I have received the book Aksel sent. Greet him and thank him very much for sending it. Aksel meant well when he sent me the book, and his goodness is appreciated. However, the book itself made for heavy reading, although toward the end of the book it got a little better. The author employed great diligence and put a huge amount of work into the book, but it was human reasoning and for the most part an explanation “about life.” It is a different matter to proclaim “the life.” How foolish, dry, heavy, and draining on the spirit it is to read through all these points that are so carefully presented. My spirit within was completely starved. It is rare to find a good book.

The spirit of false freedom is extremely prevalent in our days. Yesterday, a man in his sixties sat upstairs for a long time and preached with seemingly great knowledge and insight; but his teaching did not lead to godliness, and therefore it was not the doctrine of Christ. I sat and listened to him very attentively in the hope of getting a better understanding of this fraudulent teaching; however, I couldn’t help but contradict him. I’ve never heard the likes of it: the way he could expound on the Scriptures and quote many, many passages by heart! He claimed that for many years he had read and studied zealously in order to arrive at his conclusions. I spoke to him about the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, but he simply dismissed it with clever words, because every enemy of the cross of Christ takes issue with this point.

He had more light, he said, than the apostles.

Recently, I spoke with Oskar Kristiansen, who at one time was doing well, but I found that he has gone completely off track. Such people are twice dead and pulled up by the roots. It is a dangerous matter to be pulled up by the roots, because then a person completely loses his footing and becomes lawless, like a wandering star for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Such people drift around without any laws; they are free from sin, and they are also free from the law; they have quenched the Spirit, so that they have also become free from the laws of the Spirit. They have fallen prey to a spirit of false freedom. To begin with, they were dead in trespasses and sins, and now they are dead because they have quenched the Spirit. In other words, they are twice dead and pulled up by the roots. The world is not pulled up by the roots because the Spirit convicts them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but these people are free from all conviction, and thus they are pulled up by the roots. The man I listened to yesterday said that there was no such thing as laws in the world, and so there was no sin either. I contradicted him powerfully on this point, but he didn’t even have enough power to recognize that power; nevertheless, he had a multitude of words. He said that the devil was good and sin was good. I contradicted him again on this point, but he was actually talking to some women so he didn’t pay any attention to me. He said that the apostles told lies in several places, but because the world had advanced since that time, we could now understand where they had gone off track. I told him that God is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. The apostles received revelation from Him, and we have the same revelation, so the passage of time is of no consequence. Pauline bought a book that he had published. Only a person who has experienced justification in Christ can recognize these spirits of false freedom.

Then there is the battle against the rulers of this world. This battle grows more and more intense. It is totally impossible for me to give an inch, because my entire being testifies against them. I have prayed to God that no one will be able to subdue my spirit and that He will allow me to be victorious in every detail. I have been by myself today in the Navy corps’ central office and have had a lot to do since the corps sergeant has been on vacation for a few days. I felt an intense battle with the corps commander; this man has a rigid, unbending human spirit, an oppressive spirit, but God has given me power to resist him and not budge an inch by becoming subservient to him. I simply do my job. Time and again, victory over these tyrannical lords has been a great joy to me. Thanks and praise be to God who always leads us in triumph in Jesus Christ. It is impossible to explain this battle and this victory. God leads me into the hands of the very worst men we have in the Navy so that I can receive an education. To begin with, I tremble, but once the battle has truly begun, I become very calm and peaceful; and even though the devil roars, they can’t accomplish anything. Even Captain Kielland does not want to talk with me anymore. He has indicated that he does not wish to pursue anything of substance, strictly the simple matters that concern my job. As a result, I feel like a rejected outcast, but in spite of that, no one is able to shake what God has given me. God Himself knows what all this will lead to. What my spirit wants most is to crush, devour, and destroy the spirit that rules them. That’s why it is a battle. No one understands this when I tell them about it; they just think it’s something strange.

I often think about Aksel; no doubt he must have a huge battle to go through. That’s how it always goes. May God give him victory in this. It’s a difficult process to be taken right out of the world and formed into a vessel of honor. God has completely crushed and pulverized me, and for that reason I have considerable experience with this process. He has crushed me between two millstones. He has slain me with His strength; He has not spared me, to the point that the pain I endured within caused me to refrain from sinning. He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. However, the most surprising thing is this: the power He used to crush me has become my own possession. Who can understand such an extraordinary treatment? Your last letter was okay. May God allow you to increase in zeal and wisdom, for our God is a zealous God.

I had better close for now with a greeting in Christ.

I would really like to talk with Aksel; maybe God will give me some words to say that could free him from his anxiety and establish his mind in the law of liberty, so that rejoicing could displace the overexertion, and rest and confidence could heal his wounds. This is my ministry in Christ; I have not taken this commission upon myself, but He who ascended and gave gifts to men has given it to me. My job is not to preach the gospel, but only what God gives me.

Yours,