Editorial Keynotes

The Ministerial Call and Calling—No. 2

Let us now, in conclusion, note consec­utively the four evidences of the divine call and commission to the gospel ministry.

First, that inner conviction that deepens with the years. This is the great work and prerogative of the Holy Spirit, inwrought in varying ways and degrees. Said Paul: -Ne­cessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel !" I Cor. 9:16. A young man asked Moody, "Do you think I ought to enter the ministry?" His response was not only characteristic, but fundamentally sound. "Not if you can help it." God does not want and cannot use office or title seekers. On the other hand, no man can shake off the genuine grip of God's call.

It is not ordination, or zeal, or learning that makes a minister. It is the authenticat­inF. sense of God's hand laid upon him, and of a message he is commissioned and con­strained to deliver. A call is a need made known, with divine power supplied to meet that need. There is nothing so tragic as a man in the ministry discharging his office simply because it is an office—standing before a congregation without knowing that God has put him there. Better not enter the ministry than blunder in with a blurred and distorted vision of God's power and man's need. The legend is told of the devil on a preaching tour. Two Christians made the discovery. One was greatly alarmed, but the other said, "You need not fear, for there is no power with it." Verily, power belongs unto God, and He be­stows it upon only those whom He calls.

It should be noted in passing that conviction may come even prior to one's conversion, even though the heart may not yet be yielded to God, especially if the individual comes from a godly home, has had a religious training, and has been subjected to the Spirit's impres­sions.

The second evidence to be mentioned is the convergence of providential circumstances. This may be termed collateral evidence. Di­recting influences, arresting disappointments, advice of friends, opportunities for gospel serv­ice, a transforming book, a hedged-up path, a sudden bereavement, a notable deliverance from danger or death—these are often God's voice saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Thus the outer and inner calls blend into one.

Then, the approving judgment and official call of the church. The great Head of the church leads the church to recognize God's call. And what are some of the requisite personal qualifications that should guide the church in its decisions? There are four:

a.  Spiritually, a man should have passed from knowledge about God to personal ac­quaintance with Him. That is foundational. The motive should be pure—not morbid, or selfish. Vox populi must not be the secret spring of his endeavors—to curry favor or win applause. Faithfulness is demanded. No man is fit for the ministry who does not have clear convictions on the authority of the Word, the Person and work of Christ, the efficacy of the gospel, and the specific testing truths and distinguishing characteristics of this last-day message.

b.  Morally, he must be spotless and blame­less, that his life shall not be a stumbling block to others. His ideals and standards must be the highest. In most professions a man may go on, irrespective of personal character ; but the minister who has lost his character has lost everything.

c.  Mentally, he should be capable of clear, logical thought and presentation, and should have some facility of speech. He should have capacity and willingness for hard mental work. Lazy men have no place in the ministry.

d.  Physically, the blind, the deaf, those who have an impediment of speech or an incurable malady, should seriously ques­tion their call. The gospel standard of phys­ical fitness should not be below that of the requirements for the Levitical priesthood, dis­closed in Leviticus 21 :17-21. When the person called has met these four requirements, the church unites the official to the inner and outer calls of God.

Lastly, the ultimate attestation is fruitage. The final and indisputable evidence that God calls a man to His ministry is the fact that He bestows upon that person the gifts which qualify and make him fruitful. There is no mistaking the minister whom God calls. The bestowal of the Holy Spirit ripens his life into one of resolve, power, and fruitfulness. God never chooses a man to be His spokesman and then deserts him. Search as we may, we shall not find any other outward test so reliable as the test of fruitage. Paul said, "If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord." 1 Cor. 9:2. This is the living, culminating evidence. The church has the right to look for this proof, and a minister should never be satisfied without it.

No amount of pious learning, literary or oratorical gifts, critical acquaintance with Scripture, hard work related to the church, or possession of conference credentials, is to be counted as a substitute for fruit. The man of God carries with him this indisputable wit­ness that he is a minister of Christ, because hearts are softened, lives are changed, repent­ance and remission follow, and souls are saved as trophies of Christ's redeeming grace. These are the ultimate seal of his ministry, the divine attestation. Thus inner, outer, churchly, and divine evidences combine to mark the man.

The great need of the church today is a dominantly spiritual, wholly consecrated min­istry, one that will never swerve from its high calling and commission, or prostitute to the slightest degree the gifts conferred by God. Dannecker, the great German sculptor, spent eight years upon a marble figure of Christ. After two years he called a child to his studio, and asked, "Who is that?" "Some great man," was the child's reply. Dannecker turned away, disheartened. But he began anew. Years passed, and he again called a child and asked the same question, "Who is that?" "He who said, 'Suffer little children to come unto Me,'" was the welcome response.

It was enough. Here was the secret: It was because Dannecker in the solitary vigils of the night had at last caught a vision of the Christ and had transferred it to stone. Napoleon heard of his fame and asked him to make a statue of Venus for the Louvre in Paris. To this Dannecker replied, "A man who has seen Christ would commit sacrilege if he employed his gifts in carving a pagan goddess. My art is henceforth a consecrated thing." May God give us the same spirit of fidelity!

Murray MacCheyne was one of Scotland's great preachers, though he died at the early age of twenty-nine. Everywhere he went, Scotland was shaken. He lived a wonderful life, preached a gripping gospel, and won thousands for God. A theological student who was anxious to discover the secret of the great preacher's power, went to the Scotch town where MacCheyne had lived, and found the church. He told the aged sexton that he had come a long way, and wanted to see where MacCheyne studied and preached, that he might understand his power.

The gray-haired sexton said, "Come," and led him into the study. "Sit down in that chair," he said. The theological visitor hesi­tated a moment, and then sat down. On the table in front of him was an open Bible.

"Drop your head in that Book and weep for lost men. That is the way our minister al­ways did before be preached," he said. Then the sexton said, "Come with me." And he led him up into the pulpit before the open Bible. "Now," he said, "stand there and drop your head in your hands over that Book and weep for the people. That is the way our minister always did before he preached."

No wonder he stirred Scotland. May God give us the same spirit of mighty intercession, the same burden for lost souls, the same su­preme faith, the same unswerving confidence and fidelity, the same poignant consciousness of divine call and commission that has marked all the great ministers of God through the ages. We need it, want it, yea, must have it, in proclaiming God's last message to man in this remnant of time.

Concluding, then, we may say that the true minister of Jesus Christ is called of God (Acts 13:2), is separated unto the gospel (Rom. I :I), is qualified by God (2 Cor, 3: 5, 6), has authority from God (2 Cor. 13:10, is commissioned by Christ (Matt. 28:19, 20), and is sent by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2, 4). God give us a host of such!                                

L.E.F.

December 1940

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