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Week 5 — Day 1
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2 Cor. 7:1 …Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and of spirit.…
Prov. 28:13 He who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
“Dealing” implies that we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to purge away all the difficulties which hinder the growth of life.
Once we have consecrated ourselves to God that He may use us, God must cleanse us, deal with us, and purge away all our problems so that we may be fit for His use. If we wish to use a glass, we would first want it to be washed. When it is completely clean, it is a glass which we can use. Before we consecrate ourselves, or when we depart from a consecrated position, we do not realize that we need to be dealt with.…Therefore, if we desire to fulfill the purpose of our consecration, we need to have all our difficulties dealt with one by one.…Among all the difficulties which need to be dealt with, sins are the crudest, the most defiling, and the most evident. After having consecrated ourselves, the first thing we need to deal with is sins.
The following references give the scriptural basis for dealing with sins: Matthew 5:23-26.…Here, “reconciled” and “be well disposed…toward” refer to dealings concerning our relationships with others. [Then in] 2 Corinthians 7:1… “cleanse” also refers to a kind of dealing. [Similarly, in] 1 John 1:9… “confess” is again a kind of dealing. [Finally, in] Proverbs 28:13…“confesses” and “forsakes” speak also of a dealing.
We see from the above scriptures how we are to deal with sins: towards men, we must be reconciled with them and be well disposed toward them; towards God, we must confess our sins; and concerning sin, we must forsake it. These kinds of settlement of sin are what we mean by dealing with sins.
The object of our dealing with sins is the sins themselves. There are two aspects with regard to sin: the nature of sin within and the action of sin without.…The dealing with sins of which we are speaking is our dealing with the sins which we commit outwardly, the sins in our actions. What are the sins in our actions? First John 5:17 says, “All unrighteousness is sin.” First John 3:4 says, “Sin is lawlessness.” Both references show that in our actions all acts of unrighteousness and lawlessness are sins.
Romans 2:14-15 says that those of the nations which have no law are a law to themselves; they show the work of the law written in their hearts. Their conscience is the law within them which bears witness, and their thoughts either accuse or else excuse them. All deeds which are right and lawful are justified by our conscience; all deeds which are not right and lawful are condemned by our conscience. All actions, therefore, that are contrary to our conscience are actions of sins and the object of our dealing.
The external action of sins has two aspects: the record of sin and the fact of sinning. The record of sin denotes the unrighteous and lawless deeds which offend the righteous law of God and result in our having a record of sin before the law of God. In the future, God will judge us according to this record. The fact of sinning is the very act which establishes the record of sin. These sinful acts always fall short of the glory of God and, in either a perceptible or an imperceptible manner, hurt others. For example: stealing is an act of sin. By so doing, not only do we put the name of God to shame, but we also cause damage to others. This constitutes the fact of sinning. At the same time, we have offended the law of God. Henceforth, before His law we have a record of sin.…On one hand we need to deal with our record of sin before God, and on the other hand we need to deal with the fact of our sinning.102
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Day 2
Matt. 5:23-24 …If you are offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you,…first go and be reconciled to your brother…
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.
Our object in dealing with sins includes all the sins we have committed. In carrying it out, however, God does not require us to deal with all the sins at once, but to deal with all those that we are conscious of while in fellowship with Him. We do not mean to say that we must deal with all the sins that we have actually committed, but only with those we are conscious of while in fellowship with God. The basis, therefore, of dealing with sins is the consciousness we have while in fellowship with God.
We read in the Scripture concerning this in Matthew 5:23 and 1 John 1:7.…Offering the gift [Matt. 5:23] is for fellowship with God. Therefore this means that when we are having fellowship with God and are conscious of any discord between ourselves and others, or vice versa, we should immediately endeavor to rectify this situation lest our fellowship with God be affected or hindered. First John 1:7 indicates that if we have fellowship with God, we can see our sins in His light; then, according to what we have seen in His light, we are to confess this to God and deal with it before God in order to obtain God’s forgiveness and cleansing. Matthew 5 speaks of our problems with others, 1 John 1 about our problem with God.…Both indicate our consciousness while in fellowship with God.
Our dealing with sins is based only on the consciousness while in fellowship with God, not on all the facts of all the sins we have committed. Therefore, the realm of the basis is much smaller than the realm of the object.…If we are aware of only ten percent, we deal with ten percent; if we are aware of twenty percent, we deal with twenty percent. In other words, we deal only with the number of sins which we remember.…Practically speaking, dealing with sins is not an ordinance of the law, but a requirement of fellowship.
If we are not conscious of the sins which we have committed, we do not need to deal with them. If however, we are aware of them, we should deal with them quickly; otherwise, our conscience will accuse us, our faith will become shipwrecked, and all spiritual things will thereby leak out (1 Tim. 1:19).
The consciousness of fellowship upon which we base our dealing with sins is not absolute, but differs according to the degree of depth of fellowship the individual has with the Lord.…If the degree of our fellowship is deep, our consciousness will be keen and strong. If, on the other hand, the degree of our fellowship is shallow, our consciousness will be dull and weak.…Hence, we should never measure others by the yardstick of our consciousness, nor should we accept the consciousness of others as a yardstick by which to measure ourselves. Everyone should learn to deal with sins only according to his own consciousness at the time he is in fellowship with the Lord.
The limit of our dealing with sins is similar to that of our clearance of the past. It is life and peace. When we deal with sins, we should do it until we have life and peace within. If we follow our consciousness in dealing with sins, we will feel inwardly satisfied, strengthened, refreshed, and quickened; we will also feel joyful, restful, comfortable, and secure. Our spirit will be strong and living, and our fellowship with the Lord will be free and without hindrance. Our prayers will be releasing and with authority, and our utterance will be bold and powerful. All these senses and experiences are the conditions of life and peace. This is the limit of our dealing with sins, and this also is the result of our dealing with sins.103
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Day 3
Acts 10:43 …Everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There are two aspects with regard to the object of dealing with sins: one is the record of sin before God, and the other is the actual deed of sin.
Our Lord bore for us the righteous judgment of God. His blood satisfied the requirement of God’s law on our behalf; therefore, all our record of sin before God has been abolished. However, if this objective fact is to become our subjective experience, there is still the need of application. We will speak of this application by dividing it into two stages: before we are saved and after we are saved.
[According to Acts 10:43] the abolishing of our record of sin before we are saved depends upon our believing.
[The words in] 1 John 1:9 were written by the apostle to those who are saved, and they refer to all the sins we commit after we are saved.…The abolishing of our record of sin after we are saved…depends upon our confession. Here the application is through our confession.
How should we deal with the actual committing of sin? If we have offended God we must deal with it before God and ask His forgiveness. If we have sinned against man, we should deal with it before man by asking man’s forgiveness.…When we deal with sins before man, there are four basic principles we should remember and by which we should abide.…Irrespective of the sin with which we are dealing and regardless of how we deal with it, we should always take care of these four principles by asking: [1] Will this dealing dispel the discordant condition between others and ourselves? [2] Will it cause our conscience to be clean and void of offense? [3] Will it enable us to testify to the salvation of God and thereby give Him glory? [4] And can we benefit others by it? If the answers to these questions conform to the four principles, we may bravely proceed then to deal with the sin. If, however, one of the answers does not conform to one of these principles, we should be careful; otherwise, the enemy will take advantage of our dealing and use it to produce an opposite result. In order that our dealings be properly and soundly carried out to the end that God may be glorified, that we obtain grace, and that others be benefitted, we shall now discuss a few technical points in accordance with the four principles we have mentioned.
First, the object of our dealing. We should go to whomever we have offended and deal with the matter. If we have sinned only against God, we deal with God alone. If we have sinned against God and man, we deal with both God and man.…It is not necessary to deal with those against whom we have not sinned.…Our dealing should not exceed the sphere of the sin which we have committed. This is the safe way to obtain peace within and not harm others.…Second, the circumstance of our dealing with sins.…If we have sinned openly, we deal with it openly; if we have sinned secretly, we deal with it secretly. The sin we have committed in private does not require our dealing with it in public.… Third, the responsibility of our dealing with sins. When we deal with sins, we should only deal with that part for which we are responsible; never involve others.…I should not expose what others have done and cause them difficulty. Fourth, the reimbursing of others. If the sin we have committed involves material things or the gain of others, we should make restitution. When we restore what we have taken, we should pay according to the original value and add a little more to compensate for the loss. In the Old Testament, in Leviticus 5, it is stated that one fifth should be added. In the New Testament we have the example of Zaccheus (Luke 19) restoring fourfold to those whom he had cheated. These are not laws or regulations, but principles and examples to show us that whenever we make restitution, we should add something to the original value.104
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Day 4
2 Tim. 4:10 For Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age.…
James 4:4 Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever determines to be a friend of the world is constituted an enemy of God.
Immediately after our consecration, sin should first be dealt with and then the world. Because both are defiling in our lives and are abominable unto God, they need to be dealt with and purged. However, the defilement of these two aspects differs. The contamination of sin is savage, rough and ugly, while the contamination of the world is cultured and refined, often appearing beautiful in the sight of man.
Furthermore, the damage caused by sin and the world upon man differ greatly: sin contaminates man, whereas the world both contaminates and possesses man. It is far more serious for man’s life to be possessed by the world than to be contaminated by sin….Satan corrupts man by using sin, but he gains man by employing the world, thus causing him to depart from the presence of God and become lost. A study of Genesis makes this difference apparent. Although Adam was corrupted by sin, he had not left the presence of God. It was not until Genesis 4, when man invented civilization and formed the worldly system, that he was not only corrupted but usurped and gained by Satan through the world. Hence, man no longer belonged to God.
Although Abraham had repeatedly failed in the matter of claiming his wife as his sister, that was but a sin which merely contaminated him but did not usurp him. He could still be one who served the Lord and prayed for others in a heathen land (see Gen. 12 and 20). However, Demas, a co-worker of Paul, was deprived of his usefulness before God because he loved the present world and became usurped by it (2 Tim. 4:10).
Generally, people feel only the damage of sin, but not that of the world, because sin is against morality, whereas the world does not oppose morality but God Himself. Man is destitute of the concept of God; he has only a moral concept within him. For this reason he has a little knowledge concerning sin, that which is against morality, and is conscious of its contamination. But as for the world, which is in opposition to God, he has no knowledge of it, neither is he conscious of its usurpation. For example, a drunkard — licentious, wanton and lustful, fearing neither God nor man — is considered immoral and condemned by men. But if someone is daily occupied with poetry and recitation and steeped in literature, being completely indifferent to the things of God and unwilling to be gained by Him, men will praise him, having no feeling that he is usurped by literature. This is due to the fact that men neither know God nor have the concept of God, and therefore are ignorant of Satan’s usurpation of man by the world.
When we see the differences between sin and the world, we will perceive that the world’s damaging scope is greater, its harmful effect more serious, and its opposition to God more hostile than that of sin. Because the world is in direct opposition to God Himself, it has become God’s enemy. Sin is contrary to God’s law and His procedure, that is, His righteousness, whereas the world is contrary to God Himself and His divine nature, that is, His holiness. Sin opposes the law of God, and the world opposes God Himself. For this reason the Bible states that the friendship of the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).
Sin is the primitive, superficial, and initial step of the fall. The world is the final, serious, and last step of the fall. Many people stress only victory over sin, but the Bible stresses even more the overcoming of the world (1 John 5:4).…If we desire to grow in life and be gained by the Lord, we must make an effort to deal with the world that enslaves us.105
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Day 5
1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Eph. 2:2 …You once walked according to the age of this world…
At the creation of man, there were only the universe, the heaven and earth, and all things; the world did not exist. The world was formed after the fall when man became independent of God and forfeited His care. Therefore, in studying the formation of the world, we must first consider the daily requirements of man’s existence.
The Bible…divides man’s needs into three main categories: provision, protection, and pleasure. In order to maintain his existence, he needs not only the various provisions, such as clothing, food, etc., but also a means of defense to protect himself from being hurt and a form of amusement for his happiness.…In the beginning these three great needs — supply, defense, and amusement — were planned and prepared by God.…Adam in the garden of Eden had no need to worry, plan, or prepare anything for himself, for God was responsible for everything. Since God supplied all man’s needs, then in reality God was his life and his all.
When he lost God, man naturally lost God’s provision, protection, and pleasure. When man lost God’s care for his livelihood…he feared poverty, danger, and boredom with life. Therefore, in order to meet the necessities of life and survive, man used his own strength and devised means of supply, defense, and amusement. From this time, man created a godless civilization.
When mankind lived a godless life, Satan immediately disguised himself and utilized these [three] avenues as a means to possess man.…Later, Satan organized these into a more tangible and systematized world, thus entangling mankind in a tighter web.
Originally, man belonged to God, lived by God, and relied entirely upon Him. Now Satan has systematized the world to replace God in providing for man’s need.…Therefore, the world consists of everything that replaces God and all that usurps man. When people, activities, or things — whether good or bad, beautiful or ugly — enslave man, they comprise the world. Anything that causes man to disregard God, be removed from Him, or be independent of Him is the world.
The Greek word for world is kosmos, which means system or organization.…The world denotes the enemy’s scheme, system, and organization to usurp the place of God in man and finally to gain full possession of man.
Concerning the definition of the world, the Bible gives some explanations:…First, the difference between the world and the things in the world (1 John 2:15-17).…Here the things in the world contradict the will of God.…All that does not come from the Father, all that originates outside of God, and all that comes from the world are things of the world and are contrary to the will of God.…Second, the difference between the world and the age.106 [In Ephesians 2:2] this world refers to the satanic system, which is composed of many ages. Hence, the age here refers to a part, a section, an aspect, the present and modern appearance, of the system of Satan, which is used by him to usurp and occupy people and keep them away from God and His purpose.107 So, age means…the world which is revealed before us today, or the things in the world. In Romans 12:2, the age, not the world, is in opposition to the will of God; this corresponds to 1 John 2:17.…Thus, we see that the world is in opposition to God, and the age or the things in the world are in opposition to the will of God.108
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Day 6
Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world.…
[The following references give the scriptural basis for dealing with the world: James 4:4, Romans 12:2, and 1 John 2:15-17.]
The world in our daily living consists of people, activities, and things which usurp the place of God in us. Therefore, these objects are the aim of our dealings.
How do we know what objects are usurping us, and what is the standard of measurement? First, we need to see whether these objects exceed the necessities of our life. We can say that anything that goes beyond our daily necessities is taking the place of God and possessing us; thus, it needs to be dealt with.…For example: clothing as a necessity is not worldly, but if one pays too much attention to apparel and ornaments, or squanders money in order to comply with present-day fashions, he has already exceeded the scope of his daily necessities. Consequently, these excesses have become his world.
What is the standard that regulates our daily necessities in regard to people, activities, and things? In the Bible there is no uniform or specific standard governing these matters. God has ordained us to be born in different families, to receive different educational training, to have different professions, and to contact different social environments.…These various standards of living are sovereignly permitted.… Therefore, the standard of our living necessities must be determined by ourselves through prayer and seeking the mind of God. We cannot measure our standard according to that of others nor demand that they agree with our views and feelings.…From the divine viewpoint there is a certain measuring rule regarding the world. This rule is God Himself. As we measure sin by the law of God, so we measure the world by God Himself.…All that is unfitting and incompatible with God and all that does not measure up to God is worldly and unholy.
The basis of our dealing with the world is the same as dealing with sin.…We should deal with the world upon the basis of the inner feeling gained through fellowship. [Moreover, our dealing should be to the extent of life and peace within (Rom. 8:6).] Besides these…principles, there are two factors which greatly influence our inner feeling toward the world: our love for God and our spiritual growth in life.… [First], when our love for God causes us to meet God, who is light, He enlightens and exposes the world. Whenever this light appears, it shines away the world in us. [Second], our inner feeling towards the world also depends upon our spiritual growth. The more we advance in the spiritual life and knowledge of God, the deeper we will be in knowing the world.
If we wish to practice dealing with the world, we should pay our attention to one point — that is, to close our mind to the world.…Of course, it is very difficult to close our mind toward the thoughts of sin, because sin lives within us. Not until we are raptured will be delivered from this inward difficulty.…The difficulty of the world is something of an outward nature. The Bible states that sin dwells in us, but it never mentions that the world lives in us. Since the nature of the world is outward, it is easy to shut off thoughts of the world.…When we endeavor to deal with the world, we should be determined and violent to shut out any thoughts of the world. Not only should we close the door, but we should also bar it and even make this door into a wall. In this manner we can thoroughly solve the problem of the world.109
Enlightenment and inspiration:
Week 5 — Hymn
1. With praise and thanksgiving there
stands a great throng
In the presence of Jesus and sing
this new song.
Unto Him Who hath loved us and
washed us from sin,
Unto Him be the glory forever!
Amen!
2. All these once were sinners, defiled
in His sight,
Now arrayed in pure garments,
in praise they unite.
3. He maketh the rebel a priest and a
king,
He hath bought us, and taught us
this new song to sing.
4. How helpless and hopeless we sinners
had been,
If He never had loved us till cleansed
from our sin.
5. Aloud in His praises our voices shall
ring,
So that others, believing, this new song
shall sing.
1. I’ve turned my back upon the world
With all its idle pleasures,
And set my heart on better things,
On higher, holier treasures;
No more its glitter and its glare,
And vanity shall blind me;
I’ve crossed the separating line,
And left the world behind me.
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve crossed the separating line,
And left the world behind me.
2. I’ve left the old sad life of sin,
Its follies all forsaken;
My standing place is now in Christ,
His holy vows I’ve taken;
Beneath the standard of the cross
The world henceforth shall find me;
I’ve passed in Christ from death to life,
And left the world behind me.
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve passed in Christ from death to life,
And left the world behind me.
3. My soul shall ne’er return again
Back to its former station,
For here alone is perfect peace,
And rest from condemnation;
I’ve made exchange of masters now,
The vows of glory bind me,
And once for all I’ve left the world,
Yes, left the world behind me.
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
And once for all I’ve left the world,
Yes, left the world behind me.
4. My choice is made forevermore,
I want no other Savior;
I ask no purer happiness
Than His sweet love and favor;
My heart is fixed on Jesus Christ,
No more this world shall blind me;
I’ve crossed the Red Sea of His death,
And left the world behind me.
Far, far behind me!
Far, far behind me!
I’ve crossed the Red Sea of His death,
And left the world behind me.
