There is a curious problem today in the evangelical world _one that poses sobering questions for
the church and for the individual believer. The problem in brief is this:a great at army of personal
soul-winners has been mobilized to reach the populace for Christ. They are earnest, zealous,
enthusiastic, and persuasive. To their credit it must be said that I they are on the job. And it is one
of the phenomena of our times that they rack up an astounding number of conversions. Everything
so far seems to be on the plus side.

But the problem is this. The conversions do not stick. The fruit does not remain. Six months later
there is nothing to be seen for all the aggressive evangelism. The capsule technique of soul
winning has produced stillbirths.

What lies at the back of all this malpractice in bringing souls to the birth? Strangely enough it
begins with the valid determination to preach the pure gospel of the grace of God. We want to
keep the message simple_uncluttered by any suggestion that man can ever earn or deserve eternal
life. Justification is by faith alone, apart from the deeds of the law. Therefore, the message is
"only believe."

From there we reduce the message to a concise formula. For instance, the evangelistic process is
cut down to a few basic questions and answers, as follows:

"Do you believe you are a sinner?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe Christ died for sinners?"

"Yes."

"Will you receive Him as your Saviour?"

"Yes."

"Then you are saved!"

"I am?"

"Yes, the Bible says you are saved."

At first blush the method and the message might seem above criticism. But on closer study we are
forced to have second thoughts and to conclude that we have oversimplified the gospel.

The first fatal flaw is the missing emphasis on repentance. There can be no true conversion
without conviction of sin. It is one thing to agree that I am a sinner; it is quite another thing to

experience the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life. Unless I have a Spirit-wrought
consciousness of my utterly lost condition, I can never exercise saving faith. It is useless to tell
unconvicted sinners to believe on Jesus_that message is only for those who know they are lost.
We sugarcoat the gospel when we de-emphasize man’s fallen condition. With that kind of a
watered down message, people receive the Word with joy instead of with deep contrition. They
do not have deep roots, and though they might endure for a while, they soon give up all profession
when persecution or trouble comes (Matt. 13:21). We have forgotten that the message is
repentance toward God as well as faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

A second serious omission is a missing emphasis on the Lordship of Christ. A light, jovial mental
assent that Jesus is Saviour misses the point. Jesus is first Lord, then Saviour. The New Testament
always places His Lordship before His Saviourhood. Do we present the full implications of His
Lordship to people? He always did.

A third defect in our message is our tendency to keep the terms of discipleship hidden until a
decision has been made for Jesus. Our Lord never did this. The message He preached included
the cross as well as the crown. "He never hid His scars to win disciples." He revealed the worst
along with the best, then told His listeners to count the cost. We popularize the message and
promise fun.

The result of all this is that we have people believing without knowing what they believe. In many
cases they have no doctrinal basis for their decision. They do not know the implications of
commitment to Christ. They have never experienced the mysterious, miraculous work of the Holy
Spirit in regeneration.

And of course we have others who are talked into a profession because of the slick salesmanship
techniques of the soul-winner. Or some who want to please the affable, personable young man
with the winning smile. And some who only want to get rid of this religious interloper who has
intruded on their privacy. Satan laughs when these conversions are triumphantly announced on
earth.

I would like to raise several questions that might lead us to some changes in our strategy of
evangelism.

First of all, can we generally expect people to make an intelligent commitment to Christ the first
time they hear the gospel? Certainly, there is the exceptional case where a person has already been
prepared by the Holy Spirit. But generally speaking, the process involves sowing the seed,
watering it, then sometime later reaping the harvest. In our mania for instant conversion, we have
forgotten that conception, gestation, and birth do not occur on the same day.

A second question:can a capsule presentation of the gospel really do justice to so great a message?
As one who has written several gospel tracts, I confess to a certain sense of misgiving in even
attempting to condense the good news into four small pages. Would we not be wiser to give people
the full presentation as it is found in the Gospels, or in the New Testament?

Thirdly, is all this pressure for decisions really scriptural? Where in the New Testament were
people ever pressured into making a profession? …

And I must ask you this:is all this boasting about conversions really accurate? You’ve met the
man who solemnly tells you of ten people he contacted that day and all of them were saved. …
I don’t want to doubt the honesty of people like this, but am I wrong in thinking that they are
extremely naive? Where are all those people who are saved? They cannot be found.

What it all means is that we should seriously re-examine our streamlined, capsule evangelism. We
should be willing to spend time teaching the gospel, laying a solid doctrinal foundation for faith
to rest on. We should stress the necessity for repentance_a complete about-face with regard to
sin. We should stress the full implications of the Lordship of Christ and the conditions of
discipleship. We should explain what belief really involves. We should be willing to wait for the
Holy Spirit to produce genuine conviction of sin. Then we should be ready to lead the person to
saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we do this, we will have less astronomical figures of so-called conversions, but more genuine
cases of spiritual rebirth.

(This appeared first in Help and Food, and is reprinted with permission of the publisher, Loizeaux
Brothers.)

Some Thoughts on Devotedness

In a day of confusion, opposition, and difficulty, it is of the utmost importance to learn who
succeeds. Who is the one to surmount the various and accumulating obstructions in the Christian’s
path? I believe the true answer is the devoted one; and I mean by devotedness the purpose to
follow the Lord at any cost, so that the one thing before the heart is the intent in every way to set
forth the name and honor of the Lord.

If I follow the Lord, I cannot go but where He has gone, and this is obedience in its simplest and
truest order. Hence He says, "If any man love Me he will keep My commandments." How could
you tell where His path lay without the Word? Therefore, the one following must be governed by
the Word. The Word is, if I may so express myself, the scent which assures the spiritual soul that
he is on the right track. The one thought of devotedness is, "Where thou go-est, I will go" Hence,
in any difficulty, the one simple inquiry is "Which way went the Lord?" And surely if lam in His
way I must succeed. The way of the Lord, in which the Word directs me, is one always at first
arduous and apparently impossible. It is a path which the keenest natural eye cannot detect, and
it is one that is so superhuman in its character that the power of Christ alone can uphold us in it.
But once I am in it, on the scent, I am like Peter on the water_surprised and entranced at the
wonders His grace can effect for me_and I have the sense that I am in His path.

A Nazarite (Num. 6) was the figurative representation of a thoroughly devoted soul. The true
Nazarite scrupulously adhered to the terms of his-vow. Samson, who was a Nazarite, illustrates
how devotedness succeeds, but also what failure there is in departure from it. As long as he was
true to this rigid separation he was singularly successful; when he diverged from it his failure was
most marked.

Samuel, in contrast to Samson, had his heart filled with the Lord. He followed the Lord and
depended only on Him; and he succeeded in a surpassing degree beyond Samson. In adhering to
strict rule and order there is often success, but then it is more of the conscience than the heart; and
hence, as it was with Samson, when the allurement for his heart was strong enough, he declined
from the true course. But true devotedness finds its delight in following the Lord, just as did
Joshua and Caleb in another day. Their comfort and stay was in the fact that "if the Lord delight
in us, then He will bring us into this land" (Num. 14:8). Devotedness is not overborne by numbers
any more than by the prospect of danger. Devotedness follows the Lord wholly. What difficulties
would be overcome in this day, what questions solved, if there were more devotedness_ that
simplicity of eye that cannot be diverted from the one object, Christ alone.

(From A Voice to the Faithful, Vol. 14.)

"But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter
answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water. And He said,
Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.;
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,
Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto
him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt (Matt. 14:27-31).

This brief passage presents to our view in a very forcible way some of the leading features of
Simon Peter’s character. His zeal, his energy, his real devotedness of heart, no one can call into
question; but these qualities_beautiful as they surely are_led him not infrequently into a position
of such prominence as to render his weak points all the more conspicuous. A man of less zeal and
energy would have remained on board the ship and thus avoided Peter’s failure and breakdown.
Men of cooler temperament might condemn as unwarrantable rashness Peter’s act in leaving the
ship, or pronounce it a piece of forwardness which justly deserved a humiliating rebuff.

Perhaps some of our readers feel disposed to condemn Peter for leaving the ship. They may say
there was no need for taking such a step. Why not abide with his brethren on board the vessel?
Was it not possible to be quite as devoted to Christ in the ship as on the water? Did not the sequel
prove that it would have been far better for Peter to remain where he was, than to venture forth
on a course which he was not able to pursue?

To all this we reply that the apostle was evidently governed by an earnest desire to be nearer to
his Lord. And this was right. He saw Jesus walking on the water and he longed to be with Him.
And, further, he had the direct authority of his Lord for leaving the ship. We fully and freely
grant that without this it would have been a fatal mistake to leave his position; but the moment that
word "come" fell on his ear he had a divine warrant for going forth upon the water. To have
remained would have been to miss great blessing.

Thus it is in every case. We must have authority before we can act in anything. Without this, the
greater our zeal, energy, and apparent devotedness, the more fatal will be our mistake, and the
more mischief we shall do to ourselves, to others, and to the cause of Christ. It is of the greatest
importance in every case, but especially where there is a measure of zeal and energy, that there
should be sober to the authority of the Word. If there be not is no calculating the amount of
mischief which may be done.

But there is another thing which stands next in importance to the authority of the divine Word, and
that is the abiding realization of the divine presence. These two things must never be separated if
we want to walk on the water. We may be sure in our own minds that we have distinct authority
for a given line of action; but if we have not with equal distinctness the sense of the Lord’s
presence with us_if our eyes are not continually on the living God_we shall most assuredly break
down.

It was precisely here that Peter failed. He did not fail in obedience but in realized dependence. He

acted on the word of Jesus in leaving the ship; but he failed to lean on the arm of Jesus in walking
on the water, hence his terror and confusion. Mere authority is not enough; we want power. To
act without authority is wrong. To act without power is impossible. The authority for starting is
the Word. The power to proceed is the divine presence. The combination of the two must ever
yield a successful career. It matters not at all what the difficulties are if we have the stable
authority of Holy Scripture for our course, and the blessed support of the presence of God in
pursuing it. When God speaks, we must obey; but in order to do so we must lean on His arm.

Here are the two things so absolutely essential to every child of God. Without these we can do
nothing; with them we can do all things. If we have not a "Thus saith the Lord" or "It is written,"
we cannot enter upon a path of devotedness; and if we have not His realized presence, we cannot
pursue it. It is quite possible to be right in setting out, and yet to fail in going on.

It was so in the case of Simon Peter, and it has been so in the case of thousands since. It is one
thing to make a good start and another thing to make good progress. It is one thing to leave the
ship and another thing to walk on the water. But, if Peter failed to reach his Lord, his Lord did
not fail to reach him. The grace of our Lord Jesus is exceedingly abundant. He takes occasion
from our very failures to display His rich and precious love. Oh, how blessed to have to do with
such a tender, patient, loving Lord! Who would not trust Him and praise Him, love Him and serve
Him?

(From "Simon Peter:His Life and Its Lessons" in Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 4.)

"Blessed are the meek:for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5).

In our meditations on the third beatitude, we find ourselves in happy company with that blessed
One who was "meek and lowly in heart." There is evidently, in this third class, a great advance
in the soul’s blessedness. The heir of glory has been learning in the school of Christ how to meet
the troubles of this life, as He met them. This is a great lesson, and greatly needed. Let us see that
we master it fully.

In the first beatitude we were shown the true condition of every soul that really knows God, and
is conformed to ter Of Christ_ poor in spirit." This condition is of what the soul sees itself to be
in the divine , and thus it is chiefly a question between the soul j. All is blessed and happy there.
But in going forth the world and attending to the various duties of this life, so many causes of
trouble come in our way that we groan in spirit. This is what we find in the second beatitude; it
is a daily experience. The great advance in the third beatitude seems to be this:the soul has so
grown in grace that now, in place of a questioning, reasoning, self-willed spirit being manifested
in this scene of trial, the disciple meekly bows his head in submission to the Father’s will, and
learns of Jesus to be meek and lowly in heart. After all, in these circumstances it is a question of
either self-will or submission.

The lowly in heart begins to see more clearly that, in spite of everything around him, God is
accomplishing the counsels of His own will, and making all things work together for good to them
that love Him, and are the called according to His purpose. This fuller knowledge of God and His
ways produces a deeply chastened state of mind. Though groaning in spirit, and mourning over
the wickedness of man, the rejection of Christ by those we love, and the failure of those who bear
His name, the man of faith is quiet and humble! He walks with God in the midst of it all and refers
everything to Him. In the lowest murmur of the enemy, or in his loudest roar, he hears his
Father’s voice; in the smallest injury or in the greatest outrage, he owns His hand. He envies not
the world its pleasures, or the wicked their prosperity; all his resources are in the living God; and
he can turn to Him, rest in Him, rejoice in Him, and walk with Him, above the conflicts of this
troubled scene.

Let us now turn in our meditations to Him who knew deeper sorrow here, and deeper communion
above, than any of His people can ever know. While discoursing to the people of the kingdom,
and answering their questions, He has the sense of the true state of the people and of His own
rejection as the Messiah, the King of the Jews. What sorrow must have filled His heart! What
relief and rest He ever found in His Father’s bosom!

We will now turn for a little to Matt. 11:20-30. Here we have the distinct expression and the
perfect combination of these two things in Jesus_groaning in spirit because of surrounding evil,
and entire submission to His Father’s will with .praise and thanksgiving. Scarcely had "Woe,
woe," fallen from His lips when He looked up to heaven and said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth." With the growing, deepening sense of the unbelief of the people whom He
loved, and their blinded rejection of Himself as Emmanuel in their midst, He meekly bows to His

Father’s sovereign will, sees only perfection in it here, and the glory that would follow it
hereafter.

It may be well now for the Christian_especially tried ones_to look more closely into the nature
of the discouragements which led the blessed Lord and Master to turn to His Father as His only
resource. He had come to His own, but His own received Him not. The people He loved, and had
come to redeem, had no heart for Him. When John the Baptist came with mournful tidings, they
refused to lament; when Jesus came with glad tidings, they refused to rejoice. Id not have Him
on any terms. This is the secret of the comparatively small success of the gospel in all ages, heart
prefers the enjoyment of present things to a rejected Christ and a heaven that is thought to be far
The most solemn warnings by John, and the most gracious invitations by Jesus, were alike
unheeded by that generation. It was enough to break any preacher’s heart. When the attractions
of grace, the appeals of love, the threatenings of justice, the miseries of hell, the glories of
heaven, fail to arrest or awaken the careless_when the preacher’s heart is broken because of the
hardness of men’s hearts_what is the preacher to do? Retire into the presence of God, and in
communion with Him learn his lesson more perfectly, both as to service and submission. This is
the only refuge and resting place for the disappointed workman.

"At that time Jesus answered, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth" (v. 25).
In a word, in place of complaining of the treatment He received from others, and vindicating
Himself, He meekly bows to the sovereign will of His Father, falls into His hands, as Lord of
heaven and earth. And what is the result? Just what it must ever be_He receives the blessing. Not
merely a promise, but the possession:"All things are delivered unto me of my Father." And this
proves to be the occasion, through grace, of a fuller revelation of God, and of a richer blessing
to mankind. "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" How
beautiful and precious this is as an example to us! When Jesus was despised as a man, rejected as
the Messiah, and refused His crown of glory, He did not stand up for His rights as we
would say, but meekly submitted and looked up to His Father as Lord of heaven and earth. He
could leave all in His hands and wait His sovereign will. In the meantime the blessing flows, like
a wave of life, from the ocean of eternal love:"Come unto Me … I will give you rest."

But this full flowing tide of grace does not lead to carelessness of walk as man might say it would.
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The difference between the
two verses is very distinct, and has been often noticed. In verse 28 it is, "Come unto me … and
I will give you rest; in verse 29 it is, "Take my yoke upon you . . . and ye shall find rest to your
souls." The one is pure, absolute, unconditional grace to the sinner; the other is the yoke of Christ
for the believer. The reason why so few have learned to meet the troubles of this life as He met
them is because they are not under His yoke, and learning of Him. They are thinking of their own
character; how much they have been misunderstood, how grossly they have been misrepresented,
how falsely accused, and how unjustly or unkindly treated. They have not learned that their own
reputation is the last thing they should think about; that now they have only to care for the
character of Christ. Those who are under the same yoke must walk side by side, and step by step.
True, the strong one may pull the weak one through when the chariot wheels sink deep in the sand
of the desert; but they must walk together. The Lord give us thus to learn the great truth of our

third beatitude, "Blessed are the meek:for they shall inherit the earth."