense. The divine life, therefore, has a law and also a sense. To us today, this life is not objective but is altogether subjective. The divine life is in us. This life within us is subjective to such an extent that often we find it difficult to distinguish our original, natural life from our second, divine life. Nevertheless, it is a fact that the divine life is within us, and this life has a particular sense.
Some illustrations will help you understand what I mean by the sense of the divine life within us. Before you were saved, you may have enjoyed a certain kind of worldly entertainment. When you wanted to participate in that kind of entertainment, you simply did so. But after being saved and regenerated, quite often you would have a sense or feeling within that would not agree with your participating in that worldly amusement. You may then have felt that it was better to use the time to pray, and something within you-the sense of the divine life-would agree.
Sometimes the inner sense may not agree with your intention to spend a certain available time in prayer. After further consideration, you may have the desire to visit your cousin to preach the gospel, and the inner sense may agree. Praying and preaching the gospel are both good and holy things; however, the inner sense may agree with the latter and not with the former. Thus, you do not have the peace to stay home and pray, but you do have the peace to preach the gospel. Such an experience tells you that now you have something which you did not have before you were saved-the divine life with its law and its sense or feeling. If you take care of this inner sense, the sense of the divine life, you will keep the law of this life.
I would like to help you to make a decision, to make up your mind, to live and walk according to the law of the new life. You need to decide not to live any longer according to the old way. You are not what you were before you were saved. You are a new creation, a regenerated person, a member of the new man.
Immediately after their regeneration, some believers have not only the desire and the aspiration but even the ambition to be new, holy, heavenly persons. But perhaps some of you have not yet made such a decision. I am concerned that you will continue to live, act, and behave in the old way. Therefore, I would urge you, even beg you, to make a decision that you will not be as you were in the past.
Because we are regenerated persons, we should be different in everything from what we were in the past. We were generated through our parents to receive the natural, human life, but we were regenerated by God to receive the divine life and thereby to become God’s children. Now we need to live like children of God.
If you were adopted by the president, surely you would decide spontaneously to live and act like a child of the president. We need to realize that we are children of the Lord of the whole universe, the One who is much higher than the president. Since we are children of such a God, we should behave as His children.
Although we are the children of God, we may come to the meetings of the church in either a proper or an improper way. Some may come to the meeting on the Lord’s Day sloppily dressed. They may also come late and take a seat according to their preference. Of course, the meeting is full of grace, and some grace may rain on them, but it is questionable how much grace they will receive and how much they will treasure it. Others may come to the meeting on the Lord’s Day properly washed and dressed, and prepared not only in their spirit but also in their whole being. They may even come early, take an appropriate seat, and pray for the meeting. Surely they will receive more grace, and they will treasure what they receive. They will receive spiritual benefit, and they will in turn be a benefit to the church.
We need all kinds of regulations in our Christian life. Some may feel that this is too legal, but here in the type we do have the laws, the regulations, for the enjoyment of Christ.
Let us now consider the various aspects of the law of the trespass offering.
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