God is good, and we have promises about becoming good even in the days of our flesh. The natural man is evil throughout. All the apparent goodness that we see on a day when things are going well is, practically speaking, just hypocrisy. Real goodness can be confirmed with all certainty on the day when things are not going well. Then you can almost not find any goodness even among the majority of professing Christians. God is infinitely good! We cannot find His limitations, but a person’s limitations can usually be found within a few seconds or minutes. How pitifully little the majority of people can manage, bear, and endure! One, two, three, and they are finished! The heart’s treasure of goodness is, virtually and literally, infinitesimally small. It doesn’t take a great deal of pressure before this pitiable treasure is used up, and without a new supply added momentarily, the face darkens, sours, becomes twisted and distorts by the evil that is at work. This shows with all desirable clarity that there is a dire lack of salvation. If a person has been converted for years, he has good reason to ask himself what he has been seeking during this time and with how much seriousness and strength he has sought it; for God’s promises are true and reliable. If he has made proper progress, he will have put off all remnants of wickedness in the course of a few years and obtained a certain, not insignificant, fullness of goodness that will be evident everywhere on the day of adversity. It will be known to everyone who comes into contact with this person that he has experienced transformation into divine nature in his inner man. If it continues like this, it will not take very long before he has been transformed to such an extent that it will be extremely difficult, or even impossible, to discover his limits of goodness. Nothing less than this should occur in a believing person. We have been truly called to this. God’s promises are and remain true! Glory to God! The apostle says, “But do not forget to do good and to share . . . .” Heb. 13:16. This is a peculiar kind of goodness for which there certainly are good reasons! “Love bears all things.” What shall we say when one bears almost nothing at all, or quite simply put, when one does not bear all things? “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.” 3 John, 11-12. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Matt. 12:33-35. May our hearts’ treasure of goodness become large and inexhaustible in the days to come! What does it mean to be an elder? Being an elder brother actually means to be well-established in, well-acquainted with, as well as possessing a large storehouse of goodness.Elias Aslaksen

“But know this . . . for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money . . . having a form of godliness, but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” 2 Tim. 3:1-5. The last days will be perilous. People will be deceived by a form of godliness, and they will not realize that the power has left them, the power that enabled them to overcome the things that are mentioned here. Jesus said that He did not come with peace, but with a sword. God’s Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. When Peter spoke, it pierced the people’s hearts. The way to lose power is to cease from using the sword and not letting it do a work in ourselves or in our surroundings. One can often hear these words: “I am not so perfect that I dare judge anyone. I am not one of those who can boast of having such great victory!” Those who have an ear to hear can hear that there is a certain mockery in these words. This is how a person begins to speak when there is a little bit of guile in his attitude and he has given up the battle. He begins to hide behind a mask of humility. Col. 2:18. Many have been disarmed and defrauded of their reward upon meeting this mask, and all of those sins that were listed are allowed to grow freely under a guise of godliness— many words about the blood and love, but not a single word that pierces the heart. Thus the preaching deviates from the Word of God and results in nothing more than stories and experiences—particularly about how God can help in earthly matters. Brothers, we must wake up and watch so we are not deceived by this powerless form and these powerless words about love, humility, and grace. We must turn away from such people and use the sword so we can preserve the power of the Spirit in our lives.Sigurd Bratlie