If—If! Not Otherwise!

The vast majority of those who are occupied with preaching God’s Word pervert it by omitting this “if,” and thereby keeping silent about the conditions. Each promise has one or several conditions that must be fulfilled before you can obtain what has been promised!

They act as though there were no “if” existed; therefore it is their fault that those who listen to them do not partake of God’s glorious life that has been promised to each one who fulfills the conditions.

People like to be exalted together with Jesus. However, according to Jesus’ own words, that is impossible unless the person humbles himself. Matt. 23:12. “If you abide in My word . . . .” John 8:31. Not otherwise! “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you . . . .” John 15:7. “If you keep My commandments . . . .” John 15:10. Otherwise nothing can come of it! “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” John 15:14. Otherwise you are not His friends! If you imagine yourself to be His friends anyway, you are extremely superficial, living in profound self-deception.

Preachers and leaders bear the main blame for this. Wretched people! It is just as with the Pharisees and scribes in Jesus’ days, who did not enter through the strait gate themselves and did not walk on the narrow way, and those who desired to were hindered from doing it by these hypocrites; they were warned against it.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another . . . .” 1 John 1:7. Otherwise, we do not have true and genuine and sincere fellowship with one another; it is only a so-called fellowship which the entire world is full of. There they “act” as if they love one another instead of loving one another in truth.

Therefore this cannot result in sanctification. In the previous verse it says that if we still say that we have fellowship with one another, or with Him, we lie. It is always a tremendous either/ or!!!

We see the conditions for becoming Jesus’ disciples most clearly in Luke 14:26-27 and 33: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” Therefore the conditions must certainly be fulfilled; otherwise it is out of the question and utterly impossible. What a critical deception when you leave out the conditions!