dealt with many other matters, but they refuse to confess with their

dealt with many other matters, but they refuse to confess with their

16 The Life that Wins

especially merciful to their child. How, then, can you suggest that God would purposely cause you to suffer? Do you really think He would intentionally destroy you? You forget that He is your Father."

Let me make clear to you that the consecrated one alone has power. He places his business in God's hand; he puts his parents, wife and children in His hand also. His wealth too is in God's hand. The consecrated one could never take what the Lord has given him and deposit it in the world. On the contrary, he offers himself and all that he has to God. Whoever is afraid to lay all (including people, things and affairs) before God in consecration cannot be an overcomer. The more a person offers to the Lord, the greater will be that person's power. For the one who willingly offers to the Lord seems to press things into His hand, asking Him to take more in. Consecration makes life powerful as well as joyful. He who is unwilling to offer to God is powerless, joyless, and sinful.

8. Unrepentant of Sins That Require Confession. Some may have dealt with many other matters, but they refuse to confess with their heart that there are sins in their lives. This is what is meant by the phrase in Psalm 66.18 to "regard iniquity in [the] heart." The heart not only longs for but even loves the sin, and is thus unable to get rid of it. There is that secret love in the heart for this or that sin, and an unwillingness to confess it. Though one may not speak out loud that he loves the sin and may not even move towards it with his feet, his heart is nonetheless already there. Oftentimes sin is not a matter of outward conduct but of inward desire. Whoever regards iniquity in his heart needs victory.

Many not only love sin in their hearts, they also have sins which remain unconfessed. How often you sin against a brother, and whenever you think about it you acknowledge to yourself that you have offended him. So that henceforth you try to change your outward attitude towards him by being especially kind to him: you shake his hand when you meet, and you receive him with diligence.

Our Experience 17

Let me say that changing your attitude is your best way, but it is not at all God's way. His way is not a change in your outward attitude. What God expects is for you to confess your sin.

Now with regard to confessing sin, the Bible does not teach that we must confess in detail. It only instructs us to confess the sin, not to tell the detailed story of it to others. "If thy brother sin against thee" (Matt. 18.15a). He may sin against you in a number of things. But when he comes to confess, he only needs to say, "Brother, I have sinned against you," and you must forgive him. There is no need for the one who comes to you to tell the hidden stories, because no human ear is worthy to hear all these stories.

Let me ask you, how many sins do you still regard in your heart? How many iniquities are yet there? If there are such sins, you need victory, else you will not be able to live a life that wins.

Victory Is Necessary As Well As Possible

If you have these eight kinds of sin as just outlined above, you need victory for sure. I do not know how many of these eight kinds of sin you may have. Perhaps only one or two of them continues to entangle you, perhaps more. Nevertheless, God will consent to allow neither many or one of these sins to entangle you. Such a situation ought not to exist; it is clearly unnecessary. I thank and praise God, because whatever sin it may be, it is under your feet. Thank the Lord that no sin is so strong that you have to yield to it. Thank Him that no temptation is too great to overcome.

The life which the Lord has ordained for us is one of unshadowed communion with Him, of doing the will of God, and of total detachment from all contrary things. Every Christian is absolutely able to overcome sins of the mind, body, flesh and spirit, our contrary disposition, unbelief, and even the love of sin. Thank and praise God, this is not an unobtainable, ideal life under consideration

18 The Life that Wins

here. This is a totally practical way of living which all of us may have in experience.

Honest in Heart, Not Deceiving Oneself

We must ask God to deliver us from deceiving ourselves. For He can only bless one class of people—those who possess an honest heart before Him. It is said that God will bless those who do not lie to Him. If you honestly say to Him, "O God, I did lie before, but I ask Your forgiveness; He will immediately bless you.

Perhaps you as an unsatisfied Christian are asking God to satisfy you. Let me frankly tell you that the one who is unsatisfied may not necessarily be the hungry one. In order to be satisfied, we must first be hungry. The prodigal left his father's home, wasted all he had, and later longed to fill his belly with the husks which the swine were eating; but no one gave to him. This is a being unsatisfied. Some, though, may be filled with husks, yet they remain unsatisfied every day. Hence being unsatisfied is one thing, whereas being hungry is another. How can we be satisfied if we are often weak and frequently defeated? We may be unsatisfied, yes; but we still live such a life from dawn to dusk. Consequently, it is better that we be hungry instead of being merely unsatisfied. For God can only bless those who are hungry. He has no obligation to fulfill the merely unsatisfied.

Let us today stop lying, for we have lied long enough before God. Let us acknowledge that we have failed before Him. Our confession before men will glorify God's name. Praise and thank the Lord, all who are honest will receive blessing. May many be met by God and be blessed.

The Christian Life As Revealed in

Scripture

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Eph. 1.3)

The Christian's Experience of Defeat

When we were first saved our hearts were filled with joy because of the grace of God. We had great hope for our life. We thought that henceforth we could tread all sins under our feet. We reckoned that from now on we would walk a victorious path. No temptation could be too great for us to overcome. No problem could be too difficult for us to solve. Our future was full of glorious hope, because at that time we tasted the peace and joy of sins forgiven for the very first time. Our communion with God was effortless and sweet. We were truly full of joy; we felt heaven was very close to us. It seemed that nothing was impossible to us. We fully believed that day after day we would live victoriously.

Unfortunately, such a beautiful condition does not last long; and this glorious expectation is not fulfilled. The sins which you dreamed were already overcome find their way back again. Sins which once could not touch you have now returned. Your old temper, pride and jealousy raise their ugly heads once more. You read God's word much, but you get no help. You pray, yet you lose the intimate taste you once enjoyed. Your zeal for the lost also decreases, and your love grows cold. You may be able to deal with some matters, but you find that certain others are beyond your strength. Your daily note is now defeat, not victory. In fact, in your daily life you experience more defeats than victories. You sense your great lack. As you compare yourself with Paul, John, Peter and those other Christians in the first century, you know how different they were from you. You

20 The Life that Wins

are unable to help other people. You may tell them the stories of your victories, but you dare not tell them the stories of your defeats. You feel your days of victory are short while your days of defeat are long. And consequently, you pass your time in sorrow. Such is the experience which many Christians share.

When we are saved, we surmise that since our sins are forgiven they will never find us again. We honestly believe that the joy and peace we now enjoy will remain with us forever. Who would therefore imagine that sin as well as temptation might ever return? Who would ever expect that there might later be more lows than highs? Who would ever dream there might be more sorrows than joys awaiting us sometime down the road? Yet, when temptation, pride, jealousy, ill temper or whatever do come back we will usually do two things: we will either exert our utmost strength to suppress sin, or else we will take the attitude that it is impossible to overcome. As these sins return, we on the one hand may exert much effort to suppress them so that they will not appear outwardly: whoever among us is able to control or suppress them will consider himself to be victorious. But on the other hand, those of us who are defeated spend our days in defeat and victory, victory and defeat, sinning and repenting, repenting and sinning. it is a life of continuously making a circle which only ends in our falling into deep despair. Hence, if we succeed in controlling sin, we merely suppress it for a time; or if we fail to suppress it, we consider sinning to be unavoidable and plunge into despair and a wringing of our hands.

Yet I need to ask you in the presence of the God whom I serve: When our Lord Jesus went to the cross on our behalf, did He have in view for our future the kind of experience we too often go through today? As He was being crucified, did He envision our current living as that which would be success in the morning but failure in the afternoon? Is the work He has fully accomplished on the cross not enough to enable us to serve Him in holiness and righteousness? Did the Lord shed His blood on the cross because He only saw the

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 21

penalty of hell without seeing as well the pain of sinning? Does the blood He shed on the cross only save us from the sufferings of the future but leave the sufferings of today for us to bear?

Oh! At this point I cannot help but shout, Hallelujah! for our Lord has accomplished all at Calvary! While He was on the cross, He thought not only of the penalty of hell but also of the pain of sin. He foresaw the sufferings due to the power of sin as well as those due to its penalty. He has a salvation which enables us to live on earth as He once lived on earth. In other words, Christ's work of redemption has not only prepared a position and ground for us to be saved but also provided a position and ground for us to be saved to the uttermost. We are well able hereafter to live differently from the manner that we now live. Let us say Hallelujah, because today there is a gospel of glad tidings for saints as well as for sinners.

The Christian Life As Ordained by God

What kind of life should a Christian live according to God's will? This does not refer to a matured Christian, but to each and every born-again believer. By knowing the kind of life one ought to live, he can realize his great lack. Let us look at several passages of Scripture which describe the various facets of this life.

(1) A Life That Is Free from Sins. "She shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1.21). At both Chefoo and Peking, some brothers said to me, "We liked to call Him Christ before, but henceforth we will say Jesus, our Saviour." Why is He called Jesus? It is because this name means "he shall save his people from their sins"

You have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, and you have received the grace of forgiveness. All this is true, for which you can thank and praise God. But what has Jesus done for you after all? "He shall save

22 The Life that Wins

his people from their sins" This is ordained by God and accomplished by Jesus. The question now is, are you still living in sins or have you come out of sins? Does your old temper continue to flare up; do your old thoughts continue to trouble you; and has your pride or selfishness remained unchanged? In other words, are you still bound by your sins? Or have you come out completely from them?

I have used the following illustration many times before, but I will use it here once more. A life jacket is different from a lifeboat. When a person falls into the sea, he grasps the life jacket thrown to him. Thus he does not sink; yet he does not get out of the water either. He stays in a condition of neither living nor dying. A lifeboat, though, is something quite different. The person who has fallen into the sea can be drawn out of the water and put into a lifeboat. Similarly speaking, the salvation of our Lord cannot be likened to that of a life jacket but to that of a lifeboat. The Lord will not let you remain in a state of "neither living nor dying"; He will instead save His people from their sins because He has not left us in sins. Hence the salvation spoken of in the Bible is a saving us from sins. Nevertheless, how many of us, though truly still saved, continue to live in sins! Can the Bible be untrue? Certainly not. The Bible is right, whereas our experience is wrong.

(2) A Life That Holds Intimate Communion with God "And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David . . . that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies should serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days" (Luke 1.69, 74-75). God has raised up "a horn of salvation" in the house of David. This horn of salvation we have already possessed. What does this do for us, and to what extent has He delivered us? He has delivered us "out of the hand of our enemies." How then should we live today now that we are delivered out of the enemies' hands? Is it that we should sometimes serve Him in righteousness and holiness? Thank and praise the Lord, He wants

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 23

us to serve Him "in holiness and righteousness all our days." As long as we shall live, we are to serve Him in holiness and righteousness. Such is the life ordained by God.

Yet we have to shamefully acknowledge that though we have been delivered by God from the hands of our enemies, we have not served Him in holiness and righteousness all our days. If the word in the Scriptures be true, then our personal experience must be wrong.

(3) A Life That Is Wholly Satisfied with the Lord "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life" (John 4.14). How precious is this word! Our Lord does not say that a special Christian will receive from Him a special grace so that in him there will be a well of water springing up to eternal life. Not at all. Our Lord says, "whosoever"! Moreover, He addresses this word directly to a Samaritan woman—a complete stranger! He says to her, If you believe, you will have this living water, which will then become a well of water springing up to eternal life.

What is thirst? It is a being unsatisfied. But whoever drinks the water offered by the Lord shall never thirst again. Every Christian may know not only contentment but even eternal satisfaction. If he knows only contentment, he has yet to know more. What God has given causes us to be satisfied forever.

Many times when you walk the city's main street, are you thirsty? When you walk by department stores such as Wing On and Sincere,∗ are you thirsting after something? You perhaps figure if you could have this or that, how good life would be. This is thirst. When you notice what your schoolmate or colleague has, do you thirst for what

∗Two large department stores then in Shanghai.—Translator

24 The Life that Wins

he possesses? Yet our Lord declares, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life." Such is the kind of life He gives, even though our experience tells a different story.

Our Lord Jesus says that having Him is enough, but we say having Him is still not enough—we want still other things to satisfy us. Which is in error—what the Lord gives or what we experience? One of these two must be wrong. Yet the Lord never writes a check with insufficient funds to back it up. He gives whatever He says He gives. Our experience in the past is like being "half-saved." Why does He say that whoever believes in Him shall never thirst? Because something new has happened in that person. Within him there is now a new desire and a new satisfaction.

Let me ask you this: Do you live before God serving Him daily in holiness and righteousness? Is there something springing forth from you that can quench the thirst of other people? The Chinese have a saying—"Nothing doing"; but we Christians can say, "Nothing asking." We ask for nothing else because we are fully satisfied with the Lord himself. Is this true of you? If you still feel unsatisfied, your life experience is doubtlessly wrong.

(4) A Life That Is Full of Influence. "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7.37-38). From whose innermost being shall flow rivers of living water? Not just from those so-called special Christians—such as the apostles Paul, Peter and John; but also from whoever believes—such as from within you and me. This causes people in contact with us to find satisfaction and to be thirsty no more.

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 25

I have a friend by whose presence when contact is made with her you are immediately convicted of the vulgarity of loving the world, the foolishness of being ambitious, and the tastelessness of coveting. One day you may consider a certain matter quite unsatisfactory, but as you touch her, you sense you are already satisfied by the Lord. Or you may one day find satisfaction in a certain thing, yet a touch with her makes you feel that that thing is really quite nothing. Out of the believer, says Jesus, shall flow rivers of living water. This is what our Lord has provided, and it should be the common experience of all Christians. For what I say here is not to be merely the experience of special saints, but the experience all Christians ought to have in common.

We need to inquire of ourselves, do people have no more thirst once they have had contact with us? Or do they continue to feel thirsty after they have been with us? If when people say their life is miserable, sad and undone, we in response acknowledge the same thing, then this shows we are not rivers of living water but are barren deserts which dry up the moisture and deaden the plants. Such a condition proves we are wrong. Yet God is never wrong.

(5) A Life That Is Free from the Power of Sin. "Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities" (Acts 3.26). This is the message Peter delivered at the porch of the temple in Jerusalem. What the Lord Jesus has accomplished is in turning people from their iniquities. The minimum experience of a Christian is to be freed from sin. Whatever he knows to be sin must be overcome. I do not insist we must conquer the sins which we have no knowledge of, but I do declare we ought to overcome through our Lord all sins which we know. We should overcome all those which have entangled us for many years. The Bible says, "even if a man be overtaken in any trespass" (Gal. 6.1a); yet too often our experience as believers is that we only overcome occasionally. How abnormal is our experience!

26 The Life that Wins

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?" (Rom. 6.1-2) We who believe in the Lord Jesus have died to sin. Thus, no Christian should continue in it. How do we know we are dead to sin? Paul provides the answer in the very next verse: "Are ye ignorant that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (v.3) In other words, those who have been baptized are dead to sin. For baptism is into the death of Christ Jesus: "We were buried ... with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life" (v.4). This is the kind of life a Christian should live daily. All who have been baptized ought to walk in newness of life. These are not special Christians Paul has in view here; rather, they are the newly baptized ones. We have all been baptized, therefore we should walk in newness of life. Such experience is ordained by God for all believers.

"Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6.14). Oh, how I love this verse! Let me ask you: Who is the one in view here who is not under law but under grace? Is it Andrew Murray? or Paul? or Peter or John? Or is it, that all who believe are not under law but under grace? How many of you are under grace today? Praise and thanks be to our God, all of us are under grace, with none of us still under law!

The words which precede this statement we have just discussed are, "sin shall not have dominion over you?" Here it declares that sin shall not be our lord! Victory is not the experience of special Christians, it is instead an experience all believers may share; because all who are saved are under grace. When I was first saved, I considered this verse to be most precious. In those days I confessed I had many victories over many sins, and God was truly gracious to me. Yet there was one particular sin which had dominion over me, and a few other sins which frequently returned to trouble me again and again. This can be illustrated by what happened to me one day as

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 27

I was walking on the street. There I met a certain brother to whom I nodded my head in acknowledgement. Shortly thereafter I came out of a store and met him a second time. And for the second time I acknowledged him by nodding my head. I entered into still another store and when I came out of it, I met him once more. So again I nodded my head. I crossed over to another street, and there to my amazement I encountered him a fourth time! Another street after that and I saw him again. Within one day and I had met him five times, and five times I had nodded my head. This can illustrate, can it not, the way in which we meet up with sin.

We do not know why we always encounter this or that particular sin as though it were following us. Yet it does. Some find ill-temper following them; some, pride following them; some, jealousy; others, laziness; still others, lying; some, misery and self-pity; some, meanness; some, selfishness; others, unclean thoughts; and still others, impure passions. In fact, everybody seems to have a special sin that always follows him or her. I myself found a few sins that followed me most powerfully and tenaciously. I had to concede that sin did have dominion over me. I finally confessed to the Lord, "You say that sin shall not have the rule over me; therefore, I consent that the fault must be in me and not in Your word."

Although you may live a defeated life, you nonetheless know that this is not the life ordained by God. If sin still has the rule over you, you should clearly understand that this is not what God has ordained. For His word plainly says, "sin shall not have dominion over you."

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8.1). In my preaching I have explained the word "condemnation" many times. Some twenty years ago, from an old manuscript excavated from the ground, it was explained that this word in the original Greek language had two usages: one, civil; the other, legal (and thus in this latter sense, the English word "condemnation" is used). According to civil usage, it could be

28 The Life that Wins

translated as "without strength" Hence we may legitimately retranslate this verse as follows: "There is therefore now no being without strength to them that are in Christ Jesus" How marvelous this is! Let me ask you again, whose verse is this? Only Wesley's? or Martin Luther's? or only Hudson Taylor's? What does the Scripture say here? It says that those who are in Christ Jesus are no longer without strength. Who are these people? They are all Christians— since every Christian is in Christ, and no one in Christ is without strength.

"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death" (v.2). I will repeat a hundred times that it is not those special saints who are freed from the law of sin and of death. It is instead true that every Christian is set free from the law of sin and of death. What is meant by being "without strength"? It is what is spoken of in Romans 7: "to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise" (vv.18b-19). In other words, the total thrust of Romans 7 indicates that I am without strength, I cannot do it. The history of many a Christian is marked by a cycle of resolutions and broken promises. Yet we thank and praise God that His word unmistakably declares that no Christian is now without strength.

What is law? It is something which always repeats itself. A law acts the same way and produces the same result at any place and under any circumstance. It is a constant phenomenon, reveals a continuous habit, and always ends with the same effect. There is, for instance, the force of gravity at the center of the earth. Whenever you throw an object, that object is always attracted by this gravitational force and falls downward. This force of gravity is thus a universal law.

For some, then, the losing of one's temper becomes a law. He may endure temptation once or twice, but on the third occasion of being

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 29

provoked he begins to be agitated, and by the fourth time he completely loses his temper. It does not matter which person or thing he encounters. At first he can endure a provocation, but his temper will always eventually explode later. So that with each occasion he is tempted to lose his temper, and without exception it ends up with the same result.

Pride oftentimes acts the same way. You may remain untouched at the first word with which you are praised, but you will feel your face begin to glow with pride upon hearing the second word of praise. Whatever passes through the same procedure and produces the same result constitutes a law. In short, we sin till sinning becomes a law.

It needs to be said again that it is not those special Christians who are made free from the law of sin. Rather, every Christian hereafter is not to be without strength; every Christian is now set free from the law of sin. The Scripture passages quoted above are facts, not commands. They therefore ought to be the experience of all believers. Yet how sad that our experience does not measure up to God's word.

(6) A Life That Overcomes Environment. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Rom. 8.35, 37). Through the Lord who loves us we are made more than conquerors in all things. This is, in fact, the kind of experience a Christian should have. Yet a slight change in another's countenance—not to mention tribulation or sword!—will cause us to lose the consciousness of Christ's love. Nevertheless, Paul declared that in all these things we more than conquer.

Victory is to be the Christian's normal experience; defeat is abnormal. For according to God's will, every Christian should more than conquer in all kinds of environment. Whether it be tribulation or

30 The Life that Wins

anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword, we shall not only conquer, but more than conquer! Any increase in difficulty will make no difference. The world may look upon Christians as mad. So what if we are deemed mad! Through the love of Christ, we will not mind these things, because we more than conquer them. And such is to be the Christian's experience as ordained by God. But what is our experience? Sad to say, we have not lived rightly. For with but a little tribulation which comes our way we scream and complain how we have endured and suffered. Yet if we live rightly, we shall more than conquer in all these things.

"Thanks be unto God, who always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place" (2 Cor. 2. 14). The Christian life is not one that sometimes conquers and is sometimes defeated; is not one that is defeated in the morning and is conquering in the afternoon. It is always in triumph. According to the Biblical standard, it is to be deemed strange if you do not overcome and to be reckoned as common if you do overcome!

(7) A Life That Practices Good "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2.10). We all know that this verse continues from those very familiar and precious verses of 8 and 9. What is mentioned in the preceding verses is that we are saved by grace; but here it says we are His workmanship, created for good works which God has in advance prepared for us. This is not a description of the experience of some special Christians; it is instead the common experience shared by all believers—that is to say, God saves us all that we may all do good.

Do you do good according to what God has ordained? Or are you performing good works on the one hand and murmuring on the other? For instance, perhaps you are mopping the floor. As you are mopping, you at the same time wonder why only you and one other brother are doing this. Why are not the other brothers mopping too?

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 31

As you muse, you become either proud of yourself or begin to murmur at others. This cannot be viewed as doing good works. Every Christian should do good with his heart full of joy, nothing stingy or stinting about it, nothing selfish, but a willingness to pour out one's life for other people. How sad it would be if only the best Christian could do good works.

(8) A Life That Is Full of Light. "Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8.12). This is the life which God has ordained for Christians. It is not that a special class of Christians can walk in the light of life, but that all who follow Christ should not walk in darkness but can have the light of life. A Christian who is full of light is a normal Christian; the one who has no light is doubtless abnormal.

(9) A Life That Is Wholly Sanctified "The God of peace himself sanctify you wholly: and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5.23). This is the prayer of the apostle Paul for the Thessalonian believers. Since he prayed, "sanctify you wholly, it is evident that being entirely sanctified is possible and that to "be preserved entire, without blame" is also possible. For God is able to sanctify us completely and to preserve us blameless.

All these matters which have been mentioned above pertain to what the Lord has provided for Christians. His salvation is such as to enable all believers to maintain uninterrupted communion with God as well as to overcome sin so completely that they may tread it all under their feet. This, then, is the life ordained by the Lord for us all. And this is no theory but is very much a fact.

32 The Life that Wins

Must Experience God's Full Salvation

What is your experience today? If your experience is different from that spelled out in the Scriptures, then you are in need of full salvation. Your being saved is a fact; but you have not obtained salvation in fullness. May I therefore bring you glad tidings? What the Lord Jesus has accomplished on the cross not only can save you from the penalty of sin but can also deliver you from the pain of sin. For He has prepared such a full salvation for us that we may daily live in victory as well as receive the initial salvation.

What is victory? Victory is actually a remedial facet to salvation. This is so because at the time of our being saved, something was missing—yet not on God's part; for He never gives us a salvation which lets us live a wandering life: He wants us to have full salvation. But because we are not well saved, we today need such a remedial facet, which is none other than the experience of victory.

Would God save us and let us live on continually sinning and repenting? Can we continue in sin, having had the Son of God die for us? Is it possible that because we sinned before we were saved we cannot help but sin afterwards? Shall sin have dominion over us even after we are saved? How opposite both sin and God are to each other. Would God therefore allow sin to remain in us? Never. It is most hateful! Whether it is physical, psychological or dispositional, sin is still sin.

Let us say to the Lord, "Lord, I praise and thank You, because what You have accomplished on the cross has delivered me from the power of sin as well as saved me from its penalty. Let me see my lack and cause me to seek for victory." If our experience does not agree with what the Scripture declares, then we are surely in need of victory. May the Lord enlighten us that we may know ourselves. May we not deceive ourselves, imagining that sinning is inevitable

The Christian Life As Revealed in Scripture 33

for a Christian. I think no thought hurts our Lord more than this kind of attitude.

What do we really think the cross of Christ has accomplished? Has it accomplished only a little for us? Let us not lie to ourselves. Let us not boast that we can suppress and control ourselves. For such suppression and control of ourselves do not constitute victory. The victory of Christ is to destroy sin completely. And praise the Lord that sin has been trodden under His feet. But today those of us who have neither obtained uninterrupted communion with God nor had the power to overcome sin are in need of victory. May God be gracious to each one of us.

The Nature of the Life That Wins

"The Strength of Israel [margin, "the Victory of Israel"] will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent" (1 Sam. 15.29).

The first mention of victory in the whole Bible is found in 1 Samuel 15.29. There it says that Victory will not lie nor repent. The Victory of Israel is neither an experience nor an event; it is a Person. I am sure we all know who that Person is. It is Christ! Hence let me tell you today that victory does not reside in ourselves, nor is it our own experience. Victory is not you as the problem; victory is the person of Christ living for you! And thus the victory we obtain will neither lie nor repent. Praise God, victory is a living Person!

According to the word of God, the nature of victorious life is many-sided. But we shall only describe five of its many characteristics.

The Meaning of This Life—Not a Changed Life, but an Exchanged

One

First of all, please notice that victory is an exchanged life, not a changed life. Victory is not that I have changed, but rather that I have been exchanged. One verse which is most familiar to us is Galatians 2.20: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God." What is meant by this verse? It has only one meaning: the life spoken of is an exchanged life. Basically, it is no longer I, for it has absolutely nothing to do with me. It is not that the bad I has become the good I, or the unclean I has changed to be the clean I. It is simply "not I" Today people make a serious mistake in thinking that victory is

36 The Life that Wins

progressive and defeat is retrogressive—that if a person is able to control his temper or maintain an intimate fellowship with God, then he is victorious. Not so. Let us ever keep in mind that victory has basically no relation to one's own self.

One brother confessed with crying that he could not overcome. I frankly told him that he indeed could not overcome. He continued to say he could not overcome. How could I help him? I said to this brother: "God has never demanded that you overcome. He has never asked you to change your bad temper to a good temper, your hardness to gentleness, or your sorrow to joy. The way of God is simply to exchange your life for Another Life, which therefore has absolutely nothing to do with you."

A sister complained that it appeared easy for others to overcome, but it was very difficult for her to do so. Because her temper was worse than other people's, because her thoughts were dirtier, and her disposition was more artful than most, therefore, she explained, she just could not control herself. My answer to her was this, "In truth, it is not only hard for you to overcome, it is so hard that it is impossible for you to do so. Do you really think it would be much easier to overcome if you by nature were a little more honest, a little better in temper, and a little cleaner in thought? Let me tell you, there is no such thing, because no matter how gentle and holy and perfect a person is, he cannot overcome unless he as a person is removed and lets Christ move in. Similarly, a person who is even worse and dirtier and more defective can experience victory only when he too as a person has moved out and has let Christ move in. Inasmuch as the one who is of a good temper and is moral needs to believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation as much as does the person whose temper is bad and whose morals are utterly corrupt, so the good-tempered and morally better needs victory for sanctification just as much as does the ill-tempered and morally corrupt. Victory is Christ himself, it has nothing to do with you and me."

The Nature of the Life That Wins 37

Once I met a sister whom I considered to be the most difficult among sisters to find victory. It required two hours for her to relate to me her defeats and failures from childhood till fifty years of age. She had no way to overcome her pride and ill-temper. She suffered defeats all the time. I had never met a person who desired victory as much as she, nor had I seen anyone who found victory so elusive as she. She moaned over her failures. She even thought of suicide because of her defeats. She found herself so helpless. As she was relating her story to me, I began to laugh. "Today" I said, "the Lord Jesus has met an ideal patient whom He can heal!"

This sister was so full of the sense of her own sins—pride and illtemper—that she would surely contaminate you by what she told you if you did not know what victory is. You would probably agree with her that there was no hope. But from God's word there come glad tidings of great joy—because though you cannot change, you may nevertheless be exchanged! The life that wins is an exchanged life. If it were up to you, you would never make it; but if it is a matter of Christ, there is absolutely no problem. The question is: who overcomes, you or Christ? If it is Christ, then it does not matter how you by nature are, even though you may be ten times worse than others.

I ask you, what is victory? It is not you overcoming, it is Christ who overcomes for you. The Scriptures teach only one kind of victory, and this is what Galatians 2.20 declares: "it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." The Fukienese in South China have a saying, "No change even with death" I told this to the brethren in Peking and observed that we should all say to ourselves, "No change even with death" Praise to the Lord that I have not changed, but I have been exchanged!

One sister asked me what the difference was between changed and exchanged. I used the following illustration. Suppose I held in my hand a copy of an old worn-out Bible. If I wanted to change it, I

38 The Life that Wins

would add a new cover, apply some glue, and imprint upon the cover in gold the letters spelling "Holy Bible." Furthermore, if any letter within its pages was missing, I would print it with ink; or if a letter was not clear, I would ink it more plainly with a pen. I did not know how long this process would take me, nor was I certain if it would come out well. If, however, I decided to exchange it for a new Bible, this could be done in a matter of a second. And in that case, I could give my worn-out copy to a bookseller and he would exchange it for a new Bible. It is just the same in our spiritual life. Since God has given His Son to you, you need not spend any strength of yours but simply give Him your worn-out life in exchange for His Son's life.

Let me use another illustration. Several years ago I bought a watch with a guarantee on it of two years. But as it turned out this watch was in my house for far less time than it was at the company's premises; for it began to run inaccurately after a while. As a result, it had to be taken to the company many times for repair—once, twice, even ten times. I was tired of running it over there, and moreover, the watch remained inaccurate. Hence I requested the company to exchange it for another watch. They replied, however, that they could not do so because there was no such company regulation that allowed for this. But since they guaranteed the watch for two years, they told me they would continue to repair it within the guarantee period. This went on for eight months, yet the company still refused to exchange it for a good watch. Finally, I grew so tired of this that I left my watch at the company permanently. This illustration can serve to show that man's way is always one of repairing. Repair, repair, and repair again within the guarantee period of life. Man has no way for exchange.

Even in the Old Testament time of Bible history we find that God's way was never to repair, nor to change, but to exchange. Note this passage, for example: "to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called

The Nature of the Life That Wins 39

trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified" (Is. 61.3). To substitute is God's way. He does not change ashes but instead gives a garland for ashes. Neither does He change sorrow in the slightest; He instead gives the oil of gladness for sorrow. Nor does He change the heaviness into praise, but gives the garment of praise in exchange for the spirit of heaviness. "Change" is never God's way; His way is always "exchange."

All these years I have not been able to change myself, yet God has exchanged me. This is holiness, this is perfection, this is victory, and this is the life of God's Son! Hallelujah! Henceforth the gentleness of Christ is my gentleness: the holiness of Christ is my holiness: the prayer life of Christ is my prayer life: the communion of Christ with God is now my communion with God. No sin is too big that I cannot overcome. No temptation is too severe that I cannot prevail. For the life that wins is Christ, not I. Will Christ ever be fearful of a big sin? Will He be afraid of great temptation? Praise God, I no longer fear because hereafter it is Christ and not I.

The Principle of This Life—a Gift, Not a Reward

There is one thing we must understand in all this, which is, that victory is a gift and not a reward. What is a gift? It is something which is freely given to you. That which you earn through work is a reward. A gift, on the other hand, asks for no effort on your part. It is that which is given gratuitously with no requirement placed upon the receiver, whereas a reward demands that someone work for it. The life that wins which we talk about does not require any effort of yours: "thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15.57). Victory is something which God has prepared to give to us. Our victory is obtained freely, not attained through self-effort.

Too often we believers have a serious misconception—imagining that while salvation comes to us freely, victory depends on ourselves.

40 The Life that Wins

We know we cannot add any merit or work of ours to obtain salvation. We must simply come to the cross and accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. This is the gospel! We realize we cannot be saved by works, yet we reason that for sanctification we must do good works after we are saved. This is to say that though you cannot be saved by works, you need to depend on works for victory.

Let me tell you that just as you are not saved by works, so you do not overcome by works. God has declared that you are unable to do good. Christ has died for you on the cross, and He is now living for you within. That which is of the flesh is flesh, and God rejects all that came from it. Nevertheless, we usually surmise that while salvation is dependent upon the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, we should think of doing good, should do good, and expect to do good for victory in our lives. Let us realize, though, that we can do no good. Victory is freely given us by God!

The verse preceding 1 Corinthians 15.57 speaks of sin and death, followed by this verse which speaks of the victory God has given us. Victory means to be triumphant over death as well as law and sin. For the redemption which God has accomplished overcomes not only sin but also law, not only law but also death. How I wish I could walk among you and tell each of you in turn that there is a gospel whereby God gives victory to everyone.

You are no doubt thinking, how can I overcome temptation? How can I overcome my pride? How can I overcome my jealousy? Oh, how much effort you have spent, and yet how many times you end up in despair. But I have a gospel to present to you today, which is this: that the gentleness, the holiness, the prayer life, and all that is in the Lord Jesus are given to you freely. As you receive Him, His all is yours. And if that is not glad tidings, then what is?

Calculate, if you will, how much time and strength you must spend in order to always pray and to maintain uninterrupted

The Nature of the Life That Wins 41

communion with God. Reflect on how much effort you must exert to overcome sins and ill-temper. You may be able to confess your sins, but you are unable to refrain from sinning. You frequently lie, and in spite of your exertion against it you continue to lie. I have met a number of brothers and sisters who told me that though they tried not to lie, they could not change themselves to keep from lying. I have a gospel of glad tidings for you indeed today! God has freely given to you the holiness, the patience, the perfection, the love, and the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus. He freely gives to everyone who desires it. God gives to you intimate communion with himself and holy living and perfect beauty such as is found in Christ. This is all a gift. But if you fancy to overcome by yourself, you will not be able to change your ill-temper or pride even after twenty years of effort. You will remain the same as you were twenty years before.

Nevertheless, God has here a perfect salvation for you. He makes the patience of Christ to be your patience, the holiness of Christ to be your holiness, the communion of Christ to be your communion, and all the virtues of Christ to be your virtues. Hallelujah! Such is the salvation which God has provided us. This is what He will freely give to us!

Have you ever observed a sinner who tried to save himself by works? I have encountered quite a few of them. When you meet such a sinner, will you not tell him he need not do anything because Christ has already done all? Since God has given the Lord Jesus to him, all he needs to do is to accept Him. In like manner with respect to victory, today I would deliver a similar message to you—you do not need to do anything, since Christ has done it all. God has given the Lord Jesus to you, and it is well if you receive Him. The victory is yours. As salvation is obtained through God's free grace without your works, so victory over sin is God's free gift without your works too. Salvation needs no effort of yours, and victory does not require your effort either.

42 The Life that Wins

I have here a Bible. Suppose I want to give it to you. The words written within are not your writing, the cover was not put on by you, neither have you imprinted the title with gold letters. All these were done by others. It is to be given to you as a gift. In the same way is this matter of victory, for it is a gift God freely gives to you. We are not to proceed gradually to victory, holiness, and perfection by our own effort and works. No, no, no! If there is anyone who has overcome, his victory must have come from the Lord Jesus.

Recently I met a sister who told me that having spent twenty years in trying to overcome her pride and ill-temper she had not only failed but also felt quite hopeless. This was what I said to her in response: "If you expect to overcome your pride and ill-temper by your own effort, you will not succeed even after twenty more years. But you can be freed from sins today if you simply accept the gift of God. This gift is freely given by Him, and it is yours by accepting it. The Lord Jesus is the victory. And by accepting Him as your victory, you obtain the victory" Whereupon she accepted this gift that God had given her. Do realize today the vanity of your works and the failure of your life. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall overcome.

There is one verse with which we are all familiar: "sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace" (Rom. 6.14). How is it that sin shall not have dominion over you? Because you are not under law but under grace. What is meant by being under law? I have mentioned many times before that being under law signifies God requiring man to work for Him. What, then, is being under grace? It denotes God working for man. If we work for God, sin shall reign over us. The wages of our works is having sin rule over us. But if God works for us, sin shall not have dominion over us. Under law, we work. Under grace, God works. When God works, sin shall not rule over us. For it is He who works, and this is victory. Whatever requires effort on our part is not victory. Victory comes freely to us.

The Nature of the Life That Wins 43

Suppose there is a person who has sinned so much until sinning becomes wearisome and meaningless and un-Christian like. Let me tell you that if you accept this gift of God now, you may immediately become a victorious person. For the principle of victory is the principle of gift, not of reward. And all shall be well by accepting this gift.

The Way to This Life—Obtained, Not Attained

The life that wins is to be obtained, never to be attained. Obtained simply means gaining possession of a thing. Attained, on the other hand, implies you have a long way to go and that you will proceed slowly without the assurance of arriving at the goal someday. Yet the victory of a Christian is not attained through a slow process. Once I was climbing Mount Kuling. Brother Sing-Liang Yu invited me to go with him. As we gradually climbed, I felt increasingly tired. After we had covered some distance, I asked brother Yu how much farther we had to go. He replied that it was not very far to the top. So we continued to trod on slowly. Still we had not arrived. Whenever I asked brother Yu, I always got the answer that we were almost there. Finally we did arrive. But suppose I were to go up the mountain by being carried in a sedan chair; in that case I would have obtained Kuling, not attained it. All things pertaining to the Holy Spirit are obtained. So that all which is related to victory must be received.

"If, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5.17). Here God declares that victory is a gift for you to accept. Victory is not something for you to slowly attain. It is a gift given you; it demands no work of yours. Suppose I give my Bible to you. Do you need to exert effort to get it? Just stretch out your arm and you have it in a second. It being a gift to you, you need not go home and fast for it, neither must you kneel towards Jerusalem three

44 The Life that Wins

times a day, nor are you obligated to resolve that you will not lose your temper hereafter. No, all you need to do is to receive it. So how many procedures must you go through to receive this Bible? There is no procedure but to take it with your hand. The same is it with victory; it is a gift that you obtain, not attain.

We are familiar with 1 Corinthians 1.30 which says that of God are we "in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (mg.). Since wisdom is the overall subject here, we can leave it without commenting on it. Here we find that God has made Christ to be three things to us: righteousness, sanctification, redemption. Now let me ask you, when did God make Christ our righteousness? You will all correctly reply that it was when Christ died on the cross and when you received Him as your righteousness. You did not need to weep three days before you received Him as your righteousness, nor did you need to apologize to people whom you had offended before you possessed Him. Praise to the Lord that the Son of God has died for you; therefore, the moment you believed you obtained this righteousness. Yet sadly, in the matter of accepting the Lord Jesus as sanctification, you circle around yourself, wasting your energy. Just as you instantly obtained righteousness when you accepted the Lord as your righteousness, so you may immediately obtain sanctification the moment you receive Him as your sanctification. If you are planning to walk slowly on the Christian path with the expectation that one day you may attain sanctification, you will never get there. Whoever thinks of accomplishing his own righteousness will not be saved; but by the same token, whoever thinks of achieving his own sanctification will never gain victory.

What is the difference between "obtain" and "attain"? An important element in the difference is time. One is something instantaneous while the other is something gradual. There was a story about a chicken thief. He usually stole seven chickens a week. Later on he thought of reforming himself. So he began to steal one chicken

The Nature of the Life That Wins 45

less each week so that after six weeks he would stop stealing altogether. That may be true of chicken thieves, but the victory of the Lord is obtained instantly.

When I was in Chefoo, I met a brother whose temper was terrible. When it flared up, his entire household was frightened. His wife, his children, his employees in his embroidery shop, and even the Christian brethren were in fear and trembling. This latter circumstance was because sometimes he would cause disturbances even in the meeting place. One day he confessed to me that he had no way to control his temper. I told him that if he accepted the Lord as his victory, he could obtain victory immediately. Whereupon he accepted, and he experienced victory.

Some time after that he asked me how many days it had been since he had obtained the victory. We together figured it had been about a month. He then related to me that one day during that period his wife was so ill that it appeared she was about to die. Had such a thing happened before, he would have been so anxious that he would have walked from one room to another with a long face and a developing bad temper. But this time, when his wife was ill and her pulse grew weak, he softly said to God that it was well even if He should take her. His bad temper totally disappeared. His wife got better and was treated with acupuncture. Moreover, he was now taking care of his wife with patient love!

On the day I left Chefoo, he came to see me off. He told me that within the last twenty-four hours, he had had no anxiety whatsoever, as though it were some other person's wife and not his own who was still ill. At this time as well, his women employees were very difficult to handle. He told me that during the last month many things had happened at his shop. Formerly he would have been very angry, but now he took them as not being his own problems. He could even laughingly ask why they did such things. His ill-temper was gone. I tell you, this is obtainment. Had it been attainment, this brother

46 The Life that Wins

would not have been able to achieve victory even after twenty years' effort.

Once a missionary went to India. She brought nothing but her bad disposition with her. She often lost her temper. She herself once confessed that if she could be patient, the whole world could be patient! Her spiritual companion had already obtained the secret of taking Christ as the life that wins. She wrote and told this missionary lady about the secret of victory and how it was to be obtained. As soon as the letter was received, this missionary acted according to what the letter said. Three months later, the missionary's companion received her reply. This was the gist of her reply: "As soon as I read your letter, I knew that here were the glad tidings! Christ is patience. The moment I accepted Him, my bad temper disappeared. But due to the seriousness of my last most recent failures, I knew I dared not speak out till I had tested it for three months. Those Indian servants of mine are slow, but very sly. And in the past, each time when I would close the door, I would slam it to show my displeasure with them. However, ever since I began to practice that which you suggested in your letter, I have not slammed the door once, neither have I had the attitude of being displeased anymore" Surely, victory over sin is fully accomplished by the Lord for you; therefore, you do not need to exert any effort.

Let me repeat that victory is something to be obtained, not to be attained.

Possessing This Life Is a Miracle

"Work out your own salvation ... ; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2.12b-13). Thus has Paul reminded us. The reason why we can "work out" according to God's "good pleasure" is simply because it is He who enables us to so work out. It is God who moves within us to be holy. It is not because we have exercised great strength, but entirely

The Nature of the Life That Wins 47

because God works all in us. For this holy and perfect life is not the result of our effort but the accomplished work of the Lord himself.

I readily acknowledge that unless there is a miracle, many people on earth will never be able to get rid of their corruption. Some people do not know their failures; they do not see their inability. Other people realize that they have no control over their pride or disposition or temper. Unless there is a miracle, none will come into victory. For who among us can overcome sin? The human way is to suppress sin. But when God does the work, He miraculously removes our old man and gives us a pure heart. Were we to know the victory of God, how happy we would be!

There was a sister whose temper was fiercer than most people's. Her husband, her children, and nearly everybody else were afraid of her. But she was a Christian. What could she do with her fierce temper? After many years, she came to accept the Lord Jesus as her victory. Yet immediately upon doing so she was confronted with a serious test. She had accepted the Lord Jesus as her victory the previous day, and the next morning while she was combing her hair and before she came downstairs she met the trial. Her husband and a servant were trying to hang a crystal lamp downstairs. This crystal lamp was worth quite a lot. Somehow her husband and the servant, through carelessness, dropped the lamp and it was shattered. Just then she came downstairs. When the husband saw her, he was stunned for fear that there would be a big explosion of her temper. Contrary to all expectations, though, she quietly said that since the lamp was broken, it should be swept up. Her husband was astonished. Ordinarily she would quarrel over a little cup or plate being broken. Today she should have truly exploded. Confronted by such a change, he asked her whether she had slept well that night or was she sick? Her answer was that she was not sick, only that the Lord had miraculously taken her old man away. Her husband cried out, "This is a miracle, this is a miracle!" It was a miracle indeed. Praise God.

48 The Life that Wins

Mr. Charles G. Trumbull, in his day the editor in America of the Sunday School Times, was quite spiritual. He acknowledged that this life that wins is truly a miracle. Once he testified to a church elder that after he had accepted the Lord Jesus as his life, he had not once lost his temper, neither did he have any inclination to do so. "Do you mean to say that the old sins have all been eliminated?" asked the elder. "Indeed," replied Mr. Trumbull. "Well, I believe this is true in your life because I believe your word," said the elder, "but this will never be factual for me." Later on, Mr. Trumbull asked the elder to pray with him. That day they had a long prayer session. The elder finally accepted the fact as accomplished. One day Mr. Trumbull met the elder, who testified, saying, "Never in my life have I experienced anything like what happened that evening with you in prayer. It is truly a miracle! There is no need to struggle, to exert strength, nor even to desire it. This is really marvelous, it is a miracle." Sometime afterwards, he wrote to Mr. Trumbull saying that in the place where he worked, there was some evil influence among the members of the Board of Trustees. Yet, whereas in the past he had had to suppress himself, now he did not even have a heart of agitation. What a miracle this was!

Do you have any problem you cannot solve or any sin you cannot deal with? If so, the Lord Jesus can perform a miracle for you immediately. Whatever has frustrated you for years He can solve at once. The Lord will work a miracle for you irrespective of what your sin is, be it of the spirit, of the flesh, of thought, of body, of disposition, of inability to do God's will, of lack of consecration, or inability to confess. You are not able to consecrate yourself, but He can cause you to do so; you cannot be patient, but He will make you patient. He is well able to overcome every sin. God is able. All is well with His miracle of grace!

The Nature of the Life That Wins 49

The Consequence—an Expressed Life, Not a Suppressed One

The consequence of having this life that wins is seen in an expressed, not a suppressed, life. Our so-called victories are always done through suppression. One old lady held in her temper whenever she met unpleasant things. Outwardly she wore a smiling face, but inwardly she was controlling her feelings with great difficulty. After living such a suppressed life for some time, she found the pressure within her had so built up that she began to spit blood. And why? Simply because the problem had remained with her. Yet true victory in the Christian's walk is an expressed life, not a suppressed one. An expressed life signifies a showing forth that which has already been obtained. It is what Philippians 2.12 intimates to us, when it declares for us to "work out [our] own salvation." Previously we tried hard to cover ourselves; now we dare to express the victory of Christ in us. Formerly, the more suppressed the better; today, the more expressed the better. Since Christ lives in me, I want to express Him before the world.

Mrs. Jessie Penn-Lewis had a young girl friend who knew how to compose poems and who was skillful in leading children into this victorious life. One day Mrs. Penn-Lewis paid her a special visit in order to see how she helped the children. On that particular day, this young friend invited more than ten children to a meal. When they had just finished eating and before the table was cleaned, a guest suddenly arrived. She asked these children what should be done to the dirty table. They suggested covering it up with a clean table cloth. She complied by doing just that. After the guest was gone, she asked the children whether or not the guest had seen the spills and stains on the table. They answered no. Then she challenged the children by asking: "Although the guest did not see these spills and stains, would you say that the table is clean?" Their reply was this: "Even though the guest did not see anything, the dirty table is still dirty."

50 The Life that Wins

Let me say right here that many people are ready to be clean outside but not to be clean inside. Who dares to reveal the thoughts and feelings of his or her heart? And yet we consider ourselves to be victorious. When people praise us, we try to look humble. We may appear to be patient, but we hide our impatience under cover. Allow me to speak frankly, that whatever is suppressed within is not victory. Only when you and I go out and Christ comes in do we have victory. And in that case, whatever is expressible is victory.

A sister I know easily lost her temper. One day her maid broke a vase. The sister quickly covered herself with a blanket, pretending to sleep. She was fearful lest she would see the scene and explode. This is a suppressed life.

Suppose a fruit peddler came by and asked you to purchase some fruit from him, but you sent him away without buying any fruit. And suppose he came the second and the third time, but you still did not buy from him. In order to sell his fruits, he had to suppress his resentment each time you failed to buy any of his produce. This is not victory, it is but a business policy. The victory of Christ, though, purifies even the heart. In short, victory means a pure heart.

A brother recently crossed the threshold of victory. He was already over fifty, and he had studied the classics of Confucius all his life. Though he had believed in the Lord for three years, he trusted only in the shed blood of the Lord and its atoning value. During that time he did not see any major difference between Christianity and Confucianism. A follower of Confucius attempts to improve himself by works of endurance and self-control. If he is successful in such works, he becomes a sage. So that after his becoming a Christian, this brother still exercised himself in such attempts. He continued to assume the Confucian attitude of reducing a big problem to being a small matter, and of reducing a small matter to being no matter at all. But at the end of those three years he testified that he knew Christ's victory had had no touch upon his life whatsoever. How vastly

The Nature of the Life That Wins 51

different is Christianity from other religions. It is not only the difference as witnessed by the cross, it is also the difference of our having a living Christ within us. We preach the gospel of redemption, especially a Christ who lives within. Previously this brother had been a genuine disciple of Confucius by keeping a tight control over himself. Now, though, he had let go of himself and had allowed Christ to live through him—without suppression and without defeat.

The above five points reveal the nature of this life that wins. But I would add a few more words by way of conclusion. Do remember that, like salvation, victory has a date of registration. You are saved on a certain day of a certain month in a certain year (though I recognize that some people have either forgotten the date or are unaware of it). You should also record the day of the month of the year you enter into victory. For victory is a crisis, a threshold you must cross over. It should be either yea or nay. There is no almost. None can be almost saved. If a person is saved, he is saved! Likewise, none can almost overcome. Victory is victory, period! To almost overcome is in reality to fail to overcome. Therefore, all of us must cross this threshold of victory.

How to Enter into This Life That

Wins

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God (Gal. 2.20)

Having seen the kind of life ordained by God as well as the life we actually live, the way of victory according to God as well as the way according to man, together with the genuineness and nature of the life that wins, we will now learn how we enter into this victorious life. And a most important question naturally arises here: how can we obtain Christ as Victory?

The verse just quoted above shows us how to enter in. Let us first discuss the words, "it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me"; because such is the life we ought to enter into. Negatively, we may say "it is no longer I that live" Positively, we may say that "Christ liveth in me." In Paul's letter to the Galatians, he testified that he had already arrived at this place, he had already possessed this experience, and he had already entered in. Let us observe how he arrived, possessed and entered. For the way Paul entered in is the way we also will enter in. The way he entered in is revealed by the clause preceding and the clause succeeding the words, "it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me" The first condition to entering in is spelled out by these words: "I have been crucified with Christ"; and the second condition to entering in is found as follows: "and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God." By fulfilling these two conditions in his life Paul obtained Christ as his victory—as his righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Let us take a closer look at these two conditions.

54 The Life that Wins

A. Yielding—"I have been crucified with Christ"

The first condition is, "I have been crucified with Christ." Now what does this mean? Why must I be crucified with Christ before 1 can obtain this life that wins? Here I would ask this question: How many persons today live in us as Christians? We confess that as soon as we believe in the Lord Jesus, He comes to live in us. "Know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate" (2 Cor. 13.5). As those who have believed, we know we are not reprobates; therefore, the Lord living in us is a sure fact. However, it is tragically true that although Christ lives in us, we ourselves live in us too. In order to have Christ as our life that wins, we ourselves must move out and let go. And with ourselves moving out, we may obtain this victorious life.

Yesterday a sister asked me how she could possess this life that wins. My answer to her was quite simple: "Just move yourself away." Suppose there are two families living under one roof, and a problem arises between the two. The situation would doubtless change were the difficult family to move away. The issue today is not whether you have Christ in you, since the moment you believed, Christ indeed came to live in you. No, the issue is that you must move away. As soon as you, the sinful, move away from living together with Him who is sinless, everything will be fine. Hence, the first condition is that you must move out.

"I have been crucified with Christ." Thus declares the word of God. But what do we say about this word? Do we not say that many times we try to move out without success? We pretend to die, yet we do not die. We frequently attempt suicide, yet we still live. Too often we appear dead, yet we are not dead. We attempt to crucify ourselves, but we fail to die. What, then, is the trouble? Let us inquire into this matter more thoroughly.

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 55

(1) I Cannot

I assume we have all seen the fact of the cross. We know that when the Lord was crucified for us, He not only bore our sins but also took us with Him to the cross. We have known the teaching of Romans 6 for many years. Our old man was crucified with Him, just as our sins were borne by Him on the cross. Hence we have the knowledge that we were crucified with Christ as well as that the sin problem was solved. This is what we have emphasized throughout these years. No doubt I was crucified with Christ, but why do I not experience the effect of this co-crucifixion? The Lord has taken me to the cross, yet I remain the same. I am still bound, weak, defeated and without strength. The Scripture says, "I have been crucified with Christ." Why then am I yet powerless? Many saved Christians are working hard for this, with the vain hope of victory someday. Nevertheless, victory is far away from them.

May I say that knowing the salvation the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us is one thing, but our accepting this salvation is quite another—just as preparing food is one thing, but eating the food is quite another. The apostle Paul shows us how to accept the Lord's death. Romans 6 discloses to us that every one of us has died. Romans 7, though, tells us why I as a Christian, having died, am still not dead. Why am I who died yet alive today? Romans 6 is the objective truth, whereas Romans 7 is the subjective experience. Romans 6 is fact, while Romans 7 is experience. Many Christians today know Romans 6 quite well. They understand they are no longer in bondage to sin, they have been discharged from the law, and they must reckon themselves as dead to sin daily. Though they understand, nothing seems to work.

The teaching and I are far apart. The teaching is, "I have been crucified with Christ;" even so, I say I am still alive. The teaching says I am no longer in bondage to sin; even so, I say sin is still with me. The teaching says I have been freed from the bondage of the

56 The Life that Wins

law; even so, I say I am yet under law. What really is the explanation? We shall find it in Romans 7.

Romans 7 unveils a hidden flaw in us; which is to say, that we do not approve of what God has done and we do not accept His verdict. Why did God crucify us? When He crucified us with His Son, He was telling us we were absolutely useless and hopeless: that we were beyond repair or improvement: that apart from our being crucified, there is really neither any use nor hope. Therefore, the cross stands as an evaluation of us. The evaluation of the cross is that you and I are worthy of death. This is God's appraisal of you and me. If we truly accept the cross as our evaluation, then we know for certain we are totally useless and without any good. We too will say with God that we are worthy of death. God has already declared that except we die, you and I are utterly without hope. If we truly acknowledge this, can we possibly still think of doing any good works?

Recently the Chinese government proclaimed a new law against opium smoking. All who smoke opium after being reformed will be shot. Suppose the government catches a person who has smoked it after being reformed. What do you think that person will do? Will he ask a doctor to give him some injections so that he may quit smoking it before he dies? It would be meaningless if he should do so. Why? Because he is already a condemned prisoner. He will not think of doing the slightest good or of reforming. He will just wait for his death. Similarly speaking, God has said we are worthy to die; that we are beyond repair and reform. If, then, his verdict for us is death, why should we think of doing any good work to try to improve ourselves?

In spite of our admission that it was useless for us to repair or improve ourselves before we were saved, we nonetheless attempt to do these very same kinds of things after we were saved so that we might please God. How we resolved many times to be good! How we made many spiritual promises to God! We have told Him we would do whatever He wanted us to do. We promised Him we would rise

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 57

up early in the morning. We promised to be zealous the next day. Many have been our promises, yet how many have we actually fulfilled? One sister from the Western world told me that she had promised God concerning thirty different items in her life, but she was not able to fulfill even one. This only demonstrates the fact that we have not accepted God's evaluation of us, nor have we acknowledged His verdict about us. We have been destined to die, yet we have been busy thinking of getting a physician or changing to better dress or whatever.

Oh, let us realize that the cross expresses God's despair of men! It announces His hopelessness towards men! It is God's way of saying that He can neither repair nor improve us, He can only crucify us. What is surprising is, that though we have already known this fact of our utter corruption and, therefore, our crucifixion, we nevertheless continue to claim we are not so bad. Accordingly, we made resolutions today and will make even more resolutions tomorrow: O God, I will not lose my temper hereafter: O God, perhaps my last resolution was not firm enough: this time, O God, I will make it firmer. Thus do we make resolution after resolution. Such was the way, in fact, that Paul followed: "to will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not" (Rom. 7.18b). Always resolve, yet always fail. Like Paul before us, for many of us today this is our common experience too. Have we not resolved and promised long enough? Let us heed once and for all what God says about us: He says we are worthy of death because we are useless and hopeless.

"I have been crucified with Christ" means that God was disappointed in me and also that I, like Paul, have despaired of myself too. God had seen me through and through. He knew that I had neither usefulness nor hope. So I too have reckoned myself as hopeless and confessed that I could never please God. There is nothing God can do but to put me to death. All who are in the flesh have absolutely no hope and are therefore worthy of death.

58 The Life that Wins

Recently I have been to see a number of families. In some, the husbands have been sick; in others, the wives have been sick; and in still others, the children have been sick. When these families begin to give up hope, they say to me, "If it be God's will let this one or that one be taken earlier." Why do they say this? Because there is no more hope. Being hopeless, it is better to die early. Has not God said to us that we were hopeless, and that therefore He could do nothing but have us crucified? Can we not also say to ourselves that since we are hopeless, it is better for us to be crucified?

Here is our problem: on the one hand, we are most familiar with the evaluation of Romans 6; on the other hand, we make the resolutions of Romans 7: we are still promising God, we still consider ourselves as possessing some good. However plain Romans 6 speaks, what we nonetheless do is Romans 7. Romans 6 is God's verdict of Paul that he was of no use. Romans 7 is Paul's reluctant admission that he was indeed of no use. God has seen us through and through. And having seen us clearly, He has already given up hope about us. He deems us to be worth nothing and declares that we are utterly useless. So what do we say in response? Were we also to say we are disappointed and consider ourselves useless, we would immediately be delivered. The reason God has allowed you and me to continue on and on to be proud and jealous and ill-tempered and dishonest is to let these and other sins so frustrate us that He will finally be able to show us that we are truly undone. Yet we make resolution after resolution, hoping all the time we may do better, though we end up no better than before. Such is the experience of Paul in Romans 7. Because Romans 6 is but a teaching, it requires the experience of Romans 7 to convince us of our total inability and make us realize it is a fact.

If anyone will confess he is utterly corrupt, I will say Hallelujah, amen, in response. I, Watchman Nee, am corrupt to the core. Hallelujah! Paul in his day was reduced to hopelessness. He had suffered many years. He was fit to be crucified. Today if you

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 59

acknowledge you are useless, then you will quickly be delivered. It is quite true that all sinners who try to do good will never be saved. Yet likewise, all saints who resolve to do good will never experience victory either. Let us readily accept the fact that the cross of Christ has not evaluated us incorrectly. Let us gladly accept the Bible's verdict of us: I was useless yesterday, I am useless today, and will be useless tomorrow; I am forever useless.

Why does God wish us to accept the evaluation of the cross? He knows that by accepting its evaluation, we shall be willing at last to accept the Lord to be our holiness, perfection and victory. But if we harbor a little hope in our breast, God will have to bring us to no hope so as to enable us to accept the cross. God must bring us to this place by means of the Romans 7 experience so as to make us realize our disability once and for all and acknowledge it.

Strangely enough, however, even though many have at last seen their inability, they still do not experience the victory. Why is this so? It is because God has still another aspect in this matter of yielding for us to see.

(2) I Will Not

Yesterday I met a sister who took two hours to tell me her history of decades of defeats. As she talked, I smiled. I asked her whether she had failed enough to give up any hope. True, she confessed her inability, but she lacked one thing. Merely to acknowledge our inability will not give us victory. Acknowledging an inability is one thing, giving it up altogether is another. I told this sister it was good of her to acknowledge her inability, but did she realize that she was still trying to be able to overcome? If she knew she was not able, she should cease from her own works. She admitted she could do nothing, yet she was still hoping she could do something. So I reiterated the following to her a number of times: "Do you not see you are still working? Do you not understand that you are still

60 The Life that Wins

attempting to overcome?" She had struggled and strived, and hence she could not overcome. Once again I urged this sister to accept the cross, to acknowledge her inability, and to cease from trying and expecting victory. She asked me what she must therefore do. I answered by saying that if she felt she needed to do something, then she would invariably fail. But her conclusion to the matter was this: "Yes, I admit that when I work, I fail; yet if I do not work, will I not fail even more?" Truly, the problem with many people is just here: knowing clearly they have neither strength nor usefulness, they still insist on struggling hard; and consequently, they have no victory.

Hence victory in the area of yielding has these two essential aspects: first, to acknowledge that God's evaluation of you is correct; and second, to cease even thinking of victory, because you have given up all hope. One brother said to me, "But I cannot believe." "Then tell God that you cannot believe," I said, "for He simply wants you to confess your unbelief."

To say with conviction that "I have been crucified with Christ" means that hereafter I do not care about victory or defeat because I lay everything in the hands of Christ. It means to let go of my hold on the matter of overcoming and to cease caring anymore. I will tell God that henceforth I commit myself to Him, and that victory is His business and not mine. One brother asked me how he could enter into victory. My response was to "let go." "Let go" means that "this is not my business to perform."

We may indeed have the heart attitude towards God that confesses, "I cannot but explode with anger. I cannot suppress my temper forever, nor can I yield. But from now on, I relinquish my control, I let go of myself completely." Yet unfortunately, although we come to God and say we cannot and we will not, we nevertheless take ourselves back when we leave His presence. Oh, let us learn that what we bring to God of ourselves when we come to Him we must

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 61

leave with Him when we go. He who knows how to cast off to God and leave it there will be delivered.

Once I brought a manuscript to a sister to be copied. I made a special trip to her for that purpose. But when I left I unconsciously brought it back with me. It was obvious she could not copy that manuscript even though she wanted to. This is the way we often pray today. With our mouth we say, O God, please help me. After prayer, however, we bring ourselves back home.

It is exceedingly important for us to let go. Let us pray, "O God, I cannot overcome, neither do I will to overcome, nor will I try to overcome." Such is the meaning of the Biblical statement, "I have been crucified with Christ." How excellent is that statement!

In the early morning Satan may accuse you of being nothing better, for you remain the same. Do you begin to worry? Do you attempt to do something about it? If only you will declare, "I knew long ago I am utterly corrupt, and I have given up hope: I will not try to improve myself, then you will immediately rise above the despondency. How marvelous this is, because it is a matter not of change, but of exchange. Simply lay hold of God's accomplished fact. If you had had any good, God would not have crucified you. Yet because you are so utterly corrupt, He has crucified you and put Christ in you. So that you must let go of yourself. And how do you put this into practice? You simply need to say, "God, I cannot do good, nor will I try to do good. O Lord, hereafter I am finished. I am absolutely incapable, and I will not even try to be able." Dare you let go like this?

An elderly physician of almost seventy years of age had a struggle with his cigar. One day in the meeting he mentioned about his fight to overcome cigar smoking. A young man who knew God well was there. He told the physician, "If I were you, I would not fight." "Do you know that with my fighting I still cannot overcome? Yet if I stop

62 The Life that Wins

fighting it altogether, how much more trouble I will have!" "Not so," replied the young man. "If I were you, I would say to God, O God, I cannot help but smoke. Yet God, You take me off smoking." The physician saw the logic of the counsel. So he prayed out of his heart, declaring, "O God, I have no way to quit smoking. Now I quit trying. O God, I hand it over to you. I will not do anything but ask You to take me off smoking." He usually smoked twelve to twenty cigars a day, and he had smoked for fifty years. But after the day he yielded to the Lord, he told people the next day that so far as he could remember, that was the first morning in his life he had had no desire to smoke.

If you think you can be holy, you will doubtless fail. If you think you can be perfect, you will surely fail. If you think you can be patient, you will certainly fail. This is because God has already considered you beyond repair and reform. Can you say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ," I am utterly corrupt, I am wholly useless, and I deserve to be crucified? This is what Paul meant by his Galatian statement. I asked a brother in Peking about this matter of overcoming: "Are you finished trying?" "Thank and praise God, I am finished," replied that brother. This is an essential condition for victory. You must see before God that you are absolutely of no use and that you cannot be repaired or reformed. All you can do is to pray, "Lord, hereafter I commit all to You; from now on You will do everything for me."

Even with this conviction, however, some brothers and sisters who have confessed they are unable, even finished, and that they have been crucified with Christ, still find themselves defeated. Why do they still not experience victory? It is because they need one other word before they can experience victory in overcoming. And this is the second condition for victory.

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 63

B. Believing—"that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith,

the faith which is in the Son of God"

Let us recapitulate what has been said up till now. God says I am utterly corrupt; I too say I am utterly corrupt. God says I am useless; I also say I am useless. God says I deserve nothing but death; I likewise say I deserve only death: "It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." This is a fact. According to fact, I no longer am living today. It is Christ who lives in me. Why is it no longer I who live? Two minus one is one; subtract Adam from me, and what is left, obviously, is Christ. The two live together, but one has been removed, so Christ is the only One left in us. This is fact. But how do I manifest it? In no other way except by believing.

(1) Believe God's Fact

The gospel of God tells us that He has given His Son to us. His Son has become righteousness, holiness and redemption (see 1 Cor. 1.30 mg.). Actually, we do not need to accept Him as our life in order to have Him share His perfection, patience and gentleness with us, because He already is our life. The Scriptures show us that Christ is our head (see Eph. 1.22, 4.15; Col. 1.18). Just as the head of a man feels and cares for and controls the body, so Christ is towards us who are Christians. We do not need to ask Him to be our head that we may be His body. Today He is the head, and we are members of His body. This is faith. Negatively, we have yielded; yet positively speaking, do we now believe that Christ is our head who is feeling, and caring for and controlling us? God's word states that Christ is the head; do you believe that He is at present caring for you?

The word of God also reveals to us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches (see John 15.5). It is not that He will become our vine and we will become His branches. It is not that in the near future when our spiritual life is more advanced than it is now we will then become His branches and He will become our vine. We should bear

64 The Life that Wins

fruit as He does. We should be filled with virtues as He is filled with virtues. For He has given his "sap"—that is to say, His life and fruitproducing power—to us. He is now already the trunk, and we are already His branches. He is presently supplying to us His life with His perfection and holiness and all virtues. Do we believe this? Do we believe that He now is our trunk and we are His branches?

When you believed Him as your Saviour, you were already perfectly joined to Him. Do you believe this? You do not need to figure out how you can be joined to Him since God has already made you and Him into one tree. Can you now believe that He shall be towards you even as the physical trunk of a tree is towards its branches? It is not that you bear fruit for Him, but rather that He bears fruit through you.

God has also indicated in His word that the union of the Lord Jesus and us is similar to the way food is to us: Christ is the blood we drink and the meat we eat (see John 6.51-58). He is the One who sustains our lives. And just as physical food supplies the needs we have in us, without which supply we would die, just so is the Lord Jesus to us as our spiritual food.

God in His word assures us that we are joined to Christ. Christ is our head, our trunk and our food. We do not need to ask God to give us power so that we can live as Christ lived, because He has given His Son to us to be our power of life, to care and live for us. He has given His Son to us that the perfection, communion, joy and riches of His Son may live out through us. Formerly, in our ignorance we always thought of establishing our own holiness, instead of submitting to God's holiness. Now, though, we have, negatively, ceased from our own works, yet this is not quite enough. God's word says that since He gives His Son to us as life, we must, positively, believe in Him as our life. Thus shall He manifest all that He is through us. Whenever and whatever our need is, He will supply it. Let us believe that He has already done so.

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 65

The genius of victory lies in its having no need to overcome gradually. By faith we know Christ is our victory. For victory is Christ, and faith brings forth all that is Christ's in us. The grace of God has already given the Lord Jesus to us; today by faith we accept all that God has given us so that the life, power, liberty and holiness of Christ may be manifested in our body.

This mystery of union is God's work by which the unsearchable riches of Christ become ours. Do we believe this? All that is Christ's is ours. Do we believe that God has given us His holiness, perfection, life, power and riches? God has joined us to Christ causing Him to be our head, our trunk and our food. Do we believe that Christ is now our righteousness and sanctification and redemption? Do we believe He is presently living out His life in us? God has indeed invited us, nay, He has commanded us to believe. Our union with Christ is patterned after the union of Christ with God; therefore, His patience, gentleness, purity and goodness are all ours. Just as in initial salvation we previously believed Him to be our righteousness, so today let us likewise believe Him to be our holiness. Yet how many fail in this respect. They know God's way of victory, but they do not have the faith. They know their inability, but they do not know Christ's ability. They see the total corruption of their flesh, but they do not see the riches of Christ as God's gift to them.

How do we receive this gift? By doing nothing; let us simply accept it. As we believe God's word, we receive His gift. This is the gospel. We receive by faith, and the Holy Spirit takes our faith to be the starting point for God's miracle to be done in us. People who have not experienced the mighty power of God may not take this seriously. But to the experienced, it is a precious reality. As we believe that all which is in the Lord is ours, the Holy Spirit will cause it to be truly ours. What a gospel this is! Whatever belongs to Christ becomes ours through faith! By faith this perfect life of Christ will daily live out itself in our body of death. With faith, it is not only "no

66 The Life that Wins

longer I that live," but also "Christ liveth in me." Truly, beyond any doubt, Christ lives in us. Yet it is all because of faith.

(2) Believe You Received, and You Shall Have

God cannot make us believe what we will not believe. Some people, when they are asked to let go, do let go. But with others, they may say they believe, yet they will wait and see. It is indeed important to yield, although the most essential thing is believing that the Lord Jesus is now living out His victory in us. Yield, and also believe. By believing what God says about Christ dying on the cross for us, we receive eternal life. Likewise, by believing that the Lord Jesus lives in us, we receive the life that wins.

I know the failure of many lies just here: they cannot believe that the Lord has already taken up His dwelling place in them, and thus they will not believe the Lord overcomes for them. Once I asked a sister if she had let go of herself. She said she had. "How did you let go?" "I told God I am utterly helpless, so I will give up trying," she replied. She then told me her prayer to God: "Hereafter, O God, I commit my all to You, be it victory or defeat." "Do you have victory?" I inquired. "I dare not say I do," she answered. "Why not?" "Because I do not feel I have overcome, nor have I seen any effect." I therefore said to her, "If you believe in God's fact and believe that the Lord Jesus who lives in you is victory, you should right away believe you have the victory. But if you look for results, you will never have it."

To receive the grace of victory is the same as to have received at conversion the grace of forgiveness. Do you not tell a sinner that because Jesus has died on the cross for him his sins shall be forgiven as soon as he believes? And if he believes, his sins are remitted. So you ask him if he believes, and he says he does. You then ask him if his sins are forgiven. He says no. Why? Because he has heard people say that if sins are forgiven there will be joy and peace; but he still

How to Enter into This Life That Wins 67

does not have this joy and peace. He goes on to tell you that he is determined to pray until he obtains joy and peace, and only then will he dare to say that his sins are forgiven. Now if you hear such a response, will you not tell him that even if he prays for a whole year waiting for joy and peace, he will not have these feelings? When will he have both joy and peace? You will doubtless tell him that only when he believes will he have joy and peace. The same is true with respect to victory after forgiveness. As you fulfill the condition for victory by yielding and letting go of yourself, you should at once believe that now you have the life that wins. For the Son of God is waiting to live out His victory in you. Believe, and the result shall follow. Wait for the result, and you will never have the victory.

In the event you are waiting for the result before you dare to say you have the life that wins, then in reality what you believe is your own experience rather than the word of God. But as soon as you believe in God's word, then the experience, feeling and victory will follow. Paul did not say, "I feel I have overcome." What he declared was that "that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God." In spite of your feeling cold and unexcited, you may still thank and praise God that "that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God."

Do not look at me as though to find a most energetic person, for the truth of the matter is that I feel tired every day. Never is there a morning that I get up but what I feel frigid; never a day passes that I feel elated. Satan has come to me many times, accusing me: "You do not feel happy and you are so cold emotionally every day; is this Christ living in you? In days past you were frigid and without feeling; now you are still frigid and without feeling. Is this the victory of Christ?" When this happens, God gives me an answer at once: "If I feel, then I am living; but if I believe, then it is the Son of God who is living. I feel with my flesh, but I believe in the Son of God. I feel with physical senses, but I believe in the word of God."

68 The Life that Wins

God says if you fulfill His conditions of yielding and believing, then Christ will live out His victory in you. Hence you should pray: "O God, I praise and thank You that what I feel is nothing, for in this matter the biggest lie of Satan is feeling; it is a close ally of the enemy himself. O God, I thank You that I can believe Your word instead of my feeling. For only Your word is true, whereas feeling is undependable." When you confront temptation in the form of feeling, boldly declare that you live by the faith of the Son of God.

As you let go and believe, you shall see the son of God fighting on your behalf. He will gain the victory for you. He will take away your bad temper, your hardness, your pride, your jealousy. Praise the Lord that from ancient days to the present hour there is only one Overcomer in the whole universe! Praise Him that all the people in the world are feeble! We are all defeated, we are all useless! The Lord alone is Victor! We cannot help but boast in Christ Jesus! For in truth, what have we that has not been received? Of what can we boast? Praise to the Lord, we have not changed, we have only been exchanged!

Let us fulfill these basic conditions: on the one hand, yield— recognizing that you cannot and you will not; on the other hand, believe in the Son of God and live—believe in God's fact of Christ living in you and believe that you have received. This is victory. Hallelujah, all is done by Him! May we ask God to show us that all is done by His Son without our help. This, and only this, can be called victory.

Yielding

But he [Jesus] said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. (Luke 18.27)

He hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Cor. 12.9)

"One thing thou lackest Yet"

In Luke 18.27 the Lord Jesus is recorded as saying: "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." We all know the context in which the Lord said this word. A young man had come to Him and asked, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (v.18) Since he asked what he should do, the Lord answered, "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother" (v.20). Our Lord mentioned these five commandments to show that there were things to do and things not to do if anyone thought of inheriting eternal life (the uncreated life of God) by works. The young man regarded himself as having observed all these commandments from his youth up. But the Lord reminded him, "One thing thou lackest yet" (v.22a).

There is a principle to be learned from this passage. When the young man asked the Lord what he should do to inherit eternal life, our Lord told him only five of the commandments. Why not tell him all? Why, after having mentioned but five of them, did the Lord add, "One thing thou lackest yet"? The only reason was to let him know his inability. Eternal life is a gift; it is God's grace; it cannot be earned by man's works. But the young man did not understand; he even boasted that he had observed all five of these commandments from his youth. The Lord knew, however, that there was one thing this young man could not do; so He added, "One thing thou lackest

70 The Life that Wins

yet?" And we know the end of the story: the young man failed to inherit by works.

Now concerning this matter of victory, it runs along the same principle. Some of you may claim that you are not as proud or jealous or hard as many other people. In fact, you may be better in many areas of life than are others. Yet God knows there is one area in your life which you cannot overcome. He leaves this thing in you to cause you to see that with man this is impossible. You deduce you can do all things because you have not committed adultery, murdered, stolen, or borne false witness and have honored your parents. Were anyone to ask you if you have overcome, you would probably answer that you have overcome in this thing and that thing. And you would thus reckon that all is well. However, the question today is not how many things you have overcome, but is there one particular thing you cannot overcome? God allows this thing to remain in your life so as to convince you of your inability.

We have already seen that God's verdict for us is that we deserve to be crucified. For He knows us through and through. He knows we cannot overcome sin, nor can we even do good. He has seen us through clearly but we see ourselves dimly. So that when God declares we are worthless and useless, we still consider ourselves to be somewhat good and useful. Notwithstanding our claim to be good, however, God declares to each of us: "One thing thou lackest yet." Some people are troubled by their hot temper; others, by their hardness. One may not be proud or jealous, but his hardness always follows him: "One thing thou lackest yet" There must be one area which he has not overcome, one sin that he has no power to conquer. Someone may not be proud or jealous or hard or hot-tempered, but his mouth operates incessantly. He cannot live without talking. He may proclaim that he has committed neither this nor that nor the other sin, but the Lord will say to him, "One thing thou lackest yet." Or someone else is tight with money. Throughout his life he has not committed any gross sin; nonetheless, he commits the sin of

Yielding 71

greediness. The love of money is the basic ingredient of his conduct. Hence God says to him: "One thing thou lackest yet." And this one thing proves his inability. People long to have a perfect life manifested in them, but they have one thing which testifies against them. Thus the first condition is to confess this one thing. With some, it is pride; with others, it is jealousy; with some, it is talkativeness; with others, it is unclean thoughts. And with many, it is even more than one thing.

What was the Lord trying to say? Salvation is impossible with men; life eternal is impossible with men; victory is impossible with men; abundant life is impossible with men. Yet the young man refused to believe he was unable. How bold, strong and confident were the phrases that passed from his lips: "from my youth up," "all these things," "I have observed." What a majestic-sounding answer! How elated he must have felt! He thought he had all in his life under control. But the Lord responded with: "One thing thou lackest yet" You may argue that you do not have the sins of pride, jealousy, hardness, impure thoughts, or talkativeness that I have mentioned. But let me echo our Lord Jesus: "One thing thou lackest yet." Go home and ponder what thing it is that you lack.

God Wants Men to See Their Inability

May I speak frankly to you that God's verdict is, you are unable. He concludes you are not able because He knows you through and through. He has already said so: and what will you say? Do you know why God allows you even up to this present time to fail again and again since you were saved?

Many brothers and sisters weep over a particular sin they cannot overcome. And perhaps you do so too. But I thank and praise God for such inability! Yet please do not feel by my saying this that I am being unsympathetic towards you in your sorrow over this one sin that seems to entangle you relentlessly. God wants you to see that

72 The Life that Wins

you are not able. He does not need to show you many of your sins; He merely allows one thing to stay in your life to demonstrate to you your inability. Have you realized your inability?

One sister was able to overcome all sins except the one of lying. As she spoke, she lied. She knew this was the one sin she could not overcome. Another sister easily lost her temper. She could not control herself. The least provocation would ignite her hot temper. As she exploded, she confessed. This was most embarrassing to her. Yet she was totally helpless. A brother was able to overcome many sins except that of smoking. He was a good brother, but he had no way to quit this habit. Another sister had victory over a number of other sins, except the one of continual snacking.

Why do so many Christians have so many different experiences of this kind? It is God's way of convincing and convicting them of their inability. He has seen so thoroughly your inability, but you continue to maintain that you are able. God says you are hopeless, but you say you have hope. Do you understand that your many heartbreaking failures and shameful defeats are God's way of demonstrating to you your inability? Have you failed enough? Has God finally convinced you you can never prevail? He allows you to fail once, twice, ten times, even twenty or a hundred times. Have there been sufficient proofs of your inability? He wants you to see your inability so that you may at last confess, "O God, I am not able." For a person to be saved, he needs first to confess that he is not able to save himself. Likewise, for one to overcome, he must also first acknowledge his inability. And as soon as one comes to this point, God will immediately commence working. Unfortunately, the young man who came to the Lord Jesus went away sorrowful. How sad that though he knew his inability, he left in despair!

God gave the law to men for two thousand years. What was the purpose of God's giving the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel? He gave them these not for them to keep but for them to

Yielding 73

break. How is this so? Because God knew men could not keep these commandments; He knew they were all sinners. But men would not accept God's verdict until they had failed in their own eyes; only then would they confess that they were sinners. The book of Romans tells us that God gave the law not for men to keep but for them to violate. After they failed to keep the law, they had to accept God's verdict and capitulate. God used two thousand years of human history to cause men to know their inability before He could give Christ to men for them to accept Him and be saved.

For the past two thousand years, many sinners have been saved. We who name the name of Christ are saved sinners; we should therefore be fully yielded. Nevertheless, we try to reform our illtemper, pride or whatever. We may make some progress, yet these things are merely suppressed. Formerly our bad temper showed itself outwardly; but now it is suppressed within. Previously, our pride was seen externally; now it is pressed inwardly. But though they be suppressed, they have not been overcome. Thus will God convince us finally of our inability. He declares that no one can overcome his sin; no one is able to deal with it.

Now when you realize you are helpless, you come to God for deliverance. The first step to take is to tell Him, "O God, I cannot, and I will not. I am finished, I give up trying, I will fight no more." This is yielding. This marks the first step towards deliverance. Formerly I thought I could change my pride somewhat; now, Lord, I will not try again. Formerly, I reasoned I could improve my temper a little; now, Lord, I quit altogether. Formerly, I imagined I could somehow control my tongue; now, Lord, I give up. I cannot, I will not try to change, I give up completely.

Yielding Is Letting Go

When you see that the Lord was crucified for you, what happens as you believe? Is it not that you cease from improving yourself since

74 The Life that Wins

you now see that you are saved by faith? In a similar way, when you see that the Lord took you with Him to the cross, you have no need to fight for self-improvement or to reform. Instead, believe that the Lord lives in you and overcomes for you. You should immediately cease your own works and let God deliver you. Tell Him, "O God, I can never be good. Henceforth I will not try to do good. I give up; I let go. From now on, it is no longer my problem." This is yielding; this is letting go.

Some people find it most difficult to let go. Whenever temptation comes, there is always a battle. Whenever temper arises, there is usually a fight. If the resolution on the first occasion fails, a stronger resolution will be made the next time. The more resolves, the more defeats. The more promises, the more failures. No matter how strong the next resolution is, the situation is as Romans 7 describes it: "To will is present with me, but to do that which is good is not. For the good which I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I practise" (v.18b-19). No promise is right because your hand has not let go. You yourself are still taking care of your affairs; therefore you cannot say with conviction, "I have been crucified with Christ"; neither can you say, "It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." Death means letting go, putting hands off, no more care, and no longer control. Only when it becomes impossible to you does it begin to be possible with God. So that the first important step is for you to take your hands off.

A certain brother in Tientsin asked me how to let go, for he had tried to do so but could not. "Brother," I inquired, "what is your position at the company?" "I am head of the cloth department," he replied. "Suppose your general manager were to tell you today that the company will lay you off next month. What would you do?" I asked. "Well, by the next month I would have to quit," he said. "Suppose in the next month the new head arrives and you hand all things in the department over to him. But after you have made the transfer, suddenly an agent comes to you and reports that a certain

Yielding 75

cloth is going to increase in price after two days. What would you do then?" "If this report had come earlier, I would have begun to figure how much of this kind of cloth we have in stock and how much we should buy to increase the inventory. But by this time I have already handed the department's affairs over to the new head. So I am glad I have nothing to do but to watch." This is an excellent example of taking hands off. This is yielding to the fact that "I have been crucified with Christ." Tell the Lord, "Lord, I resign not because I am able but because I am helpless. My temper, pride, hardness and jealousy remain with me, but there is nothing I can do. I can only hand over myself. Henceforth everything is in Your hand." Do not be stirred by God's opposing agents. There are legions of the enemy's agents; daily they will tempt you to do something. But you have committed yourself into the hands of the Lord. All is well if you neither care nor work. This is called victory. This is yielding.

Satan Tempts You to Bestir Yourself

Do you know what the basic temptation is? One brother says he is often tempted to lose his temper. Another brother says he is frequently tempted to be harsh. Still another brother says he is usually tempted into unclean thoughts. Yet another brother says he is tempted to be talkative all the time. A thousand persons seem to have a thousand different temptations. Yet there is but one temptation in the whole world. Notwithstanding all the various temptations to bad temper, pride, greediness, adultery and so forth, the enemy really has but one temptation, and that is, to bestir the saints. Satan does not tempt you so that you lose your temper, become proud or greedy or adulterous. He simply tempts you to bestir yourself. If only he succeeds in bestirring you to do something, he gains the victory. Oh that I had enough tears to cry out, "Don't be stirred!" Because once you have been stirred up to take action, you have failed. Whether you struggle with Satan, fight with him or resist him, so long as you are bestirred, he obtains the victory. Do keep in mind that our victory

76 The Life that Wins

lies in being spectators; our victory is achieved in detachment. How wonderful if we could see it—that God sets us aside and lets His Son overcome for us!

"The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5.17). It does not say here that we strive against the flesh, nor that the flesh strives against us. It says instead that the Spirit lusts against the flesh and the flesh lusts against the Spirit. We are not involved; only the Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other. What is it that we like to do? We like to sin, we like uncleanness. Yet we are to be the helpless observers, since the Spirit and the flesh are the ones that strive against each other. No place is given for us to participate. And yet such is God's deliverance. We sit on the sidelines to watch the striving of the Holy Spirit against the flesh and vice versa. Such is the way of deliverance.

When I was first saved, I heard a story about a little girl who in her testimony revealed the extent to which she truly understood this matter of victory. During the Keswick Convention, someone asked the little girl, "How do you overcome when you are tempted?" "Formerly, whenever the devil came knocking at my door," she reported, "I would immediately say, 'Don't you come in, don't you come in!' But this always ended up in defeat. Now, though, whenever the devil knocks at the door, I at once say to the Lord: 'Lord, You open the door.' The Lord goes forward to do so. And as soon as the devil sees the Lord, the devil says: 'I am sorry, I have knocked at the wrong door.' And with that he turns and flees."

In the course of our being tempted, if we cry out, "O Lord, here comes temptation; O Lord, save me, save me," the devil will come in before the door is even opened. Today, leave it to the Lord to deal with the devil. The longer, the more anxious and more repetitious the prayer, the firmer is the holding on of our hands. One brother

Yielding 77

reminded us that when Peter was sinking, he merely cried out, "Lord, save me." Just ask simply in one sentence, and this will indicate you are taking your hands off. If you continue to cry out, saying "O Lord, save me," repeating it many times, you are already defeated. I call such prayer "hanging-on prayer." The more you pray such prayer, the more it proves you have not let go, but are hanging on to the situation. You try to use prayer to attain victory; you are still thinking of using your own strength to gain the triumph. As a consequence you will not have victory. Stop crying, and you will come into victory. Do remember that Satan wants you to be stirred up, even if you are bestirred to pray.

Previously, you would burn when you heard any pricking words. What would you do today if someone were to pick on you incessantly? If you were to say to the Lord, "O Lord, this is not my business; victory is Your business; I confess I cannot control my temper; but Lord, You are responsible," this would be called letting go. And the Lord would live out His patience through you. You could praise and thank God and say, "Lord, I could not care less." But suppose you felt you could no longer bear the provocation, and you pray, "O Lord, save me, for I am quickly losing my control." Fifteen minutes would pass like fifteen hours. Now although you would not explode outwardly, you would nonetheless be burning already within. And this would show you have not overcome. Satan does not seek for an explosion of your temper; he merely wants you to be agitated. And thus will he win.

Victory is when you are not stirred up to do. Victory means you pay no attention; it means you could not care less. Your calmness, aloofness and carelessness are rightfully called a letting go. Victory does not depend upon you, since you have already died. Instead, it is Christ who gains the victory for you. You have died and Christ lives—and this is called victory.

78 The Life that Wins

At the conference in Chefoo, many brothers and sisters crossed the threshold to victory. One sister had a tragic past. Her husband as well as her mother-in-law ill-treated her. She patiently endured but had no victory. As I spoke on the life that wins, she accepted the truth. But two days later she came to see me about the way of letting go and letting God. She did not understand how. So I asked the Lord to give me a helpful illustration.

"Have you ever visited a friend by taxi?" I asked. "Yes, I have," she said. "When the car arrives at your friend's door, and just as you are taking money out of your pocket, your friend hurries out the door to pay it for you. You want to pay, but your friend wants to pay for you. You return the money to her, but she gives it right back to you. Has there ever been such a scene in your own experience?" "Yes, indeed." "Now, supposing after she paid the twenty cents fare for you, the driver takes it and leaves and you have your visit with your friend. But because you had still not wanted her to spend her money for you, you suddenly thrust twenty cents into your friend's hand as you are leaving. As she sees you out at the end of the visit, however, she quickly thrusts the money back into your hand. But then, you both pass the money back and forth between yourselves until finally you leave the money on the street and say to your friend that you are leaving. Even so, you wonder if your friend will pick up the money. What if she does not, and a passerby should take it? What if a driver should pick it up? or a little child would see it and take it? You therefore stealthily look back to see if your friend has retrieved it. To your chagrin she has not picked it up. As you walk on, you cast another look behind you. Let me tell you, if you periodically continue to look back, your friend will never pick up the money for sure. But if you were to leave the money on the street and say to your friend that the money was there for her to pick up, and then you walked away without caring in the slightest who would get it, without a doubt your friend would pick it up." As I finished saying this, she understood; and accordingly, she entered into the life that wins.

Yielding 79

The above example is unfortunately how many commit themselves to God. On the one hand, they say they cannot; on the other hand, they worry and look. If you care, God will let you take care and will not take over. But if you do not care, God will care for you and take the whole responsibility on himself. Yielding and letting go is a putting the money on the street and going away without looking back: you could not care less whether a little child, the taxi driver, or a passerby should take it. You simply tell God you have committed all to Him, so that hereafter whether you are bad or good is not your business anymore. In so committing yourself, God will certainly take over. All is well if you simply give up to Him.

If you let go, God will take over. But if you wait for Him to take charge before you let go, God will wait for you to let go before He takes charge. Suppose the brother in the cloth department mentioned above was to be laid off the next month, but that he was also required to teach the new head instead of simply handing over the business to him. In that case he would be half responsible during the transfer period. With God, though, this is not possible. Either He accepts all or He accepts nothing. He never works halfway.

We all seem to have a serious sin which is one of unbelief. We take charge over ourselves daily. We think we will fail terribly if we do not take charge and suppress ourselves. But when we preach the gospel to the nations, we tell them that they need not to take care of anything because Christ has already died for them. We tell them that all they need to do is to believe, and they will be saved. In like manner, we have been crucified with Christ, and it is He who now lives in us. Praise and thank God! Christ is our head, and we are his members. Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. He is our life. He is our all. Let us who are saved therefore move out; let us who have been crucified with Christ care for nothing and let Him begin to bear all our responsibilities!

80 The Life that Wins

There was a story recorded in the book that is entitled, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. A Christian went down a dry well. He lowered himself into it by grasping alternately with his right and left hands the rope tied to the opening of the well. As he lowered himself, he suddenly found himself at the end of the rope. Not knowing how deep the well was, he thought of climbing back to the opening of the well. But it was too late since he did not have the strength anymore to do so. He held on to the rope with both his hands and cried out for help. But the well was situated in a desert and he was at the bottom of the well. No matter how loudly he cried, nobody came to help. Finally he was so exhausted he could hold on to the rope no longer. So he prayed, "O God, let me fall into eternity." And after praying, he loosed his hands from the rope and fell downward. To his amazement it was a mere drop of three inches! He did not fall into eternity but fell back upon the Rock of Ages. Do let go! For the first condition in obtaining the life that wins is letting go. And upon relinquishing your hold you will prevail.

One sister heard the message on how to obtain the life that wins by yielding and believing. She often went to the mountain to pray. I asked her whether she had crossed the threshold to victory. She replied that today in the mountain she had once again dug a new grave and buried herself there. I asked her several times thereafter and she always gave me the same answer. I knew she had dealt with many difficult sins in her life, yet I noticed how worried she was. I prayed for her but to no avail.

One day I asked God to give me utterance that I might help her. On that same day, I heard her playing a hymn. I asked her again how she now was. Her tears fell down and she said, "I have dealt with many things, but there is a small sin I cannot overcome—snacking." To others this problem might mean nothing, but to her she did not consider it a small sin.

Yielding 81

As she confessed her problem to me, I smilingly remarked, "This is most excellent! You could be nothing better." But she complained to me as follows: "You say the conditions for obtaining the life that wins are first yielding and second believing. Well, I can neither yield nor believe." "Then you should not yield and you should not believe," 1 replied. "But do you not say the conditions for victory are first yielding and second believing? Then what can I do if I can neither yield nor believe?" she retorted. "It is well if you neither yield nor believe," I insisted; "for what is yielding? Yielding is a letting go, and letting go is doing nothing. But you have made letting go a work. Believing, too, is a doing nothing; yet you have changed believing into a work. You find you cannot yield or believe. Alright, why not cross over the threshold to victory just as you are? You have no need to reform, nor even to try to let go. The conditions for victory are for you to simply yield and believe. But you have taken yielding and believing as a works formula, which is completely useless. Just let go of everything and do nothing indeed. Praise if you can; yet do not even try to praise if you cannot. Come to God and throw yourself into His hands; stagger, if necessary, into the bosom of God. This is a letting go!"

Oh, how devious we often are. When God says for us to do nothing, we still want to do this thing or that. Many brothers and sisters claim they do let go, yet they turn their letting go into a work. They are still struggling and wasting their strength in letting go and in not letting go. But letting go simply means that I am finished just as I am. This is victory.

After this sister heard me out, she was in a daze for three days because of the greatness of the light. Then she crossed the threshold to victory. God had brought her through.

82 The Life that Wins

Our Weakness Is to Be Boasted Of

"He hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Cor. 12.9). This passage reflects the fact that we must not only confess we are weak and powerless and hopeless but also rejoice in our weaknesses and powerlessness and hopelessness. Does it say we should weep for our weakness? No, instead of weeping we are to rejoice; yet not only to rejoice but even to glory and to boast! The world sighs over its own weaknesses, but overcomers in Christ glory in their weaknesses because of their faith.

Do you sense weaknesses and failures in your life? These are profitable to you since they can help you to overcome.

I met a physician one day in Chefoo. He had been saved for three or four years. He had served in the military for over a decade and was therefore very straightforward and soldier-like. Moreover, there was no doubt about his salvation. Yet he had one habit, which was smoking cigarettes.

When he was in the vast northeast provinces of China, smoking was not a big problem. But now having come to a small place like Chefoo where there were merely seventy or eighty brethren in the church, he could only hide in his home and smoke. Even at home he dared not smoke openly because his wife was a sister in the Lord. In the hospital where he worked, a few nurses were also sisters in the Lord. On the one hand he wanted to smoke, on the other hand he felt uneasy about doing so. If while he was smoking, he heard voices nearby, immediately he would snuff out the cigarette. On the street, before he would light up to smoke he had to look around to see if any acquaintance was there. To quit smoking was something he could not do, yet to continue smoking was something he felt bad about. He was really in a helpless state.

Yielding 83

One day after the church meeting he asked for a personal interview at nine o'clock the following morning. He said he had a most important thing to discuss with me. So the next morning as soon as we met, he related his story to me.

"I have smoked for over ten years, I have tried to quit smoking but I cannot. What shall I do?" The more he talked, the more I lifted my head and smiled. "Mr. Nee," he pleaded, "this is a most serious matter to me." "I know," I replied. "There is nothing I can do," he reiterated. "Nothing you can do?" I said; "well, this nothing of yours is better than anything else!" "What do you mean?" he asked.

In reply, I told him this: "I rejoice in my heart, because in this problem of yours, the Lord alone can solve it. You can do nothing, and neither can I. Your wife cannot do anything; brothers and sisters can do nothing. Having such a good patient as you, the Lord Jesus will have a good chance to look you over." "But I have been helpless for over ten years; today it is even more serious to me," the doctor stressed. "Indeed, it is impossible to you," I answered, "but nothing is impossible to the Lord. It can be solved with a simple turning."

"Dr. Shih," I went on, "you are a good physician and I have a healthy body. Consequently, you have no use of me nor have I any need of you. In order for you to be able to show forth your skill on me, you can do so only when I am sick, very sick. The more sick I am, the better your skill can be manifested. By the same token, here is the Lord Jesus who today is well able to deal with the problem which you, Dr. Shih, have not been able to deal with." "How can that be so?" he earnestly inquired.

I then showed him 2 Corinthians 12.9 which declares: "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Then I said to him, "Nothing can be better than that you cannot refrain from smoking. If you have

84 The Life that Wins

thought how good it would be were you able to quit smoking, then you do not yet understand the words of Scripture. For it plainly says here that the power of Christ is made perfect in our human weakness. According to your view, it would be good not to smoke; but according to God's view, it is better if you cannot help but smoke."

He was dumbfounded by what I had just said, so I continued to explain: "Do not mourn over your smoking, nor consider your inability to quit smoking as bad. Instead, you should pray: "O God, I thank and praise You, because I smoke. I praise and thank You, for I cannot keep from smoking. Yet I also praise and thank You, because You can make me quit smoking, You can take it away from me.' " "Is it really true that God is able to do this?" he responded. "Truly, God is able," I answered. So we prayed together. After I prayed a few words, he also prayed. He really had faith. When he prayed, he spoke like a soldier, straightforwardly saying, "O God, I thank and praise You because I smoke and I cannot stop. O God, I thank and praise You for You are able to make me quit smoking."

After he finished praying, and before his tears were dried, he took up his hat to leave. I asked him, "Dr. Shih, will you smoke again?" He answered, "I, Dr. Shih, am unable to quit smoking, but God is able to make me quit." I now knew the problem was resolved.

In the evening, though, I was concerned about him. So I went to the hospital to see how he was. He said everything was fine. The next morning I inquired again and got the same answer. That same afternoon, when I met him, he said to me, "I spoke with my wife today that what she could not do to make me quit smoking by her quarreling with me over the years, God had cleared up in half an hour. I did not smoke yesterday, and I have not smoked today." Before I left, I questioned him whether he could quit smoking. His answer was that he could not, but that the Lord had done it for him. Thus I felt perfectly secure for him.

Yielding 85

Do not fancy that you are able to change yourself to be a little better. Even after fifty years you will still be the same. Victory is Christ living in and for you. You may therefore say, Thank God, I cannot, but Christ can. I would like to tell the whole world: do not be afraid of men's worst temper or greatest pride; only be fearful lest men do not see Christ's ability as well as their own inability.

It is good for you to thank God for your victory. But you should also thank Him for your weakness. For the power of Christ is made perfect in your weakness. I thank God that Watchman Nee is most corrupt. I thank Him that once again Christ manifests His power in me. I confess to Him, "O God, I have neither goodness nor righteousness, neither holiness nor patience. But I thank and praise You because I have not, and I will not. Hereafter, O God, I commit my all to You. From now on, it is Your Son who overcomes for me." In this manner, you will instantly obtain victory.

Impossible with Man but Possible with God

In Luke 18, we saw the impossibility of something being done in a young man. In Luke 19, however, we see that in Zacchaeus it was made possible: "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold" (v.8). He was able to do all this at once. What was impossible with the young man was made possible in Zacchaeus. Hence Luke 18 shows us that with men it is impossible; whereas Luke 19 shows us that with God all things are possible. In Luke 18 the young man was unable but in Luke 19 the old man was able. In Luke 18 the Lord spoke to the young man who could not hear. In Luke 19 the Lord said nothing, yet the old man believed. It was impossible with the young man because he did not believe that God is able. Salvation came to the house of the old man for he had faith and was therefore a son of Abraham indeed. All was done by God.

86 The Life that Wins

Let us thank and praise the Lord. To love, I cannot do; to be patient, I cannot be; to be humble, I cannot be; to be gentle, I cannot be. Yet where does God say in His word that you must do what you can do and must live as you have lived? On the contrary, He commands us to do what we cannot do and live as we have never lived before. Every morning I thank and praise God, because today He will do miracles. Every evening I thank and praise God for He has done miracles. Today He enables me to endure what I cannot endure; today He causes me to love what I cannot love. Today He makes me do what I cannot do and live in a manner in which I cannot live. Thank and praise Him, daily it is impossible with men, but daily it is possible with God!

Believing

That life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God. (Gal. 2.20b)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen. (Heb. 11.1)

Believe unto Victory

We have seen that the life that wins is none other than Christ himself. It is not my improvement nor my progress. It is not working with my own strength to be like Christ. Victory is Christ living in me and overcoming for me. As He died on the cross for me that I might be saved, so today He lives in me that I may overcome. We have also seen the conditions for victory: one, yielding; and two, believing. We believe that the Son of God lives in us, and we also believe that He lives out his victory through us. In our last discussion we looked more closely than before into the subject of yielding. We shall now look more closely than before at this matter of believing. Many people have yielded, yet they have no victory. This is because they do not believe. Yielding without believing will not bring in victory, since yielding is the negative side, while believing is the positive side. Only when both of these sides are implemented can victory be assured. And this positive side is what we now wish to look into more thoroughly.

One brother in Chefoo went home after a church meeting and declared that though he had yielded, he experienced no victory. He remained the same the next day. In fact, he even lost his temper in the store on that very day. So I told him that yielding alone would not guarantee victory, since that was but the negative. What was essential for him to do was to believe with a singleness of heart following his yielding. He accepted the truth and obtained the

88 The Life that Wins

victory. At the last assembly meeting he stood up and praised God, declaring that this was the first time he had ever praised God for having nothing to boast of and was also the first time he had ever praised God for His having done everything.

What was the experience of the apostle Paul? How did he enter into victory? The first step he took was to yield: "I have been crucified with Christ," he testified. He had already had the experience of "no longer I that live." He then continued by declaring: "That life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God." What he meant here was: I believe the Son of God lives in me; I believe He loved me and gave himself for me.

Let us now inquire as to what faith is, especially the relationship between faith and victory.

Believe in God's Fact

All the things in the Bible are done by God for us. At a conference held in January of 1934, we mentioned that God has given us three things: (1) the covenant He gave us, (2) the fact He accomplished for us, and (3) the promise He bestowed on us. All the things which God did for us were included in these three gifts of covenant, accomplished fact, and promise. When earlier we gave the messages on "the Better Covenant," we talked at great length about this first gift of covenant.∗ Accordingly, we will not treat of that subject here. As to God's promise and God's fact, however, we would like to discuss these in some detail. Promise is that which God will do for us

∗This series of messages was delivered by the author at a conference held in Shanghai,

China, in 1931. For the text of those messages, see Watchman Nee, The Better Covenant (New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1982), translated from the Chinese. When consulting this published work, the reader should be aware that the notation in it indicating the conference was held in 1932 is incorrect. Future reprints of this work will reflect a correction in this dating.—Translator

Believing 89

in the future, whereas fact is that which God has already accomplished in us.

Many people do not know what God's fact is. The Lord Jesus died on the cross for all the world—this is God's fact. But how many have been saved? Only those who have believed. Hence a problem arises, which is to say, that since Christ died for the whole world—and this is God's fact unaffected by men's attitude—why is the whole world not saved? It is because not all in the world receive God's fact by faith. Similarly, however, many Christians fail to accept by faith God's fact that Christ lives in them. Christ is the head, and all believers are the body. Just as the head in the physical body feels, manages, controls and responds, so shall it be for the Christian if he allows his spiritual head, even Christ, to feel, manage, control and respond for him. In the face of God's fact, how many Christians really see the Lord Jesus as their head? Today does Christ feel or do they feel? Does Christ manage or do they manage? Does Christ control or do they control? Does Christ respond or do they respond? Where lies the difficulty? In nothing else but a lack of faith.

Perhaps some brothers and sisters will reply that they do believe in Christ as head, yet they cannot believe that the head is responsible for everything. They just cannot believe; they do not understand what faith truly is. The Scripture says that the Lord is the vine and we are the branches. It does not say He will be our vine and we will be His branches. Whether we believe or not, He nonetheless is the vine and we nonetheless are the branches. Yet only to those who believe will the spiritual sap flow through them; with the result that they bear fruit. But for those who do not believe, the life of the Lord cannot flow through them; therefore, they must themselves labor for any fruit.

90 The Life that Wins

Faith Substantiates Gods Fact

Hebrews 11.1 speaks of the significance of faith. It is the only verse in the entire Bible which gives us a definition of faith: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." In other Bible versions there are a number of other renderings that have been given for the word translated here as "assurance," since this is a most difficult word to translate from the original Greek into English. To be probably the most accurate, this word should be translated as "the giving of substance to"∗ or "substantiation," which thus means that faith is the ability to substantiate a thing as factual. For example, in this hall where we are meeting, we have before us the shape of the lamp, the color of the wall, and the sound of the organ. How do we substantiate the shape and color and sound to make them real to us? That which can substantiate the existence of color is none other than our two eyes. Suppose there were a picture here also with beautiful colors such as green and red and yellow. These beautiful colors would need the eyes to make them real. If there were no eye, then however beautiful these colors are, nothing could make them real in our own personal experience. By the same token, though the sound of the organ is pleasant, it takes ears to show forth its reality. To one who is deaf, there is no way to substantiate the realness of the music. Neither the eyes nor the touch of the hand can substantiate the sound; only the ears can substantiate the sound and make it enjoyable. Then, too, the shape of a thing may be square, round, plane, triangular or curved; its fact is only to be known either by the touch of the hand or by the sight of the eye. So that the existence of a thing is one matter while the substantiating of it is quite another. There are numerous things in the physical world, but every one of them needs some ability to prove its reality. In the spiritual realm, this ability is what faith is.

∗Which is the marginal rendering of the ASV (1901), the Bible version used throughout this

present volume.—Translator

Believing 91

Here is a painting with a beautiful scenery of hill, water, flowers and trees. With your eyes you can make real the beauty as well as the existence of that painting. Suppose a man is born blind and he has never seen any color. You try to tell him of the red in the painting, and he will ask what is red color? You say there is green color also, but he says what is green? All you can say to him is that what is red is red color and what is green is green color. Though the painting exists, the blind man cannot enjoy its beauty.

Here is a sister who plays the piano well. Whoever has ears and knows music can appreciate what this sister plays. But he who is deaf and is a stranger to music will not be able to prove the sweetness of the music. Now our faith is just like that. All the facts of God are real and true, but faith alone can verify them. For "faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11.1 Darby).

The blind person cannot see the beautiful scenery in a painting. Nevertheless, his inability to see can in no way disprove the existence of the painting. For its existence is a fact, whether a person sees it or not. Its beautiful colors remain unchanged. The question is, can the person be benefited by the painting? He who has eyes is pleased with the painting and is benefited by it. It is the same in the spiritual realm. That the Lord shed His blood and died on the cross for mankind is a fact. Nevertheless, only those who have faith are able to prove this fact and be benefited by it. To those who do not believe, the death of the Lord on the cross may indeed by factual, yet they will not be able to experience it and benefit by it.

Have you now seen the significance of faith? We need faith to prove a spiritual matter just as we need eyes, ears and hands to prove physical matters. In all spiritual affairs, it takes the element of faith to substantiate them. For instance, the Lord is head and we are the members of His body. This union is a fact which cannot be torn asunder. So is the fact of the Lord being the vine and we being the

92 The Life that Wins

branches. By believing it, we will be benefited by it. Some may say the Lord is the vine and they are the branches, but they have no experience of spiritual sap nor life nor fruit-bearing. This is because they do not have faith.

What is faith? Faith is not mental apprehension. It is seeing the fact and proving it. You have heard that Christ died on the cross and shed His blood for the remission of sins; and so you say that Christ died on the cross and shed his blood for the remission of sins. You have heard that the Lord is the vine and we are the branches; therefore, you too say that the Lord is the vine and we are the branches. You have heard that the Lord Jesus is your life and He lives in you; whereupon, you too say that the Lord Jesus is your life and lives in you. Nevertheless, you are not able to prove these facts and make them real in experience because you lack faith. In just the same way, you may have let go of yourself because you realize your inability and uselessness. Yet this is but the negative side of victory. You need, positively, to prove Christ by an act of faith—by believing. Is it not most wonderful that in one minute, nay, in one second, all the facts which Christ has accomplished can by proven and demonstrated in your life? Such is the substantiating by faith.

How do you know a painting is beautiful? Because you have seen it with your physical eyes. How do you know the riches of Christ? Because you have seen with your spiritual eyes. In the letter to the Colossians, God declares that "in him [Christ] ye are made full" (2.9). But how do you know you are made full in Christ? Because you have seen it with the eye of faith. As you look at yourself, you know you are not complete at all. Even so, are you nonetheless able to declare you are complete in Christ? With the eye of faith you can. The Lord has given you His riches, grace upon grace. Do you have them? It is not whether you have them in your mind, but whether you believe them in your heart.

Believing 93

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Eph. 1.3). We indeed profess to believe that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus; nonetheless, where are these blessings? The entire question revolves around the matter of faith, believing that the word of God is true.

The great failure of a Christian is unbelief. Believe, and the fact is proven. See with faith and the fact is substantiated in experience.

There was in England a man of God by the name of H. W. WebbPeploe. Listen to what he testified:

Four days afterward, my little child that was with us at the seashore was taken sick and died. I had to carry the little coffin in my arms all the way home, where I buried my little one with my own hands. I returned from the burial and said to myself, "Now you have lost your holiday, have come home in trouble, and you must speak to your people instead of letting your curate speak; you would better tell them about God and his love." I looked to see what lesson was assigned for the Sunday, and found it was the twelfth chapter of Second Corinthians. I read the ninth verse, "My grace is sufficient for thee," and thought, "There is the verse to speak on." I sat down to prepare my notes, but soon found myself murmuring in my tent against God for all he called upon me to bear. I flung down my pen, threw myself on my knees, and said to God, "It is not sufficient, it is not sufficient! Lord, let thy grace be sufficient, O Lord, do!"

The day before I had left home, my mother had given me a beautiful illuminated text, and I had asked the servant to hang it on the wall over my table, that I might find it there when I came back. As I opened my eyes I was saying, "O God, let thy grace be sufficient for me," and there on the wall I saw,

MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE

The word is was in bright green, My was in black, and thee in black, "MY grace is sufficient for THEE." I heard a voice that seemed to say to me, "You fool, how dare you ask God to make

94 The Life that Wins

what is! Get up and take, and you will find it true. When God says 'is,' it is for you to believe Him, and you will find it true at every moment." That is turned my life; from that moment I could say, "O God, whatever thou dost say in thy Word I believe, and please God, I will step out upon it."∗

This servant of God was so full of joy and thankfulness that he would ask no more of God in this way. The next day he stood in the pulpit and delivered the best message of his life. When people asked him when he had first experienced the enduement of power from heaven, his answer was, after he had returned from burying his little girl. What made the difference was that he had learned to believe.

One brother told me later that after having heard me speak at length, he had gotten nothing out of it. I said to him that this was because he merely listened to me; he should in addition have asked God to speak to him. Accordingly, in the evening he prayed, "O God, cause me to overcome. O God, my temper is very bad, enable me to overcome it." As he prayed, he remembered the prayer of the leper who said to Jesus, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean" (Matt. 8.2b). So he too prayed: "O Lord, if You will, You can make my bad temper leave me." At this point he realized that the Lord was already willing; for in the story, Jesus had said "I will" in response to the leper. Why, then, should he pray this at all? The Lord has accomplished everything and the Lord was willing; therefore all was well.

All is well if you can believe 2 Corinthians 12.9 or Luke 18.27. By believing the "I will" of the Lord Jesus, your problem is solved. Faith is not asking for what God has already promised. Faith is believing the promise of God.

∗Quoted verbatim from a later source than that which was available to the author in 1935.

Passage found in Steven Barabas, So Great Salvation (Westwood, NJ.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1957), p. 167.—Translator

Believing 95

Once a brother spoke on how to cross the threshold to victory. After he finished speaking, he opened the time for questions and answers. In the audience I saw a young sister with tears running down her cheeks, but she did not stand up and ask a question. However, an elderly sister nearby stood up and asked, "In these years I have always prayed for victory, yet I have never gotten the victory. What is the problem?" "Your problem is none other than praying too much," replied that brother. "All is well if you change your prayer to praise." As soon as the word was spoken, a brother stood up and said, "I have asked for victory for eleven years with no result. Now I have gotten it through listening to the question and answer between this elderly sister and you." The ministering brother then went over to the young sister and inquired how she was. "I too have gotten the victory after listening to the question and answer," responded the young sister. And such is faith.

Let us not take for granted that letting go, by itself, is victory. Without faith, you are still unable to substantiate God's fact. Just as the color in a painting needs to be substantiated by the eye, the sound of the organ by the ear, and the shape of a substance by the hand, so the promise and the word of God must be substantiated by faith. We do not pray, "O God, be my victory gradually, be my life gradually, or be my holiness gradually." No, we pray, "O God, You are my victory; I praise and thank You! O God, You are my life; I praise and thank You! O God, You are my holiness!"

I want you to know that I have encountered many temptations in my life. Many difficult problems have come my way; and many hard words have fallen upon my ears. Do I ask God to give me strength that I may overcome? On the contrary, I say, "O Lord, I praise and thank You, for You are my victory! O Lord, You overcome for me, and I praise and thank You. You resist for me, and I praise and thank You! O Lord, You are my head, I am Your member. You are the trunk, and I am a branch. You supply me with all I need." And I have

96 The Life that Wins

found that He is already supplying all my needs according to His own word.

We each are perhaps saved by one verse out of the thousands to be found in God's word. Some are saved through John 3.16; others, through John 5.24; and still others, from Romans 10.10. Just one word of God and a person is saved! This is also true with respect to victory. One out of the many words of God will bring a believer victory—even as that brother received the victory through the word of Jesus, "I will" (Matt. 8.3a). Many have entered into victory through 2 Corinthians 12.9, Romans 6.14, or 1 Corinthians 1.30.

Faith Is Not Hoping

All who are merely hoping may not have believed. If you ask a person whether he has overcome, and his answer is that he hopes to overcome, you know for sure that he does not have faith, even as you know a person does not have faith if he says he hopes to be saved. Some here are expecting all the time that the Lord will deliver them and cause them to overcome. Some here are praying continuously to the Lord asking for victory. Some are waiting a long while for the Lord to give them victory. Some may even claim that they have yielded and believed, but they are waiting to see if it works. It will never work if people wait to see whether or not it is effective, for faith is not hoping.

A brother once asked me if, after one has experienced victory, he must always remember that the Lord Jesus was his victory. Now it so happened that he supervised the jobs of over twenty employees in the factory where he himself was employed. And such supervision, he told me, occupied him from early morning till eight o'clock at night. How, then, he asked, could he possibly remember this matter all the time when he had to take care of so many things? Could he still overcome? I asked him in reply whether he continually remembered while at the factory that he had two eyes? Of course not, he

Believing 97

answered. Did he need to touch his eyes with his hand after work to make sure they were still there? Certainly not, he replied. Therefore, I said to him, whether he remembered or not was unimportant because what was really essential was that the eyes were there. Praise and thank God, the victorious life in us does not depend on our remembrance of the Lord; rather, it depends on the Lord remembering us. How hard for us to always remember Him, but thank God, it is He who remembers us!

Faith Is Not Feeling

Some may not be hoping, praying or waiting; they may instead be on the lookout for feeling. One sister told me that although she had already yielded and had believed that the Lord was living in her, she dared not say she had overcome, because from the day she had accepted the victory of the Lord right up to the present moment, she had not felt anything. Let me emphasize the truth that faith is purely believing: it has no regard for feeling. Feeling may be useful in certain other things, but in knowing the Lord it is absolutely useless and untrustworthy. The hand can only touch and feel cold or hot, but it cannot see a painting. In spiritual matters, faith, and not feeling, is what is required to prove them. Victory is based on believing God's word. Because God has said so, so it is—and not because during these days you feel especially strong or joyful. Victory rests on one word of God.

One morning a brother came to tell me his problem. He had already yielded and believed, but he dared not say he had victory. Satan was accusing him all the time. Something had happened the other day, he told me, which made him doubt that his victory was real. It was clear to me he was trusting his feelings. So I spoke to him by means of a parable: I had a garden behind my house which I sold to you one day and gave you the deed to the property. As you went to the garden, a man suddenly appeared and said to you that one piece

98 The Life that Wins

of the garden belonged to him. What were you to do? There were two alternatives available: either you would believe the deed I gave you which specified the extent of the entire garden, or you would believe that man's word. If my deed were true, then that man lied. Whom would you believe? Were you to believe the stranger's word, you would have to let him stay in the garden. But if you believed my word, you could order him to remove himself from your property.

Now the promise and the word of God are wholly dependable. But were you to trust in your feelings and say that your temper and pride were insoluble problems, then would not God's word become untrustworthy? Yet if you believe in God's word, all these problems you have would be solved.

God gives you a covenant specifying that gentleness, patience, humility, love, self-control and whatever else is in Christ are all yours. Nevertheless, you lose your temper, you become proud and unclean, and you are defeated. What should you do? If you believe God's word, you will say, "O God, I thank and praise You, I am able to be gentle, patient, humble, loving, and in control of myself because Christ lives in me." By laying hold of God's word, all the things you are afraid of will go away.

Unbelief Is the Greatest Sin

Today the greatest problem among the children of God is the failure to believe His word. It may not be too difficult for them to let go, and after letting go, believing ought to be fairly easy too. Yet this is not the case.

I asked a sister who had let go and handed over everything to the Lord if she had victory. Her reply was that she dared not say she had. And why? Because she had not seen any result. So I spoke to her directly: "You have committed the greatest sin of mankind, which is unbelief. Your unbelief reflects on God as though He were lying. For

Believing 99

He has said that you are the branch, and that if you let go, His life will live out from you. Yet you are now saying that though you have let go, God has still not delivered you. In short, you are saying you have done your duty, but God has not fulfilled His responsibility." She denied that she had had such intention. I therefore told her, "You should say, 'O God, I thank and praise You, for You have already given me the victory.' "

You who believe that the Lord is head and that He is your life must observe this word from the Bible: "Believe that ye received them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11.24b mg., Greek original). Believe, and the hardest shall pass away. Believe, then nothing can stand in your way to victory. This is salvation! Today our faith is not work; it is a substantiating God's fact. Believe that the Lord is head, believe that He lives in you, believe that He is your life, believe He is the trunk and you are the branch, and believe that He overcomes for you. Believe, and all temptations will fall away. Believe that all is done by the Lord. Praise and thank Him, for everything is done by Him!

What God has spoken is most trustworthy. We do not believe or trust in our experiences or feelings, but we do believe in the word of God. God says that the Lord Jesus not only died on the cross to be our righteousness but He now lives in us to be our sanctification. Therefore, we may not only say Christ is our righteousness but also say Christ is our sanctification. It is not that we feel that Christ is our life and sanctification, but that we believe He is our life and sanctification. God says Christ is our life, so we too say Christ is our life. God declares that Christ is our sanctification, therefore we also declare that Christ is our sanctification. God asserts that Christ is our victory, and hence we too assert that Christ is our victory. God says it, so we believe it.

I asked another sister in Chefoo if she had yielded. She replied that she had let go of herself, because God had said, "I have been

100 The Life that Wins

crucified with Christ." I asked further if she knew victory, to which she answered that she dared not say so, because she had no assurance. I therefore spoke to her quite frankly: "Sister, God says that Christ is your life, but you say Christ may or may not be your life. God says Jesus Christ is your sanctification, yet you say He may or may not be your sanctification. God says His grace is sufficient for you, nevertheless you say God's grace may or may not be sufficient for you. Most surely one of you is lying. If God is right, you must be wrong; or vice versa. Now do you dare to say that God is a liar? Judging by what you have already said, are you not suggesting that God's word is untrustworthy?" Immediately her face changed color. She denied that she had made any such insinuation, for she did believe in God's word. She finally saw my point.

I would ask this of you: do you think it is a small matter if you continue to waver and hesitate about knowing Christ as your life and sanctification? Let me seriously warn you that you will be accusing God of lying.

I briefly asked still another sister in Chefoo if she had let go. Her answer was that she had. But did she have victory? She knew she lacked the victory because she still had some insignificant problems in her life. As I was pressed for time, I asked God to give me utterance to answer her. This was what I said to her: You say you have no faith, but in God's sight you have committed a great sin, the sin of not believing in His word. God has said to you that Christ is your life, your sanctification, and your victory. He has also told you that His grace is sufficient for you. But you do not believe, and you dismiss it with a smile as though it were of little consequence. Sister, let me tell you, you have committed a grave sin! You should go and pray: "O God, I do not believe in Your word. I have sinned against You. O God, forgive me, and take away my wicked heart of unbelief. Rid me of this my sin."

Believing 101

Someone may be unbelieving; yet, sad to say, he may deem it to be a trivial matter. In truth he has committed a great sin. This sin of unbelief is greater than the sin of adultery or murder. He should therefore pray, "O God, please forgive me, for I have sinned against You. Please take away from me this wicked heart of unbelief." If anyone considers his not believing in God's word to be sin, he will quickly cross over the threshold to victory. Faith is based on God's word, such a word as "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor. 12.9a) or that "Christ Jesus . . . was made unto us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Cor. 1.30 mg.) or "Christ, who is our life" (Col. 3.4a). Lay hold of God's word, and all is well!

↑ Back to top