580 mient prophets; as th ere is also between th e office and work of th e pastor and Old Testament priest. The prophet of old could tell th e King to his face some things th e priest, because of his rela tion to th e King, could not, and ought not. Even so an evangelist can come into a church and tell th e members (for his work is first “ the perfecting of th e sain ts” ) things they need to hear, th a t the pastor, because of the peculiar and in tim ate relation he sustains to his flock, could not well, nor properly, say to them. The work of one is comple- mental to th a t of the other. So far as his work for th e unsaved is concerned he, presumably, has pecu liar gifts and qualifications for calling men to repentance; but he can convict and save no one: he has no new nor novel scheme by which men can be saved. An evangelistic campaign is in order in any church, ju st as harvest tim e fol lows sowing and tilling; “T h at he th a t soweth and he th a t reapeth may re joice tog ether.” And occasionally it is a good thing for the churches of a com munity to unite under the leadership of a comipetent evangelist and go up against th e common enemy, carrying SPURIOUS CONSECRATION “The consecration of th e man who makes no effort for the salvation of the lost is spurious, and his joy and peace, if he have any at all, cannot he other than ephemeral. W ithin th e h eart of the tru ly ^consecrated believer th ere springs up a strong passion for th e sal vation of souls. It cannot be o ther wise. Jesus Christ has become so dear to him and has so filled his life w ith blessedness, th a t he is seized w ith a yearning, am ounting to pain, th a t oth ers should share in the blessings he en joys. The love of Christ constrains him to live no longer to himself. He feels him self called to be a witness— com-
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S the w ar into the enemy’s country. But we cannot reasonably expect Pentecost al results w ithout meeting Pentecostal conditions and requirem ents, no m atter how numerous, influential and well or ganized our forces. I t is “Not by m ight, nor by power, bu t by My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” A Word of Caution. Never estim ate the good accomplished by any evang elistic campaign by the number of ac cessions to th e church, immediately fol lowing it. Evangelizing does not nec essarily mean additions to the member ship of a church; hu t the winning of souls to Jesus Christ for salvation. A Suggestion—W ith occasional ex ceptions every pastor should devote his Sunday evening services to evangelistic preaching and work. Some Things We Should Always Re member— “He th a t w inneth souls is wise.” “He which converteth th e sin n er from th e erro r of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a m ultitude of sins.” “And they th a t be teachers (Sakai—-To cause to under sta n d ), shall shine as th e brightness of th e firmament; and they th a t tu rn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.” AU. AIL H m missioned as an ambassador for Christ, he longs w ith growing desire to be a successful soul-winner. How Christ-like a desire th is is! It is the resu lt of sympathy w ith the Lord Jesus in His work, an effect of fellowship w ith Him Who came to seek and save th e lost. “ But Christ-like, noble, holy though th e desire is, it is not one which ful fils itself. The wish to win souls will not make us soul-winners. No amount of earnestness, no am ount of experi ence, no amount of perseverance is a guarantee of success in th is work. For the work of soul-winning we need the gift of the Holy Ghost!”-—Rev. G. H. C. Macgregor, M. A.
FOUR MONTHS IN WHICH TO WIN
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