(Date: 10/14/1999) After nearly 50 years of apologetics ministry
and at the age of 85, Christian growth author Miles J. Stanford
stepped into the Lord's glory on September 21, 1999. In addition
to his prolific writings, he maintained worldwide correspondence
with scores of hungry-hearted believers, typically signing his
doctrinally rich letters with "Resting in Him." Our
brother will be dearly missed. We present here his position paper
on Charles Finney's unscriptural theology and man-made methods
of evangelism.
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ORIGINAL SIN -- We deny that the human constitution is morally
depraved, because it is impossible that sin should be a quality
of the substance of the soul or body. It is, and must be, a quality
of choice or intention, and not of substance. To represent the
constitution as sinful, is to represent God, who is the author
of the constitution, as the author of sin. What ground is there
for the assertion that Adam's nature became in itself sinful by
the fall? This is a groundless, not to say ridiculous, assumption,
and an absurdity (Finney's Systematic Theology, pp. 249,250).
REGENERATION -- Regeneration implies an entire present change
of moral character, that is, a change from entire sinfulness to
entire holiness (Ibid., p. 291).
JUSTIFICATION BASED UPON SANCTIFICATION -- We see that, if a righteous
man forsake his righteousness, and die in his sin, he must sink
to hell. Whenever a Christian sins he becomes under condemnation,
and must repent and do his first works, or be lost (Ibid., p.
124).
OBEDIENCE -- That which the precept demands must be possible to
the subject. That which demands a natural impossibility cannot
be moral law. To talk of inability to obey moral law is to talk
nonsense (Ibid., p. 2).
ENTIRE SANCTIFICATION -- It is self-evident, that entire obedience
to God's law is possible on the ground of natural ability. To
deny this, is to deny that a man is able to do as well as he can.
The very language of the law is such as to level its claims to
the capacity of the subject, however great or small that capacity
may be.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength."
Here then it is plain, that all the law demands, is the exercise
of whatever strength we have, in the service of God. Now, as entire
sanctification consists in perfect obedience to the law of God,
and as the law requires nothing more than the right use of whatever
strength we have, it is, of course, forever settled, that a state
of entire sanctification is attainable in this life, on the ground
of natural ability (Ibid., p. 407).
THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER -- It is not intended that saints,
or the truly regenerated, cannot fall from grace, and be finally
lost, by natural possibility. It must be naturally possible for
all moral agents to sin at any time. Saints on earth and in heaven
can by natural possibility apostatize and fall, and be lost. Were
not this naturally possible, there would be no virtue in perseverance
(Ibid., p. 550).
DR. MARTYN LLOYD-JONES wrote:
Finney was a man who taught quite definitely that, if one applied
a given technique, one could have a revival at any time. This
is the essence of Finney's teaching in his books on revivals.
But history has surely proved that Finney was quite wrong.
Many have tried to plan revivals by using his technique and have
done so honestly, sincerely, and thoroughly, but the desired revival
has not come. One of Finney's cardinal errors was to confuse an
"evangelistic campaign" and a revival, and to forget
that the latter is always given in the sovereignty of God. It
never results from the adoption of certain techniques, methods,
or organization.
Indeed, in copies of the Oberlin Evangelist containing articles
by Finney (after his period as an evangelist and when he had become
a professor of theology), there are indications that the writer
himself had become somewhat suspicious of his own techniques.
There are statements written by Finney such as the following:
"If I had my time over again I would preach nothing but holiness.
The converts of my revivals are a disgrace to Christianity!"
"If I had the strength to go through the churches again,
instead of preaching to convert sinners, I would preach to bring
the churches to the spiritual standard of holy living."
The suggestion is that the tremendous pressure which this evangelist's
methods brought to bear upon the will and emotions, produced only
temporary results (Conversions, Psychological and Spiritual, p.
31).
FINNEY wrote:
In a revival, the Christian's heart is liable to get crusted over,
and lose its relish for divine things; his unction and prevalence
in prayer abate, and then he must be renewed again. It is impossible
to keep him in such a state as not to do injury to the work, unless
he passes through such a process every few days. I have never
labored in revivals in company with any one who would keep in
the work and be fit to manage revival continually, who did not
pass through this process of breaking down as often as once in
every two or three weeks (E.E. Shelhamer, Finney On Revival, p.
63).
JAMES BOYLE -- As a co-worker with Finney, Boyle wrote on December
25th, 1834:
Dear brother Finney, let us look over the fields where you and
others have labored as revival ministers, and what is now their
moral state? What was their condition within three months after
we left them? I have visited and revisited many of these fields,
and groaned in spirit to see the sad, frigid, carnal, contentious
state into which the churches have fallen--and fallen very soon
after our first departure from them (B.B. Warfield, Perfectionism,
p. 26).
ASA MAHAN -- wrote:
The people were left like a dead coal which could not be re-ignited;
the pastors were shorn of all their spiritual power, and the evangelists--and
I was personally acquainted with nearly all of them--I cannot
recall a single man, brother Finney and father Nash excepted,
who did not after a few years lose his unction, and become equally
disqualified for the office of evangelist and that of pastor (Ibid.,
p. 27).
No individual, I believe, ever disciplined Christians so severely
and with such intense and tireless patience as my brother Finney.
Appalled at the backsliding which followed his revivals of 1831-32,
his most earnest efforts were put forth to induce among believers
permanence in the divine life. In accomplishing this he knew of
but one method: absolute and fixed renunciation of sin, consecration
to God, and purpose of obedience.
During his pastorate at Chatham Street Chapel in New York City,
for example, he held for weeks in succession special meetings
in his church for perfecting his work, and never were a class
of poor creatures carried through a severer process of discipline
than were these.
Years afterward, as their pastor informed me, those believers
affirmed that they have never recovered from the internal weakness
and exhaustion which had resulted from the terrible discipline
through which Mr. Finney had carried them, and this was all the
good that had resulted from his efforts.
When he came to Oberlin, and entered upon the duties of his professorship,
he felt that God had given him a blessed opportunity to realize
in perfection his ideal of a ministry for the churches. He had
before him a mass of talented and promising theological students,
who had implicit confidence in the wisdom of their teacher, and
with equal sincerity would follow his instructions and admonitions.
He accordingly, for months in succession, gathered together those
students at stated seasons, instructed them most carefully in
regard to the nature of the renunciation of sin, consecration
to Christ, and purpose of obedience, required of them.
Then, under his teachings and admonitions, they would renew their
renunciations, consecrations and purpose of obedience, with all
the intensity and fixedness of resolve of which their natures
were capable. The result, in every case, was one and the same:
not the new life, and joy and peace, and power that was anticipated,
but groaning bondage under the law of sin and death.
At the commencement, and during the process of each meeting, their
confessions and renunciations, their solemn consecrations and
vows of obedience, were renewed, if possible, with fuller determination
than ever before.
Each meeting, however, was closed with the same dirge song: "Look,
how we grovel here below," or, "Where is the blessedness
I knew, when first I saw the Lord?" or, "Return, O Holy
Dove, return." And as they went out, not their songs of joy
and gladness were heard, but their groans became more and more
terribly audible (Autobiography, pp. 244,245).
QUESTION -- How would you like to have Mr. Finney hold a series
of "revival" meetings in your church? Do you recognize
any of his tactics in present day "revival" meetings?
"Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ." "Feed the flock of God which is among
you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly"
(2 Pet. 3:18; 1 Pet. 5:2).
More of Miles Stanford's position papers are available at Miles J. Stanford
frames site (http://www.ezlink.com/~trbranch/frames2.htm).
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
IMHO you and some others are over reacting to the words "cell
groups." You cannot put them all in one "box" any
more than you can put all churches or denominations in one box.
That is just plain old common horse sense. Evangelism is the key,
unless you are a Calvinist. You have given me a good idea though.
I might start a newsletter called "The New Testament and
Jesus Watch News" or something like that. Or maybe "Jesus
is the same yesterday, today and forever Watch News." Also,
unity with Rome will never happen with those that are truly following
the Lord in this great revival.
Bill S.
Answer: You might try researching these issues, yourself, unless
they're keeping you too busy engaging in strategic spiritual warfare,
synchronized prayer, passing through prayer tunnels and/or pinned
to the floor, all of which may sound Christian to you, but not
to me, even though we both own Bibles. (No offense intended.)
You know, Bill, there really are books on how to turn your church
into a cell-based church, conferences on the same subject, and
courses in church growth that teach the same exact model. These
books, conferences, and courses aren't talking about some benign
form of cell groups.
Even though a few old-time pastors still use that term to describe
home Bible studies, the cell-church model that is consistently
taught has no room for Bible studies (not in the cell, not in
the zone, and not at the worship center). Putting all Christians,
however nominal, including Catholics, into the same "box"
is exactly what they're trying to do. Tell me there are no Catholics
in the "Revival" and I'll call you a liar.
Please explain to me (or admit you can't) why unity with Rome
will never happen to those in "this great revival" --
the "river" -- when so many leading "revivalists"
and "nonrevivalists" (Silvoso, Wimber, Wagner, Cho,
Palau, Bright, Hayford, McCartney, Robertson, Winter, Trask, Dobson,
Colson, Graham, etc.) believe that Catholics are Christians who
don't need to be evangelized (only revived if not already charismatic
enough) and also believe that Christianity must be unified, regardless
of doctrinal differences, in order to effectively evangelize the
world. Isn't this unity exactly what the "prophets"
are now prophesying, as if on cue?
Are you in this "river" or aren't you, Bill? Either
get with the whole program, or get back to biblical Christianity,
or risk being found lukewarm. Explain why the AD2000 "network
of networks" -- also described as a river by its head honcho
(in his "dream" and his "vision") -- and the
New Apostolic Reformation -- also described as a river by its
seers and prophets (in countless dreams and visions) -- aren't
the same "river" you're wading in now. (That Brownsville
doesn't use the word "apostolic" might be a straw for
you to clutch, but a straw's not much use in keeping the tide
from rolling in).
Look into the leaders -- those on top, not some minor player like
Kilpatrick or Hill -- and prove to me they don't teach the same
lame Latter Rain. Your eyes might be opened, because I know you
really believe, in the new heart Jesus gave you, that the Bible
is right, and that the Bible tells us, not just who our battle
is really against, but how we are to conduct that battle -- and
not to expect a good harvest from bad seed.
"Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that
build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but
in vain" (Psalms 127:1).
"But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly
Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up" (Matthew 15:13).
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for
it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew 7:24-27).
I'm no Calvinist, Bill. As I told you before, I'm no "-ist"
or "-ic" or "-al" of any sort.
"Martin Luther said that God’s truth is like a drunkard
trying to ride a horse: prop him up on one side and he topples
over on the other. Balance is indeed hard to achieve in applying
God’s truth no less than in understanding it. We are always
in danger of pushing some biblical principle to an extreme."
(The Speaker’s Quote Book)
"Don't call yourselves Lutherans. Who is Luther but a miserable
bag of dust and ashes? Call yourselves 'Christians' after Him
who died for you!" (Martin Luther)
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David and Linda Liben
Delusion & Apostasy Watch News
delusionapostasy@aol.com
"Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day will not come, except there
come a falling away first..." 2 Thes. 2:3