6我们如何知道受了死的玷污？我们是因著有死的知觉或感觉而知道这事。罪带来定罪，这影响我们的良心。然而，死不是定罪的事，不是影响良心的事。死是使我们死沉，使我们发死的事。你到聚会中来，常常因著得到生命的供应而被点活。然而，有时候你聚会后回家，里头觉得死沉，却不知道为甚么。你的良心里不觉得定罪，但有一种杀死在你里面进行，使你发死。你的灵软弱、苦闷。你『下沉，』无法起来，这使你几天无法祷告。你不知道这事，但在那个聚会中，某种事杀死了你，叫你感到死沉。我们都有过这种经历。我们既是绝对且完全为著神的人，就必须避免属地的欢乐与死的影响。禁绝属地的欢乐并不难，但要感觉靠近某个在属灵上死了的人不容易。然而，我们若是在各面都活在那灵里，那么我们来聚会，如果聚会中有死亡，我们会立刻觉得。我们不但懂得聚会下沉、迟缓，也摸著聚会中有死亡。在这样的时候，我们需要多多祷告，对抗那种死沉的情况。我们说，『主，用你的血遮盖我，抵挡一切的死沉，抵挡一切属灵的死亡。』我们必须与死争战。
6How can we know that we have been defiled by death? We know this by having a sense, or feeling, of deadness. Sin brings in condemnation, which affects our conscience. However, death is not a matter of condemnation, not something that affects our conscience. Rather, death is a matter that deadens us and makes us dead. Often when you come to a meeting, you receive a supply of life and are enlivened. Sometimes, however, when you get home from a meeting, you feel deadened, but you do not know why. You sense no condemnation in your conscience, but there is a killing going on within you that makes you dead. Your spirit is weak and dull. You are ‘‘down’’ and cannot rise up, and you cannot pray for some days. You did not know it, but in that particular meeting you received some killing; you were deadened by some kind of death. We all have had this kind of experience. As those who are absolutely and utterly for God, we must avoid earthly pleasure and the influence of death. It is easy to abstain from earthly pleasure, but it is not easy to sense that we are near someone who is spiritually dead. Nevertheless, if we are living in the Spirit in every way, when we come to a meeting, we may immediately have the sense that deadness is there. We may realize not only that the meeting is low and slow but that in the meeting there is deadness hidden beneath the surface. At such a time we need to pray very much to counter that deadening situation: ‘‘Lord, cover me with Your blood against any deadening, against any spiritual deadness.’’ We must fight against deadness.