An Expeditionary Cruise

To Missionæren.

The squadron’s naval exercises are now over, and conditions are more or less back to normal. We were very busy during these war exercises along the coast, but now we have been able to take shore leave––especially on Sundays––and I have had the opportunity to attend meetings in several towns between Bergen and Horten.

In Arendal, I attended some very good meetings in the Baptist chapel. The hall was packed with people. We also had a blessed time of fellowship in Jacob Tollefsen’s home in Bergen, where several friends were gathered.

I also attended meetings and visited friends in Haugesund, Kristiansand, Lillesand, and Risør.

My general impression is that, on the whole, things now seem to be going in a calmer and more sober-minded direction regarding the use of the gifts of the Spirit. But unfortunately there are still many people who speak more about tongues and baptism than they do about Jesus Christ. “You must be obedient and get baptized,” they say, as if everything has been taken care of once you have been baptized. I believe in baptism and in speaking in tongues, but this lopsided emphasis smacks of carnality. The spirit of wisdom is flexible, free, agile; it does not speak incessantly about baptism and speaking in tongues. If we examine our own lives, we will discover that it is more than just baptism that God requires of us. What is the use of baptism if a person doesn’t walk in the newness of life? Fasting was also ordained by God, but it was profaned to such a degree that God had to say, “Your fasting is an abomination to Me.” I believe––in spite of the fact that I myself was baptized as an adult––that much of the current excitement about baptism and holding baptisms is just as much an abomination to God as the fasting of the ungodly Jews was.

And there are others who speak about “the evidence of the baptism of the Spirit” (i.e., speaking in tongues) in such an unholy manner that it makes a person feel sick within. For that matter, I don’t believe at all that the gift of tongues is any more of a sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit than interpretation, prophecy, faith, and other gifts that God bestows upon His elect.

The evidence that we have received the Holy Spirit and are obeying this Spirit is that we love one another; for this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; the Spirit is at work in us to keep His commandments.

It is now high time to be finished with all this idle chatter about baptism and speaking in tongues. Instead, let us now speak about and exercise ourselves in obedience to the Holy Spirit and allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit. Then I don’t think we will be so concerned with the “evidence” of whether or not we have the Spirit of God.

But as it is in the world, so it is also among the believers: Publications lead the way. People read again and again about speaking in tongues, so in the end they think that everything revolves around speaking in tongues, and that nothing else is really of any importance.

Such guides lead people astray, because they do not give people healthy food by which they can grow.

Almost anywhere you go you can see that the above-mentioned leaven has had an impact. Who is responsible for all this ignorance? Surely someone must be responsible. If you talk about suffering with Christ and experiencing fellowship with Him in His sufferings, people are totally amazed because they have never heard about anything more than just sharing in joy with Christ. When someone comes and tells them they are not only to share in joy with Christ, but also in the suffering and reproach with Christ, they simply can’t comprehend that. Paul wrote that most people are enemies of the cross of Christ, and you can safely reckon the same to be true in 1910. Things are not as good as the publications would make them out to be. On the contrary, a thorough schooling is necessary. People need to be taught by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who is to guide us into all truth. But nothing is said about that. Presumably, hatred of the cross is the reason. On the other hand, boldly carrying on about baptism and tongues is extremely easy.

Think about the fact that time is lost if we don’t make use of it. There is more to attain to in Christ, for in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden. We must grow up to more maturity and learn to distinguish between the pure and the impure, the precious and the vile. Only if we do that will we bring honor to God. God is not honored by having a whole lot of children who, year in and year out, preach about things they themselves don’t understand.

Warship Norge, Horten, September 13, 1910