Quote of the Day

The progress of Christianity has been confessedly tardy. From the places where first its light shone, the candlestick has been removed; and where now we speak of it as established, we are constrained to make the humiliating acknowledgment that nine-tenths of the profession is false. Our missions proceed also but slowly, indeed more slowly than we will allow ourselves to think; and though we hang upon the lips of the newly arrived missionary, and drink in with avidity the reports of each society, when we come in the moment of cool reflection to ask, what has been done? I say the answer is, but little. Nor is it from want of exertion: for never was there such a host of instrumentality brought to bear on the promotion of Christianity as of late years: and, without making the state of things worse than it really is, I yet say that the mind that would take for its data, on which to expect the speedy establishment of Christ's kingdom, the means now in use, and the success attending them, must be indeed must sanguine. I know how unwelcome are these observations. I know that it will be said they serve no purpose but to check Christian exertion, - to damp Christian energy. But it is not so; they may check the exertion and damp the energy which owe their existence to false stimulus; but the exertion or the energy which has for its motive the glory of God - which appreciates the value of the immortal soul, and carries with it the recollection that 'there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over ONE sinner that repenteth: will not be diverted from its purpose merely by having its expectations corrected. Indeed on the contrary; for, as it is said that "hope deferred maketh the heart sick," I fear there is more danger of the exertion relaxing which is subject to disappointment, than that which has for its measure and guide a more moderate but more certain prospect. 

The truth is, as it appears to me, that we have altogether mistaken the object of this, the Gentile dispensation. That 'the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ," - that "the Son shall have "the Heathen for his inheritance, and the  ut-"most parts of the earth for his possession,"- that "'the kingdom and dominion UNDER the "whole heaven shall be given to the saints of "the Most High;" - all this is most true: these are the sure promises of God. But that they shall not be fulfilled during this dispensation, is also and equally sure and true. At the sounding of the "seventh trumpet" shall be the first, (Rev. xi.15.) at the destruction of the Antichristian confederacy, is the second, (Ps ii.8,9,) at the falling of the stone on the feet of the image, and the judgment on the little horn of the fourth beast, is the third; in a word all three at the SECOND COMING of Christ. Consider these passages and you will see that so far from this dispensation being appointed to convert the world it actually stands in the way of it - that the apostasy of the Gentiles denoted by "the working of the mystery of iniquity," retards (if I may so speak)  that wished for event; and that not until it is judged, in order to which it must first be consummated, will the kingdom of our God come with power. 

William De Burgh from his book Lectures on the Second Advent [With an introduction on the use of Unfulfilled Prophecy] Published in 1832

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  When we turn from the restless entreaties and exhortations which fill the pages of our modern missionary magazines to the pages of the New Testament, we are astonished at the change in atmosphere. St Paul does not repeatedly exhort his churches to subscribe money for the propagation of the Faith, he is far more concerned to explain to them what the faith is, and how they ought to practice it and keep it.  The same is true of St Peter and St John, and all of the apostolic writers. They do not seem to feel any necessity to repeat the great Commission, and to urge that it is the duty of their converts to make disciples of all the nations. What we read in the New Testament is no anxious appeal to Christians to spread the Gospel, but a note here and there which suggests how the Gospel was being spread abroad: 'the churches were established in the faith and increased in number daily', 'in every place your faith to Godward is spread abroad so that we need not to speak anything', or as a result of a persecution: 'They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the Word'......I know not how it may appear to others, but to me this unexhorted unorganized, spontaneous expansion has a charm far beyond that of our modern highly organized missions. I delight to think that a Christian travelling on his business, or fleeing from persecution, could preach Christ, and a church spring up as the result of his preaching, without his work being advertised through the streets of Antioch or Alexandria as the heading of an appeal to Christian men to subscribe funds to establish a school, or as the text of an exhortation to the church of his native city to send a mission, without which new converts deprived of guidance must inevitably lapse. I suspect, however, that I am not alone in this strange preference, and that many others read their Bibles and find there with relief a welcome escape from our material appeals for funds, and from our methods of moving heaven and earth to make a proselyte......

The Spirit of Christ is a Spirit who longs for, and strives after, the salvation of the souls of men, and that Spirit dwells in them. That Spirit converts the natural instinct into a longing for the conversion of others which is indeed divine in its source and character.

- Roland Allen

From his book: The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church

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  "True spiritual illumination comes from Scripture,  which is 'profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for every good work' (2 Tim. 3: 16-17).  As the man of God is equipped for every good work, we see that Scripture is not only indispensable, but also sufficient.  No other supposed sources of truth need be consulted to receive the spiritual illumination necessary for salvation. " 

Victor Kuligin

The Language of Salvation: Discovering the Riches of What it Means to be Saved

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He argued with no one about "problems" in the biblical text or in the Christian faith.  Not good could come of it. Those who raised such problems had not yet felt the weight of their sin or of their need for a Redeemer.  Mere intellectual jousting would solve no issue in their minds, for the Scripture is not given in order that the vain philosophical cavils of resistant intellects might be satisfied, but that wounded consciences might be shown a perfect Redeemer.  

From the book: Living By Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Thomas Nettles

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"If any man in the world needs the special presence of God with them and His blessing in order to succeed, certainly ministers do.  For what is the design and end of their ministry? Is it not to open the eyes of sinners to turn them from darkness to light?  And from the power of sin and Satan to God and Christ? And who is sufficient for these things? In a work of this nature, what can ministers, of themselves, do? Verily, they may preach even to paleness and faintness, until the bellows are burnt, until their lungs and vitals are consumed, and their hearers will never be the better; not one sinner will be converted until God is graciously pleased, by the efficacious working of His Spirit, to add His blessing to their labors and make his word, in the mouth of the preacher, sharper than any two-edged sword in the heart of the hearer.  All will be vain, to no saving purpose, until God is pleased to give the increase. And in order to do this, God looks for their prayers, to come up to His ears.  A praying minister is in the way to having a successful ministry." 

John Shaw 

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Our Master has never promised us success.  He demands obedience.  He expects faithfulness.  Results are His concern, not ours.  And our reputation is a matter of no consequence at all.

Amy Carmichael

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"Again, the societies have taught us from every pulpit that every Christian should be at heart a missionary, on the unshakable ground that the spirit of Christ is given to all Christians, and that the spirit given is the spirit which longs for and strives after the salvation of all men in Christ……The preacher, no doubt, expected a reaction in the form of support for his society, and no doubt it generally took that form, but there is no reason why it should take that form.  There is nothing in the teaching to convince anyone that to express his missionary zeal he need support, or belong to, any other society than the Church to which he already belongs.  It is not necessary, though it may be convenient, to support any special society in order to do missionary work….He does not cease to be a Christian and a member of a  missionary body because he does not add to the order of the Church the more elaborate and precise order of some society organization.  The only reason why men have not so acted more often is because they have been obsessed with the idea that a man to express his missionary zeal properly must be a member of some other body within the church and that church membership is not sufficient.

Many before now have thought that if they were to express their zeal freely outside the limits and restrictions of a special missionary society, they must go outside the Church itself.  But that is absurd.  The multiplication of societies, which, viewed as a missionary organization for the attainment of a common object, is wasteful, has at least kept before us the truth that men can work outside the societies without working outside the Church."

- Roland Allen

From his book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church

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"Nor was the adoption of these methods of propagating our religion without its effect upon us.  The establishment of schools and hospitals and colleges in great centres, altered our conception of our work as colleges in great centres, altered our conception of our work as missionaries.  They called out large numbers of mission workers of a new type with new ideas of missionary work.  We began to hear such phrases as these:  the gospel of enlightenment, the gospel of healing, the social gospel, and in, in later of years, the gospel of sex equality.    Whilst we continued to speak of our medical and education work in the old way as designed to open doors and attract hearers, and to convert, we began also to speak of medical, educational and social work as forms of preaching the Gospel.  The uplift of the people was a gospel in itself. Christ came to raise mankind, and to raise mankind out of the slough of superstition and evil conditions was, we argued to preach and to practice His Gospel….We practiced the same theory in England in an age of great social upheaval.  Social service was a cry which held and attracted large numbers of the younger and the abler Christian minds, and to a very great extent the Church threw herself into this work.  A church was scarcely considered complete without large institutions, guilds, clubs, halls.  And all of these things were urged upon the generosity of churchmen on the assurance that their provision would prepare the way for Christ. 

We have now had many years' experience of the method of approach, and it is becoming increasingly plain, it is, indeed, already commonly acknowledged, that the Church has not, by these social activities, brought men in any great degree within the sphere of its spiritual influence.  It has not succeeded along this road in imparting that spiritual life which it exists to minister.  Many deplore the obvious fact that, while the institutions have done much valuable work, the great mass of those who have used them have not drawn nearer to the Church or to Christ.  The churches which supported them most strongly have increased neither in number nor in spiritual power in anything like the proportion which the energy thrown into this social work presupposed.  

This is not really surprising; for it is extremely easy to divorce social reform and the alleviation of suffering from religion.  How easily they can be divorced is proved by the common fact that both at home and abroad the Church is being supplanted in these social activities by governments which promote education, and support activities by governments which promote education, and support hospitals ad schemes of industrial reform subsidized from public funds without any religious purpose.  Social reform is not necessarily Christian, and schemes for the amelioration of the conditions of life certainly do not necessarily lead men to Christ, even if they are set on foot by Christian men with the most serious Christian intention."

- Roland Allen

From his book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church

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….It leads us to attempt to organize spiritual forces.  Our love of organization leads us to attempt to fix the place where, and the time at which, and the men by whom, a spiritual movement is to take place.  We fix the place.  We choose what we call a strategic centre and plant there our buildings and our institutions.  There the spiritual movements must take place if we are to be in any way the agents of it…..For spiritual work spiritual organization is necessary; but can we create a spiritual organization of spiritual forces?  Only a divine intelligence can do that.  But we attempt to do the work of that divine intelligence; by fixing our stations and immobilizing our men……But to be God's agents in spiritual movements we must follow, not lead.  We want to lead, and, trying to lead, we are simply left behind.  We say: 'Here we will have our buildings,' but the spiritual movements may be growing unseen by us in another place and by other means.  ….While the organization cumbrously laboring, the time is at hand, and come, and passing away, and the organization has nothing, or little, to do with it.  The organization is always too late.  For we can organize the external results of a spiritual movement, but we cannot organize a spiritual movement."

- Roland Allen

From his book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church