You may have walked the path of faith in God for more than one or two years, and perhaps you have endured much hardship in your life during these years; or perhaps you have not endured much hardship, and have instead received much grace. It may also be that you have experienced neither hardship nor grace, but lived a rather unremarkable life. Regardless, you are still a follower of God, so let us fellowship on the subject of following God. However, I must remind all who read these words that the word of God is directed toward those who acknowledge and follow Him, not toward all people whether they acknowledge Him or not. If you believe that God speaks to the masses, to all people in the world, then God’s word will have no effect upon you. Thus, you should remember all of these words in your heart, and not always exclude yourself from them. In any case, let us speak of what is happening in our house.
You should all now understand the true meaning of faith in God. The meaning of faith in God of which I previously spoke related to your positive entry. Today is different: Today, I would like to analyze the substance of your faith in God. Of course, this is guiding you from a negative aspect; if I did not, then you would never know your true face, and would forever boast of your piety and faithfulness. It is fair to say that if I did not expose the ugliness in the depths of your hearts, then each of you would place a crown upon your head and keep all the glory for yourselves. Your arrogant and conceited natures drive you to betray your own consciences, to rebel against and resist Christ, and to reveal your ugliness, thereby bringing to light your intentions, notions, extravagant desires, and eyes full of greed. And yet you continue to prattle on about your lifelong passion for the work of Christ, and repeat again and again the truths long ago spoken by Christ. This is your “faith”—your “faith without impurity.” I have held man to a strict standard throughout. If your loyalty comes with intentions and conditions, then I would rather be without your so-called loyalty, for I abhor those who deceive Me through their intentions and extort Me with conditions. I wish only for man to be absolutely loyal to Me, and to do all things for the sake of—and in order to prove—one word: faith. I despise your use of blandishments to try to make Me rejoice, for I have always treated you with sincerity, and so wish for you to also act with true faith toward Me. When it comes to faith, many may think that they follow God because they have faith, and would not endure such suffering otherwise. So I ask you this: If you believe in God’s existence, why do you not revere Him? If you believe in God’s existence, why is there not the slightest fear of Him in your heart? You accept that Christ is the incarnation of God, so why do you hold Him in contempt? Why do you act irreverently toward Him? Why do you openly judge Him? Why do you always spy upon His movements? Why do you not submit to His arrangements? Why do you not act in accordance with His word? Why do you try to extort and rob Him of His offerings? Why do you speak from the place of Christ? Why do you judge whether His work and His word are correct? Why do you dare blaspheme Him behind His back? Are these and others what constitute your faith?
In your words and behavior are revealed elements of your unbelief in Christ. Unbelief pervades the motives and objectives of all you do. Even the character of your gaze contains the unbelief in Christ. It can be said that minute by minute, each of you harbors the elements of unbelief. This means that, at every moment, you are in danger of betraying Christ, for the blood that runs through your body is infused with unbelief in the incarnate God. Therefore, I say that the footprints you leave on the path of faith in God are not real; as you walk the path of faith in God, you do not plant your feet firmly upon the ground—you are merely going through the motions. You never fully believe the word of Christ and are incapable of immediately putting it into practice. This is the reason you do not have faith in Christ. Always having notions about Him is another reason you do not have faith in Him. Forever being skeptical about the work of Christ, letting the word of Christ fall on deaf ears, having an opinion on whatever work is done by Christ and not being able to correctly understand this work, struggling to put aside your notions no matter what explanation you receive, and so on—these are all the elements of unbelief mingled within your hearts. Though you follow the work of Christ and never fall behind, there is too much rebellion mixed in your hearts. This rebellion is an impurity in your belief in God. Perhaps you do not think this is the case, but if you are incapable of recognizing your intentions from within this, then you are bound to be among those who perish, for God perfects only those who truly believe in Him, not those who are skeptical of Him, and least of all those who reluctantly follow Him despite never having believed that He is God.
Some people do not rejoice in the truth, much less judgment. Instead, they rejoice in power and riches; such people are called power seekers. They search only for those denominations in the world with influence, and they search only for pastors and teachers that come from seminaries. Though they have accepted the way of truth, they are only half-believing; they are incapable of giving all of their hearts and minds, their mouths speak of expending themselves for God, but their eyes are focused on the great pastors and teachers, and they do not spare Christ a second glance. Their hearts are fixated upon fame, fortune, and glory. They think it out of the question that such a meager person could be capable of conquering so many, that one so unremarkable could perfect man. They think it out of the question that these nobodies among the dust and dunghills are the people chosen by God. They believe that if such people were the objects of God’s salvation, then heaven and earth would be turned upside down, and all people would laugh themselves silly. They believe that if God chose such nobodies to be perfected, then those great men would become God Himself. Their perspectives are tainted with unbelief; more than not believing, they are simply preposterous beasts. For they value only status, prestige, and power, and they esteem only large groups and denominations. They have not the slightest regard for those led by Christ; they are simply traitors who have turned their backs on Christ, on truth, and on life.
What you admire is not the humility of Christ, but those false shepherds of prominent standing. You do not adore the loveliness or wisdom of Christ, but those libertines who wallow in the filth of the world. You laugh at the pain of Christ who has no place to lay His head, but you admire those corpses that hunt for offerings and live in debauchery. You are not willing to suffer alongside Christ, but you gladly throw yourself into the arms of those reckless antichrists, though they only supply you with flesh, words, and control. Even now, your heart still turns toward them, toward their reputation, toward their status, toward their influence. And yet you continue to hold an attitude whereby you find the work of Christ hard to swallow and you are unwilling to accept it. This is why I say that you lack the faith to acknowledge Christ. The reason you have followed Him to this day is only because you had no other option. A series of lofty images are forever towering in your heart; you cannot forget their every word and deed, nor their influential words and hands. They are, in your heart, forever supreme and forever heroes. But this is not so for the Christ of today. He is forever insignificant in your heart, and forever undeserving of reverence. For He is far too ordinary, has far too little influence, and is far from lofty.
In any case, I say that all those who do not value the truth are nonbelievers and traitors to the truth. Such men shall never receive the approval of Christ. Have you now identified how much unbelief is within you, and how much betrayal of Christ you have? I exhort you thus: Since you have chosen the way of truth, then you should devote yourself wholeheartedly; do not be ambivalent or half-hearted. You should understand that God does not belong to the world nor any one person, but to all those who truly believe in Him, all those who worship Him, and all those who are devoted and faithful to Him.
Today, much unbelief remains within you. Look hard within yourselves, and you will surely find your answer. When you find the real answer, then you will admit that you are not a believer in God, but rather one who deceives, blasphemes, and betrays Him, and one who is disloyal to Him. Then you will realize that Christ is no man, but God. When that day comes, you will revere, fear, and truly love Christ. Presently, only thirty percent of your heart is filled with faith, while the other seventy percent is filled with doubt. Everything Christ does and says is liable to give you notions and opinions about Him, notions and opinions that stem from your complete unbelief in Him. You admire and fear only the unseen God in heaven, and have no regard for the living Christ on earth. Is this not also your unbelief? You yearn only for the God who did work in the past, but do not face up to the Christ of today. All this is the “faith,” forever mixed in your hearts, the faith that does not believe in the Christ of today. I am in no way underestimating you, for there is too much unbelief within you, too much of you that is impure and must be dissected. These impurities are a sign that you have no faith at all; they are a mark of your renouncement of Christ, and they brand you as a betrayer of Christ. They are a veil covering your knowledge of Christ, a barrier to your being gained by Christ, an obstacle to your compatibility with Christ, and proof that Christ does not approve of you. Now is the time to examine all parts of your life! Doing so will benefit you in every way imaginable!
From: Grow in Christ
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