I think I need to say an opening word. We all know that Christianity today has fallen into such a condition that it has become a religion. The prerequisites of any religion are beliefs or doctrines and rituals or methods. Therefore, every religion has its doctrines and its rituals. Since Christianity has fallen into religion, it also manifests this kind of condition, having doctrines on the one hand and rituals on the other hand. These two things perfectly fit man’s natural concept and taste. Man naturally delights in listening to sermons and watching ceremonies.
The Bible, however, shows us that the Lord’s salvation in us is not a religion but altogether a story of life. It is true that we need to have a considerable amount of knowledge about life, but this kind of knowledge is not for knowledge itself; rather, it is for life to exist, to grow, and to become strong. This may be compared to the fact that in today’s medical science there is nothing empty; empty theories do not exist in the medical field. Everything in the medical profession is practical, concrete, real, and applicable. Likewise, the words the Lord gives us today are not hollow; rather, they are practical and pragmatic.
However, according to our natural sentiments, we enjoy listening to doctrinal teachings, and we also like performing rituals. Yet these two things are contrary to the Lord’s life and have no place in the Bible. Although the Bible covers a great variety of things, strictly speaking, it does not contain the so-called doctrines found in today’s Christianity. The Bible is altogether an explanation of life and a guide to life. Moreover, it does not contain any methods or rituals.
From the time of the Reformation with Luther, the reality of redemption has been recovered; there is no question about this. Today no one can take away justification by faith from Christians because this matter has already been recovered into the Christian life. When you read the biographies of the saints in the past, you cannot deny that in the last five hundred years of church history there has been a considerable measure of life. However, we also have to admit that the matter of redemption has gradually been made doctrinal, and the knowledge and experience of life have also been turned into doctrines. Today the situation is that orthodox Christianity has turned many positive things into doctrines. In these recent years some people have made the matters pertaining to the knowledge and experience of life into doctrines, just as theologians made justification by faith into a doctrine. Many of them have the doctrine but not the reality of justification by faith. They have no experience whatsoever of justification by faith, yet they preach the doctrine of justification by faith. They have the belief but not the reality. In the same manner, there are also people who turn the matter of spiritual life into a doctrine. They preach the doctrine concerning life without having the experience of life. Thus, they have made the things pertaining to life into doctrinal matters. As a result, the things of life have nearly become theories, philosophical ideas, and mere teachings.
What is the reason for this? Let me use medical science again as an example. In modern medical science many kinds of vitamins in the food we eat were discovered and thoroughly researched. Hundreds or thousands of years ago our ancestors consumed these vitamins-probably more than we do, but they did not have the knowledge about vitamins. They had the reality but not the knowledge. I am afraid that today some people might have a thorough study of vitamins, yet they might not be taking any vitamins. Thus, you can see that having the knowledge is one thing and having the reality is another thing. The reality of vitamins is in eating and drinking. You must eat and drink. No matter how much you talk about vitamins, they will be useless to you unless you take them in. In like manner, today we need knowledge, but even more we need reality. What we are afraid of today is that the truths concerning matters such as redemption and life have become doctrines without the reality.
Where is this reality? Dear brothers and sisters, it is in the Spirit. This is the problem of Christianity today. Not to mention those Christians who have fallen into the world or those who are modernists, even those who are fundamental and “spiritual” are lacking in the matter of the Spirit. They do not pay enough attention to the Spirit, nor do they have sufficient experience of the Spirit. What we should know about the Spirit is too little, but compared to the real measure of what we have experienced of the Spirit, what we know is too much. It seems that a great part of what we have consists of knowledge and understanding and that only a small part consists of experience and reality. Therefore, I hope that I can make this matter clear to you and that at the same time I can help you make a proper turn.
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