Biblical Essays
EVANGELIZATION – A WORD TO AN EVANGELIST

Evangelization
We trust it may not be deemed out of place if we venture to offer a word of counsel and encouragement to all who have been and are engaged in the blessed work of preaching the Gospel of the grace of God. In some measure, we are aware of the difficulties and discouragements which attend on the path of every evangelist, whatever may be his sphere of labor or measure of gift. It is our heart’s desire to hold up the hands and cheer the hearts of all who may be in danger of falling under the depressing power of these things. We increasingly feel the immense importance of an earnest, fervent Gospel testimony everywhere; and we dread exceedingly any falling off therein. We are imperatively called to “do the work of an evangelist,” and not be moved from that work by any arguments or considerations whatsoever.

Let none imagine that in writing this essay we mean to detract in any way from the value of teaching, lecturing, or exhortation. Nothing is further from our thoughts. “These things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” We do not mean to compare the work of the evangelist with that of the teacher, or to exalt the former at the expense of the latter. Each has its own proper place, its own distinctive interest and importance.

On the other hand, there is a danger that the evangelist may abandon his precious work in order to give himself to the work of teaching and lecturing. Is there not a danger of the evangelist becoming merged in the teacher? We fear there is; and it is under the influence of this fear that we pen this essay. With deep concern, we observe some who were once known among us as earnest and eminently successful evangelists, who have now almost completely abandoned their work and become teachers and lecturers.

This is deplorable. We really need evangelists today. A true evangelist is almost as great a rarity as a true shepherd or pastor. Both are rare. The two are closely connected. The evangelist gathers the sheep; the pastor feeds and cares for them – the work of each lies near the heart of Christ, the Divine Evangelist and Pastor. But it is with the former we are now considering – to encourage him in his work, and to warn him against the temptation to turn aside from it. We cannot afford to lose a single ambassador or preacher in this age.
 
We are aware of the fact that there is in some quarters a strong tendency to throw cold water on the work of evangelization. There is a sad lack of sympathy with the preacher of the Gospel; and consequently actively co-operating with him in his work. Further, there is a way of speaking about Gospel preaching that has little sympathy for the heart of Him who wept over impenitent sinners, and who could say at the very opening of His blessed ministry, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Is. 61; Luke 4). And again, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth” (Mark 1:38).

Our blessed Lord was an indefatigable preacher of the Gospel, and all who are filled with His mind and spirit will take a lively interest in the work of all those who in their feeble measure are seeking to do the same. This interest will be evinced not only by earnest prayer for divine blessing on the work, but also by diligent and persevering efforts to get immortal souls under the sound of the Gospel.

This is the way to help the evangelist, and this way is open to members of the Lord’s church – every man, woman, or child. All can help forward the glorious work of evangelization. If each member of the assembly were to diligently and prayerfully work in this way, how different it would be with the Lord’s dear servants who are seeking to make known the unsearchable riches of Christ.

But it is too often otherwise. We occasionally hear someone who is known for intelligence and spirituality referring to a Gospel meeting in this way: “No, I am not going; it’s only a gospel meeting for the lost.” Think of it – “only the gospel.” If the idea was put into other words, he might say, “It is only the heart of God – only the precious blood of Christ – only the glorious record of the Holy Spirit.”

This would be putting the thing plainly. Nothing is sadder than to hear professing Christians speak in this way. It clearly proves that their soul is far from the heart of Jesus. We have found that those who think and speak slightingly of the work of the evangelist are persons of little spirituality. On the other hand, the most devoted, most true hearted, best taught saints of God are always sure to take a profound interest in that work. How could it be otherwise? Does not the voice of Holy Scripture bear clear testimony to the fact that the Trinity is interested in the work of the Gospel? Certainly it does.

Who first preached the Gospel? Who was the first herald of salvation? Who first announced the good news of the bruised Seed of the woman? – The Lord God Himself, in the Garden of Eden. This is a telling fact in connection with our theme. Let us further ask, who was the most earnest, laborious, and faithful preacher that ever trod this earth? – The Son of God. And who has been preaching the Gospel for the last eighteen centuries? – The Holy Spirit sent down from Heaven.

Thus we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are actually engaged in the work of evangelization; and if this be so, who are we to dare speak slightingly of such a work? No, may our whole moral being be stirred by the power of the Spirit of God so that we can add our fervent and deep Amen to those precious words of inspiration, “How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Is. 52:7; Rom. 10:15).

But perhaps these lines shall be scanned by someone who has been engaged in the work of preaching the Gospel, who is beginning to feel rather discouraged. It may be that he has been called to preach in the same place for years, and he feels burdened by the thought of having to address the same audience, on the same subject, week after week, month after month, year after year. He may feel at a loss for something new, something fresh, some variety. He may sigh for some new sphere, where the subjects familiar to him will be new to the people. Or, if this cannot be, he may feel led to substitute lectures and expositions for the fervid, pointed, earnest preaching of the Gospel.

If in any measure we have set forth such a feeling on this subject, we think it will greatly help to bear in mind that the one grand theme of the true evangelist is Christ. The power to handle that theme is the Holy Spirit. The one to whom that theme is to be unfolded is the lost sinner. Now, Christ is always new; the power of the Holy Spirit is always fresh; the soul’s condition and destiny always intensely interesting.

Furthermore, on every fresh occasion of rising to preach it is well for the evangelist to bear in mind that his unconverted hearers are totally ignorant of the Gospel, and hence he should preach as though it were the first time they had ever heard the message, and the first time he had ever delivered it. Be it remembered that in the divine acceptation of the phrase, the preaching of the Gospel is not a mere barren statement of evangelical doctrine – a certain form of words enunciated over and over again in wearisome routine. No, the Gospel is really the large loving heart of God welling up and flowing forth in streams of life and salvation toward the lost sinner. It is the presentation of atoning death and glorious resurrection of the Son of God; and all this in the present energy, glow, and freshness of the Holy Spirit, from the exhaustless mine of Holy Scripture.
 
Further, the one absorbing object of the preacher is to win souls for Christ to the glory of God. For this he labors and pleads; for this he prays, weeps, and agonizes; for this he thunders, appeals, and grapples with the heart and conscience of his hearer. His object is not to teach doctrines, though doctrines may be taught; his object is not to expound Scripture, though Scripture may be expounded. These things lie within the range of the teacher or lecturer; but let it never be forgotten, the preacher’s object is to bring the Savior and the sinner together – to win souls to Christ. By His Spirit, may God keep these things always before our hearts, so that we may have a deeper interest in the glorious work of evangelization.

In conclusion, we merely add a word of exhortation in reference to the Lord’s Day evening. In all affection, we would say to our beloved and honored fellow-laborers, “Seek to give that hour to the great business of the soul’s salvation.” There are 168 hours in the week; surely, at the least, we can devote one of these to this momentous work. It so happens that during that interesting hour we can get the ear of our fellow-sinner. Let us use it to pour in the sweet story of God’s free love and Christ’s full salvation.

A motto for the evangelist (2 Cor. 10:16)
“To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.” While they set forth the large-heartedness of the self-denying and devoted apostle, these words also furnish a fine model for the evangelist in every age. The Gospel is a traveler; and the preacher of the Gospel must also be a traveler. The divinely-qualified and divinely-sent evangelist will fix his eye on “the world.” In his benevolent design he will embrace the human family, from house to house; from street to street; from city to city; from province to province – from kingdom to kingdom; from continent to continent; from pole to pole. Such is the range of “the good news,” and the publisher thereof. “The regions beyond” must always be the grand Gospel motto. No sooner has the Gospel lamp cast its cheering beams over a district, than the bearer of that map must think of the regions beyond. Thus the work goes on. Thus the mighty tide of grace rolls in enlightening and saving power over a dark world that lies in “the region of the shadow of death.” Waft, waft, ye winds, the story, And you, ye waters roll, Till, like a sea of glory, It spreads from pole to pole.

Are we thinking of “the regions beyond”? This expression may, in our case, mean the next house, the next street, the next village, the next city, the next kingdom, or the next continent. The application is for our hearts to ponder; but are we thinking of “the regions beyond”? We do not want anyone to abandon their present post; at least, not until they are fully persuaded that their work at that post is done. But, remember, the Gospel plough should never stand still. “Onward” is the motto of every true evangelist. Let the shepherds abide by the flocks; but let the evangelists take themselves here and there to gather the sheep. Let them sound the Gospel trump far and wide over the dark mountains of this world, to gather souls. This is the design of the Gospel. This should be the object of the evangelist as he sighs after “the regions beyond.” When Caesar beheld the white cliffs of Britain from the coast of Gaul, he earnestly longed to carry his arms there. On the other hand, the evangelist whose heart beats in unison with the heart of Jesus, as he casts his eye over the map of the world, longs to carry the Gospel of peace into regions that have previously been wrapped in midnight gloom, covered with the dark mantle of superstition, or blasted beneath the withering influences of “a form of godliness without the power.”

We believe it would be a profitable question to ask how far we are discharging our holy responsibilities to “the regions beyond.” We believe the Christian who is not cultivating and manifesting an evangelistic spirit is in a deplorable condition. We also believe that the assembly that is not cultivating and manifesting an evangelistic spirit is in a dead state. One of the truest marks of spiritual growth and prosperity, whether in an individual or an assembly, is earnest anxiety after the conversion of souls. This anxiety will swell the bosom with generous emotions; yea, it will break out in copious streams of benevolent exertion, always flowing toward “the regions beyond.” It is hard to believe that “the Word of Christ” is “dwelling richly” in anyone who is not making some effort to impart that Word to others. It matters not what may be the amount of effort; it may be to drop a few words in the ear of a friend, to drop a note, send an email, or breathe a prayer. But one thing is certain, a healthy vigorous Christian will be an evangelistic Christian; a teller of good news – one whose sympathies, desires, and energies, are always going forth toward “the regions beyond.” “I must preach the gospel to other cities also, therefore am I sent.” Such was the language of the divine Evangelist.

It is doubtful whether many servants of Christ have not erred in allowing themselves, through one influence or another, to become too much localized – too much tied to one place. They have dropped into routine work; into a round of stated preaching in the same place, and in many cases, have paralyzed themselves and as well as their hearers. We are not speaking of the labors of the elders, deacons, or teachers, which of course must be carried on in the midst of those who are the proper subjects of such labors. We refer particularly to the evangelist. Such a one should never suffer himself to become localized. The world is his sphere – “the regions beyond,” his motto – to gather lost souls, his object – the current of the Spirit, his line of direction. If we should be one whom God has called and fitted to be an evangelist, let us remember these four things, the sphere, motto, object, and line of direction that all must adopt, if they would prove fruitful laborers in the Gospel field.

Finally, whether one is an evangelist or not, we earnestly entreat him to examine how far he is seeking to further the Gospel of Christ. We must not stand idle. Time is short. Eternity is rapidly approaching. The Master is most worthy. Souls are most precious. The season for work will soon close. So, in the name of the Lord, let us be up and doing. And when we have done what we can in the regions around, let us carry the precious Gospel into “the regions beyond”.

The work of an evangelist (Acts 16:8-31)
In the material above, we sought to offer a word to the evangelist. We now venture to offer a few thoughts on the evangelist’s work; and as the basis of our remarks, we cannot do better than select a page from the missionary record of one of the greatest evangelists that ever lived. The passage of Scripture that stands at the head of this essay furnishes specimens of three distinct classes of hearers, and also the method in which they were met by the great apostle of the Gentiles, guided by the Holy Spirit.

First, we have the earnest seeker; secondly, the false professor; and thirdly, the hardened sinner. The Lord’s workman meet these three classes everywhere and at all times; and hence we may be thankful for an inspired account of the right mode of dealing with such. It is desirable that those who go forth with the Gospel should have skill in dealing with the various conditions of soul that come before them from day to day. There can be no more effectual way of attaining this skill than the careful study of the models provided by God the Holy Spirit.

The earnest seeker
In the course of his missionary journeyings, the laborious apostle came to Troas and there a vision appeared to him in the night, “There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us” (Acts 16:8-15).

Here we have a touching picture – something well worth gazing at and pondering. It is a picture of one who had received, through grace, a measure of light, was living up to it and earnestly seeking more. Lydia, the seller of purple, belonged to the same interesting generation as the eunuch of Ethiopia, and the centurion of Caesarea. All three appear on the page of inspiration as quickened souls not emancipated; not at rest; not satisfied. The eunuch had gone from Ethiopia to Jerusalem in search of something on which to rest his anxious soul. Still unsatisfied, he had left that city – devoutly and earnestly hanging over the precious page of inspiration. The eye of God was on him, and He sent His servant Philip with the message that was needed to solve his difficulties, answer his questions, and set his soul at rest.
 
God knows how to bring the Philips and the eunuchs together. He knows how to prepare the heart for the message and the message for the heart. The eunuch was a worshiper of God; but Philip is sent to teach him how to see God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was precisely what he wanted. It was a flood of fresh light breaking in on his earnest spirit, setting his heart and conscience at rest, and sending him on his way rejoicing. He had honestly followed the light as it broke in on his soul, and God sent him more.

Thus it always is. “To him that hath shall more be given.” There never was a soul who sincerely acted up to his light that did not get more light. This is consolatory and encouraging to all anxious inquirers. If we belong to this class, let us take courage. If we are one of those with whom God has begun to work, then let us rest assured of this: He who hath begun a good work will perform the same until the day of Jesus Christ. He will perfect that which concerns His people.

But let no one fold his arms, settle on his oars and coolly say, “I must wait God’s time for more light. I can do nothing – my efforts are useless. When God’s time comes I shall be all right; till then, I must remain as I am.” These were not the thoughts or feelings of the Ethiopian eunuch. He was one of the earnest seekers; and all earnest seekers are sure to be happy finders. It must be so, for “God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

So also with the centurion of Caesarea – he was a man of the same stamp. He lived up to his light. He fasted, prayed, and gave alms. We are not told whether he knew the Sermon on the Mount: but it is remarkable that he exercised himself in the three grand branches of practical righteousness set forth by our Lord in the sixth chapter of Matthew.¹ He was molding his conduct and shaping his way according to the standard that God had set before him. His righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, and therefore he entered the kingdom. Through grace he was a real man, earnestly following the light as it streamed in on his soul, and he was led into the full blaze of the Gospel of the grace of God. God sent a Peter to Cornelius, as he had sent a Philip to the eunuch. The prayers and alms had gone up as a memorial before God, and Peter was sent with a message of full salvation through a crucified and risen Savior.

It is possible that some, who have been rocked in the cradle of easy-going evangelism, and trained up in the flippant formalism of a self-indulgent, heaven-made-easy religion, are ready to condemn the pious conduct of Cornelius, pronouncing it the fruit of ignorance and legality. Such people have never known what it was to deny self a single meal, or to spend an hour in real, earnest prayer, or to open their hand in benevolence to meet the wants of the poor.

All this is true; but we should not think or imagine that Cornelius was praying, fasting, and giving alms in order to earn salvation? Such simply is not true, if we are to be governed by the inspired narrative and we have no other means of knowing anything about this truly excellent and interesting character. He was informed by the angel that his prayers and alms had gone up as a memorial before God. This is a clear proof that these prayers and alms were not the trappings of self-righteousness, but the fruits of a righteousness based on the knowledge he had of God. Surely the fruits of self-righteousness and legality could never have ascended as a memorial to the throne of God; nor could Peter have said about a mere legalist that he was one who feared God and worked righteousness.

No; Cornelius was a man thoroughly in earnest. He lived up to what he knew, and he would have been wrong to go further. To him the salvation of his immortal soul, the service of God, and eternity, were grand and all-absorbing realities. He was not an easy-going speaker, full of flippant, vapid, worthless talk; doing nothing. He belonged to another generation. He belonged to the working, not the talking class. He was one on whom the eye of God rested with complacency, and in whom the mind of heaven was profoundly interested.

And so was our friend Lydia of Thyatira, the seller of purple. She belonged to the same school; occupied the same platform as the centurion and eunuch. It is delightful to contemplate these three precious souls – to think of one in Ethiopia; another at Caesarea; and a third at Thyatira or Philippi. It is particularly refreshing to contrast such downright thorough-going, earnest souls, with many in this our day of boasted light and knowledge, who have the plan of salvation (as it is termed) in their heads, the doctrines of grace on the tongue, but the world in the heart; whose absorbing object is self, self, self – miserable object.

We shall have occasion to refer more fully to these latter under our second heading; but for the present, we shall think of the earnest Lydia; and we confess it is a far more grateful exercise. It is plain that Lydia, like Cornelius and the eunuch, was a quickened soul. She was a worshiper of God; one who was glad to lay aside her purple-selling and take herself to a prayer-meeting, or to any place where spiritual profit was to be had, and where there were good things. “Birds of a feather flock together,” and so Lydia soon found out where a few pious souls, a few kindred spirits, were in the habit of meeting to wait on God in prayer.

To be brought in contact with this deep-toned earnestness does the heart good. Like all Holy Scripture, surely the Holy Spirit has penned this narrative for our learning. It is a specimen case, and we do well to ponder it. Lydia was found diligently availing herself of any and every opportunity. She exhibited the real fruits of divine life, the genuine instincts of the new nature. She found out where saints met for prayer and took her place among them. She did not fold her arms and settle down on her lees to wait in antinomian indolence and culpable idleness for some extraordinary indefinable thing to come on her, or some mysterious change to come over her. No; she went to a prayer-meeting; the place of expressed need; the place of expected blessing: and there God met her, as He is sure to meet all who frequent such scenes in Lydia’s spirit.

God never fails an expectant heart. He has said, “They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me”; and like a bright and blessed sunbeam on the page of inspiration shines that pregnant, weighty, soul-stirring sentence, “God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” He sent a Philip to the eunuch in the desert of Gaza. He sent a Peter to the centurion in the town of Caesarea. He sent a Paul to a seller of purple in the suburbs of Philippi; and He will send a message to us, if we are truly earnest seekers after God’s salvation.

It is always a moment of deep interest when a prepared soul is brought in contact with the full Gospel of the grace of God. The soul may have been under deep and painful exercise for a long time, seeking rest but finding none. The Lord has been working by His Spirit, preparing the ground for the good seed. He has been making the furrows deep so that the precious seed of His Word may take permanent root and bring forth fruit to His praise. The Holy Spirit is never in haste. His work is deep, sure and solid. His plants are not like Jonah’s gourd, springing up in a night and perishing in a night. All that He does will stand blessed be His name. “I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever.” When He convicts, converts, and liberates a soul, the stamp of His own eternal hand is on the work in all its stages.

It must have been a moment of intense interest when one in Lydia’s state of soul was brought in contact with that glorious Gospel that Paul carried (Acts 16:14). She was prepared for his message; and probably his message was prepared for her. He carried with him truth that she had never heard or thought of. As already remarked, she had been living up to her light; she was a worshiper of God; but we are bold to assert that she had no idea of the glorious truth that was lodged in the heart of that stranger who sat beside her at the prayer meeting. She had come there – devout and earnest woman that she was – to pray and worship, to get some little refreshment for her spirit, after the toils of the week. How little did she imagine that at the meeting she would hear the greatest preacher that ever lived, save One, and that she would hear the highest order of truth that had ever fallen on mortal ears.

Yet, so it was. And, oh, how important it was for Lydia to have been at that memorable prayer meeting. How well it was she had not acted as so many in this age act; who after a week of toil in business, the warehouse or factory, take the opportunity of lying in bed on Sunday. How many are at their post from Monday morning till Saturday night, working away with all diligence at their calling, but cannot attend the meeting on the Lord’s Day. How is this? They may say they are so worn out on Saturday night that they have no energy to rise on Sunday, and therefore they spend His day in sloth, lounging, and self-indulgence. They have no care for their souls, no care for eternity, no care for Christ. They care for themselves, their families, the world, and money-making; and hence they can be found up with the dawn on Monday and off to work.

Lydia did not belong to this class. No doubt she attended to her business, as every right-minded person will. No doubt she kept excellent purple, and was a fair, honest trader, in every sense of the word. But she did not spend her Sunday, her Lord’s Day in bed lounging about the house or nursing herself up, and making a great fuss about all she had done the week before and what was facing her during the coming week. Neither do we believe that Lydia was one of those self-occupied folk whom a shower of rain is sufficient to keep away from a meeting. No; Lydia was altogether of a different stamp. She was an earnest woman, who felt she had a soul to save, and an eternity before her, and a living God to serve and worship.

Would to God we had more Lydias in this age. It would give a charm, an interest, a freshness to the work of an evangelist, for which many of the Lord’s workmen have to sigh in vain. We seem to live in a day of unreality pertaining to divine and eternal things. Men and women, and even young people are real enough at their money-making, their pursuits, and their pleasures. But, oh, when the things of God, the things of the soul, the things of eternity, are in question the aspect of people today seems to be that of a yawning indifference. But the moment is rapidly approaching – every beat of the pulse, every tick of the watch brings us nearer to it – when the yawning indifference shall be exchanged for “weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.” If this were more deeply felt, we would have many more Lydias, prepared to lend an attentive ear to Paul’s gospel.

What force and beauty in those words, “Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul.” Lydia was not one of those who go to meetings to think of anything and everything but the things that are spoken by the Lord’s messengers. She was not thinking of her purple, of prices, probable gains, or losses. How many of those who fill our preaching rooms and lecture halls follow the example of Lydia? No doubt, few follow her example. The business, state of the market, money, pleasure, dress, folly – a thousand and one things are thought of, dwelt on, and attended to, so that the vagrant, volatile heart is focused on the earth instead of “attending” to the things that are spoken.

All this is solemn and awful. It really should be looked into and thought of. People seem to forget the responsibility involved in hearing the Gospel preached. They do not seem to be impressed with the weighty fact that the Gospel never leaves any unconverted person where it finds him. He is either saved by receiving, or rendered more guilty by rejecting it. Hence it becomes a serious matter to hear the Gospel. People may attend Gospel meetings as a matter of custom, as a religious service, or because they have nothing else to do, and the time would hang heavy on their hands; or they may go because they think that the mere act of going has a sort of merit attached to it. Thus thousands attend gatherings at which time Christ’s servants, though not a Paul in gift, power, or intelligence, unfold the precious grace of God in sending His only begotten Son into the world to save us from everlasting torment and misery. The virtue and efficacy of the atoning death of the divine Savior; the Lamb of God; the dread realities of eternity; the awful horrors of hell, and the unspeakable joys of Heaven – all these weighty matters are handled according to the measure of grace bestowed on the Lord’s messengers, and yet how little impression is produced. They “reason of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” and yet how few in this age are made to “tremble.”

And why is this? Will anyone presume to excuse himself for rejecting the Gospel message on the ground of inability to believe it? Will he appeal to the case before us and say, “The Lord opened her heart; and if He would only do the same for me, I, too, would attend; but until He does, I can do nothing”? To that we reply with deep seriousness, “Such an argument will not avail in the day of judgment.” We are convinced that no one will dear use it then. Such a person is making a false use of Lydia’s charming history. True, the Lord opened her heart; and He is ready to open our hearts, also, if Lydia’s earnestness was in us.

There are two sides to this great question, as there are to every question. It sounds good and forcible for us to say, “I can do nothing.” But who told us this? Where do we learn it? Here is a solemn challenge: “Can any of us look up to Him and say, ‘I can do nothing – I am not responsible’? Is the salvation of our never-dying soul the one thing in which we can do nothing? We can do a lot of things in the service of the world, of self, and of Satan; but when it becomes a question of God, the soul, and eternity, we coolly say, ‘I can do nothing – I am not responsible.’”

But, it will never do. This style of argument is the fruit of a one-sided theology. It is the result of pernicious reasoning of the human mind on certain truths in Scripture that are turned the wrong way and sadly misapplied. But it will not stand. We urge that it is of no possible use arguing in this way. The sinner is responsible; and all the theology, all the reasoning, and all the fallacious though plausible objections that can be scraped together, can never do away with this weighty and serious fact.

Therefore, we call on Christians to be like Lydia – to be in earnest about his soul’s salvation; to let every other question, every other point, every other subject, sink into insignificance in comparison with this one momentous question – the salvation of his precious soul. We can depend on the One who sent Philip to the eunuch, and sent Peter to the centurion, and sent Paul to Lydia. The Master will send some messenger and message to him, and will open his heart to attend. Of this there cannot possibly be a doubt, because Scripture declares that “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” All who perish after having heard the message of salvation; the sweet story of God’s free love, of a Savior’s death and resurrection – shall perish without a shadow of an excuse, and shall descend into hell with their blood on their guilty heads. Their eyes shall then be open to see through all the flimsy arguments by which they have sought to prop themselves up in a false position, lulling themselves to sleep in sin and worldliness.

Let us dwell for a moment on “the things that were spoken of Paul.” The Spirit of God has not thought proper to give us even a brief outline of Paul’s address at the prayer-meeting. Therefore, we are left to other passages of Holy Scripture to form an idea of what Lydia heard from his lips on that interesting occasion. For example, take that famous passage in which he reminds the Corinthians of the Gospel he had preached to them. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

We may safely conclude that the foregoing passage of Scripture contains a compendium of the things that were spoken by Paul at the prayer-meeting at Philippi. The grand theme of Paul’s preaching was Christ; Christ for the sinner; Christ for the saint; Christ for the conscience; Christ for the heart. He never allowed himself to wander from this great center, but made all his preaching and all teaching circulate around it with admirable consistency. If he called on men, both Jews and Gentiles, to repent, the lever with which he worked was Christ. If he urged them to believe, the object he held up for faith was Christ, on the authority of Holy Scripture. If he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, the One that gave cogency and moral power to his reasoning was Christ. In short, Christ was the gist and marrow, the sum and substance, the foundation and top stone of Paul’s preaching and teaching.

But, for our present purpose, there are three grand subjects found in Paul’s preaching to which we desire to call attention. These are the grace of God; the Person and work of Christ; and the testimony of the Holy Spirit as given in Holy Scripture.

We do not attempt to go into these vast subjects in this essay. Instead, we pray that each of us will go on to ponder them, muse over them, and seek to make them our own.

The grace of God
His free, sovereign favor is the source from whence salvation flows in all the length, breadth, height, and depth of that precious word. Like a golden chain, salvation stretches from the bosom of God down to the deepest depths of the sinner’s guilty and ruined condition, and back again to the throne of God. It meets all the sinner’s necessities, completely overlaps the saint’s history, and glorifies God in the highest possible manner.

The Person of Christ
The Person of Christ and His finished work are the only channel through which salvation can possibly flow to the lost and guilty sinner. It is not the church and her sacraments, religion and its rites and ceremonies – man or his doings in any shape or form. It is the death and resurrection of Christ. “He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day.” This was the Gospel that Paul preached, by which the Corinthians were saved, and the apostle declares, “If any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed.” Tremendous words for our day.

Testimony of the Holy Spirit as given in Holy Scripture
The authority on which we receive salvation is the testimony of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. It is “according to the Scriptures.” This is a solid and comforting truth. It is not a question of feelings, or experiences, or evidences, it is a simple question of faith in God’s Word wrought in the heart by God’s Spirit.

It is a serious reflection for the evangelist that wherever God’s Spirit is at work, there Satan is sure to be busy. We must remember and always be prepared for this. The enemy of Christ and souls is always on the watch, always hovering to see what he can do to either hinder or corrupt the work of the Gospel. This need not terrify or discourage the workman; but we must keep it in mind and be watchful. Satan will leave no stone unturned to mar or hinder the blessed work of God’s Spirit. From the days of Eden down to the present moment, he has proved himself the ceaseless, vigilant enemy of that work.

In tracing the history of Satan, we find him acting in two characters: as serpent or lion – using craft or violence. He will try to deceive; and if he cannot succeed, then he will use violence. Thus it is in this sixteenth chapter of the Acts. The apostle’s heart had been cheered and refreshed by what we say was “a beautiful case of conversion.” In every respect, Lydia’s was a real and decided case. It was direct, positive, and unmistakable. She believed in Christ and was forthwith baptized; and this was not all. She immediately opened her house to the Lord’s messengers. Hers was no mere lip-service. It was not merely saying she believed. Her faith in Christ led not only to going down under the water of baptism, but  also to identifying herself and household with the name and cause of that blessed One whom she had received into her heart.

All this was clear and satisfactory. But we now look at something different. The serpent appears on the scene in the person of the deceiver. “It came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (vs. 16-18).

Here was a case eminently calculated to test the spirituality and integrity of the evangelist. Most men would have hailed such words from the lips of this damsel as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why then was Paul grieved? Why did he not allow her to continue to bear witness to the object of his mission? Was she not saying the truth? Were they not the servants of the most high God? And were they not showing the way of salvation? Why be grieved with; why silence such a witness? Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was not going to receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work. True, if only he had consented to let the devil have a hand in the work, he might have walked about the streets of Philippi elevated and honored as a servant of God. But Paul could never consent to this. He could never allow the enemy to mix-in with the work of the Lord. Had he done so, it would have given a deathblow to the testimony at Philippi. To have permitted Satan to put his hand to the work, would have involved the total shipwreck of the mission to Macedonia.

It is important for the Lord’s workman to weigh this matter. We may rest assured that this narrative of the damsel has been written for our instruction. It is not only a statement of what has occurred, but a sample of what may and indeed what does occur every day.
 
The religious world is full of false professions. At this very moment, there are multitudes of false professions throughout the wide domain of the religious world. It is sad but true; we are surrounded on all sides by those who give a nominal assent to the truths of Christianity. From week to week and year to year, they profess to believe certain things which in reality they do not believe at all. There are thousands who, every Lord’s Day, profess to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and yet, were such persons to be examined, it would be found that they either do not think about the matter at all, or, if they do think, they deem it the height of presumption for anyone to be sure that his sins are forgiven.

This is ever so serious. Think of a person standing up in the presence of God and saying, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins,” while all the time he does not believe any such thing. Can anything be more hardening to the heart, or more deadening to the conscience than this? It is our firm persuasion that the forms and formularies of man’s religious systems are doing more to ruin precious souls than all the forms of moral pravity put together. It is appalling to contemplate the countless multitudes that are at this moment rushing along the well-trodden highway of religious profession, down to the eternal flames of eternal destruction. We feel bound to raise a warning note. May each of us solemnly take heed regarding this matter.

We have instanced only one special formulary because it refers to a subject of general interest and importance. Comparatively, few are clear and settled as to the question of forgiveness of sins. How few are calmly, decidedly, and intelligently able to say, “I know that my sins are forgiven.” Few are in the real enjoyment of full forgiveness of sins, through true faith in that precious blood cleanses from all sins. Therefore, it is a solemn thing to hear people uttering the words, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins,” while, in fact, they do not believe their own utterance.

Are we in the habit of using such a form of words? Do we believe it? Are our sins forgiven? Are we washed in the precious atoning blood of Christ? If not, why not? The way is open. There is no hindrance. All are welcome to the free benefits of the atoning work of Christ. Though our sins be as scarlet; though they be black as midnight, black as hell; though they rise like a dreadful mountain before the vision of our troubled soul, threatening to sink us into eternal perdition; yet, on the page of inspiration these words shine with divine and heavenly luster, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Let us not continue week after week mocking God by a false profession, hardening our hearts, carrying out the schemes of the great enemy of Christ. This marks the damsel possessed by a spirit of divination, and here her history links itself with the present awful condition of the religious world. What was the burden of her song, during those “many days” in which the apostle narrowly considered her case? “These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.” But she was not saved; she was not delivered; she was under Satan’s power. And Satan was seeking to use her for the purpose of marring and hindering the work of the Gospel.

In principle, everyone who professes to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and yet does not believe in it – who does not know that his sins are forgiven, does not think that anyone can know it until the Day of Judgment – is on the ground of the damsel possessed with the spirit of divination. What she said was true enough, but she was not true in saying it. This was the grievous point in the case. It is one thing to say, or assent to what is true, and another thing to be true in saying it. Of what possible use was it to go on from day to day, giving utterance to the formulary, “They show unto us the way of salvation”, while she remained in the same unsaved unblessed condition? None whatsoever and we know of nothing in the deepest depths of moral evil or in the darkest shades of heathenism, more awful than the state of careless, hardened, self-satisfied, fallow-ground professors, who on each successive Lord’s Day give utterance, either in prayers or singing, to words which, as far as they are concerned, are wholly false.

This thought is almost overwhelming; so much so that we cannot dwell on it, because it is simply too sorrowful. Therefore, we shall pass on, having once again solemnly warned against every shade and degree of false profession. Let us not say or sing anything that we do not heartily believe. The devil is at the bottom of all false profession, and by any means seeks to bring discredit on the work of the Lord.

How truly refreshing to contemplate the actions of the faithful apostle in the case of the damsel – had he been seeking his own ends or merely a minister of religion, he might have welcomed her words as a tributary stream to swell the tide of his popularity or promote the interest of his cause. But Paul was not a mere minister of religion; he was a minister of Christ – a totally different thing. Notice that the damsel does not say a word about Christ. She does not breathe the precious, peerless name of Jesus. There is total silence regarding Him. This stamps the whole thing as being of Satan. “No man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy Ghost.” People may speak of God and religion; but Christ has no place in their hearts. In John 9, the Pharisees could say to the poor man, “Give God the praise”; but in speaking of Jesus, they could say, “This man is a sinner.”

As it was with the damsel in Acts 16, so it is in the case of corrupt religion or false profession – not a syllable about Christ. There was no truth, no life, and no reality. It was hollow and false. It was of Satan; and hence Paul would not and could not condone it; he was grieved with it and utterly rejected it.

Would that we were more like Paul; that we had the singleness of eye to detect, and the integrity of heart to reject the work of Satan in much that is going on around us. We are thoroughly convinced that the Spirit of God has written the narrative of this damsel for our instruction. It may perhaps be said that we have no such cases now. To that we reply for what end did the Holy Spirit pen the record? Actually, in this age there are thousands of cases answering to this type of the damsel. We cannot but view it as a sample case; as an illustration of the false profession of man’s religious systems, exhibiting far more of the craft and subtle wiles of the enemy than is to be found in ten thousand forms in which moral pravity clothes itself. Everyone can judge drunkenness, theft, and such like, but it demands an eye anointed with heavenly eye-salve to detect the wily workings of the serpent behind the fair profession of a baptized world.

Through grace, Paul possessed such an eye. He was not going to be deceived. He saw that the whole affair was an effort of Satan to mix with the work, so that he might completely spoil it. “But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

This was true spiritual action. Paul was not in any haste to come into collision with the evil one; he waited many days; but the moment the enemy was detected he was resisted and repulsed with uncompromising decision. A less spiritual workman might have allowed the thing to pass, under the idea that it might turn to help forward the work. Paul thought differently; and he was right. He would take no help from Satan. He was not going to work for such an agency; and hence, in the name of Jesus Christ – that name which the enemy so sedulously excluded – he puts Satan to flight.

But no sooner was Satan repulsed as the serpent, than he assumed the character of a lion. Craft having failed, he tried violence. “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the market-place unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely” (Acts 16:19-23).

Thus the enemy seemed to triumph; but let us always remembered that Christ’s warriors gain their most splendid victories by apparent defeat. The devil made a great mistake when he cast the apostle into prison. From the moment that he left his first estate down to the present moment, it is consolatory to reflect that he has never done anything else but make mistakes. From beginning to end, his entire history is one long list of errors.

Thus, as has already stated, the devil made a great mistake when he cast Paul into prison at Philippi. To nature’s view it might have seemed otherwise; but in the judgment of faith, the servant of Christ was truly in his right place in prison for the truth's sake, than to be outside at his Master’s expense. True, Paul might have saved himself. If he had accepted the damsel's testimony and allowed the devil to help him in his work, he might have been honored and acknowledged by man as “a servant of the most high God.” But he could not do this, and hence he had to suffer. “And the multitude [always fickle and easily swayed] rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks” (vs. 22-24; emphasis added).

Some might have said that this was an end to the work of the evangelist in the city of Philippi. That being put in prison was an effectual stop to the preaching. Not so; at that moment prison was the place for the evangelist. His work was there. He was to find a congregation within the prison walls that he could not have found outside. But, in the third and last place we are lead to the case of the hardened sinner.

It was unlikely that the jailer would have found his way to the prayer meeting at the river side. He had little care for such things. He was neither an earnest seeker, nor a deceiver. He was a hardened sinner, pursuing a hardening occupation. From the occupation of their office, jailers are generally hard and stern men. No doubt there are exceptions. There are some tender-hearted men to be found in such situations; but, as a rule, jailers are not tender. It would hardly suit them to be so. They have to deal with the worst class of society. Much of the crime of the whole country comes under their notice; and many criminals come under their charge. Accustomed to the rough and the course, they are apt to become rough and course themselves.

Judging from the inspired narrative before us, we may well question if the Philippian jailer was an exception to the general rule with respect to men of his class. He does not seem to have shown much tenderness to Paul and Silas. “He thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” He seems to have gone to the extreme in making them uncomfortable.

But God had rich mercy in store for that hardened, cruel jailer; and, as it was not at all likely that he would go to hear the Gospel, the Lord sent the Gospel to him. Further, He made the devil the instrument of sending it. Little did the jailer know whom he was thrusting into the inner prison – little did he anticipate what was to happen before another sun would rise. And we may add, little did the devil think of what he was doing when he sent preachers of the Gospel into jail, there to be the means of the jailer’s conversion. But the Lord Jesus Christ knew what He was about to do. He can make the wrath of man praise Him and restrain the remainder.

He everywhere hath sway
And all things serve His might,
His ev’ry act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light.
When He makes bare His arm,
Who shall His work withstand?
When He His people’s cause defends,
Who then shall stay His hand?

It was His purpose to save the jailer; and Satan was actually made the instrument of accomplishing it. “God’s purpose shall stand; and He will do all His pleasure” – in spite of all the malice and rage of hell.

Regarding Paul and Silas, it is evident that they were in their right place in prison. They were there for the truth's sake, and therefore the Lord was with them. Hence they were happy. Though they were confined within the gloomy walls of a prison, their feet made fast in the stocks, prison walls could not confine their spirits. Nothing can hinder the joy of one who has the Lord with him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were happy in the fiery furnace. Daniel was happy in the lions’ den; and Paul and Silas were happy in the dungeon of Philippi: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises to God: and the prisoners heard them.”

What marvelous sounds issued from the inner prison – sounds that no doubt had never issued from there before. Curses, execrations, and blasphemous words; sighs, cries, and groans come forth from within those walls. But to hear prayers and praise ascending at the midnight hour must have seemed very strange. Faith can sing as sweetly in a dungeon as at a prayer-meeting. It matters not where we are, provided that we always have God with us. His presence lights up the darkest cell, and turns a dungeon into the gate of Heaven. He can make His servants happy anywhere, and give them victory over the most adverse circumstances, causing them to shout for joy in scenes where human nature would be overwhelmed with sorrow.

But the Lord had His eye on the jailer. “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed” (v. 26).

If Paul had not been in full communion with the mind and heart of Christ, he would probably have turned to Silas and said, “Now is the moment for us to make our escape. God has manifestly appeared for us and has set before us an open door. If ever there was an opening of divine Providence surely this is one.” But no; Paul knew better. He was in the full current of His blessed Master’s thoughts, and in full sympathy with his Master’s heart. Hence he made no attempt to escape. The claims of truth had brought him into prison; the activities of grace kept him there. Providence opened the door; but faith refused to walk out. People talk of being guided by Providence; but if Paul had been so guided, the jailer would never have been a jewel in his crown.

“And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled” (v. 27). This plainly proves that the earthquake had not touched the heart of the jailer. When he saw the doors open, he naturally supposed that the prisoners were all gone. He could not imagine a number of prisoners sitting quietly in jail when the doors lay open and their chains were loosed. So what was to become of him if the prisoners were gone? How could he face the authorities? No. Anything but that. Death by his own hand was preferable to that.

Thus the devil had conducted this hardened sinner to the very brink of the precipice, and he was about to give him the final and fatal push over the edge – down to the eternal flames of hell; when lo, a voice of love sounded in his ear. It was the voice of Jesus through the lips of His servant – a voice of tender and deep compassion – “Do thyself no harm.”

This was irresistible. A hardened sinner could meet an earthquake; he could meet death itself; but he could not withstand the mighty melting power of love. The hardest heart must yield to the moral influence of love. “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Love can break the hardest heart. And surely there was love in those words, “Do thyself no harm,” coming from the lips of one to whom he had done so much harm a few hours before.

Let us note that there was not a single syllable of reproach or reflection uttered by Paul to the jailer. This was Christ-like. It was the way of divine grace. If we look through the Gospels, we never find the Lord casting reproach upon the sinner. He has tears of sorrow; He has touching words of grace and tenderness; but no reproaches; no reflections; no reproach to the poor distressed sinner. We cannot attempt to furnish the many illustrations and proofs of this assertion; but one has only to turn to the Gospel story to see its truth. Look at the prodigal; at the thief – not one reproving word to either.

So it is in every case; so it was with God’s Spirit in Paul. Not a word about the harsh treatment; being thrust into the inner prison – not a word about the stocks. “Do thyself no harm.” And then, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

Such is the rich and precious grace of God. In this scene it shines with uncommon luster. It delights in taking up hardened sinners, melting and subduing their hard hearts, and leading them into the sunlight of salvation; and all this in a style peculiar to itself. Yes, God has His blessed style of doing things; and when He saves a wretched sinner, He does it in such a fashion to prove that His whole heart is in the work. It is His joy to save a sinner – even the chief – and He does it in a way worthy of Himself.

Let us now look at the fruit of all this. The jailer’s conversion was unmistakable. Saved from the brink of hell, he was brought into the atmosphere of heaven. Preserved from self-destruction, he was brought into the circle of God’s salvation; and the evidences of this were as clear as could be desired. “And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized he and all his straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

What a marvelous change. The ruthless jailer has become the generous host. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new.” We can now clearly see that Paul was right in not being guided by providences – how much better and higher to be led by the “eye” of God. What an eternal loss it would have proved to him had he walked out of that open door. How much better to be conducted out by the hand that had thrust him in – a hand that was once the instrument of cruelty and sin, now the instrument of righteousness and love. What a magnificent triumph – what a scene.

How little the devil had anticipated such a result from the imprisonment of the Lord’s servants. He was thoroughly outwitted. The tables were completely turned on him. He thought to hinder the Gospel, and, behold he was made to help further it. He had hoped to get rid of two of Christ’s servants, and, lo, he lost one of his own. Christ is stronger than Satan; and all who put their trust in Him and move in the current of His thoughts shall most assuredly share in the triumphs of His grace now, and shine in the brightness of His glory forever.

Such is “the work of an evangelist.” Such are the scenes through which he may have to pass – such are the cases in which he may come in contact. We have seen the earnest seeker satisfied; the deceiver silenced; the hardened sinner saved. May all who go forth with the Gospel of the grace of God know how to deal with the various types of character that may cross their path. May many be raised up to do the work of an evangelist.

A Word to an Evangelist – Part 1
We have been deeply interested and hopefully profited by tracing through the Gospels and Acts, the various notices of the work of evangelization; and it has occurred to us that it may not be amiss to present a few thoughts in this way, because we feel freer than if we were writing a formal essay.

First, we have been struck with the simplicity with which the work of evangelizing was carried on in primitive times; so unlike much of what presently exists. It seems that we so-called moderns are too hampered by conventional rules – too fettered by the habits of man’s religious systems. We are sadly deficient in what we may call spiritual elasticity. We are apt to think that in order to evangelize there must be a special gift; and even where there is this special gift, there must be a great deal of machinery and human arrangement. When we speak of doing the work of an evangelist today, we usually have on our minds great public halls and crowded audiences, for which there is a demand for considerable gift and power for speaking.

No doubt we can agree that in order to preach the Gospel publicly, there must be a special gift from the Head of the Church; that according to Ephesians 4:11, Christ has given and still gives, “evangelists.” If we are guided by Scripture, this is clear. But we find in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles that a quantity of evangelistic work was done by persons who were not specially gifted at all, but who had an earnest love for souls and a deep sense of the preciousness of Christ and His salvation. And, further, we find in those who were specially gifted, called, and appointed by Christ to preach the Gospel, a simplicity, freedom, and naturalness in their mode of working, which we greatly covet for ourselves and our brethren.

We now look a little into Scripture. Take that lovely scene in John 1:36-45. John pours out his heart in testimony to Jesus: “Behold the Lamb of God!” His soul was absorbed with the glorious Object. What was the result? “Two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” What then? “One of the two which heard John speak, and Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.” And what does he do? “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus.” Again, “The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow Me . . . Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph . . . Come and see.”

Here is the style for which we earnestly long: individual work; laying hold of the first man that comes in our way; finding one’s own brother and bringing him to Jesus. We do feel deficient in this. It is all right to gather congregations and address them, as God gives ability and opportunity. We would never pen a word to detract from the value of such a line of work. By all means put up a tent, book rooms, halls, and theatres; put out advertising inviting people to come; leave no lawful means untried to spread the Gospel. Seek to reach souls anyway possible. Far be it from us to cast a damper on any who are seeking to carry on the work in this public way.

But we do encourage more of the individual work; more of the private, earnest, personal dealing with souls. We believe that if we had more “Philips,” we would have more “Nathanaels.” If we had more “Andrews,” we would have more “Simons.” There is amazing power in an earnest personal appeal. More souls are usually reached after the formal public preaching, and close personal work begins. Why then is there so little of this latter in our age? Why is it that following the formal public preaching, a hymn sung, and a word of prayer offered, all disperse without any attempt at individual work? We are not speaking of the preacher – who cannot possibly reach every case, but of the scores of Christians who have been listening. Strangers have entered and have sat beside them. In many instances, they have noticed an interest, seen a tear stealing down the cheek; and yet they too often let them pass away without a single loving effort to reach them, or to follow up the good work.

No doubt it may be said, “It is much better to allow the Spirit of God to follow up His own Work. We may do more harm than good. And besides, people do not like to be spoken to: they will look on it as an impertinent intrusion, and will be driven away from the place altogether.” There is considerable weight in this. We fully appreciate it; and are sure every evangelist feels the same. Great blunders have been committed by injudicious persons intruding upon the sacred privacy of the soul’s deep and holy exercises. It needs tact and judgment; in short, it needs direct spiritual guidance to be able to deal with souls; to know whom to speak to, and what to say.

But allowing all this, there is, as a rule, something lacking in connection with our public preaching. Is there not a need of that deep, personal, loving interest in souls, expressing itself in a thousand ways to the heart? We confess that we have often been pained by what has come under notice in some of our preaching-rooms. Strangers come in and are left to find a seat wherever they can. No one seems to think of them. Christians are there, and they will hardly move to make room for them. No one offers them a Bible or hymn-book. And when the preaching is over, they are allowed to go as they came; not a kind word of inquiry as to whether they enjoyed the truth preached; not even a kindly look that might win confidence and invite conversation. On the contrary, there is a chilling reserve, amounting almost to repulsiveness.

All this is sorrowful; and perhaps we are drawing a too highly-colored picture. No, the picture is only too true. And what makes it more deplorable is that some persons frequent our preaching-rooms and lecture-halls in the deepest exercise, longing to open their hearts to someone who could offer them a little spiritual counsel; but through timidity, reserve, or nervousness, they shrink from making any advance and instead retire to their homes, lonely and sad, there to weep in solitude because no one cares for their precious souls. We feel persuaded that much of this might be remedied if those Christians who attend the Gospel preaching were more on the look-out for souls: if they would attend not so much for their own profit, but in order to be co-workers with God – seeking to bring souls to Jesus.

No doubt it is refreshing to Christians to hear the Gospel fully and faithfully preached. But it would not be any less refreshing because they were intensely interested in the conversion of souls, and in earnest prayer to God in the matter. Besides, it could in no wise interfere with their personal enjoyment and profit to cultivate and manifest a lively and loving interest in those who surround them, and at the close of the meeting seeking to help any who may need and desire to be helped. When Christians who attend are really entering into, and discharging, their high and holy responsibilities to Christ and to souls, it has a surprising effect on the preacher, on the preaching, on the whole meeting. It imparts a certain tone and creates a certain atmosphere that must be felt in order to be understood; but when once felt it cannot easily be dispensed with.

But, it is often otherwise. How cold, how dull, how dispiriting it is at times to see the whole congregation clear out the moment the preaching is over. No loving, lingering groups gathering around young converts or anxious inquirers. Old experienced Christians have been present; but, instead of pausing with the fond hope that God would graciously use them to speak a word in season to one who is weary, they hasten away as though it were a matter of life and death that they should be home at a certain hour or get to a local restaurant.

Do not suppose that we wish to lay down rules for our brethren. Far be the thought. In the freest possible manner, we are merely pouring out heart-thoughts to one with whom we have been linked in the work of the Gospel for many years. We feel convinced there is something lacking. It is our firm persuasion that no Christian is in a right condition, unless seeking in some way to bring souls to Christ. On the same principle, we believe that no assembly of Christians is in a right condition if it is not evangelistic. If we were all on the lookout for souls, we would be assured of seeing soul-stirring results. But if we are satisfied to go on from week to week, month to month, and year to year, without a single leaf stirring, without a single conversion, our state must be truly lamentable.

May the Lord, by His Spirit, make us more earnest in seeking the salvation of immortal souls, by every legitimate method. May our hearts be filled with genuine love for precious souls, and then we shall be sure to find ways and means of getting to them.

A Word to an Evangelist – Part 2
There is one point in connection with our subject that for some time has occupied our thinking: the immense importance of cultivating an earnest faith in the presence and action of the Holy Spirit. Always remember that we can do nothing, but God the Holy Spirit can do all. In the great work of evangelization, as in everything else, it is “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” An abiding sense of this would keep us humble, and yet full of joyful confidence. Humble, because we can do nothing; full of joyful confidence, because God can do all. Moreover, it would have the effect of keeping us sober and quiet in our work – not cold and indifferent, but calm and serious, which is so greatly needed in this age. We were struck with a remark made by an aged workman, in a letter to one who had just entered the field: “Excitement is not power, but weakness. Earnestness and energy are of God.”

This is so true and so valuable. But we like the two sentences taken together. If taken apart, we prefer the latter. For this reason, there are many who would regard as “excitement” what we might consider to be “earnestness and energy.” We confess a love for deep-toned earnestness in the work. In fact, we do not see how a man who realizes the awfulness of eternity and the state of all who die in their sins, can be other than deeply and thoroughly in earnest. How is it possible for anyone to think of an immortal soul standing on the very brink of hell, and at any moment in danger of being dashed over, and not be serious and earnest?

But this is not excitement. We understand excitement to be the working up of mere nature; the putting forth of such efforts of nature designed to work on the natural feelings; all high pressure – sensational. This is all worthless. It is evanescent. And, it superinduces weakness. We never find this in the ministry of our blessed Lord or His apostles: and yet what earnestness. What untiring energy. What tenderness. We see a self-less earnestness; an energy that hardly afforded a moment for rest or refreshment; and a tenderness that could weep over impenitent sinners. All this we see; but no excitement. In other words, all was the fruit of the Eternal Spirit; and to the glory of God. There was always a calmness and solemnity becoming the presence of God, and yet a deep earnestness proving that man’s serious condition was fully realized.

This is precisely what we want, and what we seek diligently to cultivate. It is a signal mercy to be kept from merely natural excitement; and, at the same time, to be duly impressed with the magnitude and solemnity of the work. Thus the mind will be kept properly balanced, and we shall be preserved from the tendency to be occupied with our work merely because it is ours. We shall rejoice that Christ is magnified, and souls are saved, whoever be the instrument used.

Of these things, we are thoroughly convinced. We should earnestly seek to honor the blessed Spirit; to lean on Him in all our work; to follow where He leads, not run before Him. His work will stand: “Whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever.” “The works that are done upon the earth, He is the doer of them.” The remembrance of this will always keep the mind well balanced. There is great danger of young workmen getting so excited about their work, their preaching, and their gifts, as that they lose sight of the blessed Master. Moreover, they are apt to make preaching the end instead of the means. This works badly in every way. It injures and mars their work.

The moment we make preaching our end, we are out of the current of God’s mind, whose end is to glorify Christ; and we are out of the current of Christ’s heart, whose end is the salvation of souls, and the full blessing of His church. But where the Holy Spirit gets His proper and trusted place, there all will be right. There will be no exaltation of man; no bustling self-importance; no parading of the fruits of our work; no excitement. All will be calm, quiet, real, and unpretending. There will be the simple, earnest, believing, patient waiting on God. Self will be in the shade; Christ will be exalted.

We often recall a workman’s wholesome word: “Heaven will be the best and safest place to hear the results of our work.” We shudder when with flattering allusion to their work and its fruits, the names of Christ’s servants are paraded in public journals. Surely those who pen such articles ought to reflect on what they are doing – considering that they may be ministering to the very thing they ought to desire seeing mortified and subdued. We are persuaded that the quiet, shady, retired path is the best and safest for the Christian workman. It will not make him less earnest, but the contrary. It will not cramp his energy, but increase and intensify it. God forbid that we should pen a line or utter a sentence that might in any way tend to discourage or hinder a single worker in all the vineyard of Christ. No, this is not the moment for something of this kind. We want to see all the Lord’s laborers thoroughly in earnest; but we believe that true earnestness will always result from absolute dependence on God the Holy Spirit.

We must now close for the present; and we do so with a full heart, commending in spirit and soul and body our fellow worker to Him who has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and called us to the honored post of workers, in His Gospel field. May He abundantly bless His servants, and increase their usefulness a thousand fold.

A Word to an Evangelist – Part 3
There is another point that stands intimately connected with the subject of part 2, and that is, the place God’s Word occupies in the work of evangelization. We referred to the work of the Holy Spirit, and the immense importance of giving Him His proper place. We need not say how clearly the precious Word of God is connected with the action of the Holy Spirit. Both are inseparably linked in those memorable words of our Lord to Nicodemus – words so little understood – so sadly misapplied: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3).

Obviously, we could not know this great truth without the Word of God telling us. Thus, then, the Word is the grand instrument to be used in the work of evangelization. Many passages of Holy Scripture establish this point with such clearness and decision as to leave no room whatsoever for dispute. In James 1:18, we read, “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth.” Again, in 1 Peter 1:23, we read, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” We must quote the whole passage because of its immense importance in connection with our subject: “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.”

This last clause is of unspeakable value to the evangelist. In the most distinct manner, it binds him to the Word of God as the instrument – the only instrument – the all sufficient instrument to be used in his glorious work. He is to give the Word to the people; and the more simply he gives it the better. The pure Word should be allowed to flow from the heart of God to the heart of the sinner, without receiving a tinge from the channel through which it flows. The evangelist is to preach the Word; and he is to preach it in simple dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the true secret of success in preaching.

But, while we cannot too strongly urge this great cardinal point in the work of preaching, we are far from thinking that the evangelist should give his hearers a quantity of truth. Actually, we consider this to be a mistake. He ought to leave this to the teacher, lecturer, deacon or elder. We fear that much of our preaching shoots over the heads of the people, because we are seeking to unfold truth rather than to reach souls. We may rest satisfied with having delivered a clear forcible lecture, an interesting and instructive exposition of Scripture, something valuable for the people of God; but the unconverted hearer has sat unmoved, unreached, unimpressed. There has been nothing for him. The lecturer has been more occupied with his lecture than with the sinner – more taken up with his subject than with the soul.

We are thoroughly convinced that this is a serious mistake, and one to which we are apt to fall. We earnestly desire to correct it, questioning if this mistake may not be viewed as the true secret of our lack of success. But perhaps we should not say “our lack” but rather speak more individually. We do not think that most evangelists are chargeable with the defect to which we are now referring. However, each one is the best just of himself. But of one thing we are certain: the most successful evangelist is the one who keeps his eye fixed on the sinner, who has his heart bent on the salvation of souls – the one with whom the love for precious souls amounts almost to a passion. It is not the man who unfolds the most truth, but the man who longs most after souls, that will have the most stars in his crown and ministry.

We assert all this in the full and clear recognition of the fact with which we commenced this whole essay: that the Word is the grand instrument in the work of conversion. We must never lose sight of this fact, never weakened. It matters not what method may be used to make the furrow, or in what form the Word may clothe itself, or by what vehicle it may be conveyed; it is only by “the Word of truth” that souls are begotten.

All this is divinely true, and we must always bear it in mind. But, we often find that persons who undertake to preach the Gospel (particularly if they continue long in one place), are apt to leave the domain of evangelist and travel into that of teacher and lecturer. This we deprecate and deplore. We have erred in this way and mourn over the error. In loving freedom we confess that the Lord has of late deepened immensely in our soul the sense of the vast importance of earnest Gospel preaching. God forbid that we should ever think less of the work of a teacher or pastor. We believe that wherever there is a heart that loves Christ, it will delight to feed and tend the precious lambs and sheep of the flock of Christ, that flock He purchased with His own blood.

But the sheep must be gathered before they can be fed; and how are they to be gathered but by the earnest preaching of the Gospel? It is the grand business of the evangelist to go forth upon the dark mountains of sin and error, to sound the Gospel trumpet and gather the sheep; and we feel convinced that he will best accomplish this work, not by elaborate exposition of truth; not by lectures however clear valuable, and instructive; not by lovely unfoldings of prophetic, dispensational, doctrinal truth (most precious and important in the right place), but by fervid, pointed, earnest dealing with immortal souls; the warning voice, the solemn appeal, the faithful reasoning of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come – the awakening presentation of death and judgment, the dread realities of eternity, the lake of fire and the worm that never dies.

In short, it strikes us that we need awakening preachers. We fully admit that there is such a thing as teaching the Gospel, as well as preaching it. For example, we find teaching the Gospel in Romans 1-8, just as we find him preaching the Gospel in Acts 13 or Acts 17. This is always of importance, because there are almost sure to be a number of what we might call “exercised souls” at our public preaching, and these need an emancipating Gospel – the full, clear, elevated, resurrection Gospel.

But admitting all this, we still believe what is needed for successful evangelization is an intense love for souls, more so than a great quantity of truth. What are the secrets of evangelistic success? What might we covet and long to cultivate? No doubt, a burning love for souls; a thirst for their salvation; a mighty grappling with the conscience; a bold, earnest, face-to-face dealing with men about their past ways, their present state, their future destiny.

These were the things that God owned and blessed; and He will own and bless them today. We are persuaded that if our hearts are bent upon the salvation of souls, God will use us in that divine and glorious work. But on the other hand, if we abandon ourselves to the withering influences of a cold, heartless, godless fatalism; if we content ourselves with a formal and official statement of the Gospel – a cheerless sort of thing; if, to use a vulgar phrase, our preaching is on the principle of “take it or leave it,” should we wonder if we do not see conversions? The wonder would be if there were any to see.

No; no, we need to look seriously into this great practical subject. It demands the solemn and dispassionate consideration of all who are engaged in the work. There are dangers on all sides. There are conflicting opinions on all sides. But we cannot conceive how any Christian man can be satisfied to shirk the responsibility of looking after souls. A man may say, “I am not an evangelist; that is not my line; I am more of a teacher, deacon, or pastor.” We understand this; but will anyone tell us that a teacher, deacon, or pastor may not go forth in earnest longing after souls?

No; it does not matter in the least what a man’s gift is, or even though he should not possess any prominent gift at all, he can and should cultivate a longing desire for the salvation of souls. Would it be right to pass a house on fire, without giving warning, even though one was not a fireman? Should we not seek to save a drowning man, even though we are not qualified life-guards? Who in his senses would maintain anything so monstrous? So, in reference to souls, it is not more a gift or knowledge of truth that is needed, as a deep and earnest longing for souls – a keen sense of their danger, and a desire for their rescue.

A Word to an Evangelist – Part 4
When we took up pen to write part 1, we had no idea that we would have occasion to extend it to a fourth. However, the subject is one of intense interest; and there are just a few additional points on which we desire briefly to touch.

We feel there is a lack of prayerful spirit in carrying on the work of evangelization, having already referred to the subject of the Spirit's work; and also to the place God’s Word should always have; but it seems that we are deficient in reference to the matter of earnest, persevering, believing prayer. This is the true secret of power. “We,” say the apostles, “will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.”

Here is the order: “Prayer, and the ministry of the Word.” Prayer brings in the power of God; and this is what we want. It is not the power of eloquence, but the power of God; and this can only be had by waiting upon Him. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is. 40:29-31).

In this age, we seem far too mechanical in the work. There is too much of what we may call going through a service. We fear that some of us are more on our legs than on our knees; more in the pulpit or classroom than in the closet; more on the road than in the sanctuary; more before men than before God. This will never do. It is impossible that our preaching can be marked by power and crowned with results, if we fail in waiting on God. Look at that great Workman, the blessed Master Himself. See how often He was in prayer – at His baptism; at His transfiguration; previous to the appointment and mission of the twelve. In short, again and again we find that blessed One in the attitude of prayer. At one time He rises up a great while before day, in order to pray. At another time He spends the whole night in prayer, because the day was spent working.

What an example. May we follow it; may we know a little better what it is to agonize in prayer. It sometimes appears to us as if we were so taken up with preaching engagements that we have no time for prayer – no time for closet work – no time to be alone with God. We get into a sort of whirl of public work; we rush from place to place, from meeting to meeting, in a prayerless, barren condition of soul. Need we wonder at the little result? How could it be otherwise when we so fail in waiting upon God? We cannot convert souls – God alone can do this; and if we go on without waiting on Him, if we allow public preaching to displace private prayer, we may rest assured our preaching will prove barren and worthless. We really must “give ourselves to prayer” if we would succeed in the “ministry of the Word.”

And this is not all. It is not merely that we are lacking in the holy and blessed practice of private prayer. This may be true, but there is more than this. We fail in our public meetings for prayer. The great work of evangelization is not sufficiently remembered in our prayer-meetings. It is not definitely, earnestly, and constantly kept before God in our public reunions. It may occasionally be introduced in a cursory, formal manner, and then dismissed. We feel there is a general lack of earnestness and perseverance in our prayer-meetings, not merely as to the work of the Gospel, but as to other things as well. There is frequently great formality and feebleness. We do not seem like men in earnest, lacking the spirit of the widow in Luke 18, who overcame the unjust judge by the bare force of her importunity. We seem to forget that God will be inquired of; and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

It is of no use for anyone to say, “God can work without our earnest pleading; He will accomplish His purposes; He will gather out His own.” We know all this; but we also know that He who has appointed the end has appointed the means; and if we fail in waiting on Him, He will get others to do His work. Without question, the work will be done, but we shall lose the dignity, privilege, and reward of working. Is this nothing? Is it nothing to be deprived of the sweet privilege of being co-workers with God, of having fellowship with Him in the blessed work He is carrying on? How little many of us prize the work. Still, many do prize it; and perhaps there are few things in which we can more fully taste this privilege than in united earnest prayer. Here every saint can join. Here all can add their cordial Amen. All may not be preachers; but all can pray – all join in prayer; all can have fellowship.

There is always a stream of deep and real blessing where the assembly is drawn out in earnest prayer for the Gospel, and for the salvation of souls. It is always a source of unspeakable comfort, joy, and encouragement when the assembly is stirred up to pray, for then we can be sure that God is going to give copious showers of blessing.

Further, when this most excellent spirit pervades the whole assembly, we may be sure there will be no trouble regarding what is called “the responsibility of the preaching.” No matter who does the work, it will end up being the same, provided it is done as well as it can be. If the assembly is waiting on God in earnest intercession for the progress of the work it will not be a question regarding the one who is to take the preaching, provided Christ is preached and souls are blessed.

There is another thing that has occupied our thinking a good deal – our method of dealing with young converts. There is immense need of care and caution, lest we be found accrediting what is not the genuine work of God’s Spirit. There is great danger here. The enemy is always seeking to introduce spurious materials into the assembly, in order that he may mar the testimony and discredit the truth of God.

All this demands serious consideration. But does it not seem that we often err on the other side? Do we not often, by a stiff and peculiar style, cast a chill on young converts? Is there not frequently something repulsive in our spirit and deportment? Do we not sometimes expect young Christians to come up to a standard of intelligence that perhaps has taken us years to attain? Nor this only. We sometimes put them through a process of examination that tends only to harass and perplex.

Certainly this is not right. The Spirit of God would never puzzle, perplex, or repulse an anxious inquirer. It could never be according to the mind or heart of Christ to chill the spirit of the feeblest lamb in all His blood-bought flock. He would have us seeking to lead them on gently and tenderly – to soothe, nourish, and cherish them, according to the deep love of His heart. It is a great thing to lay ourselves out, holding ourselves open to discern and appreciate the work of God in souls, and not to mar it by placing our own miserable crotchets as stumbling-blocks in their pathway. We need divine guidance and help in this as much as in any other part of our work. But, He is sufficient for this as for everything else. Let us wait only on Him: let us cling only to Him, and draw only upon His exhaustless treasury for each case as it arises, for exigence of every hour. He will never fail a trusting, expectant, dependent heart.

We must now close this series of “A Word to an Evangelist.” Bear in mind that in all these parts, we have simply jotted down our thoughts in freedom and in the intimacy of brotherly friendship. We have simply poured out feelings of the heart.

We pray that God may bless and keep all His dedicated, true evangelists. May He crown their labors with His richest and best blessing. May He keep them from every evil work, and preserve them unto His own everlasting kingdom.

Quick and powerful is the word,
Sharper than a two edged sword;
Wielded by the Spirits hand,
Nothing can its force withstand.
How its power was felt of old,
They who felt its power have told;
Many were the wonders wrought,
Multitudes to Jesus brought
Mighty God – who’s word it is.
Hear our prayer and grant us this;
What Thy power has done before
By Thy Spirit do once more.

A Word to an Evangelist – Part 5
In earlier parts we have dwelt on the unspeakable importance of zeal and constancy in preaching the Gospel. It is a distinct work of evangelization, carried on in the energy of love to precious souls, and with direct reference to the glory of Christ – a work that focuses on the unconverted, and is therefore distinct from the work of teaching, lecturing, or exhorting, in the bosom of the assembly; which latter is, we need not say, of equal importance in the mind of our Lord Christ.

Our purpose in referring to this subject again is to call attention to a point in connection with it, respecting which, there seems to be a need of clearness among some – individual responsibility in the work of the Gospel. Of course, to a great extent the teacher or lecturer is called to exercise his gift on the same principle as the evangelist; that is, on his own personal responsibility to Christ; and the assembly is not responsible for his individual services; unless he teach unsound doctrine, in which case (through the elders or pastors) the assembly is bound to take it up.

But our business is with the work of evangelist; and he is to carry on his work outside of assembly. His sphere of action is the wide, wide world. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Here is the sphere and here the object of the evangelist – “All the world” – “Every creature.” He may go forth from the bosom of the assembly, and return there again laden with his golden sheaves; nevertheless he goes forth in the energy of personal faith in the living God, and on the ground of personal responsibility to Christ. Further, the assembly is not responsible for the peculiar mode or method in which he may carry on his work. No doubt the assembly is called into action when the evangelist introduces the fruit of his work in the shape of souls professing to be converted, and desiring to be received into fellowship at the Lord’s Table. But this is another thing altogether, and must be kept distinct. We contend that the evangelist must be left free. He must not be tied down to certain rules or regulations, or cramped by special conventionalities. There are many things a large-hearted evangelist will feel free to do that might not commend themselves to the spiritual judgment and feelings of some in the assembly; but, provided he does not traverse any vital or fundamental principle, such persons have no right to interfere with him.

And remember, when we use the expression, “spiritual judgment and feelings,” we are taking the highest possible view of the case, and treating the objector with the highest respect. We believe this to be right and proper. Every man has a right to have his feelings and judgment – not to speak of conscience – treated with due respect. There are men of narrow mind who object to everything that does not square with their own notions – men who would tie the evangelist down to the exact line of things and method of acting that, according to their thinking, would suit the assembly of God’s people when gathered for worship at the table of the Lord.

This is a mistake. The evangelist should pursue the even tenor of his way, regardless of such narrowness and meddling. For example, take the matter of singing hymns. The evangelist may feel perfectly free to use a class of hymns or Gospel songs that might seem to some unsuitable for the assembly. The fact is, he sings the Gospel for the same purpose that he preaches it – to reach the sinner's heart. He is as ready to sing “Come” as to preach it.

The true evangelist is not (or should not be) the minister of any chapel; or the organ of any congregation; or the representative of a religious system of man; or the paid agent of some society. No; if he is a true evangelist, he is the ambassador of Christ – the messenger of a God of love – the herald of glad tidings. His heart is filled with the love of souls; his lips anointed by the Holy Spirit; his words clothed with heavenly power. We pray all true lovers of God’s Holy Word will just leave him alone. Let us not fetter him by rules and regulations. Leave him to his work and to his Master.

Further, bear in mind that the Lord’s church can handle a platform broad enough for all sorts of workmen and every possible style of work, provided only that the foundation truth of Holy Scripture is not disturbed. It is a fatal mistake to seek to reduce every servant to a dead level. Christianity is a living, divine reality. Christ’s servants are sent by Him, and to Him they are responsible. “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth” (Rom. 14).

These things demand our serious consideration if we do not want the work of evangelization marred in our hands.

We offer one additional point for consideration before closing; what has been termed “the responsibility of the preaching.” Some have been and are being harassed about this question. We are persuaded it is because of a lack of understanding the true nature, character, and sphere of the work of evangelization. Hence, some have contended that Sunday evening preaching should be left open. “Open to what?” That is the question. In some cases it has proved to be “open” to a character of speaking unsuited to many who had come on their own or brought by friends, expecting to hear a full, clear, earnest Gospel. On such occasions our friends may have been disappointed, and the unconverted unable to understand the meaning of the service. Surely such things ought not to be; nor would they be if men would only discern the simplest thing possible – the distinction between all meetings in which Christ’s servants exercise their ministry on their own personal responsibility, and all meetings which are purely reunions of the assembly, whether for the Lord’s Supper, for prayer, or for any other purpose whatsoever.

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