WHY DO human beings so timidly evade this word, which should be more intimate to them than anything else?

Is it veneration? No! You are confused because neither school nor church ever gave you any clear explanation that could satisfy your inner longing for the Truth. The actual Trinity still remained fundamentally a puzzle to you which you tried to solve as best you could.

Can a prayer in these circumstances ever become so heartfelt, so confiding, as it should be? It is impossible!

Yet you should and must approach nearer to your God! How foolish it is to say that it might be wrong to concern oneself more completely with God! The indolent and comfort-loving even maintain it is sacrilege!

But I say to you that all Creation testifies that it is a necessary condition that you should draw near to God! Therefore he who evades this is not showing humility but, on the contrary, boundless presumption! It is equivalent to demanding that God should approach man, instead of man trying to approach God in order to recognise Him.

Wherever you look, wherever you listen, there is hypocrisy and indolence, all under the cloak of a false humility!

You, however, who no longer wish to sleep, who are fervently seeking and striving for the Truth, take note of this and seek to grasp it properly ...

There is but one God, but one Power! What then is the Trinity? God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

When mankind shut themselves out of Paradise by no longer heeding the guidance of the intuitive perception, which is spiritual and therefore near to God, but freely chose to cultivate the intellect, subjecting themselves to it and thus becoming slaves of the tool given them to use, they naturally fell further and further away from God.

The cleavage occurred when humanity gave preference to worldly matters, which are unconditionally bound to space and time. This is alien to the nature of God, and therefore makes it impossible to comprehend Him.

The gulf became wider with each generation, and men chained themselves more and more exclusively to the earth. They became the earthbound intellectuals who call themselves materialists. They even do so with pride because they have not the faintest idea of how they are chained. Through being firmly bound to space and time it was natural that their horizon simultaneously became narrowed.

How could the way to God be found in such conditions?

It was impossible, unless help came from God! And He was merciful! God in His Purity could no longer reveal Himself to the debased intellectual human beings, because they were no longer capable of sensing, seeing or hearing His Messengers. Those few still able to do so were ridiculed because the materialists, with their limited horizon bound to space and time, rejected as impossible all thought of any expanse beyond that. Such a thing was quite inconceivable to them.

Therefore the prophets whose penetrative power was too weak no longer sufficed, because even the fundamental thoughts of all religious movements had finally become purely materialistic.

Thus it was necessary that a Mediator between the Godhead and erring humanity should come, One endowed with greater power than all the others had possessed, so that He would be able to penetrate. Shall one say for the sake of the few who, in the midst of utter materialism, still longed for God? This would be right, but the adversaries would prefer to call it presumption on the part of the believers, instead of realising the Love of God as well as the strict Justice in it, offering redemption equally through reward and punishment.

For this reason God in His Love, through an Act of His Will, severed a Part of Himself and incarnated It in flesh and blood, in a physical body of male sex — Jesus of Nazareth, Who thus became the Incarnate Word, the Incarnate Love of God, the Son of God.

This was a process of radiation which will receive further explanation later.

Through this act the severed, but nevertheless closely-linked part became personal. Even after laying aside the physical body and re-uniting closely with God the Father, He still remained personal.

God the Father and God the Son are two, yet in reality only one!

And the »Holy Spirit«? Christ Himself said that sins against God the Father and against God the Son could be forgiven, but never those committed against the »Holy Spirit«!

Does the »Holy Spirit« then stand higher or is It more than God the Father and God the Son? This question has occupied and worried many a soul and confused many a child.

The »Holy Spirit« is the Will of God the Father, the Spirit of Truth Which, severed from Him, works separately in all Creation, and yet like the Love, in the form of the Son, remains closely connected with the Father and one with Him.

The inexorable Laws of Creation which spread through the whole Universe like a network of nerves and bring about the unconditional reciprocal action forming man’s fate or karma ... are of the »Holy Spirit« or, more explicitly, are the activity of the »Holy Spirit«! (* Lecture: »The development of Creation«.)

That is why the Saviour said that no one may sin against the »Holy Spirit« unpunished, because through Its inexorable and immovable reciprocal action the retribution falls back on the originator, on the starting point, whether it be good or evil.

As the Son of God, Jesus, is of the Father, so also is the »Holy Spirit«. Both are Parts of Him, belonging completely to Him, and inseparable from Him. They are like the arms of a body which can act independently, but still belong to the body if this is to be complete. Yet they can only carry out independent actions as a part of the whole.

Such is God the Father, in His Omnipotence and Wisdom! At His right hand, as Part of Himself, is God the Son, Love; and on His left is God the »Holy Spirit«, Justice. They have both emanated from God the Father and belong to Him as a unity. This is the Trinity of the One God!

Before Creation came into existence God was One! During the process of creating He severed a Part of His Will to work independently in Creation, and thus became two-fold. When later it became necessary to provide a mediator for erring mankind, because the Purity of God did not permit a direct connection to self-enchained humanity, out of His Love He severed a Part of Himself to act as a temporary bridge, in order to make Himself once more understood. Thus, with the birth of Christ, He became a Trinity!

The difference between God the Father and God the Son was already clear to many, but the conception of the »Holy Spirit« was still confused. »The Holy Spirit« is Executive Justice, Whose eternal, irrevocable and incorruptible laws pulsate throughout the Universe. Up till now these laws have only been guessed at and variously described as ... Fate ... Karma ... Divine Will!

 

THE SO-CALLED »inner voice«, the spiritual part of man, to which he can listen, is the intuitive perception. It is not without reason that people say: »The first impression is always right!«

As all such expressions and proverbs harbour profound truths, so also here. By the word »impression« is meant »intuitive perception«. For example, what a man intuitively senses at a first meeting with a stranger can either be a kind of warning to be careful, which may even go as far as absolute repugnance, or something pleasant mounting to a feeling of complete affinity. In some cases it may also be indifference!

If now, in the course of conversation or further intercourse, this impression is brushed aside or entirely effaced through the judgment of the intellect, so that the thought arises that the original intuition was wrong, it almost invariably turns out at the end of such an acquaintance that the very first intuition was the right one. And this often occurs to the bitter suffering of those who allowed their intellect to mislead them through the deceptive nature of the other person!

The intuitive perception, which is not bound to space and time but connected with its homogeneous kind, with the spiritual, immediately recognised the true nature of the other person and did not allow itself to be deceived by the cleverness of the intellect.

It is absolutely impossible for the intuitive perception to err!

Whenever man is led astray there are two reasons for his errors — either the intellect or the feeling!

How often one hears it said: »In this or that matter I allowed myself to be guided by my feelings and got into trouble! One should only rely on one’s intellect!«

Such persons have mistaken their feelings for their inner voice. They praise their intellect and have no idea that it is just the intellect which plays such an important part in their feelings.

Therefore be on your guard! Feeling is not intuitive perception! Feeling emanates from the physical body. This generates instincts which, guided by the intellect, produce feeling. It differs greatly from the intuitive perception. The combined working of feeling and intellect, however, gives birth to imagination.

Thus on the spiritual side we have only the intuitive perception which is far above space and time (* Lecture: »Intuitive perception«), while on the earthly side we have in the first instance the physical body, which is bound to space and time. From this body emanate instincts which, in co-operation with the intellect, arouse feelings.

The intellect, being a product of the brain bound to space and time and the finest and highest element in matter, is able with the co-operation of feeling to produce imagination.

Imagination, therefore, is the result of the working together of feeling and intellect. It is ethereal, but without spiritual power. For this reason imagination has only a retroactive effect. It can only influence the feelings of its creator, but never of itself send out a wave of power to others.

Thus imagination only works backwards upon the feeling of its originator. It can only inflame his enthusiasm, but never influence his surroundings. This clearly stamps it as belonging to an inferior order. It is different with the intuitive perception. This bears within itself a spiritual power, creative and animating, and sending forth radiations which fire and convince others.

Thus we can observe on the one side the intuitive perception, and on the other side the body, instincts, intellect, feeling and imagination.

The intuitive perception is spiritual and stands above earthly conceptions of space and time. Feeling belongs to fine gross matter, depending on instincts and intellect, and is therefore of a lower order.

Although feeling consists of fine gross matter, it can never coalesce with and thus cannot dim spiritual intuition. The intuition will always remain pure and clear because it is spiritual. And it will always be clearly sensed or »heard« by men if ... it really is the intuitive perception which speaks!

But the majority of people have closed themselves to this intuition by pushing their feelings in front of it like a dense veil or wall. Then they mistake the feeling for the inner voice, as a result of which they experience many disappointments. This prompts them to rely even more on their intellect, never suspecting that it was just through the co-operation of the intellect that they could be deceived.

As a result of this error they are quick to reject everything spiritual, with which their experiences had absolutely nothing to do, and turn more and more to that which is inferior.

The fundamental evil here, as in many other matters, lies in the voluntary subjection of these people to their intellect, which is bound to space and time.

The man who completely subjects himself to his intellect also subjects himself completely to the limitations of the intellect which, as a product of the gross material brain, is fast bound to space and time. In this way man chains himself exclusively to gross matter.

All that a man does he does himself and of his own free will. Thus he is not being fettered, but he fetters himself. He permits himself to be dominated by the intellect (this could never happen unless he desired it himself), which by its very nature binds him to space and time and prevents him from recognising or understanding anything which lies beyond.

Through the limitation of the perceptive capacity a veil firmly bound to space and time therefore covers the intuition, which goes beyond space and time. This acts like a boundary, and man can either no longer hear anything whatever — his »pure inner voice« having been stifled — or he can only »hear« his feeling, which is closely connected with the intellect, instead of his intuition.

It would create a false idea to say that feeling suppresses the pure intuitive perception, for nothing is more powerful than the intuition! It is man’s highest power and can never be suppressed or prejudiced by anything. It is more correct to say that man makes himself incapable of recognising his intuition.

If man fails it is always through his own fault, never because of the strength or weakness of his specific gifts; for just the fundamental gift, the actual power, the strongest part of man, which is the bearer of all life and immortal, is given to all alike. In this respect no man has an advantage over another. All differences are due only to the way in which it is used.

Neither can this fundamental gift, the immortal spark, ever be dimmed or tarnished. It remains pure, even amid the greatest filth. You need only tear the veil which you have wrapped around you through the voluntary limitation to which you have subjected your perceptive ability! Then, without any transition whatever, it will flare up again as pure and clear as it was at the beginning, unfolding itself fresh and strong to unite with the spiritual.

Rejoice that this treasure lies inviolable within you! It is of no importance whether you are esteemed by your neighbours or not. Every bit of dirt that has gathered like a dam around this spirit-spark can be cast aside through honest goodwill. If you have achieved this and again liberated the treasure, you are worth just as much as he who never buried it.

But woe unto him who through indolence completely closes himself to willing what is good. In the hour of Judgment this treasure will be taken from him, and he will then cease to be.

Therefore awake, you who keep yourselves closed, you who have drawn the cover of your intellect, with its limited ability to understand, over your intuitive perception! Take heed and listen to the warnings that assail you! Whether it be in the form of a terrible grief, a great emotional upheaval, severe suffering, or a supreme pure joy, all of which are capable of bursting through the dark layer of base feelings, do not let any such thing go by without profiting from it! They are aids which show you the way!

It is better if you do not first wait for them, but set out with the earnest volition for all that is good and for spiritual ascent. In so doing the separating layer will soon become thinner and lighter again, till finally it disintegrates altogether, and the still pure and untarnished spark bursts forth into a blazing flame.

But this first step must and can only be taken by the individual himself otherwise he cannot be helped!

Therefore you must discriminate sharply between desire and volition. Nothing is achieved by mere »desiring«, it brings no advance. There must be a volition which impels and carries it into action. A serious volition is the beginning of a deed.

Even if many a man must travel on various bypaths, because in the past he had entirely enslaved himself to the intellect, he should have no fear on that account. He also will gain! For him it means to clarify his intellect and slowly to detach himself from and remove all hindrances through every single experience he has to undergo on all the bypaths.

Therefore, advance bravely! With an earnest volition every path will finally lead to the goal!

 

THE RELIGION of Love has been misunderstood, because the concept of love has in many ways been distorted and misrepresented, for the greater part of true love is severity!

What is now called love is anything but love! If all so-called love were relentlessly sifted to the bottom, nothing would remain but selfishness, vanity, weakness, desire for ease, conceit or instinct.

Genuine love will take no account of what gratifies the other, of what is agreeable to him and gives him joy, but will only direct itself towards what will benefit him, regardless of whether it affords him pleasure or not. That is genuine love and service!

If, therefore, it is written: »Love your enemies«, it means: »Do that which will benefit them! Punish them if they cannot otherwise be made to understand!« That is serving them! But justice must prevail, for love cannot be separated from justice — they are one!

Misplaced indulgence would mean fostering the faults of the enemies and thus letting them slide further on the downward path. Would that be love? On the contrary, by acting thus one would burden oneself with guilt!

Through the unexpressed wishes of man alone the Religion of Love has deteriorated to a religion of laxity, as also the personality of the Bringer of Truth, Christ Jesus, has been dragged down to one of weakness and yielding, characteristics which He never possessed. It was just because of His all-embracing Love that He was so harsh and severe among the men of intellect.

That He was often overcome with sadness is natural when one considers His high mission and the human material He had to deal with. This sadness had nothing whatever to do with weakness.

After eliminating all distortions and dogmatic restrictions, the Religion of Love will be a doctrine of the strictest consistency, in which no weakness or illogical indulgence is to be found.

 

THE SAVIOUR on the Cross! These crucifixes are erected by the thousands as a token that Christ suffered and died for the sake of humanity. On all sides they call out to the faithful: »Remember it!«

In the lonely meadow, in the bustling city streets, in the private sanctuary, in churches, on graves and at wedding celebrations — everywhere they serve to comfort, strengthen and admonish. Remember it! Because of your sins the Son of God, Who came to earth to bring you salvation, suffered and died on the Cross!

The faithful Christian tremulously approaches them, in deep veneration and full of gratitude. With a glad feeling he leaves the place, conscious that he also has been released from his sins by the sacrificial death.

But you who are earnest seekers go and stand before the sacred, solemn token and strive to understand your Redeemer! Cast aside the soft cloak of ease that keeps you so pleasantly warm and creates a comfortable feeling of well-being and safety, allowing you to doze on till your last hour on earth! Then you will be vigorously aroused from your half-slumber and, freed from your earthly fetters, you will suddenly find yourself facing the naked truth. The dream to which you clung so persistently, and in which you surrendered yourself to inertia, will then quickly come to an end.

Therefore awake! Your time on earth is precious! Because of your sins the Saviour came — that is unassailably and literally true! It is also true that He died because of the guilt of humanity.

But this does not mean that your sins have been taken from you! The Saviour’s work of redemption was to take up the battle with Darkness in order to bring Light to mankind, to open the way to the forgiveness of all sins.

But each one must tread this path alone in accordance with the irrevocable laws of the Creator. Christ did not come to overthrow the laws but to fulfil them. Do not fail to recognise Him Who should be your best friend! Do not attach a wrong meaning to such true words!

When it is quite rightly said that for the sake of man’s sins all this happened, it means that the coming of Jesus became necessary only because mankind could no longer find their way alone out of their self-created darkness, nor release themselves from its clutches.

Christ had to show mankind the way. Had they not entangled themselves so deeply in sin, that is, had they not taken the wrong road, then the coming of Jesus would not have been necessary. He would have been spared His life of struggle and pain.

Therefore it is quite right to say that He was obliged to come for the sake of men’s sins, if the latter in their pursuit of the wrong road were not to sink into the abyss, into darkness.

This does not mean, however, that the personal guilt of every individual is therewith remitted at a moment’s notice, as soon as he really believes in and lives according to the words of Jesus. But if he does live according to the words of Jesus his sins will be forgiven him. Of course only gradually, as soon as redemption sets in through the reciprocal action ensuing from the counter-activity of his good volition. Not otherwise! It is different with those who do not live according to the words of Jesus; for them forgiveness is absolutely impossible.

This does not imply, however, that only members of the Christian religion can attain to the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus proclaimed the Truth! His words must therefore also embrace all the truths in other religions. He did not want to found a church, but to show mankind the right path, which can equally well lead through the truths of other religions. For this reason His words often accorded with the religions already existing.

Jesus did not take these truths out of them but, as He brought the Truth, It must necessarily contain all that was true in the other religions.

He who does not know the words of Jesus personally, but who seriously strives for the Truth and for ennoblement, often lives completely in harmony with the sense of these words, and will surely attain to pure faith and the forgiveness of his sins. Beware, therefore, of a one-sided outlook! It would be debasing the work of the Redeemer.

He who strives earnestly after truth and purity will also not be lacking in love. Though sometimes beset with serious doubts and struggles, he will be led upwards spiritually step by step and, regardless of what religion he may belong to, he will either here or later in the Ethereal World meet the Christ-Spirit, which in the final end will lead him on towards recognition of God the Father. Thus the Word will be fulfilled: »No man cometh unto the Father but by me!«

»The final end«, however, does not begin with your last hours on earth, but at a certain stage in the development of spiritual man, for whom the passing from the Gross Material World to the Ethereal World is but a transition.

And now to turn to the great work of Redemption itself. Mankind was erring in spiritual darkness. They had created this themselves by subjecting themselves more and more to the intellect, which they had so assiduously cultivated. In so doing they limited their perceptive ability more and more until, like their brain, they became unconditionally bound to space and time, and could no longer grasp the way to what is infinite and eternal.

Thus they became completely earthbound, limited to space and time. All connection with the Light, with Purity, with the spiritual, was cut off thereby. The volition of man was only capable of directing itself to earthly things, with the exception of a few who, as prophets, did not have the power to penetrate and make a free path to the Light.

This situation opened all the gates to evil. Darkness welled up and flooded the earth, bringing disaster. This could only have one end — spiritual death! The most terrible fate to befall mankind!

The guilt for all this misery lay upon mankind. They brought it upon themselves by voluntarily choosing this course. They had wanted it to be so and cultivated it. In their utter blindness they were even proud of their achievement without recognising the terrible consequences arising from their limited understanding, which they so painstakingly forced upon themselves. To open a path to the Light from a humanity in such a state was impossible. The self-imposed limitation was already too great.

If there was still to be any possibility of salvation help must come from the Light. Otherwise the downfall of man into darkness was inevitable.

Darkness itself, through its impurity, has a greater density, which brings about a heaviness. Because of this heaviness Darkness cannot of itself rise above a certain weight-level, unless from the other side some attracting power comes to its aid. Light, however, possesses a lightness corresponding to its purity, which makes it impossible for the Light to descend to the level of Darkness.

Thus there is an unbridgeable gulf between both parts, in the middle of which stands man and his earth.

According to the nature of his volition and wishes, man now possesses the choice of approaching the Light or of approaching the Darkness, of opening the gates and smoothing the way so that either Light or Darkness can flood the earth. In this process men themselves are the mediators through whose power of volition either Light or Darkness can gain a firm foothold there, from which it can operate more or less powerfully.

The more Light or Darkness thereby gains in power on earth, the more each can pour over mankind what it has to give — either good or evil, well-being or disaster, happiness or unhappiness, the peace of Paradise or the torment of hell.

The pure volition of man had become too weak to be able to offer an anchorage for the Light in the heavy stifling Darkness, which had already gained the upper hand on earth. This anchorage was needed for the Light to hold on to and unite with in such a way that its undimmed purity and consequent unimpaired power could cleave the Darkness and thus deliver mankind. They would then be able to draw strength by tapping this source and find their way upward to the Luminous Heights.

It was impossible for the Light Itself to descend so far into the mire unless a firm anchorage was offered to It. Consequently a mediator had to come. Only a messenger from the Luminous Heights could, by incarnating, break through the dark wall which men's volition had built and, in the midst of all the evil, create for the Divine Light that gross material foothold which would stand firm amid the heavy darkness. From this anchorage the pure rays of the Light would then be able to cleave through and disperse the dark layers so that humanity would not sink completely and suffocate in the Darkness.

Thus Jesus came for the sake of mankind and their sins!

This newly-created connection with the Light could not — because of the purity and strength of the Messenger from the Light — be cut off by the Darkness. Thus a new road to the spiritual heights was opened up for mankind.

From Jesus, who had become the earthly foothold of the Light, rays penetrated the Darkness through the Living Word which brought the Truth. He could transmit this Truth unblemished as He Himself was the Word and the Truth.

People were aroused from their spiritual lethargy through the miracles that happened simultaneously. In following these up they came upon the Word. Hearing the Truth that Jesus brought and reflecting upon It, there gradually awakened in hundreds of thousands the wish to follow this Truth and know more about It. By so doing they slowly strove upwards towards the Light.

Through this wish the Darkness surrounding them had to loosen its grip, and ray after ray of Light victoriously penetrated as people thought about these words and found them to be true. It became brighter and brighter around them and the Darkness, being no longer able to retain a firm hold on such persons, finally fell back and thus lost more and more ground. In this way the Word of Truth worked in the Darkness like a germinating mustard seed, as yeast does in bread.

And this was the work of redemption of the Son of God, Jesus, the Bringer of Light and Truth!

The Darkness, which imagined it was already master of all humanity, rebelled against this in a wild struggle to make the work of redemption impossible. It could get no hold on Jesus Himself, for it fell back before His pure intuition. Thus it naturally made use of the willing tools at its disposal for the battle.

These were the people who quite rightly called themselves »intellectuals«, who yielded to the intellect and who, like the intellect, were fast bound to space and time. Consequently they could no longer grasp the higher spiritual concepts, which lie far beyond space and time, and it thus became impossible for them to follow the teaching of the Truth.

All these had the conviction that they stood on too »realistic« a ground, just as so many do today. Realistic ground, however, really means a very limited ground. The majority of these people represented power, being in positions of authority in government and church.

Thus the Darkness, in furious self-defence, whipped up these people to commit the brutal assaults against Jesus through the earthly power that lay in their hands.

By this the Darkness hoped to destroy the work of redemption. That it was at all possible for it to exert this power on earth was due solely to the guilt of humanity which, through their self-chosen wrong attitude, limited their perceptive ability and thus gave the Darkness the upper hand.

And because of this sin of humanity Jesus had to suffer! The Darkness continued to fan the flame to the uttermost! Jesus would have to suffer death on the Cross if He stood firm in His assertion that He was the Bringer of Truth and Light. It was the final decision! To flee or withdraw from it all could save Him from death on the Cross. But that would have meant victory to the Darkness at the last moment, because all the work of Jesus would then gradually have run to sand, and the Darkness would have victoriously engulfed everything. Jesus would not have fulfilled His Mission and the work of redemption started by Him would have remained unfinished.

The inner struggle in Gethsemane was sharp but short! Jesus did not shun physical death, but calmly faced it for the sake of the Truth He brought. With His blood on the Cross He put the seal upon all He had said and lived.

With this deed He vanquished the Darkness completely, which had then played its last trump. Jesus won the victory — out of love for mankind, whose way to freedom and Light thus remained open, because His death fortified their faith in the Truth of His words.

If He had withdrawn and fled and so given up His work, doubts would inevitably have assailed them.

Thus Jesus died for the sake of humanity’s sins! If mankind had not sinned, nor turned away from God by limiting themselves through the intellect, then Jesus could have spared Himself His coming as well as His path of suffering and His crucifixion. Therefore it is quite right to say: »On account of our sins Jesus came, suffered and died on the Cross!«

But this does not mean that you do not have to redeem your own sins yourselves!

It is only that now it is easy for you, because by bringing the Truth Jesus has shown you the way in His Words.

Neither can the crucifixion of Jesus simply wash away your sins! Before such a thing could happen all the laws of the Universe would first have to be overthrown. But that will not happen! Jesus Himself often enough referred to »all that is written«, that is, to the Old Covenant. The new Gospel of Love does not intend to overthrow or annul the old Gospel of Justice, but to supplement and unite with it.

Therefore do not forget the Justice of the mighty Creator of all things, which cannot be moved by even so much as a hair’s breadth, and which stands inviolable from the very beginning of the world until its end! It could never permit any person to take another’s guilt upon his shoulders in order to redeem it.

So for the sake of the guilt of others, or because of the guilt of others, Jesus could come, suffer and die — could step forth as the Warrior for the Truth, but He Himself remained pure and untouched by this guilt. That is why He was unable to take it upon Himself personally.

This does not lessen the work of redemption; instead it is a sacrifice that could not be greater. Jesus came down for you out of the Luminous Heights into the mire. He fought for you, suffered and died for you, in order to bring you Light and to show you the right way upward, so that you will not become lost in the Darkness and sink!

That is how your Redeemer stands before you! That was His tremendous work of Love!

The Justice of God continued to exist, severe and strict, in the Laws of the Universe. For what a man sows that shall he reap, as Jesus Himself said in His Message! Divine Justice does not permit one farthing to be remitted.

Think of this when you stand before this sacred, solemn token! Give fervent thanks that with His Word the Redeemer re-opened the way to the forgiveness of your sins, and leave the spot with the earnest intention to go the way shown to you so that forgiveness may really be yours!

To go that way does not mean just to learn the Word and believe It, but to live the Word! To believe It, to regard It as right, and yet not to act according to It in everything, would not benefit you at all. On the contrary, you would be worse off than those who know nothing of the Word.

Therefore awake! Your time on earth is precious!