My relationship to the assembly — A.J. Higgins

Now we'll just ask God's blessing again. Our Father, we bow and thank Thee again for Thy Word. We would open it with a deep consciousness of dependence upon Thee and upon the Spirit of God to take divine truth, not simply to make it clear, but to apply it and reproduce it in the lives of each one of us.

We commend our time now to Thee. Ask Thy blessing on all that has gone before. Commend to Thee the moments we have before us now. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Now turn, please, to the book of Colossians in chapter 3.

Let me again thank all who have come to be with us today. Some have come from a distance, and we appreciate it. Now we're getting a little later start, and I will do my very best to be done no later than 4 .15, perhaps a few minutes before that.

I realize all of you sisters have to go home and make meals for your husbands, full-course meals tonight. And I want to give you as much time as possible to cook. I hate for them to think you have to be taken out tonight for a meal.

So I want to give you time. I appreciate your patience in listening to me. I said somewhere else after a similar venue that after you've listened to the same person for four or five hours, you now are in possession of the single greatest argument against human cloning.

So your patience is appreciated. And there was a question that was handed to me. I guess it wasn't made known that there were actually a potential for questions if you had them, regarding my relationship to believers, not in assembly fellowship.

Benefiting from Ministry Outside Assembly Fellowship

If I cannot go to an unscriptural system on the basis of 1 Corinthians 10, am I, however, able to benefit from the written ministry of men who have preached there? Does God in His sovereignty raise up gifts to the Church who may not yet see the uniqueness of gathering to His name?

I certainly think as implied in the question that that is the case, that as far as reading books that are written by men who perhaps have not seen the truth of assembly gathering, I certainly do not see whether I'm identifying myself with that system.

I am benefiting from the ministry that God has given through that man individually. And I'm not linked with the system, not linked with that which is the defiling aspect of it, and benefiting from the gift that God has given in His sovereignty to the Church.

Actually, as most would know, Ephesians would look at gifts as given to not the Church locally, but to the Church, which is His body. And a right appreciation of those is vital, and an awareness of when I can and when I cannot benefit from that, I think, would be part of spiritual discernment.

Six Responsibilities Toward the Local Assembly

Turn now to Colossians in chapter 3 and verse number 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved vows of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.

If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your heart, to which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you, richly teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

Now, again, there are many, many verses that we could read, and we will allude to many others in our mention as we go through this section. But for the sake of time, just this central portion to consider.

We have come to talk about involvement in the internal, my responsibility to the assembly. Now, this especially is with a view to young Christians and young believers, but I think that each one of us can benefit from it.

Now, there is so much to cover that it is a given that we will not be able to look at all. So let me just give you the six points that normally I would try to cover, and we may have to skim over some very quickly, but then you may be able to think and consider some of them on your own.

I wanna talk about a full commitment, a full commitment to the gathering. Not a partial one, but a full commitment to the gathering. I wanna talk about a flawless testimony in godliness. That's part of my responsibility to God's assembly, a flawless testimony of godliness before the world.

I wanna talk about a fragrant life in growth, and we'll look at that. We will talk about the fruitful development of my gift. Part of my responsibility to God's assembly is the development of my gift for the blessing of others, a fruitful development of my gift, a forgiving spirit, a forgiving spirit in grace.

And then finally, a furthering of the good of others, furthering the good of others. There's a young lady that is coming into fellowship tomorrow in our home assembly, and I mentioned to her this week when I saw her that when she comes into fellowship in the assembly, the welfare of every believer in that assembly becomes her responsibility, and her welfare becomes our responsibility.

You may say, but she's a young Christian, just newly saved, newly baptized, coming into the assembly. The welfare of everyone in the assembly is her responsibility, yes. That's what it means to be in fellowship, to share together in the furthering of the blessing of everyone in that assembly and all of the assembly activities.

Full Commitment to the Gathering

So let me then begin with a full commitment to the gathering. I wanna just mention the eloquence of silence. What I mean by that is I would be hard-pressed if you were to ask me for a verse in scripture that tells believers they should be at every meeting, that they should be at every gathering of the assembly, I'd be hard-pressed.

Some might say, what about Hebrews 10, not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, and so on. I would take it that that's really not the idea of staying home, but that was written to Hebrews who were leaving the assembly and going back to Judaism.

So scripture doesn't really ever say, you know, you should be at all the gatherings. But maybe it's because the Spirit of God never thought that a believer would wanna be absent. He just never anticipated that.

You know, it's just not in the thinking of God that believers should willingly, willingly, I know emergencies occur, difficulties arise, problems, responsibilities. We're speaking about willingly absenting themselves from the gathering of the people of God.

The expectation of scripture is when the whole church is gathered together, when the church is gathered together, that's the expression Paul uses four or five times in 1 Corinthians, when the whole church is gathered together, it was just assumed that people who are enduring opposition from the world, that people who share the same longings and the same love and the same Lord would wanna be together, just assumed that that's the case.

I don't wanna look like I'm dropping things, you know, little tidbits along the way that somehow reflect on me. So this doesn't reflect on me, it reflects on others. I have been in places in the world where believers risk their lives to be together.

Going to a meeting could mean imprisonment. Going to a meeting could mean torture. Going to a meeting could mean being taken away and not seeing your family again. I've been in places like that. You know what the believers do?

They're there. They're at the meetings. They're together. Worrying about torture? For some Christians, you might think it's torture to go to meetings. God expects believers to be together. The eloquence of silence, the expectation of the scriptures, what is essential for support?

How can I be a help to you if I'm home? How can you be a help to me if I'm home? How can we be furthering each other spiritually if we're not with the believers? God never intends lone rangers. The assembly was meant for a community of fellowship, a sharing together, a mutual support, a mutual help one to another.

The essential for support. And then the expressions of the sacred word. Paul speaks, doesn't he, about striving together for the faith of the gospel. Now, I know that involves more than just being at the gospel meeting.

It involved their prayer and their financial support, but certainly it included the idea that they were all together in what they were doing. Are you together with the assembly in its gospel testimony?

How often is it in the book of the Acts that the spirit of God uses that expression? They were all together with one accord. It uses it, doesn't it, when it refers to the prayer meeting that the saints were all together with one accord.

Are you at the prayer meeting? I know that sometimes children and responsibilities and other things come in. We are talking about willingly absenting myself from the gatherings. Spirit of God never anticipates it.

Romans 15, where he is speaking about the reception one of another, he speaks about that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, the unity that God expects of believers. So there at least is the prayer meeting, the gospel meeting, the morning meeting.

God expects us to be together, to be able to support assembly testimony. No willful absenteeism, a full commitment. The word that is used, we could have read it in Acts chapter nine, that when Paul assayed to join himself to the saints at Jerusalem, the word there is he assayed to glue himself.

And he was with them coming in and going out. In all their activities, he was one with them. Just a young believer, but he was with them coming in and going out. That should mark every one of us, a full commitment to the gathering, a flawless testimony before the unsaved, a flawless testimony in godliness before the world.

A Flawless Testimony Before the World

That's what is my responsibility to the assembly. A walk that is becoming to the assembly. I represent the assembly. When people look at me, he goes to that place. That's what they're like. Or you say, I'm not ready for that, then you're not ready for the assembly.

If you are not ready to bear testimony to the world of what the assembly is like, then perhaps you're not ready for the assembly yet because that is a responsibility. You represent the assembly and you bear testimony before the world.

And my walk should be becoming to the assembly. My walk should beautify the truth. That's the expression that Paul uses in Titus chapter two. He's speaking about slaves and how they act with their masters.

And he speaks about adorning the doctrine of Christ in all things. That word for adorn is just to beautify, to make Christ beautiful, to make God beautiful before unsaved eyes. Adorning the doctrine, beautifying the doctrine.

That's my responsibility as part of the assembly to beautify that when the world looks at me, when unsaved people look at us, they should realize that my life is beautifying the truth that I uphold. My responsibility.

A responsibility for a walk that befits the Lord to whom I gather. 1 Corinthians chapter one, called unto the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Does my walk befit him? Is it becoming to him the way I live?

And finally, a walk that bears testimony to the holiness of God. What about my associations? My language? My life? We have come to a time in life when truth is a dispensable commodity. Christian should be known by his truthfulness.

Should be known by the character of his words. Should be known by how he lives. Truth is not dispensable. Holiness is not dispensable. Morality is not dispensable. My life, my walk should bear testimony to the holiness of God.

When Paul is speaking and writing rather in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, he is writing about the activity that he had with those believers early in their Christian experience. And he speaks about how as a father, he exhorted and comforted and charged each one of them that they should walk worthy of God and of his kingdom.

Imagine that. Just young believers, newly saved. Paul exhorted and charged and comforted. And here was the essence of his charge. To walk worthy of God. It's a high standard. That's the standard that I should recognize as my responsibility as part of an assembly.

I represent God, his truth, the believers, the Lordship. I represent all that before the world. What is my life like? Does it measure up to that? No, I am not trying to give you a feeling of fatalism and discouragement.

How can I ever possibly live that kind of a life? No, it's not to make you feel, it's rather to make you realize there's the standard. We all have come short, but to strive for that standard, to strive to be what I should be for God and his assembly, a flawless testimony of godliness before the world, a fragrant life in growth for God.

Growing in Appreciation of Christ

I should be growing in my appreciation of Christ. Is your appreciation of Christ, is my appreciation of Christ any different than it was a year ago? You remember, we mentioned earlier today that, or was it last night?

When an Israelite brought a meal offering to the altar, was that fine flour mingled with oil, anointed or anointed with oil and frankincense with it. We read how that the priest who was to offer that was to take a handful of the offering and put it on the altar.

So the amount that God got from that offering was determined by how big the priest hand was. How big is your hand? Any bigger than last year? Can you grasp more of Christ and put it on the altar for God or has your hand shrunk?

I should be growing in my appreciation of Christ. Now that's not going to come unless we give ourselves more to seeing him in his word. When Peter is putting down his pen as an aged man and as he closes his second epistle, he says, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior.

He is sparing us to growth. When Paul is about to lay down his life upon the block at Nero's hand, he says, bring the books, especially the parchments. I want to pour over the word of God even more. You know, it's easy when you get gray hairs and you become a grandfather and you hit 60, almost there, not quite, almost there.

It's easy to coast, easy to coast. But wouldn't it be nice to just grow in my appreciation of Christ so that when I get home to heaven, I will go in with a full vessel that will keep growing. You know, you are going to begin up there where you leave off down here.

It's not like somebody is going to suddenly open the lights and open the windows and everything is gonna, no, no, no. You are going to begin up there where you left off down here. You are creating the size of the vessel.

You are creating a capacity for the enjoyment of Christ here on earth that you will take into heaven. Now, mind you, everyone will be supremely satisfied and happy in heaven. That's not the idea that some will be, you know, walking around not enjoying Christ.

No, no, no. Everyone will be supremely happy, but your capacity is gonna vary. And it will be determined by how much of Christ you have gone in for down here. So my appreciation for Christ should be growing day by day and increasing.

Growing in Affection for the Saints

But also I should not only be growing in my appreciation for Christ, but in my affection for the saints. That's one of my responsibilities to the assembly. That's what Paul writes about, doesn't he, in the Thessalonian letter, that your love may abound more and more.

I was, we were mentioning at lunch today that sometimes it's dangerous to pray because sometimes we ask for things and God gives them to us by avenues maybe we wouldn't have chosen ourselves. We were speaking about the development of certain graces and that sometimes the only way we will learn certain qualities is through trial.

And asking for them is a tremendous thing because God may bring us into trial to develop those things. When Paul prayed for the saints to grow more and more in their love, it's not until we come to the second epistle that we learn they did grow more and more in their love.

But you know how it was? It was through tribulation. It was through persecution. And in the second letter, he gives praise that their love has grown and increased, but it was through the avenue of persecution that it came.

But it is my responsibility to grow in my affection for the people of God. We read together in Colossians to view how we should view each other, holy and beloved. He speaks there in Colossians chapter three, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, to view each other in that light, to look for the good in each other, to look for Christ in each other, to have a greater degree of affection, to make it a matter of prayer that God would enlarge my heart for the believers and to increase my affection for the people of God and to grow in that way, to grow in the attributes I display.

And we have touched upon that in Galatians chapter five and six and in John chapter 15. But let me just mention this, and this goes in keeping with what I was just mentioning with our brother about our discussion at lunchtime.

Someone would ask, all of these traits are wonderful and all of these qualities are vital, but I'm just at a loss as I would like to see them develop in my life. How do I develop them? Come with me in your thinking to John chapter 15 for just a moment.

Abiding in Christ and Bearing Fruit

I am the vine, ye are the branches. He speaks there of the development of fruit. Now, I think, I hope, maybe aside from some very newly saved Christians, I think most of us are aware the fruit there that he's speaking of is not what we would speak about fruit in the gospel when we preach.

And it's not fruitfulness in the sense of seeing our assemblies grow and seeing people added. That's wonderful, but that's not the fruit John 15 is speaking about. The fruit John 15 is speaking about, if you think of it for just a moment, it's the life which is in the vine being reproduced in the branches.

It's the life of the vine coming through and expressing itself in the branch. So that the fruit then of John 15 is the life of Christ expressing itself in my life. It is Christ likeness in me. Well, now, abiding in Christ is the secret, but you will notice that in that section, there's a verse that many believers have difficulty with.

If he abide in me and my word abide in you, ye shall ask what you will and it shall be done for you of my father, which is in heaven. Herein is my father glorified that you bear much fruit. So shall ye become my disciples.

Now, if you've never had it yet, it will happen sometime in your life where some cynic will say, look at what it says there. If you ask anything, it'll be done. You know, ask for a Mercedes, ask for, you know, and the things are filled in, you know, as though somehow that will be what you want.

Is that what it means? Again, context where the verse is really is the ultimate judge of what a verse means. It's in the context of fruit bearing. It's in a chapter that has to do with becoming like Christ.

So what does it mean? It means as I abide in him and his word abides in me, you know what happens? I become painfully aware, painfully aware of how unlike him I am. And it drives me to my knees to ask my father to make me more like his son.

That's what's involved because he says, so shall ye become my disciples. That's how I become like Christ, independent upon God, abiding in Christ, asking the father to bring about this fruit in my life, recognizing that the way may be painful because the husbandman bears a knife.

He prunes and it can be painful. So before you ask, you just remember that the pruning can be painful. He can cut back severely with a view to bearing fruit. It's encouraging though, isn't it? Comforting.

In chapter 13, when he tells the disciples what to do, it's a basin and it's water and it's a towel. When it's chapter 15 and it's the father who's doing the work, then it's the knife. I'm so thankful he doesn't give the knife to the brethren.

You know what would have happened? Lost more than ears and noses and everything else. He would have lost an awful lot if the brethren had the knife. The father has the knife. He skillfully knows how to prune.

So shall ye become my disciples. Growth in my attributes, in my Christ-likeness as I depend upon Christ. But I have another sphere of responsibility and it is the fruitful development of my gift. First of all, there needs to be an appreciation of the source, doesn't there?

Developing Spiritual Gifts for Others

That God is ultimately the giver of all gifts. Now I know that we have those three passages, Romans and 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. And in each case, a different person in the Godhead is seen as giving the gift.

But you will just allow me just to bring them all together. From the Godhead comes gifts to the local assembly, to the church, to believers. And if God has given a gift, it is for his glory, not for human glory.

And so there's an appreciation of the source of all gift and an appreciation of the purpose. Gift is always given, not for my experience. Gift is never given as a confirmation that I am saved. Gift is always given for profit to others.

Always given as a profit for others. Never given for my own advancement or my own glory. Having said that, let me just talk about an awareness of need. It's easy to look around and complain. That was an awfully boring Bible reading.

You know, they spent 45 minutes on two verses. Boy, this is boring. And that was an awfully dead gospel meeting. You know, nobody was in, nobody was there, just preaching to ourselves. Boy, prayer meeting is just such a drag.

They get up and pray for 20 minutes. My mind is up. I just can't follow them. It's just, now it's easy to look around and see problems. Do you ever think that maybe God is impressing you with those problems so that you might do something?

Yeah, nobody's coming into the gospel meeting. How about visiting? How about trying to bring people in yourself? Yeah, Bible reading can be a drag sometimes. They're taking so long on a few verses. You ever thought about just a few good questions?

Just a few good questions to move the reading along? Hey, there's no children's work in our assembly. Nobody seems to care. How about you? Wanna go out and find a few children? Have a little children's work of your own in fellowship with the assembly?

Sometimes God makes you aware of need that you might begin to address that need, that it might stir you, put a burden on your heart. Not just something to complain about, not just something to criticize, not something to just parade the shortcomings of the assembly or the brethren, but maybe God is burdening you or impressing you with a deficiency because he wants you to become exercised about meeting that need.

Or maybe he wants you, if nothing else, to pray about it. Maybe you say, I can't do it. I'm just a sister. I'm just a young Christian and I can't address that need myself. Well then, maybe you should pray about it.

There is a principle that is in scripture. Paul writes to Timothy about latter days and last times. And he says that men shall heap to themselves teachers having itching ears to draw away disciples after.

Men shall heap to themselves teachers. What I learned is that men get what they want. We will get what we want in the spiritual realm. If what we want is for the presence and power of God, we'll get it if we're willing to pay the price.

And so you may think there's nothing you can do. You can pray. You can begin to make it a matter of prayer that God will develop this in the assembly. Maybe there's no one that you feel that teaches the word of God well.

Well, you make it a matter of prayer. God may well begin to raise up someone. Maybe there's no one that can preach the gospel well and clearly. Well, you make it a matter of prayer and God may well raise up someone.

When you become aware of a need, it's not for the sake of criticism or the sake of looking down on others. It's for the sake of personal burden before God, that God would begin to meet that need in the assembly because we will get what we want.

If we want just entertainment, if we wanna just come and go, if we wanna just go about business as usual and feel good that we're having our meetings and you know, then that's all we'll have. But if it becomes the burden of our hearts, that God would bless us, that God would raise up men amongst us and women amongst us, then God will give us that if we make it a burden.

So there is then an awareness of need. There needs to be an availability as well. Not enough just to see the need, but am I available? Supposing I see a need for children's work and you know, I think I'm gonna pray about that, but don't expect me.

You know, I've got classes and I've got to work two jobs to pay the insurance so I can drive my car, so I can go to classes, so I can go to work to pay the insurance, to run my car, to go, you know. I'm sure you all know that cycle, you know.

We all get into it. Are you available? Now, not down the road somewhere. Not when school is done and when the children are raised and when the mortgage is paid and when you've been able to buy the second car.

No, not then. Now, are you available now for God to use? That's what God is looking for. God is looking for those who are available. God is not looking for consultants, okay? He doesn't need them. Somehow, he has been able to run his universe without me as a consultant.

He has been quite able for all of these millennia of years to just keep things going fairly well without me as his consultant. And so, he doesn't need me as a consultant for the assembly. What he needs me is as a willing worker, as one who is willing to consecrate himself to the Lord, to be useful in God's assembly.

It may not be in a big way. It may be in a very humble, quiet manner that God will pick me up and use me. But those are the people that are needed. Those are the ones that are the backbone of God's assembly.

The people there all the time, doing their small service for God, unsung, unseen at times, yet serving as God would have them serve. Willing to do that? May just be a Sunday school class. It may just be helping in the Bible reading.

It may just be picking up someone, bringing them into Sunday school, bringing them to the gospel meeting. But am I available? Who will consecrate himself this day unto the Lord? Who is willing from this day to be willing to be whatever God would have them to be?

Availability, activity, being active, not just planning and thinking and intending. Someone has said, life is what happens while we're making our plans. You know, you've got all of these plans and all of these good intentions, and suddenly life is passing you by.

I can tell you that from experience. It's faster than a Weaver shuttle. It just goes. And things that you planned on doing someday for God, you realize now it's beyond you. Be active. But could I mention one other thing, and that is be approachable.

Be approachable. And what I mean by that is just this. You may begin to put your hand at something, to do something. And older, wiser brethren may come to you and say, you know, I think that with your particular gift, you might be better served to maybe concentrate here.

Be approachable. Don't be touchy. Don't feel if brethren come to you and suggest, you know, we just don't think that you're fitted for this, but we do think you're fitted for this. And we'd like to encourage you in this.

Don't be so sensitive that you just take umbrage and feel like that's it, I'm doing nothing. Be approachable. Because that's one way God uses to guide us. One way that God uses to direct us in the particular sphere of service He would have would be the counsel, the wisdom, the encouragement of others in our service for Him.

So be approachable. Allow others to guide you and give you advice and to balance you as you begin to serve God and as you seek to serve Him. Now, I would have to say that the development of gift involves tremendous personal effort.

Doesn't come easily. Doesn't come naturally. Some people think that, you know, those that handle the word of God in ministry or in gospel just kind of get up and extemporaneously, you know, off the cuff, preach.

I have been amazed. I have sat where you have sat. Listen to men get up and minister the word of God. And in 30 minutes time, they have given me the fruit of years. Not minutes, not hours, not days, but the fruit of years of Bible study.

That didn't come easily. And everyone leaves and, well, it was a nice message and that was really good and wish I could speak like that. And you're trying to, you think that somehow it's just some magic.

You press a button and out it comes. Years. There's a brother here from Ireland and he would know whom I'm speaking. A young man, not young anymore, tremendously able in the ministry and in the gospel.

Tremendously able in ministry. As he was growing up as a young Christian, people thought he was strange. Didn't seem to enter into all the other activities young people entered into, but poured over the word of God.

Poured over the truth of God. Taught himself Greek. So he could read the Bible in Greek and understand it in Greek. And people looked at him askance like there was something really weird and strange about him.

But now when he gets up to minister, they come and they sit and they listen. And they're getting the result of years of a man who gave himself to the development of gift that God had given him. And any one of us would gladly sit at his feet to learn.

So it is hard work. In a homey way, someone has said that gift is 1 inspiration and 99 perspiration. I think that conveys the thought. It's hard work. It's like a seed that God has dropped. And now it is our responsibility to develop it and cultivate it for God.

So that is part of my responsibility to God's assembly to develop my gift, not for my own stature, but for the blessing of the assembly where God has placed me. And if God broadens my horizons for the people of God in a broader sphere, but it is for others, my responsibility.

A Forgiving Spirit in Grace

My responsibility includes a forgiving spirit in grace. Both Colossians and Ephesians stress that in a collective company of believers, it is vital to have a forgiving spirit. Time doesn't allow us to look at this in great detail.

Let me just mention the meaning of forgiveness. What is forgiveness? It's not forgetting. Forgiveness is God-like. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. So that when God looks at me, he no longer thinks of my sin.

He chooses not to think of my sins. He sees me in a totally different light. He sees me in Christ. He doesn't forget them. God doesn't forget. God chooses not to remember. He chooses not to allow this to color his thinking toward me.

1 Corinthians 13 tells us, among other things, love thinketh no evil. Now let me just put that in everyday vernacular if I can. This is not the revised version, the amplified version, the NIV version.

This is my version. Love does not keep score. Love doesn't keep score. Okay, you did it to me this time. You wait. My chance is coming. My at bat is coming. And when I get to bat, watch out. Love doesn't keep score.

Love thinketh no evil. Takes no thought of the evil done to itself. So that forgiveness is willingly choosing not to remember what someone has done against me. The manner of forgiveness, he frankly forgave them both.

That's what the scripture says in that lovely parable in Luke chapter seven. To frankly forgive, to forgive willingly, to forgive joyfully, to forgive fully and freely. You know what it says in Luke 15?

That God rejoiced because he could forgive me. Gave God joy. I can't explain that to you. But all of heaven rejoiced when I was forgiven. To be able to rejoice at forgiving another is godliness. You know, we forgive and we grit our teeth and we summon up all of our internal courage and you know, okay, I forgive.

No, that's not how God forgives. Freely, fully, forever, you can add all the words you want. With tremendous joy and delight, God forgives. The motive for forgiveness, Matthew 18 says, you've gained your brother back.

You've gained your brother. That's what you've done when you're forgiven. When you've confronted and forgiven and all this has been taken care of, you've gained your brother. But not only that, you've reproduced godliness in your own life and forgiveness.