Editorial
September/October, 1976
Volume 11, Number 5
The main purpose for the existence of the Brethren Revival Fellowship is the heartbeat of this month’s article by Linford Rotenberger. Bro. Rotenberger was one of those present at the prayer meeting (which is described in the article)–a meeting that gave birth to the BRF movement. Nearly twenty years have passed since the need for an organized and united voice was felt necessary. The cry for revival needs to be heard as much today, and perhaps the cry should be even louder.
Anyone who feels the burden for revival, and begins to cry aloud about the sin and indifference in the Church, is not embarking on a course of popularity. The prevalent and accepted way today is to affirm the Church in whatever she does, with little concern about measuring her integrity by the standards of righteousness described in the Scriptures. To call for (and rekindle) the fire of repentance from the pulpit, may bring some backfire out of the pews. Some people want only positive preaching. But one must use both the positive and negative posts on a battery if he wants to experience the flow of power.
Some people are dubious about the idea of revival because they say revivals don’t last. Well, neither does taking a bath last–but we still need to bathe. Many of our churches have discontinued the conventional “revival meeting” format. But that doesn’t prove that the congregation has no need of revival. In fact, one of the clearest evidences indicating the need for revival, is to start thinking we don’t need it! David said, “Wilt thou not revive us again?” There is a danger of equating genuine revival with having a high emotional experience, Brethren years ago were cautious about getting involved with the highly spirited and emotionally charged revival campaigns. We believe that true revival involves an element of emotion, but this should not be the primary focus. When revival is genuine, the result will be such that out of the renewal experience will come a deep, settled, abiding commitment to the will of God as revealed in the Bible.
We need a revival that will restore in the hearts of our people a reverential fear of God. We need revival that will restore the love for chastity and purity and that will establish a moral conscience about personal righteousness and sin. We need revival that will restore our dead formal churches into zealous well?balanced combinations of soul saving stations and Good Samaritan inns. The Church of the Brethren needs revival. Let’s not rationalize. Let’s repent.
A Call to Repentance and Revival
by Linford Rotenberger
The Brethren Revival Fellowship came into being at Annual Conference in June, 1959 at Ocean Grove, New Jersey. Possibly forty or fifty laymen and ministers, greatly burdened about the direction in which the Church of the Brethren was moving, gathered together in a prayer meeting. Many prayers ascended to the Throne that night seeking direction front the Lord. The sad condition of the church and the great need for revival was the burden of the prayers. Those gathered seemed to be of one mind in the conviction that the majority of Annual Conference delegates no longer regarded what the Word of God said, nor the leading of the Holy Spirit.
It was evident that the Church was departing from the clear teachings of the Word of God. One by one the principles and practices of the Brethren, as recorded in the Bible and espoused by Alexander Mack and the early Brethren, were being disregarded. The prayer covering (1 Corinthians 11) had long since given way to worldly fashions by many members, thus ignoring God’s order. Open membership, no longer requiring baptism by immersion, would naturally follow a worldly affiliation with the National and World Councils of Churches. Compromise is bound to follow such an affiliation, resulting in a weakening of our stand against drinking, smoking, and worldly living.
More recently, divorce and remarriage seems to be the order of the day, and the moral and spiritual standards for the ministry are constantly being lowered. We have abolished the office of the elder, and the Elders’ Body, and discipline in our churches is almost unheard of. The biblical standard for the ministry is ignored, and today a man can be ordained almost regardless of what he believes or doesn’t believe. Truly the church is paying an awful price for her compromise. Those who earlier advocated open membership, gave as their reason that the church might grow. Brothers and Sisters, what has been the result? In 1960 our membership was over 200,000, and today it is less than 180,000. My Brethren, isn’t it a time for a call to repentance and revival?
The Church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) was a church with much activity. This was a working church which labored hard and long and had great patience. There was no doubt a great concern for human need. It is recorded of this church that it labored patiently in Christ’s Name and did not faint. This is truly commendable. And yet, hear the solemn word, “I have this against thee, thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.” This is a clear call to repentance and revival.
“Thou Hast Left Thy First Love”
Is this not a serious charge, and does it not spell death for the church unless there is true repentance and revival? What does it mean to have left our first love? The greatest commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30). When we consider God’s love, Who spared not His own Son, but gave Him in love for us at Calvary, what shall we say? We can only respond with Isaac Watts when he says, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” Is it not true that we are so busy doing our good works that we have forgotten Him? We don’t have time for Him. Most of all, God wants our love and our obedience. Jesus said, “if a man love Me, he will keep my words” (John 14:23). Beloved, let us listen to what He has to say and then do it. Let us spend much time in His presence that we might hear from Him. He says, “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones” (Isaiah 57:15). May this be our greatest joy: to dwell with Him and in Him, and He in us.
“Remember Therefore From Whence Thou Art Fallen”
What a pity if we cannot see that we have fallen. Perhaps we are like Laodicea, thinking we are rich, and increased with goods and have need of nothing, not realizing our poverty-stricken condition. if this is our problem, let us go to our knees and ask God to anoint our eyes that we might see. Let us remember when we first came to know Christ–what joy and peace, what blessedness! We wanted everyone to experience the same joy and peace in believing. But what has happened? Isn’t His presence real anymore? Don’t we care about those who do not really know Him? Can we remember how sweet it was to commune with Him, to spend an hour in His presence! But perhaps that was a long time ago and we hardly remember how precious it was. Do not our hearts long for reality, to reach out in faith and touch Him and behold His glory? 0 Church of Christ, remember therefore from whence thou art fallen. Let us behold the New Testament pattern and compare it with where we are, that we might truly repent.
“And Repent”
The time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). God is calling the church to repentance. This is not a popular subject but it is a very necessary one. Not much is heard about repentance these days. We seem to want a religion in which we can do as we please and then expect God to put His stamp of approval upon us. But Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). And Revelation 2:5 says that unless we repent and do the first works, “He will come quickly and remove our candlestick (church) out of his place.” God help us if the true Church is already removed from among us and we have only a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5).
Let us notice the place of repentance in the Bible. The message of John the Baptist was repentance (Matthew 3:2,7,8). It was because he told Herod of his sin of adultery that he was beheaded. Jesus began His ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). When Jesus sent out the disciples, “They went out and preached that men should repent” (Mark 6:12). On the day of Pentecost Peter declared, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Paul, in his public ministry, and from house to house, preached repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21). Christ’s parting message before His ascension was “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). Our Lord’s earnest desire is that none should perish, “but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Acts 17:30 tells us that “God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” As we study the Old Testament we find that the message of the prophets was also repentance. How is it, my Brethren, that we are so silent on a message that is of such primary importance in the Scriptures?
Let us notice also the meaning of true repentance. In the Old Testament, the word means “to grieve about one’s doing,” and in the New Testament it. means “to change one’s mind.” When we put these together we have something like Dr. R. A. Torrey’s definition of repentance. He said, “Repentance of sin is such a sorrow for sin or abhorrence of sin, such a change of mind about it, as leads the sinner to turn away from it with all his heart.” The following illustration, published in The King’s Business, may help us better understand true repentance:
“Perhaps the quaintest letter in the whole White House collection is one which came from a youth, addressed to President Cleveland, written in Sept. 1895. This is what it says: ‘To His Majesty President Cleveland. Dear President: I am in a dreadful state of mind, and I thought I would write and tell you all. About two years ago–as near as I can remember, it is two years– used two postage stamps, that had been used before, on letters; perhaps more than two stamps, but I can only remember of doing it twice, I did not realize what I had done until lately. My mind is constantly turned on that subject, and I think of it night and day. Now, dear President, will you please forgive me, and I will promise you I will never do it again. Enclosed find cost of three stamps, and please forgive me, for I was then but thirteen years old, for I am heartily sorry for what I have done. From one of your subjects.’ ”
Oh, that the church today would have such a desire to be right with God. Oh, that we would do as our founders did, return to the Scriptures to find out what God wants us to do and then do it. What tremendous blessing could result if the church would turn to God in true repentance and do the first works.
“And Do The First Works”
What did our Lord mean when He told the Church of Ephesus to do the first works? First of all He wants our love. He wants to be first in our lives. All of our works should be motivated by our love for Him. If we truly love Him and want to serve Him, we will not set up our programs of service without consulting Him and His Word. Rather, we will seek to know His program for our lives. Jesus said, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19: 10). Apparently the first work which Christ came to do was to die for our sins. The great commission He left with His followers was to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). It seems very clear that the first work of the church, if we would follow Christ, is the salvation of the lost.
There was a day in the Church of the Brethren that when we spoke of missions it meant the salvation of the lost, either at home or abroad. Now the word “missions” seems to include all kinds of service projects, even though they might not be even remotely connected with the salvation of people from their sins. Let us never forget that the good news of Jesus is, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus (Saviour), for He shalt save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). It is a tragedy that our Brotherhood has been phasing out the evangelistic emphasis in missions, and as a result, many of our churches are looking to independent missions for missionaries to support. Why should our Brotherhood not provide evangelistic missionaries to go into all the world. Many of our churches would gladly and liberally support such ambassadors for Christ. My Brethren, let us return to do the first works, and God will bless us and send refreshing from His glorious presence.
Revival is the church’s greatest need
What do we mean by revival? In the Old Testament we read of revivals under such men as Hezekiah, Josiah, and Nehemiah. Here we see how God’s people (Israel) had departed from the Lord and were living in disobedience. The spiritual life of the people had deteriorated until many ungodly practices were being carried on. The nation became weak and often was in bondage to other nations. It was then that God moved these men to read the Holy Scriptures, and upon reading His Word they found how far they had departed from His commandments. In His Word they saw God’s plan and purpose for His people. As the Word was read to the people, repentance and confession of sins took place and revival followed. Revival was therefore a restoration of the spiritual and moral life of the people. Worship was restored and obedience to the Word of God followed. Revival in the Old Testament means, “to recover … .. to restore,” or “to return to God’s standard for His people.” In the New Testament the word means “to stir up or rekindle a fire which is slowly dying,” “to keep in full flame.” Revival assumes that there is still life, but that it has ebbed, it has waned, and needs to be quickened or revived.
The church needs revival when there has been a deterioration, a declension or a falling away from God’s original plan and purpose. God’s plan for His Church is that it should be holy and without blemish, a glorious Church without spot or wrinkle. Read Ephesians, chapter 5. God wants His Church to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to walk in obedience to His Word, to be followers of God as dear children, to really be devoted to Him. One needs only to carefully read the New Testament to see how far we have slipped and how greatly we need revival. The church today is in need of a fresh blood transfusion from Calvary. We need to acknowledge our coldness and indifference to a lost world. We are concerned for their bodies, and we should be, but we should be even more concerned for their eternal welfare. Remember that if we meet their physical needs but do not bring them the message of life in Jesus Christ, if they do not come to know Him, they will spend eternity in Hell and God will require it at our hand (Ezekiel 33:8). God help us to see a world lost in sin which needs Jesus Christ and His saving grace and power.
Do we really want revival?
Revival will not come to a self-satisfied church. The Church of Laodicea said it was rich and had need of nothing (Revelation 3:17). God could not bless this church until it would see its need and fall before Him in true repentance. He waits to bless the church that will humble itself before Him and seek His face. Dr. R. A. Torrey said: “I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth. The prescription is as follows: First, let a few Christians (they need not be many) get right with God themselves. THIS IS THE PRIME ESSENTIAL. If this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing. Second, let them bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for a revival until God opens the heavens and comes down. Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for Him to use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That is all! This is sure to bring a revival to any church or community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed; and IT CANNOT FAIL!”
God says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). And again He says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).
Will the Church hear the call to repentance and revival, or will it remain in a state of self?sufficiency and complacency? Our earnest prayer is that the church will re-examine its spiritual state, look at its program and policy, and do it in light of the Scriptures, If we do this with an honest heart, it will surely drive us to our knees in true repentance, seeking God’s face for a heaven?sent revival. The Holy Spirit will revive the church that diligently seeks His fullness. Let each one pray, “Lord, send a mighty revival, and let it begin in me.”
Linford Rotenberger was one of the founders of the Brethren Revival Fellowship in 1959.