Keep the Commandment Without Spot and Blameless

Keep the Commandment Without Spot and Blameless

“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.” 1 Tim. 6:13-14.

Paul had many exhortations for Timothy, but here he goes one step further than just exhorting. Now he urges Timothy in the sight of God. So it must have been extremely important to Paul that Timothy carried this out exactly. The gospel had clearly already been defiled and distorted by some, and Paul saw the direction this was heading. The words of Jesus contain God’s creative power, but in order for this power to continue to be available to mankind, there needed to be someone who could keep the gospel without spot.

Not many years after Paul’s death, Christianity had become more and more of an institution, a pawn in a political game, and a means of gaining power and prestige. The power in God’s word was lost, because the gospel was no longer distinct and clear. Yet throughout the ages, there have been people who have defied the majority and fought to keep the gospel without spot and blameless.

When Johan O. Smith, together with his brother Aksel, started printing the paper Skjulte Skatter (Hidden Treasures) in 1912, he published many articles from such people, articles that aligned with his own convictions. In the years leading up to 1942, he included almost 500 articles written by Christian authors who had no connection to his own circle of acquaintances. Here we find authors from most time periods, right from the early church fathers up until Smith’s own time. These people came from many different denominations. To Smith, it didn’t matter where they came from, as long as they kept the gospel without spot and blameless and were committed to bringing forth the unadulterated gospel of discipleship and sanctification.

Skjulte Skatters Forlag wants to follow the direction that Johan O. Smith set for the paper. Smith wanted it to be a paper about sanctification, which through God’s clear word would lead the individual into a life of discipleship. This also meant presenting the gospel without spot and blameless to the people. In our time we will continue working in this same direction by upholding Johan O. Smith’s solid foundation in the doctrine of the apostles, as it is reflected in his articles and letters. Now that we are making the paper freely available to everyone who is interested, we will also follow in his footsteps by publishing articles from other Christian authors who through the ages have been interested in the same thing.

In this issue, we have included an excerpt from an article by one such Christian author, the German theologian, priest and resistance fighter, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer preached Christ manifested in the flesh, as One who did not come like Adam before the Fall, but who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, and who was tempted as a man, without ever sinning. He was focused on the significance of this for those who want to live as a Christian, namely, that this signifies a life of discipleship where we also take up our cross daily and follow Him.