When The Church Is Willing

When the Church of Christ is willing, as were the early apostles, to go all the way with God the demands will not seem grievous but a great privilege, offering an open door into a life of power and vital spiritual living that will prove the key to revival. Let us briefly here review a few of these demands.

Rectification of the past life. Restitution is a very unpopular theme, but a very vital one. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper," Much of the deadliest, coldness and powerlessness today can be traced to unconfessed sin. We have known of people professing to have received the gift of the Holy Ghost who later became convicted of the need of restitution. In their possession were articles that belonged to others, No wonder they lived defeated lives.

Separation front the world. This is not so hard as it seems. When one takes a glimpse at the "inheritance among them that are sanctified" the things of time appear truly as the "weak and beggarly elements" that they are. Here is no legal, self-imposed imprisonment that leans with elbows on the fence, gazing with green eyes at the attractive pastimes of the devotees of pleasure. Separation from the world brings us down to earth. We are "set apart" not for the museum shelf, but for hard and often dirty work where the needy of this world are to be found. We are most truly in the world but not of the world. Praise God for this demand. And when Christians will rise to it, a revival is well on the way

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Crucifixion to self. Self is the culprit that divides our churches; brings formality into our worship; crowds God out of the pulpit; and mars many an effort of otherwise earnest Christians. True holiness is not our mere claiming of something. Two things happen: Self goes, and the Holy Spirit fills the temple.

A life of prayer. Holiness without this is a great farce. The indwelling Christ calls to prayer. The Holy Spirit burdens us with love for precious souls. The only relief comes in fervent heartfelt prayer. Because of this fact holiness is indeed the key to revival. For a praying church is a revived church. This demand becomes a gracious prerogative. Holiness that does not lead us often to the prayer closet and frequently keep us there for a long time is not the experience held out in the New Testament.

The above are only a few of the demands of holiness which indeed become the greatest of privileges. May God raise up Christians as of old who are willing to come up to the grand old standard of this precious blood-bought inheritance.

--Edwin E. Harvey (The Wesleyan Methodist, 1956)