Cutting Straight the Word of the Truth On Mishandling Facts in the Word
Why is it Important to Handle
the Facts in the Bible Accurately?
The Bible, the Word of God, is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16) – the very essence of His person. It is the speaking from God through men borne by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). It is God’s speaking in the prophets and in the Son (Heb. 1:1-2), and the Holy Spirit’s revelation (John 16:13).
God’s word is the means by which He accomplishes His eternal purpose and will. Creation was brought into existence by His speaking (John 1:3). The Lord Jesus Himself is called the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). The lawless one will be slain by the breath of His mouth (2 Thess. 2:8). It is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) that kills the enemy, and it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).
After we are saved, in order to have spiritual growth, we must know the Bible. For two thousand years Christians have acknowledged one thing: that no one can know the Lord well without knowing the Bible. His word is a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path (Psa. 119:105). It enlightens us (Psa. 119:130) and enlivens us (John 6:63). The teachings of the Bible give us endurance, encouragement and hope (Rom. 15:4). It records many warnings to admonish us so that we will not repeat the same mistakes (1 Cor. 10:11). After our regeneration, the Bible is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that we, the men of God, may be complete (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The Bible is one of two greatest gifts God has given to man. The spiritual inheritance which God has given to us includes, on the one hand, the invisible Holy Spirit and, on the other hand, the visible Holy Bible. A Christian is like a train which needs motivating power within and tracks without. Having these two aspects—the inward and the outward—coordinating together, the train can move, even move very well. This is exactly true of the Holy Spirit within us and the Holy Scriptures outside of us. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit within and we also know the Bible without, then, as Christians, we are living and stable, and also active and accurate.
THE BIBLE WE HAVE TODAY CAME TO US AT
A GREAT COST
Sadly, however, many people today neglect God’s Word in our hands. They take it for granted. Many do not read it, and many of those who do pay little attention to what it says. They do not realize how the Bible was handed down to us through the ages often at a great cost of blood, sweat and tears.
Before Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450, Scriptures had to be copied by hand. The Masoretes were the ones who copied the Old Testament and handed them down. They followed certain conventions when making a copy of the synagogue rolls of the Hebrew Scriptures. The rules were very strict. Great care was taken in copying the Scriptures. The parchment must be made from the skin of clean animals, and even the skins must be fastened together by strings taken from clean animals. Each column must have a minimum of 48 but not more than 60 lines. The ink must be of no other color than black, and it must be prepared according to a special recipe. No word or letter could be written from memory; the scribe must have an authentic copy before him, and he must read and pronounce aloud each word before writing it. He must reverently wipe his pen each time before writing the word for "God" [Elohim] and he must wash his whole body before writing the name "Jehovah". Stringent rules were given concerning forms of the letters, spaces between letters, words, and sections, the use of the pen, the color of the parchment, etc. The revision of a roll must be made within thirty days after the work was finished; otherwise, it was considered worthless and discarded. One mistake on a sheet condemned the sheet; if three mistakes were found on any page, the entire manuscript was condemned. Every word and every letter was counted, and if a letter was omitted, an extra letter inserted, or if one letter touched another, the manuscript was condemned and destroyed at once. The regulations may seem fastidious, but all these were observed to ensure that the copy of the Holy Scriptures would be faithful to the original manuscript in every detail.
Moreover, the Bible that we have so freely today was not always open to man. Not only was there great pain taken in copying the Word, much sacrifice, often at a cost of many lives, was offered to defend and recover it when it was lost. For a thousand years starting from the fifth century, the Sacred Writings came under lock and key. It was kept from ordinary men. History calls this period the Dark Ages. It was dark because the word of God was scarce (1 Sam. 3:1-3). Instead of God’s word, man’s word triumphed and held sway. The Reformation was a major reaction to this situation. Against the backdrop of an apostate church deviating from God’s word and slithering into the darkness, the Lord raised up men who refused to skid down the same road by returning to the pure Word from all heresies and traditions. Many such men who sought to keep and to open up God’s word were persecuted and even killed.
Among the five core pillars of Reformation truth was Sola scriptura (Latin,“by Scripture alone"). Sola scriptura means that the Bible is the only infallible and inerrant authority for the Christian faith, and that it contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. It simply demands that all other authorities are subordinate to, and are to be corrected by, the written word of God. Sola scriptura was a foundational principle of the Reformation to recover people back to the pure Word of God by opening it up to ordinary men and translating it into a language they can understand.
FIVE IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES RELATED TO THE SCRIPTURES
Luther said, "A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it." The key implications of Sola scriptura lies in five important principles related to the Scriptures: divine inspiration, divine authority, clarity, efficacy and sufficiency.
On divine inspiration, the Bible does not merely contain the word of God, but every word of it is, because of verbal inspiration, the direct and immediate word of God.
On divine authority, the Holy Scripture carries the full authority of God. Every single statement of the Bible calls for instant and unqualified acceptance. Every doctrine of the Bible is the teaching of God and therefore requires full agreement. Every promise of the Bible calls for unshakable trust in its fulfillment. Every command of the Bible is the directive of God Himself and therefore demands willing observance.
On clarity, the Bible presents all doctrines and essentials of the Christian faith clearly. God's Word is freely accessible to every reader or hearer, as it is presented in a language one can understand.
On efficacy, Scripture is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates the acceptance of its teaching. This teaching produces faith and obedience. Holy Scripture is not a dead letter. Rather, the power of the Holy Spirit is inherent in it. Scripture does not compel a mere intellectual assent to its doctrine, resting on logical argumentation, but rather, it creates the living agreement of faith to make the Word living and operative in the readers.
On sufficiency, the Bible contains everything that one needs to know in order to obtain salvation and to live the Christian life. There are no deficiencies in Scripture that need to be filled up by human tradition or pronouncement of any pope.
Clearly, the Bible we have in our hands today did not come cheap. It was forged in the cauldron of persecution and martyrdom. Countless saints labored on the Word faithfully to copy it, to translate it, and to expound it, and with a view that we might all freely and conveniently be able to read the Holy Scriptures today in our own language, that the very Bible we have in our hands will be true to all that the Lord had spoken and recorded through the prophets and the apostles in the original languages.
Seeing as it were the importance of the Bible in our relationship to God and the accomplishment of His eternal economy, and the many martyrs who sacrificed their lives to keep God’s word, it behooves us to treasure it and dive into it. In the Old Testament, the Lord commanded that His word should be in our hearts, be bound in our arm, be frontlets between our eyes, and written upon the post and gates of our homes (Deut. 6:7-9). In the New Testament, Paul exhorts us to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). We need to read it, memorize it, meditate upon it, pray-read it, preach it, and be constituted with it.
LEARNING TO STUDY THE WORD
To be rich in God’s Word, we need to have a constant habit of reading it. Concerning Bible-reading, Brother Nee helped us with four basic principles: (1) discover the facts, (2) memorize and recite the words, (3) analyze, categorize, and make comparisons, and (4) receive God’s enlightening. In this article, we are highlighting the first foundational principle of discovering the facts.
BEING FAITHFUL TO THE FACTS IN THE BIBLE
The first and most important basic principle for reading and teaching the Bible is to be faithful to the facts in the Bible. A person who is good at reading the Bible is surely a careful person before God. He cannot be sloppy or muddled. Every iota or serif of the Bible is unalterable. God’s Word says it, and it is so. In reading the Bible, the first thing a person has to do is to discover the facts. Afterwards, he has to memorize these facts and analyze, categorize, and compare them. Only then will he receive light from the Lord. In this way he will get the supply and also supply others. He will receive nourishment and also nourish others. These are the four principles of reading the Bible. We cannot skip any one of them.
The Bible is the most accurate book; it is accurate to the last iota and serif. The Lord said, "One iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law" (Matt. 5:18). God is purposeful in every iota and serif; He is never loose. Since God is so accurate in His words, His servants should accurately listen to what He says or miss the important fine details of His speaking. God is never ambiguous in His speaking; He is never careless. His words are always firmly established; every one of them is sure and unshakable. The more we read His Word, the more we marvel at His conciseness and realize that not a single word can be added or deleted.
“A man who is careless, frivolous, and capricious about God's Word cannot be a minister of the word. A minister of the word must dig out all the facts in the Bible. He should even find out all the fine points in the Word of God. He must first get into the facts of God before he can receive the light of God. Without God's light, one can see nothing. But without the facts revealed in the Bible, there is no means whereby one can receive the light. If there is no lamp, there cannot be light. However, if one has a lamp but does not light it, there is no light either. The light must shine through the lamp. Without the lamp, there can be no light. We need God's established Word before we can speak His word.
“Hence, revelation is the release of light based on God's spoken word. This light is not independent; it has a basis.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 53: The Ministry of God's Word, Chapter 6, Section 4, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
The apostle Paul was a person who knew how to discover facts. Consider what he said in Galatians 3. He saw from Genesis that God would bless the nations through the seed of Abraham. God used the word “seed” in its singular form, not in its plural form. This refers to Christ. First, Paul discovered this fact. He saw that the nations would be blessed through the seed of Abraham, and he saw that this was a unique seed. From this he realized that this seed referred to Christ. If it had been plural, it would have referred to the many children of Abraham, that is, the Jews, and the meaning would be completely different. Between the singular form and the plural form is a world of difference. Paul read the Scriptures thoroughly and discovered the facts.
In the Bible there are many facts. Whether or not a person is rich in God's Word depends on how many facts he has discovered. The more facts he discovers, the richer he becomes. If he cannot discover any facts and if he reads through the Bible in a hasty and mindless way, he will not understand much. Our teaching of the Word cannot be speculative. It needs solid and factual bases. At times, there may be more than one exposition of the Word. The formative contexts may differ in interpretation or application, but the basic principle remains that the facts are unchanging.
“The Bible tells us many things that are facts. If you believe them, they are facts. If you do not believe them, they are still facts. A fact is not going to change into a non-fact just because of disbelief. A fact is always a fact.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 1) Vol. 18: Notes on Scriptural Messages (2), Chapter 11, Section 1, LSM) [EmphasisAdded]
For this reason, both brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee taught us to pay careful attention to the facts in the Bible:
“When a man’s inner eyes are blind, he cannot see these facts. But once he discovers these biblical facts, half of the light contained in the Word will be his. God’s enlightening is just His shining upon the facts that are recorded in His Word. Discovering the facts is half of our job in reading the Bible. When we read the Bible, the first thing we have to do is discover these facts.” (W. Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, Vol. 1, Chapter 10, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
“We need to impress the saints to take heed to the facts in the Bible.” (W. Lee, Basic Lessons on Service, Chapter 13, Section 5, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
MISHANDLING THE WORD
Some people are very careless. They listen to men’s words carelessly and read God’s Word carelessly. We must pay attention to this point: no one who is loose in His speaking can be a servant of God. One loose with details will have no impact and be unable to handle God's word properly. A sloppy person can only see what the Bible says more or less. However, such an attitude often causes him to misread God’s Word. This “more or less” often spells the difference in having the divine revelation or not.
Both brothers Nee and Lee had strong words regarding mishandling the Word caused by a person’s sloppiness:
“If one is sloppy in reading the Word, how can we expect this one to minister God’s word properly? No sloppy person can read the Bible, and no sloppy speakers can speak for the Lord. If we are careless in speaking, we cannot read and understand God's Word. In studying the Bible, we have to dig out the facts. But a sloppy person cannot find any facts, or is wont to mixing things up. We have to learn to read the Bible carefully and cautiously. We need to appreciate the accuracy of God's every word. Otherwise, we will be of little use to the Lord.
“A sloppy character does not care for accuracy and is incapable of accuracy; it is not capable of holding and containing God's accurate word. The Bible is the most accurate book; it is accurate to the last iota and serif. The Lord said, ‘One iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law’ (Matt. 5:18).” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 52: The Character of the Lord's Worker, Chapter 7, Section 5, LSM)
“Furthermore, if we have not been saved in the matter of our character, we will not be able to discern the truth in the Bible because our character will not be exact. Our character must be genuine, exact, and strict. The kind of Bible we have depends on the kind of person we are. A sloppy person reads the Bible in a sloppy way, whereas an exact person reads the Bible in an exact way. This is a matter of character. This is not only true with the reading of the Bible but also in regard to our service in the church. Without a change in our character, everything we do will be careless and sloppy. As a result, we will not be of much use in the Lord’s hand. In serving the Lord, we must allow our redeemed humanity to be uplifted.” (W. Lee, Three Aspects of the Church: The Meaning of the Church, Book 1, Chapter 11, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
BE RIGHT IN FOLLOWING OTHERS
By the same token, Brother Lee warned us that in following others, we need to check how such ones handle the Word:
"Be careful in following any co-workers whom you appreciate and to whom you are attracted. He should be a person loving the Lord, living for the Lord, and renouncing his self, natural life, preference, and ambition. He must hold the complete revelation of the entire Holy Scriptures properly without any twisting and deforming. He must be one who endeavors to keep the oneness of the Spirit, the oneness of the universal Body, by taking the unique ground of the local church." (W. Lee, A Word of Love to the Co-workers, Elders, Lovers, and Seekers of the Lord, p. 49, LSM)
“To deform the truth is simply to change it a little or add something…. Do not cut off anything from the truth, and do not add anything to it. Take the truth as it is. If you do not take the truth as it is, you may say that you are not twisting the Scriptures. Yes, you may not twist them, but you are deforming them. Concerning one whom you follow, you must check how he handles the truth.” (Ibid, p. 60)
How serious this is! If we are careless in handling the facts in the Word, we may miss the emphasis or even the entirety of God’s speaking. Worse, we may also lead others astray. Likewise, it is not safe for us to follow one who mishandles the truth. The initial departure may not seem so far off, but eventually it will lead us awry. This is what the Chinese mean by "off by a fraction of an inch, missed by a thousand miles." Paul warned the Corinthian believers: "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6)? In the face of such deviation, one cannot remain nonchalant or lulled into complacency by seemingly harmless inaccuracies. Such impreciseness is more than small leaks in the dike; it is symptomatic of waves and wind of teaching coming to toss and carry about the unsuspecting in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to a system of error (Eph. 4:14).
APPLYING THE BEREAN TEST
The simplest way to find out if one who purports to minister the truth to us is twisting or deforming the Word or not is to use the Berean test.
Brother Watchman Nee once declared:
“The Bible is our only standard. We are not afraid to preach the pure Word of the Bible, even if men oppose; but if it is not the Word of the Bible, we could never agree even if everyone approved of it." (W. Nee, The Christian, Issue No. 1, 1925, LSM)
These memorable words of Brother Nee embody the noble-mindedness of the Bereans in Acts 17:11-12, who received the word of the apostles with all eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily, to see whether the things were so.
In the path of our Christian journey and race, the Bible is our direction map. The first and most important requirement in traveling is the accuracy of our map. If our map is not faithful and accurate, it will lead us off course. Hence, it is incumbent upon us to check the accuracy of the teachings we receive, and compare them against the Scriptures itself that we be not led astray. In trying to understand scriptural passages, it is important to recall its provenance. We need to be diligent, even meticulous, short of being fastidious, when it comes to the facts in the Bible.
Isaiah 34:16a says, “Seek from the book of Jehovah and read. Not one of these will be missing.” Whenever we read or hear something about God’s speaking, we must be faithful like the Bereans to examine the Scriptures carefully if these things are indeed so.
The principle of paying attention to the facts also applies when helping others. Brother Nee said:
“Our help to others should not be general. It has to be very specific, and it must follow a definite order. First, we must make note of the facts. We should have a notebook in which we write down the mistakes of others. For example, a brother may speak inaccurately habitually. The first time we hear him we should write down what he said and where he said it. If it is a dispositional mistake, he will surely repeat the same mistake. We should write down such occurrences again and again. After ten or twenty times, perhaps we will be convinced that his mistake is a dispositional one. When the opportunity arises at the proper time, we should point out to him that his words are not accurate.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 58: Spiritual Judgment, Chapter 4, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Along this line, we applied the Berean check to the website of a dissenting sister who has not kept the order in the divine administration by persisting to teach with authority (1 Tim. 2:12-12), and in so doing, we find an alarming preponderance of departures from the biblical facts in quite a number of her writings.
First, the sister stated in her poem entitled “Philip” that the divine record of Philip baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch was in Acts 29. The fact is: the book of Acts has only 28 chapters, and the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch is recorded in chapter 8.
Second, she claimed in her Yellow Book Addendum 3 that Theophilus was the writer of the book of Acts. Conversely, it is a common knowledge to Bible teachers and students that Theophilus was the recipient, not the author, of the writing. Instead, Luke was widely recognized to be the writer of Acts. Brother Lee acknowledged the same:
“The early church recognized Luke as the author of both this Gospel and the Acts…” (Recovery Version of the Bible, Luke 1:3, footnote 1, LSM)
“With this message we begin the Life-study of the Acts of the apostles. As we come to the book of Acts, we need to realize that both this book and the Gospel of Luke were written by the same person. Luke 1:3 says, ‘It seemed good to me also, having followed all things accurately from the first, to write to you a consecutive account, most excellent Theophilus.’” (W. Lee, Life-Study of Acts, Message 1, Section 1, LSM)
Third, to support her own interpretation of how house-to-house Lord’s table meeting should be practiced, she wrote an exposition entitled “That All May Know House to House Bread-Breaking” in Volume 23 Issue No. 3 of the New Man where she summarily claimed:
“In no section of the Holy Scriptures could we find breaking of the bread done in the 'temple' or in big congregational meeting of the saints.”
But Acts 20:7 clearly shows us that Luke, Paul, and a considerable number of believers gathered together on the Lord’s Day to break bread as a big congregation:
“And on the first day of the week, when we gathered together to break bread…”
Likewise, in 1 Corinthians 16:20 we see that the believers in Paul’s time also gathered together in one larger meeting for the Lord’s supper:
“When therefore you come together in the same place…”
Fourth, to prove her point that a house-to-house Lord’s table meeting only requires two or three gathered together, she misapplied the Lord’s breaking of bread with the two disciples going down to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-55) to be a Lord’s table meeting in her article “The King’s Authority Over the Winds and the Sea.”
However, as illustrated by our article “Was Jesus’ Breaking of Bread with the Two Disciples Going to Emmaus a Lord’s Table Meeting?”, brothers Nee and Lee quoted the Lord’s breaking of bread with the two disciples in numerous occasions and applied them to many spiritual lessons but never to the Lord’s table meeting. Similarly, notable Bible scholars also did not interpret the Lord’s breaking of bread with the two disciples going to Emmaus as a Lord’s table meeting. Instead, they acknowledged that as a mere repast. As pointed out in our article “What were the Practices of the Early Church Life in Acts 2?”, the Greek word for “breaking of bread” in Luke 24:30 and 35, as in Acts 2:46; 20:11, and 27:35, is klontes arton which generally refers to common meals that the believers partook of at home. Hebrew bread was made commonly into cakes which are thin, hard, and brittle, so that it was broken with hands instead of having it cut with a knife. It was that breaking of bread which the Lord had with the two disciples, and not the breaking of bread to remember the Lord of the Lord’s table meeting. Hence, the sister is either factually inaccurate and/or subjective in citing the Lord’s breaking of bread with the two disciples going to Emmaus as an example of house-to-house Lord’s table meeting composed of only two or three believers.
Fifth, to promote her style of house-to-house Lord’s table meeting, the sister asserted that the practice is the optimum means of hastening the Lord’s return as seen from the title alone of her article “An Exhortation and Entreaty for the Experience and Enjoyment of the Optimum Means of Hastening the Lord’s Return” in Volume 23 Issue No. 5 of the New Man.
However, from the Scriptures, neither the Lord Himself nor any of the apostles ever taught that practicing “house-to-house Lord’s table meeting” is the best way to hasten the Lord’s return. There are many passages concerning the Lord’s return in the Bible, but not one relates to bread-breaking from house to house. Both brothers Nee and Lee spoke much concerning the Lord’s return. In our article “Is House-to-House Lord’s Table Meeting the Optimum Way of Hastening the Lord’s Return?”, we have excerpted from the ministry of brothers Nee and Lee at least twenty-four means to hasten the Lord’s return. All of them pertain to our living, our service, and our constitution; none of them refers to any practice of meeting, for it is not the meeting but the readiness of our being and the built up Body which would hasten the Lord’s return. They also spoke concerning meeting from house to house. But neither brother, while recognizing the importance of meetings from house to house to be as important as the larger gathering of the saints, made it the centerpiece of their balanced ministry. The correlation between the Lord’s return and breaking bread from house to house was never an item together in the ministry.
Sixth, to project the image of being an Antipas in her article “Rebels Versus Antipas”, she erroneously alleged that:
“Antipas will be the recipient of God’s blessing by way of much spiritual fruits for Christ’s multiplication and God's glory.”
A closer look at Revelation 2:12-17, however, yields the fact that that there is no record in the Bible as to who Antipas was, and what he did for the Lord, other than his being a martyr and his keeping the Lord’s name and not denying the faith. Certainly there is no record in the Scriptures of him having borne much spiritual fruits. This is not to say that he may not have borne much spiritual fruits, because the Scriptures is silent on this, but for her to assertively teach that he definitely did so is to impute a personal opinion and add something foreign to the Word of God. Moreover, this portion of the Word clearly shows us that the reward to Antipas is not “much spiritual fruits” but the “hidden manna” and a “white stone.” [Cf. “What Really was the Lord’s Blessing and Reward to Antipas?” for a detailed study]
Seventh, in making a point that an apostle is answerable only to the Holy Spirit and that a worker cannot be removed by men, she propounded an unscriptural teaching in her article entitled “The Lord’s Worker” that Barnabas was removed by the Holy Spirit from his apostleship in Acts 15. However, there is no biblical ground for her to say that Barnabas was removed from his apostleship as the apostle Paul himself reaffirmed Barnabas’s apostleship in 1 Corinthians 9:6 which he recorded under divine inspiration even after he and Barnabas had split up in the work:
“Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right not to work?”
A cursory reading of the New Testament Recovery Version outline of Brother Lee even clearly shows that this section of 1 Corinthians 9 deals with the very subject of qualifications and rights of apostles, which she clearly ignored.
Eighth, in her article entitled “Mark 16:16 Applied”, the sister claimed that Cornelius's whole household was baptized after Peter preached the gospel to them in Acts 10, while in her poem “Cornelius” she wrote that the Holy Spirit fell upon the hearers after Peter preached his message.
In revisiting Acts chapter 10 we see Cornelius’s vision (vv. 1-8), Peter’s vision (vv. 9-16), Peter’s visit (vv. 17-33), Peter’s message (vv. 34-43), the Gentile believers’ baptism in the Holy Spirit (vv. 44-46), and the Gentile believers’ water baptism (vv. 47-48). From this section of the Scriptures, it is clear that the Holy Spirit fell upon all those hearing the word (v. 44) while Peter was still speaking and not after Peter spoke. Luke also did not specifically mention the “whole household” of Cornelius getting baptized. Without basis in the Word, to make a conclusion based on a personal assumption and teach based on the assumption, rightly or wrongly, is not being factual, truthful, faithful, and accurate in teaching the Bible. In cases where the facts do not so state and the circumstances may go either way, we cannot definitively state one way or the other.
Ninth, in her article ironically entitled “Obey the Ones Leading You” that was actually written to assail the elders and encourage the saints to selectively obey the leading ones in the church, the dissonant sister listed her own set of seven criteria that describe elders or responsible brothers who are not worthy of emulation or obedience from the saints without factual basis in the Bible:
“(1) one who still celebrates his or his children’s birthday and even invite saints to go to his house to celebrate with them; (2) one who resides in one locality but has his church life in another locality; (3) one who already resides in another locality but still holds on to his service in the locality where he formerly resided in; (4) one who is a mere sign board telling the saints what to do but does not move out of its place to do what it says; (5) one whose wife and children does not love or live the church life; (6) one who would not preach the gospel to his mother because she would reprimand him for it; and (7) one who would not voluntarily pray to end a very grave meeting.” (Obey the Ones Leading You, December, 2009)
From the Scriptures, 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:7-9 deal with the criteria or requirements for eldership and elders’ living and work, and there is nothing there, or anywhere else in the Bible, to support her whimsical claims. [Cf. “Remember, Obey and Greet the Ones Leading You” for a detailed study]
Tenth, in her articles “You Were Running Well” and “Proper Remembrance of the Lord”, she taught about a “trained way” where the Lord’s table should not come after the prophesying meeting because this will rob the Lord of His preeminence.
The Bible is full of passages that deal with the bread-breaking meeting. Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 10:21 and 11:20 talk about our gathering to partake of the Lord’s table. Matthew 26:26-30, Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 show how the Lord instituted His table on the one hand, and the purpose and meaning of this table on the other hand. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 explain that the emphasis in eating the Lord’s supper is the remembrance of the Lord, whereas 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 and 21 tell us that the stress in attending the Lord’s table is the fellowship with the saints. 1 Corinthians 5:8, 10:21 and 11:20 admonish us that we need to have a right attitude in our participation. Acts 2:42-46 and 20:7, together with 1 Corinthians 11:20 show us the venue and time for the Lord’s table. Various portions of the Word deal with the different aspects of breaking bread, yet nowhere in the Scriptures, or even in the ministry of brothers Nee and Lee, do we find anything that insomuch as provides any basis for her teaching that the prophesying meeting should not be before the Lord’s table meeting.
Clearly, the enumerated items show a penchant, if not a pattern, to add to or subtract from the Scriptures. As a result, her teachings become suspect in regard to adulteration. Such inexactitude in facts led to errors in truth and teaching that are too conspicuous and glaring to go unnoticed. The list of discrepancies goes even further, and has resulted in various different teachings and misaiming which have evolved into a system of error.
Her repeated lapses toss up questions for probing. It only becomes worse when all these discrepancies from the facts in the Bible abound while the writer is convinced in her mind that her truths and teachings are irrefutable and unassailable even as she confidently wrote:
“Every article always undergoes much consideration before the Lord especially regarding the truth. As far as truth is concerned, there can NEVER be any compromise.” (A Misnomer - A Work Within A Work, November, 2009)
Taken against the background of the Lord’s own words and those of brothers Nee and Lee, we find in her many writings a pattern of deforming the truth, twisting facts by omission or addition. Her writings thus become ramshackle, with no solid basis in the Word which she carelessly mishandled. This is by no means a trivial matter. She abused the prerogatives of a writer by assuming and distorting facts, thereby changing the meaning and context of entire passages in the Bible.
NO EXCUSE FOR DISTORTING FACTS IN THE BIBLE
Some may say that we need not scrutinize for erroneous facts, and should exercise more forbearance for human error. While this may hold true for a simple oversight such as typographical error, numerous and repeated uncorrected major and minor oversights in print clearly reflect the dispositional sloppiness of the writer and disqualifies such a one from accurately ministering the Word. While initially one may dismiss this with an assumption of innocuous inadvertence, the regularity of such recurrent divergences to the facts in the Bible speaks volumes about the reliability of the writing and character of the writer. A convergence of such resurgent acts just begs to be noticed.
Those who believe that inaccuracy in the facts of the Bible consists of mere small misaiming or that it is pointless to challenge it, dangerously overlook the fact that the light shining on God’s word relies on the validity of the facts. One cannot argue that we should only pay attention to the inspiration or light in the Word while not paying attention to the facts, for it cannot be clearer: the facts are the basis for the light. Without the proper facts, there can be no light or revelation.
Still some may appeal to “poetic license” to justify their distortions of the divine record. Poetic license (licentia poetica) denotes the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by a poet to improve a piece of threadbare literature. This can mean the omission of details. It can also mean the addition of non-existing details. It justifies alteration from reality with the notion that the poem should be judged on its artistic merit. Some say that writers must be given some leeway for artistic license. Indeed, some have proposed not to highlight the inconsistencies attributed to artistic license so as not to overshadow the benefits of what a piece of writing might offer to readers. But where does the Bible tell us that God condones poetic license on the part of those who write or otherwise portray biblical scenes and truths? Artistic license cannot be an excuse for grossly distorting the facts in the Holy Scriptures. That which may hold for secular literature does not hold for the Word of God. Such a concept is totally foreign to the Bible. In fact, the Scripture is replete with admonitions against such flagrant deviations.
Why any writer would assume that he can violate the facts in the Bible is indeed incomprehensible. A writer just has no justification or license to present facts from the Word by his own discretion. Presenting the truth in a modified state is irresponsible. It is needless and reckless, to put it mildly. Be it especially so that many readers are impressionistic to whatever is presented by writers whom they trust, to the point that many fail to check for themselves from the Word directly. Depictions that present an altered state of reality mislead readers who do not know the actual facts and may thus take the writer’s word for it, accepting distorted depiction to be true to reality. This underscores the responsibility of writers to be accurate in the facts that they teach.
The same is true for every type of addition or subtraction that is made to the biblical narrative. We simply have no authority for such additions or subtractions. Where does God give us permission to add our human imaginations to the Gospel story? It is not our business to try to delve beyond the pages of the Scripture with our easily-deluded imaginations.
Whether calibrated or not, there is just no excuse for adding to or subtracting from the Bible. One remarkable characteristic about the Bible’s divine inspiration is its conciseness and accuracy in its facts and details. This includes descriptions, numbers, modifiers, verbs, noun (singular or plural), etc. Everything about the Bible is an important part of God's message, not only what it says but also what it does not say, the smallest details, even the repetition.
Unsaved men are not afraid of adding to and modifying the Bible. But it is unthinkable for Christian ministers to do this, and yet many are predisposed to doing this. To change the facts in the Bible, to add to or subtract from the Scriptures is the sin of presumption.
CONCLUSION
God’s word is established in the heavens (Psalm 119:89). As He speaks, it comes to pass. Not one word of the Lord will return to Him empty or in vain (Isa. 55:11). Every word spoken and written serves a divine purpose, to reveal something of Himself to man for the carrying out of His purpose. It is easier for heaven or earth to pass away than for one serif of the law to fail (Luke 16:17). Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His word will by no means pass away (Matt. 24:35). The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God abides forever (Isa. 40:8).
The Lord’s living and solid word is contained in the Bible as the written word of God. We all need to learn how to handle this written word. We should not read the Bible as we would read a newspaper. The Bible is not merely a piece of literature; it is the word of God, which is the very embodiment of the mysterious and abstract Christ. Hence, the Bible is altogether different from other written materials.
That the Bible is a unique book is proven by the fact that anytime we come to the Word with a seeking heart, we immediately have the sensation that we are in the presence of God. We need to exercise our whole being to diligently read the Word with an exercised spirit, and a sober and renewed mind.
The reason why some Christian ministers alter the facts in the Bible, it seems clearly enough, is due to their sloppiness in reading it. However, it is also frequently the case that they miss or misrepresent the facts because they read the Word with colored lenses. They read what they want to read from the word and leave the things they do not want out, to shoehorn their interpretation of a particular event or truth to fit the biblical facts.
Oftentimes, it is our concepts and preconceived notions that prevent us from seeing the facts in the Holy Word. Our concepts and subjectivity hinder us from seeing the true meaning of the Bible. The kind of Bible we have reflects the type of person we are. We cannot hide. If we do not want our reading to be a reflection of what we are, and if we want to have the original meaning of the Bible, we need to remove our glasses. Otherwise, we will be impervious to the shining of light.
Consider Paul’s omission of “male” and “female” in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, and compare it with his word in Galatians 3:27 where “male” and “female” were mentioned. Brother Lee pointed out to us from the facts how these two passages show that in Christ, the problem of male and female has been done away with, but in the church there is still male and female. The dissenting sister patently missed this, resulting in an erroneous teaching that mixed up God’s system of grace and God’s system of government.
Consider also the matter of head covering in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. If one were to miss “praying and prophesying” in verse 5, one may be led to believe what the discordant sister has been claiming – that the matter of head covering is limited to ethical human relationships only and not applicable in the church order, an obvious case of missing the light by missing the facts. Even the Lord’s deity is an essential truth based on the facts in the Holy Word. The difference between Jesus being the complete God and a perfect man, and His merely being a perfect man spells the difference between orthodoxy and heresy. This is a loud warning to those who have ears to hear.
If we fail to heed this advice, we might find ourselves holding to a different Bible, with different facts that give way to entirely different meanings making us no different from the apostate church that hold on to the traditions or words of men rather than the Word of God. Any distortion in the facts presented in the Word, benign as it may seem, actually fosters teachings and practices which, devoid of basis in the Word, is no different from papal bulls or the tradition of men. Indeed, there is no guarantee that one who teaches the Word based on inaccurate facts does not in fact present a skein of lies.
Unfaithfulness to the facts in God’s word is not something new. Many writings masquerading as the Word of God beset the early Christians during the first four centuries. The early Christians guarded the Scriptures for their authenticity and accuracy mainly because there were people who peddled unfaithful versions. Many Apocryphal books and false gospels crept in as counterfeits to the Sacred Writings.
If unfaithfulness to the facts in the Word constitutes the weak link in a person’s writing, it is by no means a small matter, for it deprives readers the accuracy of the Word, the facts on which the divine light may shine and bring forth revelation. Interpretations that are without factual basis in the Scriptures cannot be trusted as divine revelation. Without getting the facts straight, there can be no divine revelation.
Such unfaithfulness, while costing us light and revelation in this age, may just cost us the Kingdom in the next age. In Revelation 22:18-19, the Lord’s last warning in the Bible is against adding to or subtracting from the Word: “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this scroll. And if anyone takes away from the words of the scroll of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city, which are written in this scroll.”
We should take heed to this most solemn admonition. Praise the Lord, we have the sure word of the Bible! Let us hold on to the faithful Word and the healthy teaching (Tit. 1:9). Notwithstanding our weakness, like the church in Philadelphia, let us exercise our little strength to keep the Lord’s word accurately and faithfully. He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous also in much (Luke16:10). If we remain faithful over little, the Lord will set us over many things at His coming (Matt. 25:23).
Excerpts from the Ministry
The Importance of Paying Attention to the Facts in the Bible
Basic Principles in Reading the Bible
“We must follow the sequence of these four steps when we read the Bible. We cannot jump from the third to the first step or from the first to the third step. First, discover the facts in the Bible. Second, memorize these facts. We must know and memorize God’s Word accurately and exactly. We cannot afford to leave out or ignore any portion. If we do, our reading will profit little. Third, analyze, categorize, and make comparisons with the facts. After we have analyzed the facts accurately, categorized them properly, and compared them clearly before God, we will have the ground to take on the fourth point—God’s enlightening.
“The Bible contains many facts that are spiritual in nature. When aman’s inner eyes are blind, he cannot see these facts. But once he discovers these biblical facts, half of the light contained in the Word will be his. God’s enlightening is just His shining upon the facts that are recorded in His Word. Discovering the facts is half of our job in reading the Bible. When we read the Bible, the first thing we have to do is discover these facts.” (W. Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, Vol. 1, Chapter 10, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
The Different Ways to Read the Bible
“We should read our Bible during two different periods of time. We should have two copies of the Bible for these two occasions. One period can be in the morning and the other in the afternoon…. The Bible used in the second period is for understanding, and we should write down all the spiritual facts we discover and the light we have received…. The first thing a person has to do is discover the facts. Afterwards, he has to memorize these facts and analyze, categorize, and compare them. Only then will he receive light from the Lord. In this way he will get the supply and also supply others. He will receive nourishment and also nourish others.” (W. Nee, New Believers Series: Reading the Bible #9, Chapter 1, Section 2, LSM) [EmphasisAdded]
“This is the way to read the Bible. This is how we study the Bible. First, discover the facts. Then memorize, analyze, categorize, and compare these facts. After this pray to the Lord and wait on Him; He will enlighten you and give you sight. These are the four principles of reading the Bible. We cannot skip any one of them…. From this example we see that the first basic principle in reading the Bible is to discover the facts. If we cannot discover any facts, we cannot expect to receive any light from God. It is not a question of how many times we have read the Bible, but a question of the facts we have discovered through our many times of reading…. In reading the Bible, we must learn to discover the facts. After this we should memorize, analyze, and compare these facts. Finally, we should kneel down before God and ask for light.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 48: Messages for Building Up New Believers (1), Chapter 10, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Studying the Word of God – Knowing the Facts of the Bible
“Before we fellowship on studying the truth, there are some preliminary points we need to address. We need to know the basic facts of the Bible…. These basic facts should have been acquired before we entered junior high school. If we have not yet learned them, then we must do some remedial study.” (W. Lee, Lesson Book, Level 6: The Bible—The Word of God, Chapter 24, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
“Tenth, we need to pay attention to the matter of motive and fact. What we say is one thing, but our motive is another thing. God's children should not only pay attention to accuracy in words but also to accuracy in the facts. We should rather be accurate in facts than accurate in words alone. Many people only pay attention to accuracy in their words; they do not care about accuracy in the facts. Actually, even when we are very careful and accurate about the things we say, we may still be in error. Before the Lord we have to pay attention to accuracy in facts. If we do not pay attention to accuracy in facts, we will be of little use to the Lord even if our words are correct. Some brothers and sisters pay much attention to their words, yet we cannot trust them, because even though we have never found a mistake in their words, we know that they are only concerned about the correctness of their words; they are not concerned about the correctness of their facts…. We have to consider the facts. The proof is not in the words you speak. We should speak the truth, the things that are actual facts. If the facts are wrong, we are still lying even if we use all the right words. Unfortunately, this is the way many people live. In speaking, we should take care not only of the words themselves but should go deeper to our motive and care for the facts.” (W. Nee, The Character of the Lord's Worker, Chapter 6, Section 6, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Digging Out the Facts in the Bible
“If we are careless in speaking, we cannot read and understand God's Word. In studying the Bible, we have to dig out the facts. But a sloppy person cannot find any facts. We have to learn to speak carefully and cautiously before we can appreciate the accuracy of God's every word.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 52: The Character of the Lord's Worker, Chapter 7, Section 5, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
“A man who is careless, frivolous, and capricious about God's Word cannot be a minister of the word. A minister of the word must dig out all the facts in the Bible. He should even find out all the fine points in the Word of God. He must first get into the facts of God before he can receive the light of God. Without God's light, one can see nothing. But without the facts revealed in the Bible, there is no means whereby one can receive the light. If there is no lamp, there cannot be light. However, if one has a lamp but does not light it, there is no light either. The light must shine through the lamp. Without the lamp, there can be no light. We need God's established Word before we can speak His word.” (W. Nee, The Ministry of God’s Word, Chapter 5, Section 3, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Collecting the Facts in the Bible
“In the third period, we should spend ten minutes collecting facts…. During this period of time, we should collect all these facts and write down the verses one by one. Later, we may devote the first period of time to meditate on them and study them, or we may read about them in the second period. In other words, during the third period, we collect material for our study in the first and second periods…. After we have collected and sorted out all these facts, we can study them during the twenty minutes of the first or second period. If we do not have the facts gathered and sorted ahead of time, our study will not have a basis and will not be that accurate.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 4, Section 3, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Learning the Facts when Reading the Bible
“If we read the Bible carefully, we will see that God's revelation in the Bible is progressive. In the message on 'Reading the Bible' in chapter nine, we said that we need to learn the facts when we read the Bible because there is light in the facts.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 48: Messages for Building Up New Believers (1), Chapter 15, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Interpreting the Facts by the Holy Spirit
“The Holy Spirit has to interpret the facts in the Old Testament to us before we can have the ministry of the word. Otherwise there is no ministry of the word.” (W. Nee, The Ministry of God's Word, Chapter 6, Section 3, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Capturing an Impression from the Facts
“When reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit next requires that we capture an impression from the facts. The Bible is not all teachings. A great part of it is facts, history, and stories. The Holy Spirit desires that the facts, history, and stories produce a certain impression within us. Once we have an impression of these facts from the Holy Spirit, it will be easy for Him to convey God's word to us. If these facts do not produce an impression in us, God's word will not take hold in us and will not produce the proper effect in us.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 2, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Merging One's Thoughts with the Thoughts of the Holy Spirit
“Those who read the Bible must be objective. They must not rely on their own mind. The Holy Spirit has a thought, and our thought has to get into His thought and merge with it. When the Holy Spirit thinks a certain way, we have to think the same way. The two have to flow like two currents in a river, the Holy Spirit being the main current, while we are the subsidiary current….
“Some portions of the Bible focus on facts, others on the spirit, or on thoughts. Those whose focus is on the thoughts are not without spirit and facts. Those whose focus is on the facts are not without spirit and thoughts.Those whose focus is on the spirit are not without facts and thoughts. As we touch the thoughts of the Holy Spirit, we have to be very objective; our whole being should follow the thoughts carried forth by Him. Yet some cannot do this. At the most their thoughts can latch on to the Holy Spirit's thought for ten minutes. They can barely catch up with the Holy Spirit for ten minutes, after which their own thoughts begin to wander off. Such subjective persons can never read the Bible well. The basic requirement for a man to be able to read the Bible is for him to be dealt with in his very person.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 2, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
The Characters Needed in Reading and Speaking the Word
Not Being Subjective in Reading the Word
“Every reader of the Bible should learn to be objective. No subjective person can understand the Bible. A subjective person is not suitable to be a learner…. They live entirely in their mind and cannot take in others' words. They are full of thoughts, opinions, and proposals…. A subjective person cannot understand men's word accurately, let alone hear God's word! He cannot understand worldly things, let alone spiritual things…. An objective person can listen to others, and he can also understand the Bible…. An objective man can get more from reading the Bible one time than a subjective man can from reading it ten times.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 1, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Being Careless in Reading the Word
“Second, no one can be careless in reading the Bible. The Bible is a very accurate book. Not a single word of it can be misread or replaced. If a person is somewhat careless, he will miss God's word. A subjective man will miss God's word, and a careless man will also miss God's word. We have to be careful. The more we know God's word, the more careful we will be. A sloppy person has a sloppy reading of the Bible. As soon as we hear a brother speak on the Bible, we know whether he is a sloppy person or a careful person. In reading or memorizing a verse, many people make careless mistakes with crucial words. This is a terrible habit. It is easy for us to become inaccurate in our habit. This leads to an inaccurate understanding of the Bible. In many instances a little carelessness on our part will lead to a misunderstanding of God's word.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 1, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Being Inaccurate in Reading the Word
“In order to study the Bible well, we have to be accurate and not allow any point to slip by. Before the Lord we have to develop the habit of being accurate. If we are inaccurate, we will sacrifice God's accuracy. If we have a habit of being inaccurate, we will not get anything when we read the Bible. We have to realize how accurate the Bible is. It is so accurate that it has no room for any confusion. We must be trained by the Lord to be accurate.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 1, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Being Coarse in Reading the Word
“The coarser we are, the less impression we will retain. If our heart and spirit are open to God, and if our feelings are refined, the flashing of the facts of the Holy Spirit before us will generate a strong impression within us. If we are fine and tender, we will see two things. First, we will locate the emphasis in God's Word and the focus of His revelation. Second, we will know what God wants to say behind the facts, and we will be able to tell the difference between these facts and other facts.
“A coarse person will never see the fine points in the Bible. A man must be tender, and his feelings must be very sensitive before God's word can stamp a clear image within him. He will not only catch a glimpse of the general contour, but he will have an accurate impression of the fine points and lines. He will be clear about every delicate and intricate point behind the facts.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 54: How to Study the Bible, Chapter 1, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Speaking According to One's Emotions
“Many people do not speak according to the truth or according to facts. Instead, they speak according to their likes and dislikes; they speak according to their emotions. If they like something, they speak a certain way. If they like a person, they speak a certain way, but if they hate something or some person, they speak another way. This is speaking according to our emotions rather than according to reality. This way of speaking is also lying. We must realize that we should not speak according to our feelings but according to facts. We should not speak according to our emotions. A Christian should learn to control his emotions to the extent that he will not speak according to his wish or imagination. Many people's words do not reflect facts; they reflect their imagination…. Their words are based on their imagination rather than on facts. Man often speaks what he hopes to see and what he imagines to be true; his words do not reflect the true condition of a matter. We must learn to deal with this kind of speaking.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 2) Vol. 38: General Messages (2), Chapter 16, Section 1, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
“Learn to live not according to your feeling. Of course, your normal feelings help, but if you have a high fever, you may feel it is warm when it is not. If you want to be spiritual, do not behave according to your feeling. Do not let circumstances determine how you feel. In the spiritual life learn to drop your feeling and go according to the facts.” (W. Lee, Life Messages, Vol. 1 (#1-41), Chapter 12, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
“I do not trust in my feelings. I reject my feelings. If we persist in this for three or five years, our feelings will wither and fade away. Once these feelings subside, the facts will gain ground. The more we ignore our feelings, the less momentum they have and the less they can assert themselves. The more we pay attention to our feelings, however, the more we will be beaten down. We should not pay attention to these feelings. We should only lay hold of the facts.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 61: Matured Leadings in the Lord's Recovery (1), Chapter 2, Section 5, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Speaking According to What One Likes or Dislikes
“We tell others what we like and keep silent about what we do not like. We speak about what is profitable to us and keep silent about things that are not profitable to us. This is also a kind of lying.... Many people do not speak according to truth and reality but according to their own likes and dislikes. Many words are not based on facts but on sentiments…. This kind of speaking is totally according to one's likes and dislikes. It is speaking according to one's emotion, not according to truth and reality. Please keep in mind that this is lying. Inaccurate words are a serious sin. Willful deception is even more serious, and it is a greater sin before God. We must not speak according to our emotion but according to facts. Either we must not speak at all, or we must speak according to facts and the truth. We cannot speak according to our feeling. If we do, we are lying willfully before God.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 50: Messages for Building Up New Believers (3), Chapter 2, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Speaking According to One's Hopes
“Furthermore, we must learn to put away our own feelings; we should not have any expectations of others. Many words today represent hopes rather than facts. They do not convey facts; they only convey a man's hopes…. Often a person speaks according to what he expects in his heart. His words do not convey what has actually happened. Rather than speaking of the actual situation, he speaks of what he expects the situation to be.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 50: Messages for Building Up New Believers (3), Chapter 2, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
Not Speaking According to One's Own Thoughts and Opinions
“There is one basic principle of speaking: One must not speak according to his feeling or hope. A person is lying when he is not speaking according to truth and reality but according to expectation and hope. We should learn to speak according to facts and not express any opinion of our own. If we are giving our opinion, we need to make it clear that this is our opinion. When we are speaking a fact, we need to state that this is a fact. We must separate our opinions from facts. We should not mix facts with our opinions. What we think a person is and what a person actually is are two different things. At the most we can say that the fact indicates one thing but we have a different thought concerning the matter.” (W. Nee, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, (Set 3) Vol. 50: Messages for Building Up New Believers (3), Chapter 2, Section 2, LSM) [Emphasis Added]
(April 24, 2010)
