The justification experience puts an end to the self-life which was lived without God and starts the renewing process. Although it is the one redemption work, the various acts of grace had to take place in our lives. Therefore, different terminologies are being used for the various experiences.

First it starts with revival. The man separated from God is spiritually dead. There must come an awakening to him. This happens only through the Spirit of God under the preaching of the gospel. Until that moment, everyone is spiritually dead, without knowing it. For most of the people, everything seems to be alright and they do not even notice that something is missing.

The religious man tends to put off any thought about the future and also the truth that everyone will be personally responsible before God at the final judgment. Also there are those who think about this, but say to themselves, “I have killed nobody; I have not done this or that, and therefore, it should not be altogether so bad.” But we are told that this is very serious. All should, therefore, know that God is not an old grandpa or nice uncle to whom we then can speak a few nice words. At that moment, God will not be the loving Saviour, He will be the Supreme Judge. He is bound to His Word, and, therefore, will judge accordingly.

He is bound to His Word now, and all those who believe receive grace and forgiveness, and they are totally made free and justified. Those who withstand and contradict Him and reject His plan of salvation for themselves, will be judged righteously. Those who try to make it in their own way without lining up with God’s Word, will be disappointed. The question is not only to believe, but to believe God and to believe in His Word according to the plan He laid out for humanity. Whoever does not believe God, makes Him a liar (1 Jn. 5:10).

It is generally understood that the natural man does not receive spiritual things, although he might be religious. It starts with reviving —which is the awakening of the conscience and the recognising of his spiritually dead condition. At the first sermon Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost, the listeners were moved, they experienced the inner revival and then cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37b).

Under the preaching of the gospel, the listeners do have various experiences with God. When Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius, those who were gathered there experienced, during the sermon itself, every thing from conversion to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts
10:37-48). It all depends on the attitude of the listeners and their expectation in faith. Wherever the Word is preached, the Spirit of God moves accordingly. It is good to know that there is no particular set pattern. True faith which is valid before God originates from the preaching of the message of salvation. After this all, experiences which are necessary can be received by the listeners. At first, the Spirit of God lets everyone examine himself, and then the repentance sets in. Man then feels sorry about the things which were not done right, and prays to God for forgiveness.

The knowledge of sin penetrates so deep that man recognises his unworthiness in the presence of the Holy God, and prays, “Lord, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee.” Restitutions are then made. Whoever stole, steals no more; the liar lies no more, etc. A real conversion to Christ and renewing within takes place which brings forth the new birth. Those who are thus convinced by the Holy Spirit ask the Lord to forgive and take the whole load of sin from them. While in prayer, something extraordinary happens. It is a sovereign act of God. Then one receives the assurance of salvation, having found peace with God in his heart. Someone who repents reaches the moment of the break-through believing that Christ alone saves. It is a real experience, something you know, because it happens through the direct moving of the Spirit of God. His Spirit then testifies to our spirit that we have become the children of God (Rom. 8:16). This salvation in Christ can be obtained and experienced even today.

Whoever turns in faith to God and opens his heart will receive whatever He has promised. We must come to the Lord in the right humble attitude, hear His Word and experience salvation as in the original Christian Church. God is trustworthy, He is utterly reliable and faithful.

Today the picture that God gave in His Word has been distorted. This is because of the many different religious denominations. It is regretted that the way of the Lord is no longer clearly shown.

Those who seek to speak with God must do it like children — as if you would answer a letter. He wrote to us in His holy Word, by which He still speaks, and in prayer we are talking to Him. He makes known unto us all that is prepared for us and also His perfect will. In prayer we give thanks to Him for all that He has done. Thus man comes into a personal fellowship with God.

We can experience that God’s Word suddenly speaks very personally to us like when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:3). The experience of the new birth is a must. Without it no one can enter into the kingdom of God. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (Jn. 3:7). The experience of the new birth has nothing to do with the philosophy of reincarnation which sometimes is being termed as being born again. In the experience of the new birth as taught in the Holy Scriptures, man does not appear in another form, but rather as he lives, believes and receives God’s Word, the Holy Ghost performs the begetting of the soul, and so a new life comes forth. “But after that the kindness and love of God, our Saviour, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Ti. 3:4-7).

Already in chapter 2:11, the apostle touched the subject, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men …” Whoever finds grace in the sight of God will recognise the things necessary for his salvation. In the epistles, the experiences of those who had been in the ministry of Jesus Christ are recorded. He remains the same yesterday, today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). Therefore, He does the same with all who come to Him. Whoever receives the Word of Truth will experience whatever is promised therein. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (Jas. 1:18).

The apostle Peter expresses the same thought, and writes, “Seeing that ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever …” (1 Pet. 1:22-23). Whoever experiences what God has promised in His Word, becomes a part of God’s Word, submits to His will, and is properly placed according to the plan of salvation. In turn such people can also place all things properly within the frame work of the Scriptures. The redeemed must become one with the Redeemer, so that we can see as He sees, and desire what He desires.

With the experience of conversion, renewing, and new birth the whole man is included and we begin to follow Jesus Christ. What it means to follow Him is recorded in many places of the Scripture. The Lord suddenly has the pre-eminence. If necessary possessions must be forfeited. It can also mean to leave behind wife or husband, brothers or sisters, parents or children, or friends for the sake of God’s Kingdom (Lk. 18:29). In such cases where this becomes necessary, apparently, the rest of the family does not believe and so they are left behind. To follow Christ does not mean to enter a convent or to join a certain order, but to remain in the daily life only recognising and doing the will of God. The broad way is being left bearing all the consequences. No one can serve two masters or walk on two different ways at the same time. The decision must be taken. Our life itself should testify about the way we have chosen.

The renewing experience concerns the heart of man, according to the Scripture, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ez. 36:26). After the renewing of the inner man, the great task lies before us which is to put away the old man. In fact, everyone more or less lives a double life. We are not what we would have others to believe that we are. Everyone has two faces. Once he appears like this, and then in a different way as he would like to be. In this we are clearly told what we must do. “That ye put off concerning the former manner of life the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph. 4:22-24). In the following verses, many things are listed which cannot be taken over into the new life.

After the conscience of man is revived and taken out from spiritual death, the Spirit of God brings into remembrance the things which are right in His sight. The one who believes will conform with the following text, “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom. 12:2). Whoever starts following Jesus Christ will not carry the cross with a necklace, but rather the reproach of Christ, the crucified One, and walk on the narrow way which leads into eternal life (Mt. 16:26).

Paul ends his letter to the Galatians like this, “But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal. 6:14). Only those who die to themselves and to this world can live with Jesus Christ. All other things are just good intentions which will fail every time. The redeemed are numbered amongst those who please God.

But in this respect, things also have gone wrong. The Biblical terms are being used, but the true Biblical experiences do not follow. In early Christianity, in the first centuries and also with the true believers in all ages, even in this twentieth century, it is possible to experience Jesus Christ right where you are. There is no need to pull back into a monastery to show a deep religious conviction, meditate and be in the prison of self-righteousness. At the beginning, the apostles and believers lived totally in a normal life in every respect with Jesus Christ whether in their work place, in the family, in the village or in the city. They had fellowship with Jesus Christ and were a living testimony of the experienced grace. Through the power of God, the redeemed man has the possibility to live a totally normal life within the set limits of God’s Word. This includes marriage, occupations and all the natural spheres. The question is not whether we should be taken out from this world, but rather that all the worldly things are to be taken out from us.

The justification experience puts an end to the self-life which was lived without God and starts the renewing process. Although it is the one redemption work, the various acts of grace had to take place in our lives. Therefore, different terminologies are being used for the various experiences.

First it starts with revival. The man separated from God is spiritually dead. There must come an awakening to him. This happens only through the Spirit of God under the preaching of the gospel. Until that moment, everyone is spiritually dead, without knowing it. For most of the people, everything seems to be alright and they do not even notice that something is missing.

The religious man tends to put off any thought about the future and also the truth that everyone will be personally responsible before God at the final judgment. Also there are those who think about this, but say to themselves, “I have killed nobody; I have not done this or that, and therefore, it should not be altogether so bad.” But we are told that this is very serious. All should, therefore, know that God is not an old grandpa or nice uncle to whom we then can speak a few nice words. At that moment, God will not be the loving Saviour, He will be the Supreme Judge. He is bound to His Word, and, therefore, will judge accordingly.

He is bound to His Word now, and all those who believe receive grace and forgiveness, and they are totally made free and justified. Those who withstand and contradict Him and reject His plan of salvation for themselves, will be judged righteously. Those who try to make it in their own way without lining up with God’s Word, will be disappointed. The question is not only to believe, but to believe God and to believe in His Word according to the plan He laid out for humanity. Whoever does not believe God, makes Him a liar (1 Jn. 5:10).

It is generally understood that the natural man does not receive spiritual things, although he might be religious. It starts with reviving —which is the awakening of the conscience and the recognising of his spiritually dead condition. At the first sermon Peter gave on the Day of Pentecost, the listeners were moved, they experienced the inner revival and then cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37b).

Under the preaching of the gospel, the listeners do have various experiences with God. When Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius, those who were gathered there experienced, during the sermon itself, every thing from conversion to the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts
10:37-48). It all depends on the attitude of the listeners and their expectation in faith. Wherever the Word is preached, the Spirit of God moves accordingly. It is good to know that there is no particular set pattern. True faith which is valid before God originates from the preaching of the message of salvation. After this all, experiences which are necessary can be received by the listeners. At first, the Spirit of God lets everyone examine himself, and then the repentance sets in. Man then feels sorry about the things which were not done right, and prays to God for forgiveness.

The knowledge of sin penetrates so deep that man recognises his unworthiness in the presence of the Holy God, and prays, “Lord, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee.” Restitutions are then made. Whoever stole, steals no more; the liar lies no more, etc. A real conversion to Christ and renewing within takes place which brings forth the new birth. Those who are thus convinced by the Holy Spirit ask the Lord to forgive and take the whole load of sin from them. While in prayer, something extraordinary happens. It is a sovereign act of God. Then one receives the assurance of salvation, having found peace with God in his heart. Someone who repents reaches the moment of the break-through believing that Christ alone saves. It is a real experience, something you know, because it happens through the direct moving of the Spirit of God. His Spirit then testifies to our spirit that we have become the children of God (Rom. 8:16). This salvation in Christ can be obtained and experienced even today.

Whoever turns in faith to God and opens his heart will receive whatever He has promised. We must come to the Lord in the right humble attitude, hear His Word and experience salvation as in the original Christian Church. God is trustworthy, He is utterly reliable and faithful.

Today the picture that God gave in His Word has been distorted. This is because of the many different religious denominations. It is regretted that the way of the Lord is no longer clearly shown.

Those who seek to speak with God must do it like children — as if you would answer a letter. He wrote to us in His holy Word, by which He still speaks, and in prayer we are talking to Him. He makes known unto us all that is prepared for us and also His perfect will. In prayer we give thanks to Him for all that He has done. Thus man comes into a personal fellowship with God.

We can experience that God’s Word suddenly speaks very personally to us like when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (Jn. 3:3). The experience of the new birth is a must. Without it no one can enter into the kingdom of God. “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (Jn. 3:7). The experience of the new birth has nothing to do with the philosophy of reincarnation which sometimes is being termed as being born again. In the experience of the new birth as taught in the Holy Scriptures, man does not appear in another form, but rather as he lives, believes and receives God’s Word, the Holy Ghost performs the begetting of the soul, and so a new life comes forth. “But after that the kindness and love of God, our Saviour, toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour, that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Ti. 3:4-7).

Already in chapter 2:11, the apostle touched the subject, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men …” Whoever finds grace in the sight of God will recognise the things necessary for his salvation. In the epistles, the experiences of those who had been in the ministry of Jesus Christ are recorded. He remains the same yesterday, today, and for ever (Heb. 13:8). Therefore, He does the same with all who come to Him. Whoever receives the Word of Truth will experience whatever is promised therein. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” (Jas. 1:18).

The apostle Peter expresses the same thought, and writes, “Seeing that ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever …” (1 Pet. 1:22-23). Whoever experiences what God has promised in His Word, becomes a part of God’s Word, submits to His will, and is properly placed according to the plan of salvation. In turn such people can also place all things properly within the frame work of the Scriptures. The redeemed must become one with the Redeemer, so that we can see as He sees, and desire what He desires.

With the experience of conversion, renewing, and new birth the whole man is included and we begin to follow Jesus Christ. What it means to follow Him is recorded in many places of the Scripture. The Lord suddenly has the pre-eminence. If necessary possessions must be forfeited. It can also mean to leave behind wife or husband, brothers or sisters, parents or children, or friends for the sake of God’s Kingdom (Lk. 18:29). In such cases where this becomes necessary, apparently, the rest of the family does not believe and so they are left behind. To follow Christ does not mean to enter a convent or to join a certain order, but to remain in the daily life only recognising and doing the will of God. The broad way is being left bearing all the consequences. No one can serve two masters or walk on two different ways at the same time. The decision must be taken. Our life itself should testify about the way we have chosen.

The renewing experience concerns the heart of man, according to the Scripture, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ez. 36:26). After the renewing of the inner man, the great task lies before us which is to put away the old man. In fact, everyone more or less lives a double life. We are not what we would have others to believe that we are. Everyone has two faces. Once he appears like this, and then in a different way as he would like to be. In this we are clearly told what we must do. “That ye put off concerning the former manner of life the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph. 4:22-24). In the following verses, many things are listed which cannot be taken over into the new life.

After the conscience of man is revived and taken out from spiritual death, the Spirit of God brings into remembrance the things which are right in His sight. The one who believes will conform with the following text, “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Rom. 12:2). Whoever starts following Jesus Christ will not carry the cross with a necklace, but rather the reproach of Christ, the crucified One, and walk on the narrow way which leads into eternal life (Mt. 16:26).

Paul ends his letter to the Galatians like this, “But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal. 6:14). Only those who die to themselves and to this world can live with Jesus Christ. All other things are just good intentions which will fail every time. The redeemed are numbered amongst those who please God.

But in this respect, things also have gone wrong. The Biblical terms are being used, but the true Biblical experiences do not follow. In early Christianity, in the first centuries and also with the true believers in all ages, even in this twentieth century, it is possible to experience Jesus Christ right where you are. There is no need to pull back into a monastery to show a deep religious conviction, meditate and be in the prison of self-righteousness. At the beginning, the apostles and believers lived totally in a normal life in every respect with Jesus Christ whether in their work place, in the family, in the village or in the city. They had fellowship with Jesus Christ and were a living testimony of the experienced grace. Through the power of God, the redeemed man has the possibility to live a totally normal life within the set limits of God’s Word. This includes marriage, occupations and all the natural spheres. The question is not whether we should be taken out from this world, but rather that all the worldly things are to be taken out from us.