In addition to studying the truth, you also need to pursue life, and in pursuing life, you should carefully read two books—The Knowledge of Life and The Experience of Life. The introduction to The Knowledge of Life and the preface to The Experience of Life clearly point out that although many saints have pursued life over the past two thousand years, no one has been able to clearly explain the various stages of spiritual life and the points one should know to progress along the path of life. In these two books I present these matters in a scientific way. Many of the points contained in these books cannot be found in any of the books of Christianity. No one has ever spoken concerning the three lives and four laws or regarding the nineteen points of the four stages of the spiritual life. Therefore, you have to endeavor to get into these two books and to pursue, stage by stage, the four stages of the spiritual life.
I am worried that the saints in the churches may think that our current emphasis is on preaching the gospel and on the small groups, that our focus is on propagating and gaining increase, and that we are neglecting the matter of life. This is wrong. I hope that you would all experience life in a solid way and realize that everything in the universe has its laws and principles. Science searches out the laws and principles of the universe. For example, the law of human reproduction is contained in marriage. Without marriage, humans cannot reproduce. Therefore, God created our first ancestors as a couple so that they would be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:27-28).
Anyone who abides by the law of propagation will reproduce, but this does not mean that what they produce will be acceptable. Lot and his daughters illustrate this point. They abode by this law and had two children—Moab and Ammon (19:30-38). However, the Moabites and Ammonites were not permitted to enter into the holy congregation of Jehovah for ten generations (Deut. 23:3). This shows us that we cannot care only for the fulfillment of the law of propagation and neglect the principle of life. Lot and his daughters acted according to the law of propagation, but they did so in violation of the law of morality. Their way of propagation did not care for the principles of life and human ethics. This was altogether wrong.
I say this to warn you. You must not focus only on propagation and increase while neglecting the law of life. We have led many people to salvation, but are they people of the holy congregation, or are they Moabites and Ammonites? When you go out to work on the campus and to preach the gospel, you cannot care only for the law of propagation and not care for the proper procedure. In my view our campus work is somewhat leaning toward the way of the world. What is the proper procedure of propagation? The proper procedure is as follows: first, we must endeavor to preach the gospel, and second, we must use the small groups. If you do these two things and you do not take the worldly ways, you will have propagation and increase.
We should not criticize others. We should simply exercise strict control over ourselves. We should not fulfill the law of propagation yet violate the principle of life. It is possible to carry out the law of propagation when seeking increase but violate the law of the spiritual life. If we do this, we will have results similar to that of Lot. We may bear children, but these children will not be able to enter into the holy congregation and will be condemned. In the past many evangelists have saved thousands of people, but in principle many of the ones they brought forth may have been “Moabs” and “Ammons” who were not permitted to enter into the holy congregation of Jehovah. Today we have to carry out the law of propagation that God has ordained, but we also have to care for the principle of the spiritual life. Therefore, we need to be those who are orthodox, and our way should be proper. The proper way is to labor on and build up the small groups. This way is different from the way of Christianity.
Many denominations and Christian groups fulfill the law of propagation, yet they do so by utilizing many human methods. For example, they use social activities to attract people and to bring them in. Some groups even use rock music. To do this is to violate the principle of the spiritual life. Because they violate this principle, few of those who are saved by them are in the holy congregation. Of course, there are also “Ruths” among them who receive the Lord’s special mercy to seek after Him and to choose Christ. These ones have turned and have entered the holy congregation. My intention in fellowshipping with you about these matters is not to criticize people. My hope is only that you would understand that even though some denominations and Christian groups bring people to salvation, this does not mean that their principle of life is right or is approved by God.
Thirty years ago our rate of increase was very rapid. In five or six years, we had a one hundredfold increase. There are only a few groups in the whole world that have ever had this rate of increase. This was thirty years ago. Within the last fifteen years, however, many groups have surpassed us in their propagation and level of increase. Nonetheless, just because they are ahead of us does not mean they do not have any problems. When a person is running on a racecourse, he will be disqualified if he violates any of the rules. With propagation and increase, however, there is more involved than merely being disqualified, because there is also the question of the children who are begotten. Lot made a mistake, but if he had not begotten any children, he would only have been “disqualified.” However, because he begot Moab and Ammon, he also brought harm to the people of Israel. Today many individuals and groups care only for their goal but not for their means or for the principle of life. We cannot be this way.
Today we need to care both for the goal and for the means. Our goal is propagation, and our means is life. I believe that when we care for our means in carrying out the law of propagation, we will definitely have increase. Thirty years ago we took care of these two aspects, and we produced the proper result. Thirty years later we are still for the law of life—we do not love the world, we do not touch sin, we break bread, and we pray in a devout and timely way. However, in the aspect of the work, we have not been carrying out the law of propagation. We have not labored, and we have not had the small groups. We simply “submitted to the will of the heavens,” and “let nature take its course.” The result is that our propagation stopped. Therefore, today we not only need to care for the principle of life, but we also need to carry out the law of propagation. We cannot bring forth children by violating the law of life and committing “incest.” Begetting children is right and necessary, but we cannot do it by any means that we choose without caring for the principle of life.
It is impossible to hear the truths that we have among us anywhere in Christianity. This is because they do not have this light, and they lack this revelation. This proves that we have received the Lord’s mercy and are particularly blessed. Since this is the case, you have to seize the opportunity to be one who is strong and pure for the testimony of the Lord’s recovery. The way of the Lord’s recovery is far-reaching, and the future of the Lord’s recovery is very broad. Even though the principle of life limits us, I believe that by being under it the Lord’s recovery will expand and spread to all the continents of the earth. This will prepare a way for the Lord to gain His bride and will give Him a way to come back.
The situation in today’s Christianity is that although multitudes of people have been saved, few have entered the holy congregation. How then can the Lord come back? Even though propagation is good and increase is necessary, we still need to ask, “How are children being born? Who gave birth to them? Were they born of Lot and his daughters or of Abraham and Sarah?” You have to consider my words as a serious warning. When we carry out the law of propagation, we must be under the principle of life. For this reason we must have the knowledge of life, and we must also have the genuine experience and growth in life. Then we will avoid Lot’s mistake and avoid producing descendants in an improper way.