Salt is good

Dear brothers and sisters,

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another (Mark 9:50).

When Jews get up in the morning, they first wash themselves and then immediately start their prayers, which last for at least an hour. Christians, on the other hand, first read the Gospel, and only afterwards begin to pray.

Why?

Rabbi David Talner, contrary to the normal custom of the Jews, used to start the day by reading his mail, and only prayed afterwards. When asked why, he answered, “The more renowned a man is, the more difficult is his struggle against besetting evil though ts in prayer. So I always read my letters first. Usually, they begin by adressing me as a righteous rabbi, a teacher, a leader, a holy man, or some other complimentary phrase. Then I begin my prayer by saying, ‘Lord, you know that I do not deserve these titles of honor. But since so many men believe me to be so in all sincerity, do not put their faith to shame. Make me become what they believe I am.’”.



God speaks

This is why we read the Gospel before praying. Through the Gospel, we hear God Himself, not men, speak to us the most beautiful and undeserved words: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matth. 5:13). “You are the light of the world” (Matth. 5:14). “You are all sons of God” (Galat. 3:26); “ partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4); “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17), “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 3;3). This incites us to prayer that we may become what we are called by God.

We are the salt of the earth. Jesus says, “Salt is good” (Mark 9:50). I wonder what made him say those simple words. Did he ever eat unsalted food? At one time, our prison guards poured spoonfuls of salt down our throats, and then left us without water. Then, on the contrary, for months we were given completely unsalted food. For us, these oats boiled in water, without any salt, were absolutely unbearable. We sometimes preferred to go hungry and not eat them. We, who were deprived of it, know that “salt is good”.



Grace of God

Are we good? Are we seasoning the meals of others? Are we giving flavor to other men’s lives? Or do we leave them without salt, as we prisoners were once left without salt? The simple fact that the Gospel calls us salt is not enough.

How do we become good? We have to rely utterly on the grace of God. You become good when you make the great discovery that you are not good, and can never be so. Then you ask God to make you so. The result is that you die, and Christ comes to live within you. All of his righteousness and goodness as you are to proclaim yourself the owner of any estate that you have inherited or been given legally as a gift. Either all the Christians have been fools, or a Christian can say to Jesus, “You are me!” or like Luther in his commentary on Galatians, “A Christian is Christ”.

Now, how should I proceed practically to be not me, but Him? The Gospel speaks about the foolishness of the cross, even about the foolishness of God. So let us learn from the madmen.

There are madmen eho believe that they are others. Each behaves according to what he reckons himself to be. The man who thinks he is Napoleon will put on a tricorn hat and curse the English for having defeated him at Waterloo. Those who think they are St. Francis will fast and pray a great deal and speak holy phrases, even if they do not make sense. The man who reckons himself to be Churchill will always carry a thick cigar in his mouth and talk about politics. What you reckon yourself to be determines your behavior.

Faithfully consider yourself what so many other saints have considered themselves to be: you are He - Christlike.

This mad presupposition will have the same result as with other madmen. More and more, you will come to behave like Him. As Paul said, “For me to live is Christ”.

It requires faith to believe yourself to be He, when you are a sinner. But what do we really know about the lives of the prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi? We know their prophecies, not their virtues and failures. You become a child of God by faith, by virtues and by good deeds.

Have this faith in Him, and the salt can never lose its saltness. You will become the unalterable formula of “goodness”.

By faith, lay down your own life completely. Deny the self. Cease to “practice” its virtues as much as its lusts. You have been crucified with Christ, and have suffered the fate of every crucified man: you have died. Yet you live. Since you exist after having died, you must have been born again, this time not from an earthly union; you are begotten from God. You are once again a child, an “angel”. You have been born with a new, angelic, divine character.



Believe God

Believe the Word of God: “In those days and in that time, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found ”. This refers to the time of the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity. Looked at from the human level, they had plenty of sins. Nehemiah punished some of them for this. From the godly level, which is now yours, they had none. Self-diagnosis is no good. Only believe steadfastly that it is not you who live, but He, and you will succeed. You will achieve the goodness that does not fade.

Sincerely in Christ,

Richard Wurmbrand

Biography of SABINA WURMBRAND

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand

Not many women have their faith tested like Sabina Wurmbrand. Her husband, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, was imprisoned and tortured for his faith for fourteen years.

During that time, Sabina selflessly helped other Christians of the Underground Church they had started together while struggling hard for her own and her little son's survival.

Sabina was subjected to unbelievable hardships and suffering. Yet, through it all, she never relented in her endeavours to continue the work her husband had begun, to unite the Underground Church.

Living in daily fear of discovery, her faith was tested to the limit--and held firm. She herself was arrested for subversive evangelism in 1948 in Romania and spent three years as a slave labourer on the never-completed Danube Canal. Nevertheless, she survived to tell her story.

Preparing for suffering

Suffering cannot be avoided in the Underground Church, whatever measures are taken, but suffering should be reduced to the minimum.

What happens in a country when oppressive powers take over? In some countries the terror starts at once, as in Mozambique and Cambodia. In other places religious liberty follows as never before. And so it begins. Some regimes come to power without having real power. They do not have the people on their side. They have not necessarily organized their police and their staff of the army yet.

In Russia, the Communists gave immediately great liberty to the Protestants in order to destroy the Orthodox. When they had destroyed the Orthodox, the turn came for the Protestants. The initial situation does not last long. During that time they infiltrate the churches, putting their men in leadership. They find out the weaknesses of pastors. Some might be ambitious men; some might be entrapped with the love of money.

Another might have a hidden sin somewhere, wherewith he may be blackmailed. They explain that they would make it known and thus put their men in leadership. Then, at a certain moment the great persecution begins. In Romania such a clamp-down happened in one day. All the Catholic bishops went to prison, along with innumerable priests, monks and nuns. Then many Protestant pastors of all denominations were arrested. Many died in prison.

"Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to Thy saints at Jerusalem: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake "-(Acts 9:13, 15 and 16).

Jesus, our Lord, told Ananias: "Meet Saul of Tarsus. He will be My underground pastor, My underground worker." That is what St. Paul was - a pastor of an Underground Church. Jesus started a crash course for this underground pastor. He started it with the words, "I will show (him) how great things he must suffer..."

Preparation for underground work begins by studying sufferology, martyrology. Later, we will look at the technical side of underground work, but first of all there must be a certain spiritual preparation for it.

In a free country, to be a member of a church, it is enough to believe and to be baptized. In the Church underground it is not enough to be a member in it. You can be baptized and you can believe, but you will not be a member of the Underground Church unless you know how to suffer.

You might have the mightiest faith in the world, but if you are not prepared to suffer, then when you are taken by the police, you will get two slaps and you will declare anything. So the preparation for suffering is one of the essentials of the preparation of underground work.

Richard Wurmbrand

Alms-Giving

Alms giving moves God. Even when you may not know the way to eternal life but because of your giving to the poor and needy; God can be moved to save you and your loved ones.
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. (Proverbs 19:17)

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

Dorcas was brought back to life from the dead because she was a generous person

The Story of Dorcas
(Acts 9:36-42)

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas ), who was always doing good and helping the poor.

About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!"

Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.
He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.

This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in Christ.

The Beatitudes (Matthew 25:3-12)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this are the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

February 29, 1948 • Prisoner Number One

Richard Wurmbrand whose sufferings for Christ led him to found the Voice of the Martyrs.

One beautiful Sunday morning--it was on this date, February 29, 1948--pastor Richard Wurmbrand of Rumania set out on foot for church. He never arrived. For eight and one half years his wife and son did not know where he was or even whether he was alive or dead. "Ex-prisoners" assured Sabrina Wurmbrand they had witnessed her husband's funeral in a Communist prison. Sabrina was heartbroken and yet she had her doubts. The men might be government stooges.

Wurmbrand's disappearance was expected. Anyone who acted contrary to the regime could expect imprisonment or death. At a "Congress of Cults" held by the Communist government, he had asked for it. Religious leaders stepped forward to swear loyalty to the new regime. Sabrina asked Richard to "wipe the shame from the face of Jesus." Richard replied that if he stepped forward, she would no longer have a husband. "I don't need a coward for a husband," she answered. And so Richard stepped forward and told the 4,000 delegates that their duty as Christians was to glorify God and Christ alone.

He returned home to pastor an underground church and promote the gospel among Rumania's Russian invaders. He smuggled Bibles into Russia, disguised as Communist propaganda. And then he disappeared.

What had actually happened? As Richard walked to Church, a van full of secret police stopped in front of him. Four men jumped out and hustled him inside. He was taken to their headquarters and later locked in a solitary cell where he was designated Prisoner Number 1.

His years of imprisonment consisted of a ceaseless round of torture and brainwashing. For seventeen hours a day, repetitious phrases were dinned into his ears: Communism is good. Christianity is stupid! Give up. Give up! Over the years, he was carved in a dozen places and burned. "I prefer not to speak about those [tortures] through which I have passed. When I do, I cannot sleep at night. It is too painful." His jailers also broke many of his bones, including four vertebrae. Miraculously, he survived. Other martyrs did not.

Eight and one half years later, in 1956, Wurmbrand was released. Sabrina herself was brutalized for three years in prison. The Wurmbrand's nine year old son Mihai was orphaned during this time. Released, the Wurmbrands immediately recommenced underground work. Wurmbrand was returned to prison, not released again until 1964.

In 1965, Western churches ransomed Wurmbrand from Rumania for $10,000. Richard and Sabrina immediately spoke out for those still suffering in Communist hands. Wurmbrand was asked to testify before the US Senate. He displayed the eighteen holes cut in his body. Afterward, he was invited to speak before hundreds of groups.

By 1967, "Prisoner Number 1" had incorporated the Voice of the Martyrs, an organization dedicated to assisting those who suffer for Christ throughout the world.

Richard and Sabina were able to survive their ordeal through the power of love. "If the heart is cleansed by the love of Jesus Christ," wrote Wurmbrand, "and if the heart loves him, you can resist all tortures. What would a loving bride not do for a loving bridegroom? What would a loving mother not do for her child? If you love Christ as Mary did, who had Christ as a baby in her arms, if you love Jesus as a bride loves her bridegroom, then you can resist such tortures. God will judge us not according to how much we endured, but how much we could love. I am a witness for the Christians in communist prisons that they could love. They could love God and men."