The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1969

• (11 a11 • by Rev. Donald MacKenzie T ,,, thor of rhi ar licle, Rev. Donald A.I , 1s pastor o thl' Fi r st Baptist I Ne London t.)h 10. Each n,onth Br t her Mac en... ie see s to reach the folk of he Ne"' London a rea by placing a mess· aqe in their local paper - The New London - ecord. 111 th1 li ·1 )( great n1plc · con1- 111t1111l: .1t 1 1n ·. t1 t f tcn 1 h g p 1 i "' 1 "l a L 111111t1 nic . .11 i \C a · it has been 111 pa,1 J~1," ol ~ p,ritual a\1t-ake11ing! 1 the ~~pcl le · ~rrc ti\e b at1 e of tl, la k to relal' t the changing t1111c ·. 4 ! I" th go pel le ef– fe ti, e be 'ausc f it lack of Holy ~1ir1t-f1ll d pr"acher? For the mot r,,1rt - ~ ! l ' th go pel les ef– l~ t1 \ e b at1 c f it lack of H oly pir1t-f1lled hurcl1 men1bers - Ye !! T he l gi al que tion i : If the gospel i a p \\ erful to ave men' soul , and the Lord till de ire more citizens t r the K ingdon1 of Heaven what hinder piritual blessing? The an " rer to thi question is not an ea \ r one. but it i clear that the - one con1municating the go pel is the hind ranee . Ye , the blame is not to be placed as son1e would have it placed on the out-dated gospel, for rhe go pel i TILL THE POWER OF GOD U TO SALVATION! The blame can no t be placed , as others \\ ould have it on ,the hardness of the heart of our age; for the hu– man heart ever since Adam has been DESPERATELY WICKED. THE BL 1 iE can only be put on those PREACHERS and CHURCH 1IE.1 !BE R who block the way of sal\!ation by a SINFUL, NON– FRUITBEARI G LIFE. Our da}' i fa r removed from the f ourtb decade of the eighteenth cen– tury in many ways, but there is one \\ 1 a)' in \\ hich it i very imilar. In The re,v England Colonies, from '"'hence our ew London Village find r oot, there \Vas a coolness about religious matters due in large part to the ease Vt'ith which church mem– ber \X.'ere ea ily received~ as well as a deadnes over the churches due to h~per-Calvinistic doctrine. At the , ,ery center ,vas a preacher, Jonathan Edward . called "the outstanding in– tellectual figure of Colonial America.,, He \\·as born in orthamption, Mas- achusetts 1n 1727. He de cribes the town ju t before 12 MAY, 1969 lt!\1\- a l bega11: Hlic 11l1 t1 n c; for \L t11c ) car grea tly prevailed an1ong tl1c } ltt th f the t \vn ; there were r11ar1y tl( them very n1uch addicted tL) night \.\alk.ing a11d fr qtt nting the t tl\ er11 . ,1nd lcwtl IJractice.. wherein n1 by th ir ample exceedingly c rruJJted other . It wa their ·manner to get together in as en1blies of both c ·e for 111irth and jo 1 llity, whic'h they called frolics· and they would f ten pend the greater part of the night in them, without regard to order in the families they belonged to: in– cleed frunily government did too much fa il in the town.' (W.W. Sweet, The tory of Religion in America) ''Tlris really doesn' t sound too far f ro,,i tl1 e average A,nerican city to– tla)' , or s,nall v illage does it? There is Cl far greater differe nee than its 111oral condition. "Presently upon .this town, a great and earne t concern about the great thing of religion and eternal world became universal in all parts oif the town, and amo,ng persons of ·all de– grees and all ages: the noise among the dry bones waxed louder and louder: All other {alk BUT ABOUT piritual and eternal things was soon thrown by: . . . Soon a glorious al– teration was to be noted in the town, so that in ·the spring and s11mmer fol– lowing 1735 the town seemed to be full of the presence of God: It was never so full of love, nor so full of joy and yet so full of distress as it wa then. There was scarcely a single per on in the town, either old or young, that wa left unconcerned about the great things iof ,the eternal world. During the first year of the Revival in Northhampton more than three hundred professed conversions, among both aged and the young, were reported." Probably Jonathan Edwards' most f amou pre erved sermon was "Sinners in the Hand of An Angry God". It emphasized the Sovereign Lord, pos– se sed of awful wrath , hoJds the unconverted. sinner over the pit of Hell, "much as we jhold a S1pider or ome 1oathsome inseot over the fire.' ' This kind of ermon s till is preached throughout the length and ·breadth of the U.S.A. by Bible-believing, Christ ho noring preachers and there are Sl r11' \ 1 i 1 ~nc s f reviv, l - bt1f 111 t l • l >\\' . Seit.I Ill is n t \Vil so grir>1 d I y ,c I ;ts il wa in J .. l\v, r ls' Ja}'I It is 111or • 1 ec ,,,1ing 11,y pers n, I ~or1\'ictio1, tl1 ,i1 tl1c 0 11l y \Vay we wilJ ever sec Jtev t\ ,tl jn New J ... n{lon wilJ l1c when chl11 ch 111c 111l rs n1oti v tc<l 1Jy the ovc of C' hri st wh N. rl"J~AIN . ( I J r1nlh1ans 5: 14) and n1otivatcd by the terr r of the J..,o rd ( I I or. 5 : 11) follow ,od's f rn1t1la found in Jr ( hronicle 7 : J ,J. ' ' If my pc JJle , which are called by my 11ame, ha1 I ( 1) hu,mbl e then, .. e lve , and (2) pray, a11d ( 3) eek r11y face and (4) tttrn firom the ir wicked way ; then ( Jl VIVAL)." A preacher once said "this Church will have either a Revival or a Funeral! ' How true it i that at this dark day, in American history as Mr. Average Citizen sleeps in clarkness, that the Chtiroh sleep in the light! You ee Dear Church Member, the terror of the Lord is not just for the sinner soon to fall into a fiery Hell, but it is all the terror you must face at the judgment seat of Christ reserved for believers after the rapture of the church. In the same passages of II Cor. 5: 9 Paul speaks of being "Accepted of him.' ' For we (believers) must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his 1 body, accord– ing to that he hath done, w·hether it be good or bad." If you take time to look up I Cor. 3 :9-15 and Romans 14 :10 you will also see this clear truth. There is a day of judgment com– ing for you who are believers - Yes a day of fire, when your empty works will be burned... up and found to be ' 'wood hay, and stubble.'' 1f I were you, I would HEED the WARNING of the Bible, RIGHT NOW and fall on your knees and– get that life of yours straightened out with A.lmjgbty God and begin to do what you know you should NOW be– fore your hypocritical works are burned up before our angry God. There is sin in the camp. There is treason today! Is it in me? Is it in me? There i cause in our ranks for defeat and delay; Is it, 0 Lord, in me? Something of selfishness, garments or gold, omething of hindr,ance in young or in old, Something why God doth His blessint withhold~ Is it, 0 Lord in me? I it in me? Is it in me? I it, 0 Lord, in me? THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST