"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Colossians 3:16)
Notice what Paul says -- "Let the word of Christ ..." What does he mean by that? Does he not mean the word of the Bible? Then why does he not say so? Because of his own experience! Before his conversion he knew the Bible; the word of the Bible dwelt richly in him and he used it greatly -- to kill as many people as possible! Now he does not want to repeat that experience, nor does he want the Church to repeat it -- but the Church has repeated it, over and over again. My experience is that no one can be as cruel as Christians can, especially when they think they know the Bible. I cannot tell you how many dear old saints have come to me and told me what is in the Bible! They bang their fists on the table and say: 'It is in the Bible. Why don't you do it?' I have met that again and again, and these people are convinced that they are right and that they are doing right.
You see, the Bible can be used in a literal sense -- its "letter" bereft of its spirit -- and "the letter killeth" (2 Corinthians 3:6) -- and the Christians killed one another gladly in the name of the Lord! They did it in order to build the Church. But this is what we spoke of in our second message -- the word, but not the voice. Thus, when a strong Christian enters your room and says: "This -- or that -- is found in the Bible, so you must do it and organize your church along that line", just give him this answer: 'Dear brother, I give you a fortnight to examine yourself before the Lord to find whether the spirit of 1 Corinthians 13 is found in your heart and in your mouth. Will you please read that chapter once a day, or even once an hour, for fourteen days, and then come back to me and tell me, not what is in the Bible, but what the word of Christ is.' Never enter into an argument with strong Christians! They are much too clever. They have examined the Bible and know everything about it, but they have never given the Bible a chance to examine them, and, therefore, the word of Christ does not dwell richly in them or among them. So they gladly kill the Lord's servants and destroy the Church, thinking they are serving the Lord.
The word of Christ is the word of the Cross, and if the Bible has not become the word of the Cross to you, you run the risk of destroying and killing, instead of giving life and health. All strong Christians run that risk. They use the word of the Bible and do mighty things for God. They can bring into being great movements which grow and increase and they can point to the Word as that which supports all they do and say, but God never gave us the Word as a weapon with which to fight for the truth. If you want to fight for the truth, all you can do is to give your life, and that is the best weapon. It is easy to take the lives of others: that is the spirit of the Inquisition -- fighting for truths by taking the lives of others and using the Word of God in support. But the Inquisition has not stopped, and it is not confined to the Roman Church. The spirit of the Inquisition can be found in any strong Christian. If the Lord has really revealed His truth to you, He has not done it in order that you should take the lives of others, but that you might have the honour of giving yourself, your own life, in defence of the truth. That is the word of Christ! "Father, forgive them! ..."; "I lay down my life ..." Let that word dwell richly in you!
-Poul Madsen
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