Conference in Nesbyen, Hallingdal

Elias Aslaksen:

2 Timothy 2:11 and Romans 6:8: The first thing that is required so that there can be a life with Jesus Christ is a death. People do not manage to believe that they are called to live as He lived, bear what He bore, etc. Most people believe in a pardon and receiving life after death and the grave. They also believe that they can enter into the life of Christ without first dying with Him. If we are dead with Him, then we believe that we shall also live with Him; but as long as we are not dead, we cannot believe that we shall live with Him. There is no one who believes that they shall live with Him until they have forsaken everything in this world, everything that is called putting on a show, all friendship with this world, and have sold themselves fully and unreservedly forever. You know in your heart of hearts whether you have sold yourself to Him or not. Most people are not dead with Him; of course they have a desire and a hope to be that, but they cannot give you a clear answer that they are dead. They make exceptions here and there. When you are dead, you are finished with everything in this world. All connections to this world are broken off at the very moment when death occurs; not for 14 days but forever. Although it is so difficult for us to believe that we shall overcome completely, we must almost smile when we come to the point of considering ourselves dead with Him. As difficult as it was before, so easy it is now. No wonder you are smiling, because the thing that caused the difficulty is now gone. As we become conscious of what we were not conscious of before, we must constantly surrender it into death. There is a German saying that all beginnings are difficult, and that is true.

I realize that there are far too many people who do not take this matter of being dead with Him seriously. You hear almost no testimony about victory but rather about certain defeat or perhaps about something that is close to victory, but you hear almost no testimony about complete victory. Let us take an example: It is written that the wife shall obey her own husband. I haven’t seen much of it. Why not? The wives do not believe that if they are dead with Christ then they will also live with Him. Let us use this childish expression that they tried to be dead with Him for 14 days, even though I have never seen a person be dead for 14 days and suddenly wake up again. When they die, they are always dead. It is this idea of being dead with Christ continuously that few people can endure.

Just as the wife must die with Christ so the husband has to die with Him. “But,” you say, “it is he who makes the decisions.” Indeed, but there is a Lord over him in heaven, so despite the fact that the husband is to guide, he still has nothing to say.

Why does a person lose his composure; why does he lose courage, why does he sin? It is because he is not dead with Christ. If everyone who is present were dead with Christ, there would be a tremendous power. All feeling of envy and being insulted, all indolence and slothfulness would vanish like dew before the sun. A tremendous revival would break out instantly. Things are progressing slowly because so few people are dead with Christ. Therefore it creaks here and there. Thus you can’t even turn around or make a decision because there is always someone who disagrees with your decision. There is always someone who wants to guide and lead and not be led. Something is written about being harnessed with bit and bridle. Is that wrong? No, not if there are some people present who need to be harnessed with bit and bridle. It is correct to use bit and bridle when they are needed.

It is therefore not enough if we stop smoking, drinking, and swearing. It takes a complete and utter separation that is so radical that you can never, as long as you live, go back on it. Stop trying to be dead with Christ. That is a deplorable business. If you begin with that you can keep on trying for the rest of your life. Rest assured that you are doing well by totally surrendering to Jesus Christ for time and eternity.

You are still a big sinner even though you stop smoking and drinking and swearing. Sin is ruling over you. Neither you nor others can be safe around you. Your temper can flare up at any time, and all kinds of misery will seep out from you just like from whitewashed graves.

If a husband is dead with Christ, he can live and overcome just as well even if his wife has 700 trolls under her skin.

Being dead with Christ is not to be some fantasy or dream out in the blue. I must be able to give a clear answer that it is so. For this reason we are baptized—namely, because it has become clear to us that we have lived for ourselves long enough and that it is high time that we are buried with Christ through baptism into death. We must give ourselves without reservation.

On the train schedule for the route between Drøbak and Oslo there is a notice that says: “We reserve the right to change the times.” This must not be the case with those who are baptized into the death of Christ. All rights to route changes are herewith denied. You have to sign up for that.

If you sell yourself to Jesus Christ, then do it completely. Believe in Him and have full confidence in Him so that you can say, “Send me what You want and where You want; sick or healthy, married or single, childless or many children.” You can rejoice if you have commended yourself to God in this manner. It is really important to conduct yourself according to what you hear. But who can manage to do that? Everything is impossible if you do not surrender completely. Then you can shed big tears. You will not make any headway. But it will go well if you surrender completely; in any case, then the things you know are bad will vanish.

There is a line in a song that says, “Draw me into You, my beginning.” The author was converted, so it was not the beginning at conversion he meant. Further on in the song it says, “That nature must bow until death.” Here we see that it is the same thing that matters; namely, that we must die with Christ.