Wednesday, December 10, 2014

God's Reactions to Man's Defections #4

The New Thing Which Is Old (continued)

Then comes the revival of Pentecost - surely a new beginning of God. They are wonderful days; but again, all too soon, we come upon signs of declension. In not a few places in the New Testament Scriptures do we find expressions indicating that the general condition is marked by sad contradiction of and inconsistency with the testimony. Jude, for instance, has a sorry business in his letter; but even there we find the thing which is true, indicating by the discriminating words: "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith ..." (Jude 20). This is the offset to the declension to which he refers.

At length we come to the Revelation, where parts of the Church are well-nigh completely decadent. Grievous things have to be laid to its charge. What will the Lord do? He may have to set the main thing aside, but He will not abandon His purpose. There are those in every place who are true, hungry, dissatisfied with things as they are, wanting to go on with the Lord. These are the Lord's reactionary instrument. There are the "overcomers" who hear what the Spirit is saying. These are God's new beginning by which He comes back to His first purpose.

We have thus hurriedly ranged the whole Scriptures to reveal the method of God. We should like to pursue it through the ages since New Testament times, but that must wait. We close this introductory consideration by saying that what God has always done He will do again, and when that which is ostensibly His representative instrument on the earth ceases to be actually and vitally such, although He may have raised it up Himself and used and blessed it, He may have to look within the general condition for those who will pay the price and give to Him that fuller measure for which He ever seeks.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 5 - (The New Cruse)

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