In this and the following chapter, we review the practice of the new way so that we may make some changes and adjustments. This may be likened to the need of examining the Passover lamb before it could be offered. Our purpose in doing this is not to find fault but to make a proper assessment.
Since October of 1984 we have brought up the matter of changing the system. At that time I called together the saints in the church in Taipei and told them that our changing of the system is to discard the old practices of the past and adopt new practices for doing everything. The so-called new practices are those which are already in the holy Scriptures but are not being practiced by us. We have been practicing the old way with ease, and now all of a sudden we want to practice the new way, and the so-called new way has not yet been paved. Therefore, we need to continue probing as we go along, researching on the one hand and adjusting on the other. At the same time, I also told the saints that although I vigorously brought up the matter of changing the system, I myself did not have any confidence. This is because although I had experienced and had gotten into many things, I had not yet done any research on how to practice the new way, and neither had I personally experienced it. For this reason we are studying while we are practicing; no final conclusion has been made.
Any matter without a final conclusion is very difficult to carry out, and complications can easily arise. Generally, Christians have the religious concept that people must worship in a big chapel to be proper. Today in the research stage of our practice of the new way, we must at least get rid of this kind of religious formality. On the positive side, however, we still have to improve.
Last Saturday I attended a meeting in a home. If I had not gone, no one would have been baptized, but I went, and two persons were baptized. In that home meeting there were many gospel friends, and they were very open. Some of them had been to the meeting many times already, and one of them even helped in serving. But the meeting had gone on for a long time, and still no one was going to be baptized. I refrained, however, from doing anything right away; rather, I yielded the meeting to the saints. I wanted to understand why they had so many good gospel candidates, yet they would not baptize them. An elder present at the meeting thought that these gospel friends still needed to understand the truth, so he started to speak from the Bible and then from the hymns. When I saw the situation, I became more clear within. I knew that the more he talked, the more he would surely hinder people from being baptized; people might repent and believe, but they would not be baptized. Therefore, I waited for an opportunity.
After the elder finished his talk, the host also spoke something; then there was a “selah.” If everyone had been like Job speaking eloquently with long discourses, I would have had no way, but when the “selah” came, this gave me a good opportunity. Immediately I turned to the most promising gospel friend and asked him if he had prayed before. He said that he had not. Therefore, I turned to Romans 10:13 and showed him the verse, which says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Then I led him in prayer and finally asked him to pray by himself. After that, I asked him what Romans 10:13 says. He answered, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I asked him if he had called upon the name of the Lord. He said that he had. I asked him if he was saved. He answered that he was saved. Then I led everyone to congratulate him for his salvation. Next I asked him to read the first half of Mark 16:16, which says, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” As he was going to continue reading the second half, I said, “No need to read on; that part is for those who will perish. You only need to read this part of the sentence: ‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.’” I asked him to repeat this sentence a few times, then I asked the host to prepare water for baptism. He was baptized within fifteen minutes. An elderly sister even went and got a camera to take pictures.
As the baptism was going on, the sister of the host’s daughter-in-law came with a sister in the Lord; this one was also a very good “gospel contact,” for she was also not yet baptized. I was very clear within that this one also should be baptized. Right after the brother was baptized and had his picture taken, this new sister was also baptized. This would have been impossible in a big meeting. At the end the elderly sister said, “Brother Lee, for thirty years I had not spoken with you. Today I am very happy that I can have my picture taken together with you.” How do you feel about this kind of meeting? If someone comes to visit the church in Taipei and sees this kind of home meeting with speedy baptisms and also with picture taking, he might ask, “What kind of meeting is this?”
Home | First | Prev | Next