JAC Online

The Past is Good
by Andrew Bale

1 The past is good.

In the following quote, taken from an address delivered at the International Staff Councils 1904, William Booth posed, what was for him, the unthinkable question:

“The past is good - excellent; but will the Army abide or will it be as the morning cloud and the early dew, that melt away and leave no trace behind? Will it be as the bubble which, though it sparkles with glittering hues in the sunlight for a season, soon bursts and is seen no more?… Shall the Salvation Army, the child of our dearest hopes, our fondest dreams, and our deepest devotion, perish after this fashion? What do you say my comrade? What do I say myself? You ask.

The Founder went on to say that he rejected ‘the question as frivolous’. Indeed he saw the question ‘as an aspersion on the devotion and toil’ of Salvationists for it assumed ‘the possibility of their ceasing to live holy lives, loosing their love for souls, ceasing to offer their burning prayers, and stopping the fight in which they glory, for the salvation of their dying fellow men.’

In one sense the Founder’s prophetic optimism has been justified – The Salvation Army is still here. However, even the most loyal supporter, would have to accept that in the western territories at least, it bears very little resemblance to the Army that Booth foresaw. We know that this is true because in the same address the General goes on to describe his vision of a future Salvation Army and it does not look like the organisation which survives today. I am drawing comparisons to the Army in the western world; Booth would be quite at home with much of the Army in the developing world.

In his vision Booth sees four things.

The first is a general picture of a united Army involved in a ‘conflict - a fight - no! More than a fight - a long continued war.’ In which ‘Officers and Soldiers, Senior and Junior, far more enthusiastically inspired, and efficiently skilled than in all the past, all take hearty and earnest part.’

He then describes the work of the Army’s social wing in which he sees ‘the most complete and extended arrangements for the rescue of the drunkard of which the world has ever dreamed.’ He predicts that everywhere there will be “inebriate homes for men, inebriate homes for women’ and that these homes will be ‘a self-sustaining success’ which guarantees the deliverance of ‘thousands - nay, hundreds of thousands’.

He then turns his eyes to the Officers yet to be and he sees ‘a crowd of not less than 100,000 Officers, men and women of all nations, races and tongues, whose business it is to make Salvation known among the multitudes… far beyond anything known at present in quality… and all are favoured with a far superior training to that of their forerunners who are struggling in the War today.’ He describes the Training College of the future as ‘the World’s University for Training men and women to deal with the universal sins, vices and sufferings of humanity…’

Finally the General’s vision encompasses ‘the Salvation Citadel’ he states that ‘ no city and no neighbourhood of any dimensions - indeed, no village, - can be found without one.’ These ‘Salvation Citadels’ are described as being ‘not only a house of prayer and a Battery of Salvation, but a centre of every conceivable humanising and spiritualising influence and activity... every Citadel is a centre from which proceeds the religious visitation of every house around it, whether occupied by rich or poor, a source of friendship for every sick, friendless and suffering one: a responsible force for the oversight and religious ministration of every drinking saloon, concert hall, and theatre in the district: a fountain of merciful oversight for every gambling den round about.’

Even someone looking through red, yellow and blue tinted glasses could not fail to perceive that the reality we see around us today falls well short of the Founder’s vision. Booth saw an Army that would grow numerically, professionally and in evangelistic effectiveness:-

Somewhere along the way the old man’s vision has faltered and the reason why can be found in what Booth refused to accept as possible yet which has today become a reality. Booth saw decline and death as unthinkable simply because it could only happen as the direct result of our movement losing four things – four things which were so basic and fundamental to authentic Salvationism that is was quite simply beyond his belief that they could disappear.

Those four essentials of primitive Salvationism were:

• Every soldier living a holy life
• Every soldier possessing a practical love for souls,
• Every soldier offering burning prayers,
• Every soldier actively fighting for the salvation of others.

If we assume that the Army in the western territories is dying then there are two ways we can debate its impending death (based on Booth’s vision) - we can discuss whether or not the essentials listed above have been lost (and to what degree) or we can simply accept Booth’s logic and admit that our current decline is proof of that loss.

There is of course a third option which dismisses Booth’s vision and demands that the Army of today needs to be demolished completely and rebuilt from the ground up. The writer, whilst recognising that such an opinion exists, dismisses it on the grounds that the unique denominational witness God raised the Army up to express still needs to be heard (and seen) by the wider church. The question asked (and answered by this series) is not is the Army dying but can the Army live again? The answer, I believe, is found in how much we value those four essentials.

2 Every soldier living a holy life

William Booth identified 4 essentials he considered to be crucial to the survival and development of the Army. The first of those four essentials is holiness.

It is my firm belief that the rediscovery of practical personal holiness will prove to be the salvation of The Salvation Army. Indeed, if time and space permitted, I think one could build a convincing argument that this is the only Salvation Army essential as the other three are all a direct and natural consequence of holiness.

Let’s be honest – in today’s Army holiness is hardly ever taught, hardly ever believed and hardly ever lived. Over the years the Army has softened and watered down its definition of holiness and the conclusions of the current doctrine book would be considered vague – even derisory – by Salvationists listening to the founder’s predictions in 1904.

For a definition of holiness as it was understood by the Founder you need to go back (probably before the war). What follows is a summary of Holiness as set out in the 1922 Doctrine Book.

“The sanctification of god’s people means their separation from sin and their devotion to god. Entire sanctification is complete deliverance from sin, and the devotion of the ‘whole being, with all its gifts and capacities, to the love and will of god.’

• The first condition of entire sanctification is conviction; that is, seeing the need for being made holy.
• The second condition of entire sanctification is renunciation; that is, giving up everything opposed to the will of God. Renunciation must be forever, and it must be entire, including everything that is known to be wrong. Everything that seems doubtful, for the Bible shows such to be sinful.
• The third condition of entire sanctification is consecration; That is, the dedication to God of ourselves and all we possess, to live only to please Him and do His will.
• The fourth condition of entire sanctification is faith;
• Assurance of entire sanctification is given by the Holy Spirit.
• Sanctification is the work of God.
• Entire sanctification takes place instantaneously.
• The entirely sanctified are kept only by God.”

If we agree with William that holiness, as described above, is essential to the growth and development of the Army then we must rediscover both the power and the application of personal holiness.

Ask a group of Salvationists under the age of 21 to give you a definition of ‘salvation’ and most of them could come up with a plausible answer – ask them to define ‘holiness’ and most of them would struggle to deliver a credible response. Recent Salvation Army publications (from the 1960’s on) have often excelled at saying what holiness isn’t without finding the courage to say exactly what it is!

Holiness is not complicated; it is simply the wilful obedience of the greatest commandment - ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.' (Matthew 22:37). Holiness is a matter of saying to yourself, the world and the devil I belong to God to be used by him as, when and how he sees fit. Sometimes we confuse holiness with our Christian pilgrimage and therefore see it as a process. God does not accept our ‘living sacrifice’ piecemeal, he wants it all and he wants it immediately. If we give him 95% of ourselves and knowingly hold back 5% then we are sin – an unrepentant and deliberately disobedient person cannot be saved (‘continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith…)

Of course we can only surrender everything according to the knowledge and revelation we have received – what God calls ‘all’ today’ he may identify as ‘partial’ tomorrow. Ongoing revelation may be a process but holiness can only ever be an instant transaction. Of course such an entire consecration is only made possible by grace and sustained through faithful obedience.

I came across a great quote the other day, I have been unable to find the source but it simply stated that people often say they value what they do but in reality people do what they value. Holiness happens when we value God and his purposes, when we value the lost, when we value time alone with God, when we value Christian fellowship and time with the word. Holiness happens when we value those things not just in an intellectual or emotional way but when we value them in a practical way.

Consecration means obedience to God and obedience to God means a refusal to sin. Some Christians believe that sin is inevitable this side of death. Such a notion would have been quickly dismissed by our pioneers as heresy. Uncomfortable though the thought is our doctrines remind us that our salvation is dependant on our obedience. This is not to say that we earn our salvation, salvation is the free gift of God, what it does say is that wilful disobedience is sin and active Christianity and sin do not mix. Holiness does not protect us from error or stupidity but as long as we remain ‘set apart’ by the Holy Spirit it does save us from sin completely.

If we want to fulfil God’s plans for the Salvation Army then we must once more raise this essential to its proper place within our denominational display cabinet. The Salvation Army is meant to be a holiness movement made up of fully consecrated warriors who, by the grace of God, have gone on their way determined to ‘sin no more’.

William Booth said in a letter written October 10, 1886:
"Bramwell wrote to me last week, saying that it is the experiential realization and definite teaching of the blessing of Holiness that alone can make us different from the other organizations around us. I say Amen. And only this, it seems to me can justify us in having any separate existence at all."

The good news is that holiness is not shunned by contemporary Salvationists it is simply something that they are largely unaware of. Let’s teach it, let’s live it, let’s enjoy it for without it ‘none shall see the Lord.’

3. Every soldier possessing a practical love for souls,

The average Salvation Army Officer in the western territories no longer has any real confidence in the ability of the gospel to save a man instantly. Ouch! I can already feel the rotten tomatoes and brickbats coming my way – but let us be completely honest with ourselves. Imagine the scene, an inebriated man staggers into the hall demanding material help – what do we do? Do we:-

A) Immediately fall to our knees, clasping their hand and start pleading for their soul.

B) Ask them to come back tomorrow and then start ringing round trying to secure funding so that they can go through detox.

C) Give them a food parcel

D) Give them a travel voucher out of our city so that they become somebody else’s problem.

We do not direct such people to the mercy seat as readily as we ought to because we no longer think that their Salvation is either, necessary or likely. Although all Salvationists and Salvation Army Officers have signed up to the Doctrines many of them no longer believe in judgement or hell and as a result do not see their own Salvation or that of others as important. Keith Green sums it up so much better than I can!

Do you see, do you see all the people sinking down
Don't you care, don't you care are you gonna let them drown
How can you be so numb not to care if they come
You close your eyes and pretend the job's done

"Oh bless me lord, bless me Lord" you know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds and He cares for you needs
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in
Oh can't you see it's such a sin

'Cause He brings people to you door and you turn them away
As you smile and say "God bless you, be at peace"
And all heaven just weeps 'Cause Jesus came to you door
And you've left him out on the streets.

If we want the Army to survive and grow it isn’t going to happen unless we all have a love for souls and it is abundantly obvious that our passion for the lost is on the wane.

How do we get a love for souls? Well first of all it helps to be saved and to fully understand that we are saved It also helps to recognise what we are saved from, what we are saved to, and that our salvation is the result of God’s love and mercy. We also need to believe that the salvation we enjoy is as readily available to others. Where does a love for souls come from? It comes from a natural desire to share with other people that ‘life in all its fullness’ which has so radically altered and improved our own lives. A man cured from a hitherto incurable disease will automatically point any other sufferer he meets towards the cure. In the same way a truly saved Salvationist will naturally possess a love for souls.

Some argue that our earliest converts were familiar with the teachings of the bible and that society generally accepted the bible as true. Proponents of this theory would argue that if a Salvationist in 1880 confronted a sinner for long enough with the gospel the inevitable result would be repentance. This theory is well passed its sell by date and in desperate need of dismissal. Many of the Army’s earliest converts had experienced no contact with any kind of religious education whatsoever, many of them were unable to read or write and were accurately identified by the Army as belonging to an un-churched underclass. The gospel preached and the methods used in reality were no more culturally relevant to the un-churched masses then as might be the case today. The truth is that the gospel has never been culturally relevant – this was true when Judaic monotheistic Christians tried to convert polytheistic Greeks and Romans in the first century and it remains so today.

Our need is not to make the gospel (nor the Army) culturally relevant but to simply recognise the relevance of the gospel full stop. The world needs Jesus, sinners need Jesus and it is the responsibility (and ought to be the natural desire) of the Salvationist to go after them. Without judgement, without hell, without heaven the Salvation Army is indeed redundant. We were raised up to be a mission engaged in the active redemption of the lost – quite literally plucking souls from the fires of hell. Take away man’s universal need for salvation, take away the urgency of our evangelism and we become like a hospital without patients or worse - Doctors without a cure.

In order to rediscover this essential our soldiers once again need to become ‘saved to save’. Collectively The Salvation Army needs to become a living corporate testimony to both the need for and the efficacy of Salvation. The truth is that not ‘one’ but millions of souls ‘remain without the light of God’ and God still requires an Army to go and fight for them.

O is not the Christ 'midst the crowd of today
Whose questioning cries do not cease?
And will he not show to the hearts that would know
The things that belong to their peace?
But how shall they hear if the preacher forbear
Or lack in compassionate zeal?
Or how shall hearts move with the Master's own love,
Without his anointing and seal?

In George Scott Railton’s book “Heathen England” printed in 1877, the old warrior expounding the value of open-air evangelism is asked “How many are considered necessary to undertake a procession?” – Railton’s response – ‘One!’

4. Every soldier offering burning prayers

The following quote, taken from the same series of addresses (initially delivered to Staff Officers in 1904 by William Booth) on which this series is based, gives us Booth’s take on prayer (his pragmatic common sense, powers of observation and wisdom never cease to amaze.)

“It seems to me… that there are several kinds of praying:-

One man prays to man. That is – he prays for the approval of those about him. He wants them to think well of him and his performance. He prays for the information, or comfort, or benefit of those for whom he prays, and whose benefit he seeks, and to whom he wishes to do good. Still, it is prayer to man, and there is no attempt to get anything from God in it. That is not aggressive prayer.

Another man prays to himself. He prays to his own mind. His performance is an intellectual exercise, and if he thinks he has made a well-sounding prayer he is content. There is no attempt to influence the mind of God, or to get anything from God. At best, it is like stagnant water.

Another, prays into space, as it were. He opens his mouth, and utters a sentence. This sentence calls up another; and on he goes, until he has gone his round, or occupied as much time as he considers necessary, and then he says ‘Amen.’ He may have good and earnest desires in all this, and the thing may sound rather fine, but you cannot call that aggressive prayer. It is more like sounding brass.

Another man fixes his mind upon the thing he wants, and the God to whom he has come for it. He seizes the opportunity to ask God for it, and believes that He hears his request. There is something likely to follow such an appeal.”

If you ask the average Salvationist how much, on a scale of one to ten, (1 being high) they value prayer most would respond with ‘one’. If they were then asked to share how much time they devoted to prayer it is unlikely that they would be willing to provide a candid answer. As with holiness we are in danger of losing almost completely our unique call as a movement to ‘aggressive prayer’.

The Salvation Army was birthed in ‘aggressive prayer’. This is the kind of intercession that mirrors the struggle of Jacob when he wrestled with God. It is intercession that believes, that expects, that demands in faith. It is the kind of ‘importune’ prayer that Christ described in the parable in Luke 11:5-8 which is almost improper or rude in its urgency. It is the type of prayer that often continues into the early hours of the morning or goes without sleep completely, it is often accompanied by fasting and repentance.

Booth described such intense intercession as ‘burning prayers’ and such prayers are the fuel of The Salvation Army. Once upon a time the meeting (whether it focussed on salvation or holiness) was merely the appetiser with the main course being the prayer meeting. The notion of a prayer meeting following the main meeting is all but lost from the contemporary Salvation Army. Indeed the most once can expect today is a hastily cobbled together appeal tagged onto the end of the meeting - sometimes nothing more than the selection of a quieter or more reflective song and sometimes not even that. How many times have we sat in meetings and sensed the readiness of souls to convert or consecrate yet no opportunity has been given.

How can we rescue sinners and see saints regenerated without ‘aggressive prayer’. If we are to ‘Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day’ if as an Army we are going to go on from ‘strength to strength’ then we are going to have to ‘wrestle and fight and pray’

The following extract from the Newcastle Daily Chronicle, Wednesday 21st May 1879 describes the practice, purpose and result of such prayer:

“Several figures are bent double near the platform, groaning and wringing their hands… Penitents! Are these penitents who kneel on the form and wring their hands? Or are they persons struck with the contagion of over- wrought enthusiasm?

Half a-dozen crop-headed youths are praying vociferously, with their faces towards me. Did I say praying? It was vociferous shouting, with closed eyes. Their bodies sway to and fro; their hands are lifted, and brought down again with a thump on the form; they contort themselves as if they were in acute agony.

The converts retire to their seats with red faces. Let us follow one of them. He is a broad- faced, shock-headed youth, of about twenty. A few minutes since, he was foaming out of a well-developed mouth. Now he is dancing about the floor, shouting "hallelujah" and wringing the hands of all those who will yield their arm to him. Anon he will mount one of the forms, and shout his experience into the middle of a hubbub which condemns him to remain unheard. Then he will waltz round again, alternately laugh and cry, and go through a new course of hand-shaking. He has in fact been converted.”

If we are to survive and prosper as an Army it will be on the back of our ‘burning prayers’. Let the true Salvationist wheedle out those prayers made to man, to ourselves or worse spoken into space and let him fix his “mind upon the thing he wants, and the God to whom he has come for it.’ Let him ‘seize the opportunity to ask God for it, and believe that He hears his request.” For as the Founder reminds us “There is something likely to follow such an appeal.”


5. Every soldier actively fighting for the salvation of others

“But the victory which above all others we prize, in the open air as well as elsewhere, is the salvation of souls on the spot. We constantly invite seekers of salvation to come and kneel down in the midst of our ring before everybody, to plead for mercy. And, thank God! The invitation has very often met with a hearty response” so said George Scott Railton in his famous Salvation Army apologetic ‘Heathen England”.

God raised up The Salvation Army to save souls, if our evangelistic methods do not deliver the maximum number of converts in the minimum amount of time they we are failing our calling. First and foremost we should be constantly engaged in battling for the Salvation of the world.

Like any other Army engaged in active conflict we must dedicate every available resource towards the front line. Our troops must be armed, trained, led, deployed, fed, nursed (when wounded fighting) and when caught by the enemy rescued. In short we have to be engaged at all levels in fighting for the salvation of others. This practical and sacrificial commitment to battle is the fourth essential outlined by Booth in his vision of the future and like the first three it is largely lacking in our modern movement.

An 1878 advertisement for Salvation Army Officers asked the following to apply:

“Men and women of God, anxious to devote their lives to the work of saving souls… who can talk to a crowd of people… so as to wound sinners hearts; who can lead a godly band of men and women to do anything likely to win souls.”

Conversely the same advert requested that the following need not apply:

“Those who do not think they can be expected to exhaust all their strength in labouring day and night to save souls.”

As the song says ‘Salvation is our motto’ and so it needs to be. Our very name ought to prove to even the most sceptical doubter what God intended our main occupation to be.

In the quote that opened this series William Booth foresaw “‘a conflict - a fight - no! More than a fight - a long continued war.’ In which ‘Officers and Soldiers, Senior and Junior, far more enthusiastically inspired, and efficiently skilled than in all the past, all take hearty and earnest part.’

If holy living, a love for the lost and intense intercession are essentials of Salvationism how much more is the requirement that every part of our structure, every resource, every covenanted soldier and Officer is spent in the salvation of the world.

If we take an un-blinkered look at ourselves – warts and all – we will see that much of what keeps us busy is evangelically unproductive. We have plenty of coffee shops that provide a secure environment for elderly shoppers to chat, we have a surfeit of charity shops where people can grab a bargain, and we have a host of various clubs and fellowships which entertain the saints but very little in the way of militant evangelism. Now there is nothing wrong with service rendered in love which does not seek to save but simply to help and support – but we need to remember that as important as such service is it is not our raison d'etre.

In his book ‘Lost Prophets’ Commissioner Brengle described what he thought would become of the Army if ‘love leaked out’, does the following picture describe with any accuracy the Army of 2006:

“We may still house the homeless, dole out food to the hungry, punctiliously perform our routine work, but the mighty ministry of the Spirit will no longer be our glory. Our musicians will play meticulously; our Songsters will revel in the artistry of song
that tickles the ear, but leaves the heart cold and hard. Our Officers will make broad their phylacteries and hob-nob with mayors and councilmen and be greeted in the market-place, but God will not be among us. We shall still recruit our ranks and supply our Training Garrisons with Cadets from among our own Young People, but we shall cease to be saviours of the lost sheep that have no shepherd.”

If I have a useful tool that no longer functions then I try and repair it, if the damage is irreparable then I throw it away – or to use a biblical metaphor – if I dig a trench around my vine and water it but it continues to produce no fruit then I cut it down and throw it on the fire (Luke 13:6-9)

God raised up The Salvation Army because he needed a militant company of covenanted warriors who were totally consecrated to him and completely devoted to the evangelism of the lost. He still needs such a tool – indeed his need is greater today than it has ever been. He doesn’t need another church – café, community or otherwise he needs an Army. If the Army is to survive and grow then it needs to find the self confidence to be itself. The Army cannot love the lost until it loves itself and is completely happy with the calling that God has bestowed upon it.

In the words of a somewhat antiquated panel game it is time for the real Salvation Army to stand up. God is checking the fuse, oiling the motor and hoping that his beloved tool will spring to life – if it doesn’t he’ll throw it away and simply create a new one.

Last year I attended the British Congress. The evening meeting on the Sunday was excellent. A good sermon was followed by a lengthy and fruitful prayer meeting culminated in many decisions. I left the auditorium optimistic and upbeat. As I made my way through the throng to the exit an African officer resplendent in his stand up collar white uniform approached me – to this day I don’t know who he was? He embraced me – indeed he lifted me off the floor! He looked me in the eye and said “Don’t worry brother, the revival is coming, it wont always be like this; the revival is coming!”

Fill us with thy Holy Spirit;
Make our soldiers white as snow;
Save the world through Jesus' merit,
Satan's kingdom overthrow.
Bless our Army! Bless our Army!
Send us where we ought to go.

 

 

 

   

 

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