I was recently asked some questions on the subject of revival. Here are those questions and my responses albeit brief.
1. How exactly do you define "revival"? The word gets thrown around a lot, and I know you well enough to rule out several possible definitions but not to know the exact one you would support.
Until about 1830, the word "revival" had a common definition among Christian groups. As noted by Iain Murray,
"a revival was a sovereign and large giving of the Spirit of God, resulting in the addition of many to the kingdom of God."
Yet, revivals are not limited to the conversion of many to Christ but also a renewal among the people of God (e.g., Psalm 85:6). Concerning the American revival of 1905, J. Edwin Orr comments:
"the movement was characterized by an intense sensation of the presence of God in the congregations."
I like John Murray's definition of revival.
"Revival is God coming down in His glory in a real and manifested way among His people. Revival is a copious effusion of the influence of divine grace. Revival is a sovereign and powerful activity of the Spirit of God in large numbers of people at the same time. Revival is a time when spiritual concerns become the pressing and absorbing concern of many."
Similarly, John Piper writes,
"Revival is the sovereign work of God to awaken his people with fresh intensity to the truth and glory of God, the ugliness of sin, the horror of hell, the preciousness of Christ's atoning work, the wonder of salvation by grace through faith, the urgency of holiness and witness, and the sweetness of worship with God's people."
2. What is your view on past revivals, particularly those that have made it into church history books? Do you feel they were legitimate? And if so, do they provide us with any kind of road-map for future revival?
Some revivals truly originated by God and may be deemed legitimate. I would classify the several revivals seen throughout the book of Acts, the 1st and 2nd Great Awakenings in the United States, and others as "legitimate" revivals. Other "revivals" were contrived by men and are not true revivals. However, even in revivals given by God, you will find excesses and abuses which are not from God. And, even in "revivals" forced upon the church by the hand of man, you will find God working at times DESPITE what man is doing.
I guess I would ask the questions of any revival: (1) Did this work originate with the sovereign hand of God and (2) Does this work produce some of the common results of true revivals such as refreshing the souls of true believers by filling them with a restored sense of wonder and praise, and the conviction and conversion of sinners in great number? A "yes" answer to both would tell me this is a true, God-sent revival.
3. What causes revival? Obviously God plays far-and-away the most important role, but is there any room for human agency? I know we can't "make" God do anything, but we are given a variety of promises in Scripture that if man does X then God will do Y (Ephesians 6:1-3, Malachi 3:10). Do you feel the parameters for revival fall inside this realm or that revival is instead an un-promised, discretionary act of God?
Without question, God causes revivals. Only God can bring life to a dead soul, i.e., only God can "revive" the soul. In a sense, any time God brings salvation to a lost individual that act may be deemed a revival. Usually, thought, the term "revival" is reserved for cases when the number of conversions are much larger.
F. Carlton Booth made these observations:
"No man can schedule a revival, for God alone is the giver of life. But when darkness deepens, when moral declension reaches its lowest ebb, when the church becomes cold, lukewarm, dead, when 'the fulness of time' is come and the prayer ascends from a few earnest hearts, 'Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee', then history teaches it is time for the tide of revival to sweep in once more. Revival always involves the preaching of divine judgment, confession of sin, repentance, acceptance of salvation as a free gift, the authority of the Scriptures and the joy and discipline of the Christian life.
Certainly the church in America needs revivals. Certainly many in our churches need revival. Since true revival is sovereignly bestowed by God, what we can do is to (1) pray for God to bless us with revival and (2) be faithful in preaching the Word and exalting Christ. Such actions on our part will not guarantee a revival but clearly such actions are commanded from the Word of God and, therefore, should be obeyed. Furthermore, as Piper notes, we should be compelled to pray for such revival.
"Love pleads, love persuades, and love prays. Love prays until its dying breath for that wonderful, ordinary work of the Spirit to save one here and one there, month after faithful month. And love prays for that extraordinary outpouring of the Spirit that we call revival."
4. What causes revival to end? Presuming you subscribe to the idea that (1) any event in the past was a revival and (2) we are not presently in a state of revival, then what happened?
What causes revival to end? That is a great question. If one believes, like many in modern religious circles, man can bring about revival by scheduling one, bringing in a fiery evangelist and a tearful music leader, and holding nightly services, then revival should never end. Again, Iain Murray writes,
" ... if revival is something which can be secured by the fulfilment of conditions then there is no reason at all why it should not be permanent."
My answer to this question is the same as my answer to what brings a revival. It is a sovereign work of God. It begins on His schedule and it ends the same way. Why God permits some revivals to continue for months or even years while others seem to end after days or weeks is known only to Him. I've heard some tell me that revival ends when those involved develop pride or fall into sin. Well, God might have planned on ending a revival because some would engage in some un-Scriptural practices, but, ultimately, revival ceases when God decides in His infinite wisdom it is time to end.
Are we in a revival now? Oh, there may be some local revivals taking place in our nation. Some churches may be experiencing revival. But obviously revival on the scale of the historic revivals of the past is not taking place in our nation at this time. Simply examine most local churches and you will see clear evidence of the lack of revival. The lost are not being converted. The saints have no deep longing for God (e.g., even members fail to participate in the life of the church). There is a significant ignorance of the Scripture among the Christian community. Our nation desperately needs a revival. Our community needs a revival. Our church needs a revival. And I need revival!
Personally, I have never been involved in a true revival on a church or community level. However, I would love to be! I want to see God move in a powerful way among our church and in our community. I want to see lost souls in our neighborhood converted and the saints of God truly praising and serving Him. I want to see God's power in a mighty display among His people here at Bethesda and in St. Charles. And I have prayed for such a revival since coming to Bethesda. I will continue to do so. As one writer has written,
"God is free in the worst of times to do this (revival) beyond all our calculations and expectation. O to be among the number of those who pray and proclaim in this hope."
