George Whitfield was one of the greatest preachers of all time. He famously rode his horse from city to city preaching the Gospel to whoever would listen.
Each time he preached thousands came to hear him. And many seemed to show conviction and repentance of sin. At times those present would communicate to him the numbers of those who seemed to respond, and each time it is recorded that George Whitfield would say this word.
Allegedly.
Of course, George Whitfield wanted people to be saved. I mean he was killing himself riding a horse from town to town carrying a pulpit a bible and his Matthew Henry commentary. Of course, he was doing this because he wanted people to be saved, but like any faithful preacher, he wanted people to actually be saved.
Any faithful evangelist wants people to be saved, or else it would be tough to argue that they have the gift of evangelism. Any faithful Christian wants the Christians around him to grow in their love for Christ. I would say that anyone who belongs to the universal church wants anyone else who belongs to the universal church to grow in their love for Christ, even if they are outside of their theological circle. But I think that church history has proven that it is right to be skeptical and cautious about calling something a revival before you have years of faithful fruit to look back on to call it such.
Recently a chapel at Asbury university has resulted in what people are calling a revival. Many pastors and church leaders have been quick to call it a revival. Many pastors and church leaders have been quick to condemn what they refer to as “revival skeptics”.
The fact of the matter is that you need time to be able to find out if what has taken place has been an actual revival or not. In fact, you would need years.
Only God knows if a revival is taking place. These pastors can’t know. The skeptics can’t know. It is only God who can cause a revival and it is only God who can know if a revival is taking place.
There are many reasons to be skeptical.
Continue Reading…