Page 119 - The Christian Life and the Church Life_Government of God

God’s Building 118

There are four obstacles to the growth in life that we need to be very aware
of. Remember that we are still talking about living under the government
of God for God’s building by growing in life and being transformed. Here
are four obstacles that will keep you from a proper growth: the first is not
knowing the path of life; second is hypocrisy, pretending to be something
that we really are not; third is rebellion; fourth is our natural capabilities.
I do not love the obstacles but I love these four points, because they are so
enlightening. These points match my understanding and observation in the
church life among the brothers. If we want Christ’s life to be unhindered in
us, we must experience the breaking of the cross, the killing death of Christ
in the all-inclusive Spirit of Christ as the Spirit of glory, so that the following
obstacles within us can be dealt with and removed. If we really grow and
experience transformation, these obstacles can and will be removed. These
are not mountains that never go away. They can be removed.

Being a Christian Meaning Not Taking Anything Other Than Christ as
Our Aim; the Obstacle to This Being Not Knowing the Pathway of Life
and Not Taking Christ as Our Life

Being a Christian means not taking anything other than Christ as our
aim; the obstacle to this is not knowing the pathway of life and not taking
Christ as our life. I really think we should pray over this. I know a lot of
people who would say, “Oh yes, I am on the path of life; I am pursuing the
way of life.” But they actually do not know what the pathway of life is. We
should not automatically say, “Yes, I am on it.” Maybe we are and I hope we
are. Actually, it is not that hard to be on this path. We have a lot of reminders.
Everyday let us remain on the pathway of life. In the Psalms, we have the
phrase, “You will show me the path of life.” Let us pray for that.
The Second Obstacle Being Hypocrisy; a Person’s Spirituality Not Being
Determined by Outward Appearance but by How He Takes Care of Christ
The second obstacle is hypocrisy; a person’s spirituality is not determined
by outward appearance but by how he takes care of Christ. Hypocrisy means
we appear to others as something very different than what we are. Hypocrisy
is like wearing a mask, like an actor on a stage. What you see is the mask,
but actually behind the mask is something very different. We have to take
this very seriously. This will frustrate our growth in life. The opposite of
hypocrisy is to be genuine. This is also related to the matter of fellowship.