Thinking About Revival (2): A Test Case
“The Bible does teach the need for God’s gracious intervention to change the spiritual apathy in His people: sometimes individually, and sometimes corporately.” - P&D
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This is mainly an emphasis problem built on a terminology problem.
I remind you of some examples of this in Scripture. Some of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 needed this kind of revival and awakening. The church at Ephesus had right doctrine and right discernment, but had left their first love. Their heads were clear, but their hearts were cold. The church at Pergamos…
The term ‘revival’ is not used in any of these cases, nor does Scripture identify a need of reviving as a central problem. We can analyze and look for patterns, certainly. But the need for obedience and faithfulness (in heart, soul, mind, and strength) is a much more clear common denominator.
If we define every need for improvement as a species of ‘apathy,’ and every act of change or repentance as ‘awakening,’ we will see ‘revival’ all over the Bible, but why not just use the kind of language Scripture uses?
What we see in Scripture is repentance, believing the gospel, growing, and faithfully obeying. (In the NT, compare references to “walk” vs. references to “awakening” or being “revived.”) Failures in these areas are met with calls to believe the gospel; calls to grow in a specific area through changes in conduct, beliefs, desires; and calls to repent of particular sins. We really don’t see much generalized urging toward awakening, especially among believers. Where we see that language, it’s usually pretty clear that faithfulness is the idea, not a dramatic change: 1 Thess 5:5-8, Eph 5:12-15, Rev. 16:15, Matt 25:11-13.
We’re sticking closer to Scripture if we emphasize the gospel and calls to believe, do, and desire the right and true and best, rather than a vague and widely misunderstood concept like ‘revival.’
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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