"In order to place the doctrine of perseverance in proper light we need to know what it is not. It does not mean that every one who professes faith in Christ and who is accepted as a believer in the fellowship of the saints is secure for eternity and may entertain the assurance of eternal salvation. Our Lord himself warned his followers in the days of his flesh when he said to those Jews who believed on him, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye truly my disciples, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32). He set up a criterion by which true disciples might be distinguished, and that criterion is continuance in Jesus' Word." John Murray, Redemption Accomplished

"If one knows the Lord, has the Spirit within, and understands the broad scope of the Bible, then (even without experience) discernment operates, for it is the voice of God to the heart, backed up by confirming evidence perhaps - maybe not. I find that babes in Christ can write to me describing their experiences, displaying better powers of discernment in operation than pastors and elders - God reveals his ways to the babes, and hides them from the worldly wise. Thus, the babes have the Godly sense to flee from the wrath to come, while the elders promote the very conditions that lead inevitably to the way of destruction. Folly! " T. Tillin, Banner Ministries

"It is God's manner to make men sensible of their helplessness in their own strength...But before God appears to them as their help and deliverance, it is his manner to make them sensible that they are utterly helpless in themselves. They are brought to despair of help from themselves. There is a death to all their hopes from themselves. Rom. vii.9. Before God opens the prison doors, he makes them see that they are shut up, that they are close prisoners, and that there is no way in which they can escape. Christ tells us in Isa.lxi.1 that he was sent to bind up the broken-hearted, and to proclaim liberty to captives, and the opening of prison doors to them that are bound. Gal.iii.23." Jonathan Edwards, On Knowing Christ

"Scripture shows us two ways by which we may behold the glory of Christ. We may behold Him by faith in this world, faith being 'the evidence of things not seen', and we may behold it by sight in the next (2 Cor.5:7-8, 1 Cor.13:12)...No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world. Grace is a necessary preparation for glory and faith for sight...In this way Roman Catholics are deceived. They delight outwardly in images of Christ depicting his sufferings, resurrection and glory. By these images they think their love for him and delight in him grows more and more strong. But no man-made image can truly represent the person of Christ and his glory. Only the gospel can do that." John Owen, The Glory of Christ

'Which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first and counteth the cost?' (Luke 14:28) "The text which heads this page is one of great importance...No doubt Christ's way to eternal life is a way of pleasantness. But it is folly to shut our eyes to the fact that His way is narrow, and the cross comes before the crown...What does it cost to be a true Christian? 1. His self-righteousness! He must cast away all pride and high thoughts, and conceit of his own goodness. 2. His sins! He must be willing to give up every habit and practice which is wrong in God's sight. 3. His love of ease! He must take pains and trouble, if he means to run a succesful race towards heaven. 4. His favour of the world! He must be content to be thought ill of by man if he pleases God." J.C.Ryle, Holiness

"You cannot receive Christ as your justification only, and then, later, decide to refuse or to accept Him as your santification. He is one and indivisible, and if you receive Him at all, at once He is made unto you "wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." You cannot receive Him as your Savior only, and later decide to accept or refuse Him as your Lord; for the Savior is the Lord who by His death has [bought] us and therefore owns us. Sanctification is nowhere taught or offered in the New Testament as some additional experience possible to the believer. It is represented rather as something which is already within the believer, something which he must realise more and more and in which he must grow increasingly." D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The First Forty Years

"The chief way by which the saints have communion with the Father is love - free, undeserved, eternal love. This love the Father pours on the saints...On whom his love is set upon forever...seeing Him as full of love to them...receiving Him as the One who loves them, and they are full of praise and thanksgiving to God for his love...and show gratitude for his love by living a life which pleases him...God says to us, 'My son, give me your heart' (Prov.23:26)...This is the love, that God loves us first, and then we love him in response to his love...The believer, being brought by Christ into the bosom of the Father, rests in the full assurance of God's love and of never being separated from his love...The Father's love is like a bubbling spring or sparkling fountain, always pouring out water. Our love to God is made up of rest, delight, reverance and obedience...Our love to the Father is the result of the Father's love to us...He that loves desires only good and to do good to the object of his love." John Owen, Communion with God

"The formula "Accept Christ" has become a panacea of universal application, and I believe it has been fatal to many...The trouble is that the whole "Accept Christ" attitude is likely to be wrong. It shows Christ [appealing] to us rather than us to Him. It makes Him stand hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on Him, instead of our kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting His verdict on us. It may even permit us to accept Christ by an impulse of mind or emotions, painlessly, at no loss to our ego and no inconvenience to our usual way of life. For this ineffectual manner of dealing with a vital matter we might imagine some parallels; as if, for instance, Israel in Egypt had "accepted" the blood of the Passover but continued to live in bondage, or the prodigal son had "accepted" his father's forgiveness yet remained among the swine in the far country. Is it not plain that if "accepting Christ" is to mean anything there must be moral action that accords with it?" A. W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian

"Holiness is always present in those who are loyal guests of the great King, for "without holiness no man will see the Lord." Too many professors pacify themselves with the idea that they possess imputed righteousness, while they are indifferent to the sanctifying work of the Spirit. They refuse to put on the garment of obedience, they reject the white linen which is the righteousness of the saints. They thus reveal their self-will, their enmity to God, and their non-submission to his Son. Such men may talk what they will about justification by faith, and salvation by grace, but they are rebels at heart, they have not on the wedding dress any more than the self-righteous, whom they so eagerly condemn. The fact is, if we wish for the blessings of grace, we must in our hearts submit to the rules of grace without picking and choosing." C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

"Saving faith consists of complete surrender of my whole being and life to the claims of God upon me: "But first gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Cor.8:5). It is the unreserved acceptance of Christ as my absolute Lord, bowing to His will and receiving His yoke...Oh, how far, far below the New Testament standard is this modern way of begging sinners to receive Christ as their own personal "Savior."...Provided a man professes to believe in the virgin birth and vicarious death of Christ and claims to be resting upon Him alone for salvation, he may pass for a real Christian almost anywhere today, even though his daily life may be no different from that of the moral wordling who makes no profession at all. The Devil is chloroforming thousands into hell by this very delusion. "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not things which I say?" (Luke 6:46); AND INSISTS, "Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven" (Matt.7:21). Arthur Pink, Practical Christianity

"That good works are the certain effects of faith is included in the doctrine that we are sanctified by faith. For it is impossible that there should be inward holiness, love, spirituality, brotherly kindness, and zeal, without an external manifestation of these graces in the whole outward life. Faith, therefore, without works, is dead. We are saved by faith. But salvation includes deliverance from sin. If, therefore, our faith does not deliver us from sin, it does not save us." Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology

"I present to you a discredited doctrine that divides Christ. It goes like this: 'Christ is both Savior and Lord. A sinner may be saved by accepting Him as Savior without yielding to Him as Lord.' The practical outworking of this doctrine is that the evangelist presents and the seeker accepts a divided Christ. Now, it seems odd that none of these teachers ever noticed that the only true object of saving faith is none other than Christ Himself; not the "saviorhood" of Christ nor the "lordship" of Christ, but Christ Himself (1 Ti.2:5). God does not offer salvation to the one who will believe on one of the offices of Christ, nor is an office of Christ ever presented as an object of faith..."For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom 10:9-13; cf.Acts 16:31)). There the Lord is the object of faith for salvation. Paul did not tell people to believe on the Savior without the thought that they could later take up the matter of His lordship and settle it at their own convenience. To Paul there could be no division of offices. Christ must be and is Lord or He will not be the Savior." A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous

"A man who is really saved by grace does not need to be told that he is under solemn obligations to serve Christ; the new life within him tells him that. Instead of regarding it as a burden, he gladly surrenders himself (cf. Matt.11:29-30) - body, soul, and spirit, to the Lord who has redeemed him, reckoning this to be his reasonable service...It is not possible for us to accept Christ as our Savior unless he also becomes our King, for a very large part of salvation consists in our being saved from sin's dominion over us, and the only way in which we can be delivered from the mastery of Satan is by becoming subject to the mastery of Christ...If it were possible for sin to be forgiven, and yet for the sinner to live just as he lived before, he would not really be saved." C. H. Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

"It is the bounden duty of every Christian to have no dealings with the "evangelistic" monstrosity of the day: to withold all moral and financial support of the same, to attend none of their meetings, to circulate none of their tracts. Those preachers who tell sinners they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting, without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ are as erroneous and dangerous as others (i.e. Roman Catholics) who insist that salvation is by works and that Heaven must be earned by our own efforts." Arthur Pink, Practical Christianity

"Having made all diligence to write to you about the common salvation, beloved, I had need to write you to exhort you to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men crept in secretly...ungodly ones perverting the grace of God...and denying the only Master, God, even our Lord Jesus Christ." Jude 3-4, The Word!

When we speak of man's depravity we mean man's natural condition apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man.

There is no doubt that man could perform more evil acts toward his fellow man than he does. But if he is restrained from performing more evil acts by motives that are not owing to his glad submission to God, then even his "virtue" is evil in the sight of God.

Romans 14:23 says, "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." This is a radical indictment of all natural "virtue" that does not flow from a heart humbly relying on God's grace.

The terrible condition of man's heart will never be recognized by people who assess it only in relation to other men. Romans 14:23 makes plain that depravity is our condition in relation to God primarily, and only secondarily in relation to man. Unless we start here we will never grasp the totality of our natural depravity.

Man's depravity is total in at least four senses.

(1) Our rebellion against God is total. Apart from the grace of God there is no delight in the holiness of God, and there is no glad submission to the sovereign authority of God.

Of course totally depraved men can be very religious and very philanthropic. They can pray and give alms and fast, as Jesus said (Matthew 6:1-18). But their very religion is rebellion against the rights of their Creator, if it does not come from a childlike heart of trust in the free grace of God. Religion is one of the chief ways that man conceals his unwillingness to forsake self-reliance and bank all his hopes on the unmerited mercy of God (Luke 18:9-14; Colossians 2:20-23).

The totality of our rebellion is seen in Romans 3:9-10 and 18. "I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no not one; no one seeks for God....There is no fear of God before their eyes."

It is a myth that man in his natural state is genuinely seeking God. Men do seek God. But they do not seek him for who he is. They seek him in a pinch as one who might preserve them from death or enhance their worldly enjoyments. Apart from conversion, no one comes to the light of God.

Some do come to the light. But listen to what John 3:20-21 says about them. "Every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God."

Yes there are those who come to the light -- namely those whose deeds are the work of God. "Wrought in God" means worked by God. Apart from this gracious work of God all men hate the light of God and will not come to him lest their evil be exposed -- this is total rebellion. "No one seeks for God...There is no fear of God before their eyes!"

(2) In his total rebellion everything man does is sin.

In Romans 14:23 Paul says, "Whatever is not from faith is sin." Therefore, if all men are in total rebellion, everything they do is the product of rebellion and cannot be an honor to God, but only part of their sinful rebellion. If a king teaches his subjects how to fight well and then those subjects rebel against their king and use the very skill he taught them to resist him, then even those skills become evil.

Thus man does many things which he can only do because he is created in the image of God and which in the service of God could be praised. But in the service of man's self-justifying rebellion, these very things are sinful.

In Romans 7:18 Paul says, "I know that no good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh." This is a radical confession of the truth that in our rebellion nothing we think or feel is good. It is all part of our rebellion. The fact that Paul qualifies his depravity with the words, "that is, in my flesh," shows that he is willing to affirm the good of anything that the Spirit of God produces in him (Romans 15:18). "Flesh" refers to man in his natural state apart from the work of God's Spirit. So what Paul is saying in Romans 7:18 is that apart from the work of God's Spirit all we think and feel and do is not good.

NOTE: We recognize that the word "good" has a broad range of meanings. We will have to use it in a restricted sense to refer to many actions of fallen people which in relation are in fact not good.

For example we will have to say that it is good that most unbelievers do not kill and that some unbelievers perform acts of benevolence. What we mean when we call such actions good is that they more or less conform to the external pattern of life that God has commanded in Scripture.

However, such outward conformity to the revealed will of God is not righteousness in relation to God. It is not done out of reliance on him or for his glory. He is not trusted for the resources, though he gives them all. Nor is his honor exalted, even though that's his will in all things (1 Corinthians 10:31). Therefore even these "good" acts are part of our rebellion and are not "good" in the sense that really counts in the end -- in relation to God.

(3) Man's inability to submit to God and do good is total.

Picking up on the term "flesh" above (man apart from the grace of God) we find Paul declaring it to be totally enslaved to rebellion. Romans 8:7-8 says, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

The "mind of the flesh" is the mind of man apart from the indwelling Spirit of God ("You are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you," Romans 8:9). So natural man has a mindset that does not and cannot submit to God. Man cannot reform himself.

Ephesians 2:1 says that we Christians were all once "dead in trespasses and sins." The point of deadness is that we were incapable of any life with God. Our hearts were like a stone toward God (Ephesians 4:18; Ezekiel 36:26). Our hearts were blind and incapable of seeing the glory of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). We were totally unable to reform ourselves.

(4) Our rebellion is totally deserving of eternal punishment.

Ephesians 2:3 goes on to say that in our deadness we were "children of wrath." That is, we were under God's wrath because of the corruption of our hearts that made us as good as dead before God.

The reality of hell is God's clear indictment of the infiniteness of our guilt. If our corruption were not deserving of an eternal punishment God would be unjust to threaten us with a punishment so severe as eternal torment. But the Scriptures teach that God is just in condemning unbelievers to eternal hell (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Matthew 5:29f; 10:28; 13:49f; 18:8f; 25:46; Revelation 14:9-11; 20:10). Therefore, to the extent that hell is a total sentence of condemnation, to that extent must we think of ourselves as totally blameworthy apart from the saving grace of God.

In summary, total depravity means that our rebellion against God is total, everything we do in this rebellion is sin, our inability to submit to God or reform ourselves is total, and we are therefore totally deserving of eternal punishment.

It is hard to exaggerate the importance of admitting our condition to be this bad. If we think of ourselves as basically good or even less than totally at odds with God, our grasp of the work of God in redemption will be defective.

[ Editor's Note: To be totally depraved is to be so evil as to always sin against the Holy God. This is our state before we come to Jesus! Only through His Son, Jesus Christ; having no merit in ourselves, can any of us be saved! That is why we have the word of God and ministers of the Gospel of Grace speaking to us today, telling us of the importance it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If we begin the turn towards Him, He will personally teach us what we are to do... then it becomes our obedience to Him that will determine whether we truly believe on Him or not (Romans 10:16-18).

Faith is like the pipe that carries the living-water in it. It needs to be hooked up first before one can turn on the tap and experience the living water that freely flows from it. Hearing what God says gives us the much needed faith (Romans 10:17). So, even though we stand totally depraved as far as our being separated from God goes, nevertheless He gave us the Gospel message and has men preaching His word so that we might listen, contemplate, and believe, and believing we would come to have eternal life in and through His Son... and KNOW IT! ]

Faith, Repentance, Regeneration

In this Encouragement, we will look at some of the aspects of man's need for salvation and God's solution in the person of His Son by discussing REPENTANCE and REGENERATION through FAITH.

Crucial to our entering salvation is our repentance of sin. But, it is also crucial to the life of a Christian, for when he falls and sins, he needs to make things right with God concerning that sin so he maintains fellowship with Him. Therefore, I want to deal with a few false ideas of what repentance is.

REPENTANCE IS NOT REMORSE ALONE

Being remorseful is being sorry when we sin, but there can be remorse without a desire to change what one does in the future concerning that particular sin. Remorse is often just feeling bad over what you did because you got caught doing it. If one is truly remorseful, he will want to change that particular action from that point on and not do that again.

REPENTANCE IS NOT PENITENCE

Being penitent means to be sorrowful for one's sins with a consciousness of one's guilt. Penitence can imply a sense of guilt and some desire to change for the better, but it isn't necessarily REPENTANCE. There is an element of penitence in REPENTANCE.

REPENTANCE IS NOT REFORMATION

One of the mistakes Christians make is trying to reform their lives apart from a true heart change towards God and His righteousness in Christ. Reformation is a change toward the better, but does not necessarily mean acknowledgment of sin and guilt. We cannot reform the old man. God says He has crucified our old man with Christ and that we became new creatures when the Holy Spirit entered us at the time of initial salvation.

PENANCE IS NOT REPENTANCE

Penance is trying to do something to make up for something done wrong. One who does penance certainly recognizes his guilt and his need for forgiveness. But we can do nothing towards God to atone for sin. Jesus atoned for the sins of all men on the cross. The Apostle Paul said,
Rom 7:18 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find."
Jesus took sin's penalty on Himself at Calvary, the just dying for the unjust. A person that is repentant will try to correct wrongs done to others and try to please God with this effort, but this is not full REPENTANCE.

TRUE REPENTANCE

True REPENTANCE is simply this: a change of mind and heart concerning sins we commit because we realize God has been offended because of how we treat the finished work of Christ. Sin is disdain for the finished work of Christ, adn repentance is a turning back to Him and His righteous ways. Knowing Him also in His love, mercy and forgiveness as well as in His judgment is the catalyst for such a heart change. REPENTANCE is the one thing God is waiting for from all men while extending His mercy and forbearance because He knows He is going to send Jesus back.

Peter said, (2 Peter 3:9) "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

What a contrast to the Christian who will not perish eternally when Jesus returns, for Paul said,
2 Corinthians 4:16 "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day."

REPENTANCE is a turning to God so that we can continue by faith to live fully for Him and hope is the impetus for both of these. The Christian who watches his life and repents and changes his mind about sins he commits is renewed constantly day by day through REPENTANCE by the Holy Spirit. This work is carried on by the Holy Spirit within the believer as he reads and studies God's word.

The apostasy has done almost irreparable damage to the gospel by leaving behind the message of true REPENTANCE, yet Jesus died for that very message to go out to the ends of the earth:
Luke 24:46 "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things."

REGENERATION IS THE INITIAL FRUIT OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH

When man see he is a sinner who has sinned and that Jesus is the sin offering for his life of sin and his sins, he exercises his faith by repenting. The result of that is regeneration and restoration to fellowship with the Father. Regeneration is a brother to REPENTANCE. The two go hand in hand. And just as there are false ideas about what true REPENTANCE is, so it is with regeneration.

REGENERATION IS NOT JUST FOR SOME

All men need to repent, place their faith in God and be regenerated in spirit by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said,
(John 3:5) "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

When a person repents because of his sin and believes in the gospel, he is regenerated in his spirit, and thus experiences salvation:
Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

REGENERATION IS NOT IMPROVEMENT THROUGH GOD'S WORKING

Regeneration is not God gradually improving the sinful nature we were born with. Regeneration is believing God's word about Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit.

REGENERATION IS NOT OUR REFORMING OURSELVES

What I said about God not working to improve our sinful nature is also true of any effort that we alone might take in that direction. As Paul said to the Ephesians,
Eph 2:8 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ed Click here for more

FEEDING SHEEP OR AMUSING GOATS?

A Message by C. H. Spurgeon That Speaks To Us Today

An evil resides in the professed camp of the Lord so gross in its imprudence that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate evil for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.

From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." That is clear enough. So it would have been if He has added, "and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel." No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him.

Then again, "He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry." Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? "Ye are the salt," not sugar candy-something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, "Let the dead bury their dead." He was in awful earnestness!

Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, "Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!"

Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel amusement. Their message is, "Come out, keep out, keep clean out!" Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon. After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, "Lord grant Thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are."

If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They "turned the world upside down." That is the difference! Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to affect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy-laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand up!

There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.