"The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God
. . ."
1 Peter 4:17
The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s
idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the
great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through
which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware
of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience—
preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are
not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and
pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is
always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with
someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not
for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the
truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest
test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment.
When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face
with God Himself.
If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to
equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a
stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling
God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every
element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The
moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be
the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.
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