02.A03. A Great Temptation, A Final Victory

CHAPTER III. A GREAT TEMPTATION, A FINAL VICTORY, AND ANOINTING. FOR some months after I had found peace and assurance of acceptance, my spiritual state was rather of a negative than positive character. I had become dead to the desire of wealth, and all my plans of ambition -- plans which I had, with the intensest interest, cherished from childhood up -- were wholly relinquished. Even the idea of acquiring a liberal education -- the cherished thought of my young life ever since the subject had been suggested to my mind -- was wholly dropped out of my regard. One thought only possessed my whole being -- that of "walking with God," and this in the retired circle of private life. Had I been educated in the Catholic faith, my controlling religious tendencies, had nothing occurred to give them a higher directions, would have unquestionably drawn me in the direction of monastic retirement. I had not continued long in this state before the aspirations of my old nature began to revive, and to draw me with greater and greater strength in the backward direction towards the worldly life. This influence reached its highest power in the early spring; and on the day of the town and state elections, when all my young associates were assembled, under my eye, and in the immediate presence of my father’s dwelling -- assembled for those amusements in which I had formerly so intensely delighted, it seemed that the concentrated powers of "the world, the flesh, and the devil," and that in their accumulated strength, were brought to bear upon my young and susceptible mind, to induce me to join that company, and, in doing so, to make a final choice of the worldly, instead of the religious life. As soon as I had completed the task assigned me, I turned for the forest, and, in the heart of the same, spent the day with God. There, in deep "fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ," I became "crucified to the world, and the world to me." From that good hour I have never felt the least temptation to return to the worldly life. In that "house of God and gate of heaven," also, my Christian life passed over from the negative to a positive state. I became distinctly conscious that I was called of God to be in the world as Christ was in the world, to do all I could to bring the world back to God. I then and there felt myself girded for the purposes of that calling with a strength not my own. I left that forest with the distinct consciousness that I was a dedicated servant of Christ, and was endued with a divine power for that service -- a power of which I had never heard before, and knew not by what name to call. That dedication has remained. Becoming early conscious that I was called to the ministry, I set about the needful intellectual preparation. During the progress of my liberal education, I was often told by individuals who best understood my natural adaptations, that I ought to enter the army, or become a statesman. Having received the full persuasion that I could better serve Christ as a preacher of the everlasting gospel than in any other sphere, I never felt the least drawings in any other direction. Whatever others might prefer, with me the idea of "saving a soul from death," and putting that soul in possession of the treasures of eternity, has rendered as "dross" and "loss" the wealth and the honours of this world. Nor was my action for doing service for Christ delayed. I immediately set about persuading my associates. One of them was soon converted, and afterwards became, and continued till his death, a central light in the leading church in the city of Buffalo. Many of the others were so influenced, that, not long afterwards, they became members of the Church of God. The next winter, in my eighteenth year, I was called to teach school in a very ungodly neighborhood, where there was not within more than three miles of my schoolhouse a single individual who could take part with me, singing excepted, in any religious meeting. I soon organised two meetings for each week, none speaking or praying in those meetings but myself, until I was joined by young converts. As the result of those meetings, a church, consisting of from thirty to fifty members, a large majority of whom were from these converts, was immediately after organised in that place -- a church which remains until this day. Such has been "my manner of life from my youth." All other forms of wisdom have even appeared "foolishness" to me, as compared with that higher wisdom which "winneth souls." Some profitable lessons may be learned from the facts now before us. Among these I notice the following: --- Common Defect in Christian Character.

We notice, in the first place, what may be regarded as the most common defect in Christian character in those cases where we must suppose that there has been a real entrance into the religious life. In most cases, perhaps, the spiritual life process never advances beyond the passive state above described. There has been, in the experience of such individuals, real conviction of sin, genuine "repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ," and conscious assurance of pardon and peace with God. Here, however, the process of renewal stops. There is, on the other hand, no dedication for positive and active service as servants of Christ, and no "anointing," or "endowment of power from on high" for such service. Religion, in all such cases, is passive rather than active, negative rather than positive, and purely receptive rather than aggressive. Individuals present themselves to Christ to be saved, and not, in addition to this, as "living sacrifices, holy" (dedicated for active service), and, for this reason, especially "acceptable unto God." They, judging from their lives, regard themselves as "called with an holy calling," for the mere attainment of personal salvation, and not to "hold out the word of life," to "shine as lights in the world," and to do efficient service in the great work of "perfecting the saints," and "saving souls from death." "The Spirit of the Lord God" is not upon them as He was upon Christ, and God has not anointed them as He did Christ, to "preach the gospel to the poor," to "heal the broken-hearted," to "preach deliverance to the captives. the recovery of sight to the blind," to "set at liberty them that are bruised," to "preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." Yet every believer is as really called to a positive and supremely dedicated mission in the work of "seeking and saving that which was lost," as was Christ. How can we otherwise be among those who are "the light of the world," and "the salt of the earth?" In this passive, negative state, if we remain therein, we are, according to the express teachings of the Bible, in one of the most perilous conditions to the Christian life possible, a condition from which there is a perpetual peril of out "falling away" into a state from which "it is impossible that we should be renewed again unto repentance." As the only condition of escaping such peril, the apostle exhorts believers to "leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ," -- the immature and passive state in which the mind is occupied almost exclusively with the matter of our personal salvation, the state in which we are perpetually, in consequence of relapses into sin, "laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God," -- and to "go on unto perfection," that mature, supremely dedicated, sanctified, and divinely-anointed state, in which Christ is "glorified in us," because we "abound unto every good work." Had I, for example, continued in the passive and unanointed state to which I have referred, there would, with perfect certainty, have been a resurrection of the power of worldly propensities, and of prior worldly loves and aspirations, which would have insured open apostasy, or a gradual dying out of the religious life, until, with perhaps a name to live, I should have been "dead while I lived." Two young men of most eminent talents once, as members of the same class, entered one of our American colleges, each having the ministry in view. One of them, during the progress of his education, in a state of supreme dedication to Christ, sought a divine anointing for his work. As a consequence, he became one of the most eminent and useful ministers of the gospel known in the United States, "died in the Lord," and in heaven his name is as "ointment poured forth." The other, when he made a public profession of his faith, presented to the Church a written statement of his early experience. All wondered at the account given, and not a doubt rested upon any mind of the genuineness of his conversion. He continued, however, in the passivity of his first faith. As a consequence, there was a resurrection of his early ambitions, and, under the temptation, he turned aside, and entered the legal profession. He became a world-renowned statesman, but died a confirmed drunkard. Reader, are you in Christ as "a branch that beareth not fruit?" If you continue so, as Christ is true, you will be "cut off," and reserved for "the burning."

What we should always do when under Temptation.

We notice, in the next place, what we should always do when, under temptation, we fall into sin, or when we find ourselves under temptation to sin. In the first case, most Christians simply confess the wrong, and seek pardon for the same. This they should do, but by no means stop here. They should reflect upon the cause of their fall, and seek to have that cause removed. Their recovery in such cases will always be permanent. The celebrated preacher and theologian of America, Dr Hopkins, for example, was afflicted with a very ungovernable temper. He had a brother-in-law, a member of the legal profession, who was an infidel. This man was accustomed to say to his family, "Dr Hopkins is, at heart, no better man than I am, and I will prove it to you one day." One evening, Dr Hopkins called upon his brother-in-law to adjust some business matters in which they were mutually concerned. The infidel, knowing well the weak point in the Doctor’s character, set up most unrighteous claims, and that for the specific purpose of exciting his anger. The attempt was a success. Dr Hopkins left the house in a rage, closing the door behind him with much violence. "There!" said the infidel to his family; "you see now the truth of what I told you, that Dr. Hopkins is, at heart, no better man than I am; and now I have got my foot upon his neck, and I will keep it there." That, reader, is the infidel heart the world over. Dr. Hopkins, however, went immediately to his closet, and spent the entire night there in prayer to God. As the morning dawned, an ineffable peace, quietness, and assurance, pervaded his whole being. Hastening to his brother-in-law’s residence, he confessed, with tears, to him and his family, the sin which he had committed in their presence, not saying one word about the graceless provocation which had occasioned the sin. As the man of God retired, the infidel said within himself, "There is a spirit which I do not possess, and that spirit is undeniably divine." Thus convicted, he became a Christian, and a preacher of the gospel which he had once despised. Thirty years subsequent to this occurrence, Dr Hopkins stated, that since that memorable night, no temptation or provocation that he had received had ever once stirred a motion of that evil temper within him. Let all believers imitate this sacred example, and carry, not only their sins, but their propensities which tempt them to sin, to "a throne of grace," and "the very God of peace will sanctify them wholly," -- so subdue and sanctify those propensities, that they will not only cease to tempt us to sin, but will prompt to the opposite virtues. An evil propensity sanctified, as it will be, when presented for that purpose, at "a throne of grace," -- becomes, ever after, a permanent incentive to all that is well-pleasing in the sight of God. How important that all believers should understand this great fact !

Other Christians equally err when subject to temptation to sin. Under the pressure of the temptation, they suffer a thoughtless curiosity to draw them towards the scene which awakens desire, where they look upon the face of sin, instead of promptly turning away from the temptation, and getting as near to God as possible. In the circumstances in which I was at the time of the great temptation above referred to, many would have determined to visit the scene where the temptation lay, with the purpose of going there and looking on as a mere spectator. Under the influence to which they would thus subject themselves, they would be induced to "deny the faith," or their faith would be so weakened as to render a fall almost certain under future temptations. By taking the steps I did, I gained a permanent victory over the propensities through which I was thus strongly tempted. This should always be the case when tempted: we should always turn from the temptation towards the face of God. We shall then not only be kept for the moment, but shall always become endued with a new power from on high for a certain triumph under future "trials of faith."

Light upon the Doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. The facts above presented also throw some light upon that central doctrine of the Bible -- the baptism of the Holy Ghost. When I went out of that forest, for example, I went out not only in the consciousness that I was "not of the world," that I was emancipated from its entanglements, and that I was, for life and an eternity to come, a consecrated servant of Christ, but that, for my mission and work, I was endued with a power not my own. Of the nature of that power, as I have said, I was utterly ignorant; of its presence I was absolutely conscious. From that hour I began literally to "read my Bible with new eyes." The leisure moments of the following summer were spent in the study of that "dearest of books, that excels every other," in communion with God, and in labours to bring my young associates to Christ. In the meetings where I taught school the next winter, I always prayed three times. We commenced the meetings with singing. Then followed a prayer, and the reading of a chapter from the Bible, followed by a very few remarks from me. We would then sing again, and I would pray a second time. The reading, the remarks, and singing followed as before, and the exercises would be closed with another prayer, followed by singing. As soon as I began to pray, I became conscious of an enlargement, and freedom, and power of utterance at which I wondered with unutterable wonder. The same was true of the audience. Strong men and women were awestruck, and yielded to the convicting influence which pervaded the assemblies. The giant fighter of all that region -- a region where men were accustomed to knock each other down with terrible violence -- attended those meetings. Even he was overpowered, and became a babe in Christ. Afterwards, I received similar enlargement in speaking for Christ. In the last place where I taught school, a revival of religion commenced in that school, a revival which spread all over the whole society around. During this period I held three meetings each week, the schoolhouse being always filled to its utmost capacity. In these meetings, I uniformly spoke for a period of at least from one-half to three-quarters of an hour. Myself and all the people felt that the power of utterance of which I was possessed was not my own, but a God-imparted gift. I overheard, for example, a company of young men speaking upon the subject. The oldest and most intelligent among them remarked that "of one thing he was certain, that the power under which that teacher speaks is not his own, but is divine." Of the same fact I was myself equally assured.

We have here, as I understand the subject, the beginnings of those divine baptisms, and endowments of power from on high, promised to all believers in the Bible. With singleness of purpose and object to be "not of the world, as Christ was not of the world," to be "sent into the world as He was sent into the world," and to be sanctified for our life, mission, and work, as He "sanctified Himself’" for His, we seek unto God, in the name of Christ, for mercy and grace to be and to do all that He wills, and to finish the work which Christ has appointed us, as He finished the work which "the Father gave Him to do." While in this state of total separateness from the "world, with its affections and lusts," and of supreme consecration to Christ, a divine influence and power comes over us, by which we become consciously "crucified unto the world, and the world to us," and we begin to live as "Christ lives in us," an influence and power by which "the eyes of our understanding are enlightened," so that "we, beholding with open face the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory unto glory," and consciously "having all-sufficiency for all things, we abound unto every good work." Here we receive "the promise of the Spirit," "the baptism of the Holy Ghost," the promised "endowment of power from on high." Without this "anointing" the entire body of believers are a "feeble folk;" with it, none are "sickly or feeble" in all that flock. "He," on the other hand, "that is feeble among us is as David," "more than a conqueror through Him that hath loved us," while "the house of David" (the leaders of the flock) "are as God, as the angel of the Lord before Him." Here, also, we have a vision of the approaching future of the "Zion of our God." The time is near when all Zion’s "children will be taught of the Lord, and great will be the peace of her children," all God’s "servants and handmaidens will prophecy,’’ because they shall all be "baptized with the Holy Ghost," and "a little one shall become a thousand, and a feeble one a strong city."