The Fascination of the Race and Other Essays,
The Awakening
When the divine light begins to dawn in a human soul and the soul becomes aware
of its uncleanness and unworthiness, what is more natural than that one should
resolve to mend his ways, to discontinue doing the things which the quickened
conscience shows him to be wrong, and to do better!
Thus begins the first skirmish of a battle which is to go through many stages
before victory is won and the soul attains to its liberation from the power of
Often as long as one is a willing servant of sin he is apt to harbor the
illusion that, should he choose to do so, he could, any time, at will, throw off
his vices and live a virtuous life. It is only after the soul has challenged the
power of sin by making a resolve to cease from sinning that the soul discovers
how great is the power of sin over it.
Wise are they who at this state learn quickly to seek Jesus Christ, the Saviour,
who has broken the yoke of Satan and who is able to make those who believe and
obey Him truly free. But often this wisdom is not so quickly learned. The human
heart is proud and is loath to confess that it is unable to free itself. So the
struggle goes on. Sometimes the soul has victory and rejoices therein; then
again it suffers defeat and finding itself overcome by the power of sin to do
what it would not, (Rom. 7:19) it goes down into the depths of despair, being
condemned of its own conscience. “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me
from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24)
Under the law
Thus the soul is brought under the law. Ever trying to keep the law of
righteousness to be justified thereby, but often failing, it finds no
satisfaction and no peace.
No, this is not the way to attain to the newness of life. This is patchwork,
mending a rent here, while a greater one appears elsewhere, and overcoming one
weakness by a concentration of the will, only to find oneself fallen into
another and perhaps greater one. This is the error to which Jesus refers when he
says, “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth upon an old garment.” (Mark 2:21)
Christ means by these words to warn us against patchwork, against efforts to
mend and improve the old natural life in order to attain virtue and be justified
The remedy is not to improve our natural life, but to give it up, to lose it, as
Jesus said: “Whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it.”
(Luke 9:24) Paul said strikingly to the Romans: "Our old man is crucified with
Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin.” (Rom. 6:6) Now, we were not physically crucified with Christ, but we are
crucified with Christ when through repentance our sinful nature, the sinful
life, is nailed to the cross and perishes.
Thus the way is paved for the new life, for the new birth, as Christ said to
Nicodemus: “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John
But what is more natural than Nicodemus's question: "How can a man be born when
he is old?" Or the question of the prison keeper to Paul and Silas: "What must I
do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)
The Way
In the following paragraphs we shall endeavor to show, in words as direct and
simple as possible, the way by which men can attain to the new birth, realizing,
however, that our best efforts in this direction are vain if God does not open
the hearts to receive, understand, and believe His word.
The first essential, therefore, is a humble attitude, a receptive mind, a
willingness to be instructed and corrected, in short, a willingness to cooperate
with the grace of God and not to resist Him.
We must have confidence toward God that He desires our salvation, as Paul writes
to Timothy, “It is the will of God that all men should be saved.” (I Tim. 2:4)
There is nothing lacking on His part. He has prepared the way and calls men
through the gospel to come to Him on this way. He is faithful and true and keeps
His words of promise: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find;
knock and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matt. 7:7) For He promises two things,
two specific works in the New covenant; namely, to enable us to choose and to do
His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13-16)
But our seeking of God must be a sincere and wholehearted affair. God is not
impressed by words and phrases. He sees the heart, and the sincere yearnings of
our hearts reach Him if they are expressed only in deep sighs or in such simple
words as, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” On the other hand, He is unmoved by
the most eloquent and finely phrased prayers which scholars can form, if they
are not the true expressions of the heart's yearnings.
If a person would attain to the new life, he should be honest and sincere with
himself and with God, for He knows all things and cannot be deceived. If we lack
sincerity we deceive only ourselves. If we approach and seek God in sincerity
and true earnestness and in the way prescribed in the Gospel, we cannot fail,
for God's way is a way upon which the simple cannot err if they are sincere and
Not only is simplicity of mind no obstacle to our finding God's ways and to our
understanding His message, but it is in fact an essential condition to
understanding God's ways. Christ says: "Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall
not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."
Among all the obstacles we meet in turning from the natural to the godly life,
one of the most difficult is false human wisdom and philosophy. Just as the
human heart desires to be justified in its own virtue, so does it also desire to
be guided by its own wisdom, and both of these desires are serious obstacles to
God's wisdom is infinitely higher than human wisdom, and one of the highest
lessons that we must learn in coming to God, is to completely subject our own
wisdom and thought to His wisdom and doctrine. The child is receptive and
teachable, whereas the adult mind is full of preconceived notions and conceit
which hinder the wisdom from above from finding lodgement in his heart. That is
why, as Christ said, if we are to receive the Kingdom of God we must do it in
childlikeness; (Matt. 18:3) that is, in simplicity to be teachable and
When the soul has reached a state of humility, of teachableness and a
realization of its dependence upon Christ for grace and guidance, a large
forward step has been taken toward the new birth. Often this is the most
difficult part of conversion, for the natural man loves his “own life” and is
slow to give it up so that Christ might be born in him.
In repentance
All this time, prayer is playing a great role in the work of regeneration. Many
of us were taught from childhood to pray but as long as the soul is untouched by
the divine life, our prayers are mostly an empty form, mere words and phrases
rendered largely through habit and a sense of duty. How futile are such prayers!
But a change is taking place. The divine light is dawning in the soul. The
conscience is quickened and condemns pitilessly not only our past transgressions
but such new transgressions as are still committed as long as the soul has not
laid hold in faith on Christ as its Saviour. Now the soul is truly under
conviction and is lashed by the accusation and condemnation of the Law. Having
not yet laid hold on faith nor received the strength which comes only through
faith in Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, Who is the victor over the power
of sin and death, that person deems the situation hopeless. Doubt, fear, and
despair torture the soul.
Now prayer partakes of a different nature. It becomes a yearning, a crying, a
sighing to God for help. The fine phrases are forgotten. Sometimes without words
the soul sighs to God, and sometimes with such simple words as, “O Lord help me,
O Lord, be merciful to me and forgive me my many sins and make me free from
These are days of darkness and despair, but Oh, how healing are they if we allow
them to serve the purpose for which they are sent; namely, to lead us truly and
earnestly to seek the Saviour. These days make it possible for the soul to bring
to God the one offering which he will not despise, a broken spirit and a broken
and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:17) This is repentance in the sense used in the
gospel. It is a deep feeling of remorse and regret for past sins, a struggle to
become free from sin and a reaching out to God for help. It is born out of a
realization that God is holy and righteous and that those who would stand in his
presence must be purified and sanctified in order to be acceptable.
Confession
A new important need is now experienced by the soul—a need which is quite the
opposite of what the soul previously desired. The natural man, in darkness, is
not very much concerned because he has sinned, but he does fear that he might be
found out by his fellow men. Therefore, to keep his sins under cover of darkness
is one of his chief concerns. Now that the soul is enlightened, it is tortured
by the consciousness of its guilt before its Maker and has an actual desire,
even a deeply felt need, to make confession of its sins.
It is like the impurities of the body gathering into a large painful boil. The
pain can become very severe, and the sufferer longs for the time when the boil
becomes "ripe," so that it may belch forth its pus and impurities and allow the
healing process to begin. So the soul in repentance has an increasing desire to
“open up” and pour out a confession of its past sinfulness. David experienced
this after he once forgot the fear of God and fell into a great sin for which he
afterward repented so contritely. His confession of repentance was made openly
and written into a psalm of instruction and published, even printed in the
Bible, where you and I may read it until this very day. It is recorded in the
thirty-second Psalm, where he says: “When I kept silence my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon
me; my moisture is turned into the drought of summer, I acknowledged my sin unto
thee and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." (Psalm 32:3-5)
Apologies
When a repentant person becomes convicted in his conscience of wrong doing
against another person, it is essential to confess and apologize and, where
possible, make restitution to that person. Sometimes this is not easy because it
involves personal pride. In such cases it is all the more necessary and
wholesome that it be done. Not only is it very helpful and healing to the
confessor, but it gives the very best kind of testimony to the wronged person of
the change which the Grace of God is accomplishing in the repenting person.
There have been cases where a person to whom apology was made by a repenting
person was so struck and impressed by the humble and penitent attitude of the
confessor that it caused that person also to turn to repentance and thereby
became the direct means of saving a soul.
But there are sins which are against God and His law only and involve no other
person. In fact, all sins are primarily against God and only secondarily against
our fellow men. The truly repentant person will feel the need of confessing
these also. While such confessions are usually made to elders and ministers of
the church, that is not absolutely essential. Such confession can be made to any
mature believing person in Christ toward whom the confessor has a feeling of
confidence that he or she will understand and sympathize and will know how to
counsel the confessor, and will keep such confession confidential. Of course,
such a confession is always to be made in sincerity and uprightness.
That confession of sins is an essential fruit of true repentance is evident in
many places of the Scriptures. Even of John the Baptist it is written, the
people “were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matt. 3:6) When
the gospel of Jesus Christ was brought to the Ephesians and accepted by them we
also find that confession was the fruit of repentance. We read: "And many that
believed, came and confessed, and shewed their deeds.” (Acts 19:18)
When unrepentant people came to John the Baptist for baptism, he refused them
with these cutting words: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance."
(Matt. 3:7-8) Undoubtedly an essential part of the fruit consistent with
repentance which John missed in these insincere candidates for baptism was a
readiness and willingness to confess their sins as the others had done to whom
John's baptism was administered. That confession is an essential part of the
cleansing of the heart, not only in the original cleansing during repentance but
also in after life, if a Christian should again through unwatchfulness commit
sin, is shown by the following Scripture texts: "Confess your faults one to
another and pray one for another that ye may be healed." (James 5:16) "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)
Experience
Not only is the confession of sins, as an essential part of the cleansing of the
heart in repentance, thoroughly established in the doctrines of the Holy
Scriptures, but the experience of those in our days who have attained
regeneration through repentance and faith, confirms the absolute need of
confession as a means of unburdening the heart and of obtaining the strength to
resist and throw off the power of sin.
To the soul in repentance who is not yet ready and willing to make confession of
its sins we can only say: "The fruits of repentance are yet incomplete. Press
forward until you have grace to pour out all the filth (be it much or little) of
the old life." It is no disgrace for a repentant person to confess sins, but an
honor. It marks definitely the end of the old life of uncleanness and the
beginning of the new life in Christ in righteousness and purity.
However, the doctrine of confession as herein expounded must not be confused
with the Roman Catholic Confessional, where the believer, supposedly standing in
grace, is permitted to come from time to time to confess his sinfulness to a
priest who is supposed to have authority to forgive the sins of those who accept
the penance he prescribes, which often consists, at least in part, of the
payment of money, ostensibly at least, for a good cause. Nowhere in the
Scripture do we find a commandment to confess sins to a priest or any officer of
the church, but the Scripture says, “Confess your faults one to another.” (James
5:16) For all true believers, united in the Church which is the body of Christ,
are a part of the “royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:9) and they being in union and
communion with Christ can intercede for each other with Christ and with the
Wrestling with God
In this state of repentance the soul must wrestle with God and Christ in prayer
as did Jacob who wrestled with an angel of God all through the night, seeking a
blessing. The angel said to him, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” Jacob
replied, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." Jacob prevailed and
received a blessing and a new name: "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but
Israel, for as a prince hast thou wrestled with God and men and hast prevailed.”
(Genesis 32:26-28) So may the repenting soul say to the Lord, “I will not give
up. Thou hast promised to help me and forgive me. I hold Thee to Thy promise."
It is not hardness nor unwillingness to forgive sins that causes God to allow
the soul thus to suffer and struggle in the slough of despond. This experience
is necessary to bring about certain changes in the heart. Willfulness and
stubbornness must give place to obedience to Christ; pride and arrogance must be
displaced by humility and meekness, and doubt and unbelief must yield to faith.
The will and determination to serve God only must become overwhelming. Those in
repentance, who ask God's forgiveness, must learn to forgive where others have
The love of things sinful must be changed into a loathing of them and the power
of sin over us must be broken. The love of vain things must perish out of the
heart. These are fundamental changes which are the real essence of conversion—of
Superficial evangelists often speak lightly of "accepting" of them, and the
power of sin over us must be broken. But our marriage to Christ, the heavenly
Bridegroom, like all marriages, must be a mutual affair. It is not only a
question of whether we accept Him, but much more of whether He accepts us. He
will accept us; He is bound by His Word, and His promises to accept us, and His
love prompts Him to accept us, when we meet His conditions and come with the
true fruits of repentance, asking to be forgiven by Him and to be accepted of
Him. It is while the fruits of repentance are being developed and ripened that
this struggle must go on. The length and fierceness of the struggle does not
depend nearly so much upon the degree of our sinfulness, (for the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ upon the cross is sufficient to atone for all sins, though they be
as scarlet) as upon the stubbornness of our will and the tenacity with which we
Repentance, then, is not merely remorse for past wrongdoing but a struggle
within ourselves, a struggle between the forces of good and evil, a struggle in
which our will plays an important, but not the decisive, part. Our own will
unsupported could never overcome the evil in our nature, not only for lack of
strength, but because it itself is not perfectly pure.
As the struggle goes on, the soul becomes more conscious of its need, of its
complete dependence upon the grace of God, in short, of its lost condition
without Christ. It wrestles with God, pleading to be forgiven, pleading for
strength and victory, pleading for peace, and vowing over and over to God to
obey and serve Him unto death if He will only help and receive us.
The soul becomes more and more ready and willing to yield itself to Christ and
to believe and accept God's way of salvation; to believe in Jesus Christ as the
Son of God and to believe in His atonement for sin through His death upon the
cross and in the shedding of His blood, as a blameless, perfect Lamb of God, for
the atonement and the forgiveness of the sins of all men who believe and accept
Accepted by the Savior
But the climax comes, not when we accept Him, but when He accepts us. When He
sees the fruit of repentance ripened, the heart purified, the will subdued into
obedience to Him, then he changes our hope and belief that He can and will
forgive our sins and accept us, into a conviction, into an assurance that He has
accepted and forgiven us. Thus the struggle ends. Peace and joy fills the heart.
An all-consuming love fills and overwhelms the soul. This love knows no bounds.
It embraces all men—friend and foe— and burns with a desire to tell all men of
the life-giving, soul-saving, healing and liberating power of God in Jesus
Christ. That soul is converted!
Baptism
The man of sin has perished in the heart, has been nailed to the cross with
Christ; "Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." (II Cor.
The man of sin, the Adam nature, has now been slain and crucified with Christ;
therefore, the person concerned may now be baptized into the death of Jesus
Christ and arise with Him to “walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)
Thus baptism is not the means of obtaining forgiveness of sins, but is the
ensealing of an established fact, of a conversion that has gone before. By
immersion into water, the burial of the Adam nature is symbolized; by arising
out of the water the resurrection to a new life of godliness and holiness is
symbolized. The bath in water symbolizes the cleansing of the heart, which
cleansing, however, is not done with water, but by the atonement in the blood of
The Holy Spirit
Now, the heart, being cleansed, is prepared to receive the Holy Ghost as a
permanent tenant. He shall be, and is needed as, a comforter, as a guide through
life, to guide us into all truth." (John 16:13) Jesus said, "He shall teach you
all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto
The anointing of the Holy Ghost is an essential part, without which no converted
soul is fully furnished and equipped for the journey and battle of life. A
solemn rite is ordained in the Word of God which, when accepted in obedience and
faith, and after proper preparation, becomes the means by which this precious
gift is received; namely, by the laying on of hands, with prayer, after
The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews includes this rite, along with
repentance and baptism as among the principles of the doctrine of Christ when he
says, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works,
of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, and
of resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment.” (Heb. 6:1,2)
Also we find that the apostles Peter and John when they went to Samaria, having
heard that Samaria had received the Word of God through the preaching of Philip,
practiced the laying on of hands for the giving of the Holy Ghost upon those who
believed and were baptized. We read: “Then laid they their hands on them, and
they received the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 8:17)
While this rite is ignored or neglected by most denominations of nominal
Christianity, it is well established in the Holy Scriptures and should be gladly
embraced by all true believers who desire to accept the whole counsel of God.
What a Blessing
What a wonderful experience, to be led out of darkness into light! To be led by
God's goodness into repentance; in repentance to be led to faith in the Son of
God; by Him to be freed from the power of sin; by Him to be washed and cleansed
of our sins that are past, to receive forgiveness of sins and peace with God; to
be clothed with the white garment of justification through Jesus Christ; to
receive baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; by the
laying on of hands to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit; to have the love of
God richly poured out into our hearts!
What a Responsibility
What an experience! What a blessing! Also what a responsibility! Henceforth we
are no more our own, but are betrothed, as the bride of the Lamb, to Jesus
Christ the Lamb of God, the heavenly Bridegroom. Henceforth we may no more live
unto ourselves but unto Him who lived and died for us.
Blessed are we if we continue in this faith and in this love all our days, being
faithful unto death, bearing fruit of the Spirit, (Gal. 5:22) serving God and
our fellow men in love, keeping the commandments of Christ, growing rich in good
works, done in the Lord—"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
But woe unto us, if, after being saved and having vowed to serve God and to keep
the Commandments of Christ, we fail to do so; if we content ourselves merely
because we no longer live in sin, and neglect to labor in Christ's vineyard and
harvest field; if after having said, “I go, sir,” when the Lord called us to
labor for Him, we neglect to go and neglect to labor.
Woe unto us and double death, if after we have been “once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if we shall
again fall away, and crucify the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open
shame." (Heb. 6:4-6) There is no second regeneration for such. “But beloved, we
are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak.” (Heb. 6:9)
