fashioned revival sweep the land, when once again men would seek the salvation of their souls and rise from al tars of penitential weeping to praise the Lord for the assurance they have passed from death unto life. Thank God for what the Bible says about man’s salvation. Now men may know that they are saved. I believe every word of it. But something warms within me when I look into shining but tear-stained faces, as men leap up to declare what their Christian friends and loved ones already know by the gleam in their eyes, that “ the Spirit bears witness with their spirits that they are bom of God.” The world needs a revival that offers salvation to man’s immortal soul!
the tragic fact that their gospel was a dead, formal fraud. Then came the Wesleys with the gospel that saved England from a French revolution and laid the founda tion for human freedom in America. It was the gospel that declared that man was a lost sinner, hopeless and undone. But it declared more. It also declared, with trumpet blast, that sinful man had a Redeemer and Saviour in Jesus Christ. It was indeed “ good news” to the lost soul of man. The revival burned like flames in dry stubble. And as the years ticked away, the pendulum has swung more than once. Seasons of apostasy have been followed by great revivals. More than once the emphasis has been upon finance, education, social action, counseling, racial relations, and
the many issues that continually vex the minds of men. Such is the empha- | sis today. Evangelism has become a profes sion. Once it was a calling. The evan- i gelist stood before the people with his heart hot with fervor and his tongue alive with the message that warned | lost souls of “ the wrath to come” and exhorted men to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.” But whether or not the soul of man is being reborn and a new man being created by the grace of God is the question that will not down. We would not even intimate that all of modern-day evangelism is coun terfeit. We are sure that much that is genuine is resulting from the preaching of Protestant ministers, both in the pulpit and on the plat form, as pastors and as evangelists. But throughout t h e Protestant church, the major emphasis is now being placed upon the temporal, the present activities of the world about us, integration, segregation and every other matter that has to do with hu man activity and environment. We are concerned with today, not eternity. We want our bodies fed and clothed and sheltered. The present is with us. What shall happen to our souls in eternity is too far away. The modem gospel must serve “ the present age.” Our aches and pains are ever with us. “A ll that a man hath will he give for his life.” Understand, I am not questioning the healing power of God. I know what Christ did and can do. But when you tell me that redemption was wrought for our bodies and that the flesh was cared for on Calvary, as was man’s immortal soul, I confess that something within me rebels against such a gospel. I believe that Jesus came to seek, and save the lost. A ll else is incidental. “My soul be on thy guard” is the cry of my heart. I' am an old man with few days left to live. But how my cup would overflow if I knew that I might, by the mercy of God, be spared to see another old-
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«DECISION THE MAN, HIS MESSAGE AND HIS METHODS as reported by DAVE G ARR OW A Y The Billy Graham Story. . . for the first time, a behind- the-scenes account of the spiritual Crusades which God is using to stir whole Continents. Whether scenes of the great historic stadium crowds gathered in world capitols, or rare Intimate glimpses of the men compris ing the Billy Graham Team, you will be richly Inspired by "what God hath wrought” in answer to prayer for Revival In Our Time. Be the first to show "Decade of Decision” in your community. Premieres of all new Billy Graham films are scheduled exclusively by your Billy Graham Film Representative. Other current releases are available through your local World Wide Futures rental library.
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OCTOBER, 1961
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