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Scripture Reading: Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16
In this chapter we will continue to fellowship more thoroughly on the matter of baptism, as this is related to our past exercise and practice. When should a person be baptized? Throughout history Christian groups have had unending debates over this matter. However, if we return to consider the Bible, we will realize that this is actually a simple matter.
As to baptism, the Bible tells us in a simple and clear way, “He who believes and is baptized...” (Mark 16:16). This indicates that believing and being baptized are the two footsteps of one full step. When the Chinese talk about taking a step, they actually mean one foot followed by the other foot. One full step is one footstep followed by the other footstep. Believing and being baptized are the two footsteps of one complete step: believing is one foot, and being baptized is the other, and these make one complete step. Hence, the one step to salvation is to believe and to be baptized. Seldom does a person move one foot, wait five minutes, and then move the other foot. However, we have the erroneous concept that after a person hears the gospel and even prays, he should not be baptized right away since he is probably not clear about the truth and may not quite understand the meaning of salvation. I also had this concept when I was young. According to the Bible, however, every saved person at the time of baptism is not clear about the truth, because he has not had the time to become clear. He believes, and right away he is baptized.
Suppose there is a person who hears the gospel, expresses repentance, and also prays and desires to believe. Would you consider such a one as having believed? If you say that his faith is superficial and not thorough enough, then what kind of faith is sufficiently thorough? At the time that Paul met the Lord Jesus on his way to Damascus and believed, was he very clear? The Epistle to the Romans was not written to “those who believed yet were not baptized,” nor was it written to “those who were not clear regarding salvation and therefore were not yet baptized.” Rather, it was written to “all who are in Rome,...the called saints” (1:7). This Epistle says, “Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (6:3). This indicates that the saints in Rome, who had already been called and sanctified unto God, still did not know that their being baptized was to be baptized into the Lord’s death. Not only so, another verse says, “For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection” (v. 5). This indicates that the saints in Rome also did not know that to be baptized into the Lord’s death was to be baptized into the Lord’s resurrection. In reality, not only the saints in Rome were not clear about the truth regarding baptism; even many pastors in Christianity today do not know that to be baptized is to be baptized into the Lord’s death and into the Lord’s resurrection.
What I speak is based upon my experiences. I absolutely believe that on the day I was saved, I was truly saved. As I was walking down the street that afternoon, I looked up to the heavens and said, “O God, I want only You. Even if the whole world were given to me, I do not want it. From now on, I want to be a person who preaches Jesus.” However, if you were to ask me at that time whether I was clear about salvation, I definitely would have said that I was not clear, and regarding the truth I was even less clear. If you had been there, should you have baptized me? What if I was not saved? You would have baptized a tare, a false Christian, into the church. Would you have acted too fast?
In addition, please consider this: From the day that I was saved, I loved to read the Bible. I was born in Christianity, grew up in Christianity, and also received my education in Christianity, but formerly I never liked to read the Bible. At that time I was zealous for Christianity. If anyone opposed Christianity, I would be the first to fight back. If anyone opposed the Bible, I would also be the first to react. However, as yet I had not believed; I did not read the Bible and definitely did not pray. Nevertheless, on that particular afternoon I got saved. From then on, I loved to read the Bible seriously, intensely, and perseveringly. I read whether I understood it or not. Within the two months of my summer vacation, I had read through the Old and the New Testaments once. Then I immediately proceeded to buy spiritual books, trying my best to collect them. As soon as I got my hands on a book, I would read it immediately; I never put it aside until the next day. After reading many books on truths, I then went to the Brethren to be taught. They have the best knowledge of the Bible and the best understanding of the truths. Finally, I came into the Lord’s recovery and was raised up by the Lord to speak for Him. However, half a year later, I still did not know that there was this word in Romans 6: “Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (v. 3).
Not only was I this way, but you also were probably the same. After being saved for many years, you finally saw this word in the Bible: “Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Thus, if we say that a person who is about to be baptized ought to have an understanding of salvation and be clear about the truth, that understanding and comprehension would probably be quite limited. To what extent must he understand and be clear? Take me as an example. From April 1925, when I was saved, until today has been a total of sixty years and four months. During this time I have been reading the Bible diligently every day. If you ask me today, “Brother Lee, are you clear about the truth?” I still cannot say that I am absolutely clear. Hence, if we have the standard that one must be clear concerning the truth and have an understanding of salvation, perhaps for me to be baptized even today is too soon. If we go by this traditional concept, there will be trouble.
When, therefore, can we baptize people? If we study the Bible, we will see that when a person believes is the time he is to be baptized. There is no waiting. In the New Testament, especially in the book of Acts, we cannot find an example of a person who, after he had believed in the Lord, prayed, repented, confessed, and acknowledged the name of the Lord, still could not be baptized but needed to wait awhile. On the contrary, every example clearly shows us that after a person believed, he was immediately baptized.
I was the one leading the church in Taipei at the beginning, and consequently, it was I who brought in the “baptism interview.” My family formerly belonged to the Baptist Church, a denomination that practices “baptism examinations.” However, when people are together for a while, they often develop a dislike of one another; this was so in my case when I saw that the Baptist Church belonged to the Americans. I became disgruntled and went to the Chinese Christian Church, a Presbyterian denomination that belonged to the Chinese. When I went there, I was “examined for baptism.” The chief examiner was one of the board directors of a school I had attended in the past and was also the father of one of our former co-workers. One elder asked me, “Mr. Lee, have you believed in the Lord?” I said that I had believed in the Lord. As another elder was about to continue the questioning, a pastor testified, saying, “Mr. Lee’s mother is a member of the Baptist Church. His sister also loves the Lord very much. Now he too has risen up to love the Lord.” The elder who was the chief examiner continued, “This Mr. Lee is not bad. I do not see any problem; he can be baptized.” At that time I said, “Thank God!” for I thought that if they had asked me questions concerning the truth, I probably could not have answered any. I had not read the Bible or prayed. All the more, I had not repented or confessed. Yet I passed the baptism exam.
Due to that situation in the early days, I felt that it was not proper to baptize people hastily. Things should not be done that way; they must undergo a baptism interview, a thorough talk. This was my intent, but unexpectedly, when the fellowship was put into practice, the brothers and sisters actually began to examine people by asking one by one, “Have you believed? Do you know who Jesus Christ is? Is He God the Father, God the Son, or God the Spirit?” Those who did not pass were ushered into another room where they were told, “Since you do not know the fundamental truths regarding the Trinity, please come back next time. Please be sure you can answer correctly the next time.” To be sure, the people came again and answered correctly, and right after they passed the test, they were baptized. Today I am here criticizing myself. That practice was under my leading; it was truly wrong.
Even though there was the practice of the “baptism interview,” was everyone who was baptized a real believer? Were there false ones among those baptized? I dare not say; it is for the Lord to judge. Some whom we thought were very good at the time of baptism later turned out to be the worst, while some we thought were not very good at the time of baptism turned out all right. Then there were others who were very good at their baptism but were good only for the next fifteen years. You might have said that a backsliding one was not thoroughly saved. However, after half a year he may come back to the church life, waking up at 5:30 every morning to read the Word and pray, while you as an elder are still not up at 6:30. How can you compare people just by looking at outward practices?
Having had these experiences, I have the boldness at this time to change the system. I am now able to tell you based on the Bible that once a person confesses the Lord’s name, prays, and repents, we should baptize him. The Bible says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” and also, “How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed?” (Rom. 10:13-14). The truths in the Bible are so profound that one cannot grasp them in only one or two days. Some criticize that this method is very dangerous. We may preach the gospel for one minute; then a person hears, is moved, prays, and confesses, and immediately we take him to the bathtub to be baptized, immersing him under the water and pouring water upon him. Some say that this method is too quick and too risky. However, it is right to baptize a person quickly; what is wrong with it? What would be wrong is to neglect him after baptism, not caring whether he lives or dies.
A full-term child is born after being in the mother’s womb for nine months, but doctors also know that a child born after only six and a half months can also live. Nevertheless, whether a child is born full term or premature, he will die if you neglect him after birth. The mistake we make in our practice today is that we neglect people after we baptize them, just as someone may neglect a child after birth. Begetting but not nurturing is our greatest fault.
After a child is born, he must be nurtured to grow properly. When my youngest daughter had her first boy, both my wife and I were very happy as we went to the hospital to see them. We hoped that the boy would be healthy and chubby. But when we got to the nursery, we found him to be very tiny. My wife and I eyed each other, thinking, “How can this child survive? Is there any hope that he will live?” However, today he has grown up very well; he is tall and strong, and he won first place in soccer at school. Though he was born weak, he is healthy and strong today because he was properly cared for and nourished to grow up into such a big boy. In height, weight, and strength, he surpasses many of his age. Hence, nourishment is a very important matter.
A child after birth must not only be nurtured but must also be taught. In this way he can grow up to be an adult. Therefore, after a person is baptized, the first thing we must do is to enter into an agreement with him, telling him, “From today on, we will often visit you at your home, bringing the meeting to you.” Then you have to be faithful to feed him, to visit him every week, fifty-two times a year, after his baptism. If you practice this way, do you think that this baptized person will be saved or not? Someone may say, “He was not saved when he was baptized, but he got saved after baptism through our nurturing and teaching until he became clear.” It may be that he became clear about salvation only after a certain time, but his need of becoming clear is merely your own criterion. In God’s view there is no such criterion. God’s Word says that if the gospel is preached to a sinner, and he receives it, repents, confesses, believes in the Lord Jesus, and also prays, then in the eyes of God he is saved. His spirit has been regenerated.
Actually, the truth regarding salvation is not simple. According to the Bible, salvation is rather involved; it involves a procedure, a process. There is the salvation of the spirit (John 3:5-6), the salvation of the soul (1 Pet. 1:9), and the salvation of the body (Phil. 3:21; Rom. 8:23). If you ask me today, “Have you been saved?” I would have to ask what you mean. My spirit has already been regenerated and saved, my soul is undergoing transformation in the process of salvation, but my body is still the body of an old Chinese man without any change and is not yet saved. In this age we can receive the salvation of our soul. The salvation and redemption of our body will not be accomplished until the Lord Jesus comes back. At that time our salvation will be complete.
When a person hears the gospel, repents, confesses, prays, calls on the Lord, and receives the Lord, this is the beginning of his salvation. However, we must not stop there. Rather, we have to continue to feed him and teach him, not allowing him to remain in his original condition. We must immediately care for him and nurture him, just as we would a child after he is born. If we wait a few days to care for a newborn, he will die. In the same way, after a person is baptized, we must immediately make an appointment with him within that week to set up a certain day to visit him and nourish him weekly. This is to enter into an agreement with him.
Following this, we must lead him to open his home for meetings. This is one thing that we must help others to do. As we talk to the new ones, we must lead them to open up their homes for meetings. This is a very important step that we neglected in the past. Formerly, our emphasis was only to contact and gain an individual. Now we have seen that what is more dependable is not the gaining of an individual but the gaining of his household. The sphere of gaining an individual is too narrow; the gaining of a household is much broader. Therefore, after much research at this time, our conclusion is that the unit of gaining people is not the individual but the household. We have also seen that this is in accordance with the teaching in the Bible.
In the Old Testament, Noah’s salvation was not of one individual but of his household of eight people. On the day of the Passover, the Israelites did not have one lamb per person but one lamb per household. In the New Testament the Lord said to Zaccheus, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). The Philippian jailer asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). Moreover, in the example of Cornelius, the angel told him, “Send men...and send for Simon, who is surnamed Peter, who will speak words to you by which you shall be saved, you and all your house” (11:13-14). These examples indicate that God takes the believer’s household as the complete unit of salvation.
We did not do an adequate gospel work in the past, because we took the individual as the unit of salvation. Consequently we suffered loss. From now on, we must take the household as the unit. When we contact people, we contact not only the individual but also his household. When we knock on doors, we are knocking not only on the doors of men’s hearts but also on the doors of households. We need to always have this as our goal. After a person is baptized, our speaking with him should emphasize the opening of his home for meetings. This is the gospel secret that we must learn. May the Lord have mercy on us at this time so that through this secret all of us may become revived.
Once a home is opened for a meeting, we need to grasp the opportunity to set up a time for the next meeting. Anyone who opens the door of his home to us is willing to talk to us and is desirous for us to visit again. It does not matter whether he is just trying to be polite; as long as he says, “Come again when you have time,” that is good enough. We should simply grab on to this word and take the opportunity to set up a time with him, saying, “Yes, not only are we willing to come again, but we would like to come many more times. Can we decide on a time right now?” In this way the time is set. With a set time, that home can be considered as opened. Hence, the first visit is to gain a person individually, but after he has been gained, we should immediately set up a time to meet again in his home, to open up his home, so that a further step can be taken to gain his whole household. We must practice this matter until we become skilled.
Recently, a brother from a certain locality testified that only about seventy people went out door-knocking, but within a few days they had visited five hundred homes. The brothers from another nearby locality visited more homes, over one thousand. Even though all the people prayed, the brothers did not have the confidence to baptize them. It is not that those people lacked faith; rather, those who preached the gospel did not have the knowledge or the faith. This is our pitiful condition. We are always hoping that there will be someone to testify for a person, to recommend him; then we will feel confident to baptize him, considering this the safe way. Actually, whether it is safe or not does not depend on others’ testimonies but totally on our cooperation with the Lord and on the Lord’s grace and mercy. Therefore, as long as a person believes and prays, we should immediately baptize him. If you say, “We might baptize a false one,” I would answer, “Many after baptism are eventually found to be real; whereas after a certain delay, the real ones whom you would not baptize are found to be false ones.” Baptism is not a small matter; it is a matter of life and death. How a person turns out depends on this one’s baptism. Therefore, we need to know what to do and how to do it properly. What the Chinese consider as the ideal time to cook something is very important. In the same way you must grab the opportunity to baptize a person. Then after baptism you must set up a time with him. Once the meeting time is decided, his home is open, and you have the opportunity to gain his household.
Next, we need to learn to use the Bible and spiritual publications to nourish people. From the time we begin to contact people, we must learn not to speak idle words, common words, or our own words. The best thing is to read a good book, especially the Bible. The Bible is the world-renowned classic of classics and is the highest book in the human race. Although people may not believe it and may even oppose it, they still would admit that the teachings in the Bible are the highest. When you go to contact someone, you should open the Bible and read a few verses to him. It is especially good to read our Recovery Version because there are footnotes for all the crucial verses. When you read the important verses to someone and then read the footnotes with him, he will definitely be touched. Once he is stirred up inwardly, you can then explain the footnotes to him, and he will surely be receptive.
Besides the Bible, we still have many spiritual publications, such as The Mystery of Human Life. This title elicits respect, and the content is not something common. It is not about going to heaven; that is too shallow. The Mystery of Human Life is the key to open up people’s hearts. This booklet stirs up people’s interest, causing them to want to read it, to discover something uncommon, and to see the mystery of the four keys. Whether you read it to a person or he reads it himself, you need to observe his facial expression. Once you detect that there is an opening in him, stop reading and ask him directly how he feels. Then ask him to pray with you. Once he prays in the name of the Lord, he is saved. However, there is another half step, the other foot, which is baptism. At this time you must quickly get the water ready, not giving him any chance to have second thoughts, and baptize him immediately. As soon as he is baptized, it is as if you have made a contract and had it signed. Later, when you meet with him in his home, you must continue the use of the Bible and spiritual publications. When you are meeting in the home meetings with him, you must observe in what areas he is lacking. Once you sense the lack in a certain area, you must immediately find pertinent messages and go over them with him to nourish and to perfect him.
Among us are a large number of spiritual publications, close to one thousand, on all kinds of topics. Every message is appealing. We need to choose appropriate publications and carry two or three with us. We also need to prepare ourselves by finding a few suitable verses; this is to learn how to use the Bible. Then when you go to the next level of visitation, you should not begin with idle words but rather say to him, “This Bible verse is very good. Please read it.” According to my experience, eight out of ten people after reading it would say, “I want to buy this book. I want to have this Bible.”
There are two other matters that we need to learn: to teach the new believers to sing hymns and to teach them to pray. We all know that however Christian meetings are conducted, four things are involved: the Spirit, God’s Word, hymns, and prayers. Ephesians 5:18 and 19 say, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord.” Verse 18 mentions the spirit, and verse 19 mentions hymns. When we are filled with the spirit from within, we use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to speak, sing, and psalm to one another. The emphasis here is not on psalming but on speaking to one another. Speaking to one another indicates that this is in the setting of a meeting. Perhaps you may say that this is a husband and wife speaking to one another at home. Even so, it is still in the setting of a home meeting. As soon as a husband and wife speak to one another, there is a home meeting. What is the content of their speaking to one another? It is the Lord’s grace. How do they express it? It is by speaking psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. In addition, we should also have singing and praying. When these four things are used together, the meeting will definitely be living and wonderful.
We should have the exercise of these four matters not only in the home meetings but also in the big meetings. In our big meetings we do not have adequate exercise of these four matters. We are especially inadequate in the exercise of our spirit. When the church in Los Angeles met at Elden hall, from 1967 to 1970, whenever the time to meet approached, the saints would begin singing as they walked down the street. In those days the meetings started while the brothers and sisters were still at home. The saints began their meeting before they left home, singing and praying. The meetings officially began at 7:30, but before 7:00 the saints would enter in groups into the meeting hall, singing and shouting with spontaneous praying and reading of the Word. Nowadays, the brothers and sisters probably are not accustomed to this. Some may even disdain it, asking, “Why is there so much noise? Is this worshipping God? Isn’t this shouting and yelling like a ball game or a concert?” However, the Bible clearly says that we should shout for joy and praise loudly before the Lord (Psa. 96:12; 98:8; 132:16; Isa. 12:6).
For our spirits to be released, we cannot behave ourselves too properly. Our proper behavior easily kills our spirit. Of course, we should not be wild and crazy; this results in disorder and the loss of self-control (Acts 19:23-40). However, to be quiet is dead; it is not right. To shout and jump in a disorderly way is “crazy”; it is also not right. It is not a matter of being quiet or of shouting and jumping but of the release of the spirit. If the spirit is not released, it is wrong; if the spirit is released, it is right. Once the spirit is released, people are enlivened, and the meeting is also living. If the spirit is not released, people are deadened, and the meeting is also dead. When some people walk into a meeting, they give others the sense that they are icy cold, like blocks of ice from the Arctic Ocean. In such a case, the whole meeting becomes cold. There are others who walk into the meeting and cause the whole meeting to be warmed up. Therefore, the condition of the meeting depends wholly on our individual condition.
As it is in the big meetings, so it is in the home meetings. It is especially the case when we go to visit others in their homes. Each household has perhaps only three or four people, or at most, five or six. If you are one who is filled with the Spirit and overflowing with the Spirit, as you enter a home, everyone will be able to “smell the holy wine” on you and be affected by your passion. You will sing hymns with enthusiasm, read the Word with enthusiasm, and speak with enthusiasm. Your enthusiasm will touch others, move others, and cause the entire home meeting to be living.
The Spirit, the Word, prayer, and singing are the four crucial elements of a meeting. Not only should we know the Bible, know the spiritual truths in our spiritual publications, and exercise to have a burning spirit, but also we need to learn to sing good hymns. Regarding these four items of the Spirit, the Word, prayer, and singing, I confess that I can boast in the first three items, but I am short in the matter of singing, for I cannot carry a tune. Strangely, however, it does not matter even if you are off key; you should simply exercise to sing loudly. Sometimes your singing is wrong, but those who are musically gifted can correctly learn the song after following you for a while. As he is singing correctly, you are also in tune. Perhaps the elderly saints would say that this is asking too much of them, even to the extent of killing them. We should not be afraid. Doing something that “kills” us may turn out to be life-saving to us. When we do it, it works. Thus, we need to learn to sing hymns earnestly.
To teach the new ones to sing the hymns is the best way to nourish them. May we all learn to sing hymns. After the time we go to someone’s home to baptize him, the next time we meet in his home, we can begin to teach him to sing. After singing only four or five times, he will be infused and nourished by the hymns. He may have children at home. When you sing, they may not sing, but after you leave, they will start singing. By singing a little, the truths in the hymns will gradually enter into them.
Singing is also the best “appetizer.” If the singing at the beginning is good, then the home meeting that follows will cause the whole family to be happy. Hence, the home meeting should not begin in a rigid way of social interaction. Do not engage in meaningless small talk, such as how the weather is hot or cold and whether or not to wear warm clothes. Simply sing hymns and teach the family to sing. The hymns among us are especially wonderful. As we sing, our spirits are stirred. Singing is more effective than giving a sermon, and the result is also better.
After teaching the new ones to sing, you should continue to help them to pray using the phrases in the hymns. Never have a new one repeat your prayer sentence by sentence; that is a tradition and a formality. You may say a prayer first and then ask him to follow your way. You may pray, “Lord, thank You. In tenderness You sought me, weary and sick with sin” (Hymns, #1068). Then have him continue in prayer. In this way you will teach him to pray.
In leading a home meeting, you need to have variations, to be living and flexible. Do not be set and rigid. What we have fellowshipped here is just one of the many ways. If you are willing to learn to practice, you will become more and more skillful and flexible. You will know that all kinds of changes can be made as long as the spirit is living. If you lead the home meetings in such a way, I believe that the whole family of the new one will receive what is presented. After you leave, they will reminisce and have further fellowship. Therefore, you should never think that we are using gimmicks and wasting our effort. As long as we have the spirit, what we do will not be in vain, and they will receive what we say.
Next, we have to lead the members of the household to learn to pick up the responsibility in the meeting. However, this must not be rigidly enforced. Perhaps the next time you go, you may say, “I am so happy to be here with you all. Sister, can you lead us in singing this time? We can sing the hymn from the last time. Brother, can you lead us to read the Bible? We can read the section that we read last time.” Afterward, ask the wife to give a testimony. It may seem as if you are talking to them; actually, you are having them share the responsibility of the meeting. The result of leading the home meeting in this way is that they will know how to meet as a home meeting.
The most important thing is that you never allow these things to become a rigid and ritualistic practice. Before you go to a home meeting, you must have ample and living fellowship with the Lord and have thorough confession and prayer until you are filled inwardly. If your spirit is filled with the Lord and His word and you can sing and pray, then you are living, and whatever you do will be living. Whatever a living person does is living; for him, even a dying business will become booming. If a person is dead, however, even a booming business will become dead. We must learn to practice according to this principle.
We need to pay attention to the areas in which we are not living, in which we are too rigid. In these areas we must be alert and diligent to be exercised. We may take the Chinese-speaking meeting in a certain locality as an example. After singing a hymn in the Lord’s table meeting, everyone begins to speak the hymn to one another, making the hymn so good and living. However, in the meeting for reading the Word, everyone becomes dumb and quiet, not knowing what to say. Then when it is time to read the spiritual publications, it is done stiffly and without spirit. The hymns are spoken, and the Word and the spiritual publications are also spoken, but why are the two speakings so different? This is due to habit. Once we fall into a habit, our spirit is killed. This is a dreadful matter.
Therefore, I hope that the brothers and sisters will be careful in whatever they do. Do not fall into a habit. You must be living in whatever you read and always exercise the spirit. Never think that since you often read the Bible and the spiritual publications, you know how to read them. Once you rely on your habit, your spirit will be killed. Only with the exercise and the release of the spirit will we be able to read in a living way. As it is in the big meetings, so it should also be in leading the home meetings.
