«　WEEK 4　DAY 5　»

　　1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son.

　　Prov. 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death.

　　In Genesis 2…the two trees were put there to show us that man, especially a Christian, can live on earth according to two different principles. Man can live according to the principle of right and wrong or according to the principle of life. Some Christians take the principle of right and wrong as the standard for their living, while other Christians take the principle of life as their standard for living. (CWWN, vol. 56, p. 419)

　　Christianity is not a matter of asking whether something is right or wrong. Christianity is a matter of checking with the life inside us whenever we do something. What does the new life which God has given us tell us inwardly about this matter?…Christianity does not require that we ask whether something is right or wrong, good or evil. On the contrary, whenever we do anything, there is a life within us which rises up to speak with us. When we feel right inwardly, when we feel the life inside of us moving, when we are strong within and sense the anointing, we know that we have life. Many times something is right and good in the eyes of man, but strangely the inner life has no response and grows cold and retreats. God’s Word tells us that our Christian living is based on an inner life, not an outward standard of right and wrong. Many worldly people, who are not saved, live according to the best standard of living they can attain: the principle of right and wrong. If you or I also live by the principle of right or wrong, we are the same as worldly people. Christians are different from non-Christians because we do not live by an outward standard or law. Our subject is not human morality or concepts. We do not determine whether something is right or wrong by subjecting it to human criticism or opinion. Today we have only one question: What does our inner life say? If the life is strong and active within us, we can do this; if the life is cold and retreating within us, we should not.

　　Sometimes we come across a brother who has acted very foolishly. According to what is proper, we should strongly exhort or rebuke him….We prepare ourselves to face the situation…. He acted foolishly, so what can we do but exhort him? We have gone to his door and raised our hand to knock, but inwardly there is a problem. Our raised hand drops to our side. Even though we have convinced ourselves that we are right, this is not a matter of right or wrong. This is a matter of whether or not the life of God allows us. Many times when we go to exhort a brother, he will receive our exhortation with courtesy and promise to do what God says. Yet the more we preach to him, the more our inward being wilts. When we return home, we have to admit that we have been wrong in exhorting the brother! Therefore, it is not a matter of good or bad but a matter of being full of life inwardly.

　　I met a needy brother a few days ago…. I thought that I certainly should do something for him because there was no prospect of help coming to him from any direction. Just at that point I had no surplus, so it was a great sacrifice to come to his aid. I seemed to be exceeding the limits of my strength to help him…. I should have been happy as I gave him some money. Yet for some unknown reason, I wilted inwardly as I gave him the money which I had promised to give him. A voice within said, “You are just acting on charity. That was not an act of life; it was merely human chivalry and natural kindness. It was not done in life but in yourself.” God did not want me to do this…. Even though I had given the brother money, I had to bow before God, confess my sin, and ask His forgiveness when I reached home. (CWWN, vol. 56, pp. 421-422, 429-430)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1988, vol. 3, “Our Urgent Need—Spirit and Life,” ch. 2; CWWL, 1950-1951, vol. 2, “Redemption in God’s Plan,” chs. 2-3