The Ohio Independent Baptist, November 1965

iw monstrosities By Woodrow W. McCaleb First Baptist Church Elyria, Ohio I ,, t) 111\.ltl tr,J,1ltc, , t,t n(I u t a, \\ c take a carefLtl icw t)f he ,l \ ' t'r,1gc \ c1ngcli ,11 hLtr h t <.la . Both arc <.lrcgs \ 11 ,.'tir , i11r1tt1 ,1I p ) \\ er <lnd ffcct1vcnc 'i , and b th arc a 1...rr ct to the heart )f <., od ! nlc .. corre tive n1ca. urc ,trc t,1 k. c11. the 1111,pc1 t of the httrch will be lo t to a wor1d n Jl p.. 1r .. 1tc need f Jc Lt hr i t and Hi aving power . The Fir_ t 111 n tr I ty I the n1on tro-- ity of SAINTLY I R ' 1 r efer to that gr up in our hurche that i ec k. 1ng to pL1t on the clo the of the hri tian life without real]~ ha\ 1ng that life! There are many, I am persuaded, \vho k. nO\\t al l the term . and can parrot all the expre - 1 n "' · and have the ability to an wer all the que tion , ht1t \\. ho ha\'e never had a aving encounter with the Lord Je u Chri t . The}' ha e never met Him in that cri e e\.per1ence ~ hen the heart and life wa urrendered to H im. o~ ning Chr i t a Lord and Savior. Unles thi take place. there can be no -- alvation . One who ha ju t gone through the motion but who ha · never real ly meant bu ine with God, may try to act ai ntly'. but he i t ill a los t inner and devoid of piritual life. True urrender in alvation involves "to believe in, urrender to. tr u t in and re] y on J e us Chri t because of \\'ho He i . and becau e of what He ha done! ' It i the g1\ 1ng of one entire being in unre olved committal to Him. regardles of the co t . One can be ever o saintly - the liber al Churche have an abundance of thi , 1 ar1et) - bu t t1nle you have come to know Chri t. , ou are till a lo t sinner. - The econd mon tro·' ity in the average Bapti t hurch I that of 11 I G SAI TS! I refer to that increa ingly large group of Chr i ti an who have really come to know ( ..hr1 t in a avi ng ex.perience, but who are living elfi h, defeated and carele li ve of sin. Becau e Self i on thei r throne of their heart and not Chri t, thev are J1v1ng a life of conformity to the world and it way , and refu e to be the "peculiar" and "different' people Lhat God ~:ant them to be. Many have taken the precious doctrine of the ecur ity of the aint and have used it a a cloak for their world line and in. They tell u that the Chr1 t1an 1 free - free to Jive a~ he plea e . but fail to realize tha t th i i on] y true a the believer plea e to plea e Chri t. The e have forgotten tha t we are not our own. l)ul are bought with a price. even the preciou·3 blood of Je u and that V.'e are to. ther efore , pre ent our bodie in full urrender to God. a holy Jiving a er ifice, not conforming to the pattern of t hi evil age, but Jiving in tead, a tran formed life for the glory of God! It i through thi pattern of Jiving that we come to know bv .. NOVEMBER, 1965 PAGE 4 In our chur hes 11crs,>nal c pcricncc the gootJ an(I acccptahlc an<.I r1crfcc ill of , d! lit t~ thi~ life that really cot1nl'S for hri st an 111akc~ an in1pact on men! inning aint\. and ~aintl y \Inner\! How tragic t heh ld then, in the 111id t of the A<,5cn1bly, hcjng tisc l1 atan to hinder and thwart the work of the Spir1 through Hi<; hL1rch . How tragic when <;tandards ar lowered to accon1n1odatc the world in order to n1ak, our<;e(ve. more attractive to it. How fooJi~h to thinl that we can ub titutc pectacular program~ for th 1 pirit' power. . Campbell Morgan once aid, " rfh< mi sion of the hurch i to invade the world with th< o pel but the tragedy of our age i that the world ha( in\' aded the hurch!" Thi i incrca ingly evident today May we ever remember that we are "in the world," bu t "not of the world. When our di tinctive and holy dif ference i lo t then the power of the hurch i neutralized the HoJy Spirit grieved and the world about u denied the I igh t that it de pcrately need to be directed •to Chri t. The real an wer lie in the experiencing of a genuine Heaven- ent Ho1y Gho t riviva,l in our Churche . A re– vival grounded in a return to ,plain preaching on the ho1ines of God and the awfu]ne of in· A revival where the HoJy Spirit bring to the aint a new realization of the per onal pre ence of Chri t in their Jive , a new hunger and de ire for the Word of God, and per onal holine~s; and a new and increa ing Jove of the Brethren! Thi will co t every one of u much - ome more than other - but it will be worth all that it co t ! Are you a Jiving moo trosity in your church? • . j • • Woodrow W. McCaleb THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BA PTIST