January, 1941
Y
THE) K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
on« evidence of a holy life Is the strict economy of time. Dr. Torrey knew how to redeem his hours! Yes, and In an age cursed with super ficiality, It Is well to remember that Dr. Torrey was the enemy of anything mean or cheap. He was never a show man. A commanding dignity, bom of prolonged meditation upon the trans cendent attributes of God, enabled him to commend the gospel. Particularizing, we- can say that Dr. Torrey was: 1. A Man of Undaunted Faith. Once young Torrey emerged from the night of doubt that he had experienced in his university days, he had no hesi tancy about trusting God implicitly for all his needs. While in .Minneapolis, he determined to trust God, believing that the One he had come to know through a close study of the Scriptures was well able to cftre for him and his work. Thus, like George Muller, that apostle of faith whose work In Bristol is known the world over, R. A. Torrey, the mission superintendent, took all re quirements to the Lord. Faith, of course, received many a severe testing, but temporal and spiritual needs were all met. And faith in God’s ability to care for- His own dominated Dr. Torrey’s life. In all the important decisions he had to make, - faith developed for him a healthy, spiritual ambition. And it was his utter dependence upon his unfailing Lord, fortressed, as his faith was, with a clean, yielded life, that enabled him to Inspire faith in others. He could preach about faith, seeing that he practiced it. In his counsel ■to converts, he ever sought to Impress upon them the neces sity of thrusting themselves and all their cares wholly upon the Lord. 2. A Man of Unceasing Intercession. Perhaps one of the most enlightening; books dealing with the believer’s prayer life is the volume by Dr. Torrey en titled Ho\v to Pray. But he not only preached and wrote' about, prayer. It was the atmosphere of his own life, and, saturated as his mind was with the truth of God’s Word, his prayers were ever Biblical in expression. In the world-wide ministry this spir itual giant was called upon to exercise, he had need of frequent access to the Throne. And no matter how pressing his work, seasons of communion were never neglected. - Prayer to him was more important than work. 8. A Man of Deep Convictions. After his triumph over doubt, while a student a t Yale and in Germany, Tor rey never swerved from his faith in the infallibility of the Word of God. In tellectual and spiritual battles success fully fought brought him to a divine dogmatism regarding the truth. And it was this unshaken confidence of his that helped to make him a rich blessing to many of his day who were swayed by the •‘faiths” and “lams” of that time.
As a true soul-winner he knew how to tru st the Holy Spirit to produce con viction. Torrey believed that if he preached the gospel faithfully and fully, the Holy Spirit would see to the results. He never tried to coax people into the kingdom. False incentive, superficial appeals, or mere sensationalism were not in Ms line of things as an evangelist. Like the Spirit-anointed heralds of the early church, Dr. Torrey respected the Lordship of the Holy Spirit. 4. Torrey preached a saving message. An evangelist implies an evangel, and Dr. Torrey had a full gospel to pro claim. And his was a gospel' for which he never apologized. Knowing the Christ of the gospel, this mighty soul-winner kept his ministry Christo-centric. He first brought Christ to men, then men to Christ. Realizing that the heart of man was deceitful above all things and desperate ly wicked,- this teacher-evangelist bent all his energies in a twofold direction; namely, the utter depravity of the hu man heart, and a crucified Christ as the only hope of sinners. In his evangelistic sermons Dr. Tor rey covered all the fundamental truths of Holy Writ. A striking text and half a dozen sob stories never satisfied this passionate evangelist who knew how to' teach, teach, mark you, transgressors their ways. Believing that the whole Bible was the inspired Word of God, With masterly clarity and conciseness he discoursed upon all the aspects of the divine character, trusting the Spirit to produce conviction as he preached. 5. Torrey declared the eternal des tiny of souls. With the lost condition of men ever before him, Dr. Torrey was frank in his rebuttal of sin—brutally frank, some thought. Few men have been able to expose sin in all its ter ribleness as did R. A. Torrey. A friend of mine who listened to Dr. Torrey preach on “Prepare to Meet thy God” told me that such a piercing message made one tremble, yet in the delivery of the message the preacher seemed to be somewhat cold, unemotional. At
Torrey, the Evangelist While R. A. Torrey will go down to posterity as a Christian educator, yet the fact remains that he was essentially an evangelist, arid his methods of evangelism were ideal. Records prove that he made full proof of his ministry as an evangelist. Dr. Torrey was not suddenly thrust into evangelistic work. His advent was prepared, and his spiritual power was a matter of gradual development. His success as an evangelist, therefore, was not due to any mere chance, but rather was the result of years of preparation and experience. I t will be worth our while to examine the underlying causes of his success as a soul-winner, causes, be it known, that must ever be evident if one would do the work of an evangelist: 1. Torrey experienced the grace of God with a deep heart experience of regeneration. Dr. Torrey knew what the Lord would be able to do for others, for the foundation of his stirring evan gelism was his own personal salvation. A preacher who is merely religious can never function as a soul-winner. When . Jesus has found us, then, and only then, can we tell others the story. 2. Torrey shared Christ’s passion for souls. Living near to the heart of his Lord, Dr. Torrey manifested his Mas ter’s concern over lost men and women. In Christ’s stead, he was ever beseech ing the unsaved to be reconciled to God. Although somewhat cold, austere, emo tionless, R. A. Torrey was yet impelled by heaven’s love for the lost. And like his Lord, this divinely equipped evangelist believed in personal dealing. WMle he had power to sway masses, he loved the individual. He did not content himself with the preaching of those •masterly evangelistic sermons of his in great campaigns. He was ever alert, snatching every opportunity of witnessing for his Lord as he met indi viduals .in daily life. 8. Torrey relied upon the work of the Spirit. Eminently gifted, Dr. Torrey knew how perilous it was to depend upon his natural talents, even upon his
unique knowledge of t h e Scriptures. Of course, h e believed that the Holy Spirit ever rides triumphant ly in His own chariot, and therefore his mes sages were saturated with the Bible. Me knew, however, that even the letter can kill and that the Spirit alone can give life. "Holding fast the faithful word.” “Holding forth ihe word of life.”
times it would seem as if he were too hard or brusque. Such, how ever, was not his real nature. In his inmost heart, the perilous con dition of souls ever constrained h im to warn sinners in. the plainest of language. Believing that souls dying without Christ are lost forevermore, he never trimmed his message. He gathered
£Continued on Page 37]
'
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker