Hell? Yes!

I’ve recently gotten this small, pocket-sized, soft covered old-Army book, published back in 1909, simply called The Doctrines of The Salvation Army. I thought it was going to be laid out like my other antique Handbook[s] of Doctrine. You know, major sections, followed by numbered sub-sections, sometimes followed by points a, b, c, etc. This book is nothing like that. In fact, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. The whole thing is laid out in “question-and-answer” format, as if a reporter were interviewing some Army doctrine expert. Here’s a sample:

You say you have a soul. What do you mean by that?
That there is within a man a spirit altogether separate from and independent of his body. A spirit which thinks, wills, knows and feels, and by which he can
distinguish good from evil.

Will this soul die with the body?
No; the soul is immortal; that is, it can never perish.
(from here the “doctrine expert” goes on to quote Ecc. 12:7, and Matt 16:26 -- W)

Very interesting!

Anyway, just the other day, I randomly flipped it open just to show a friend the book’s unique layout. I happened to open to the chapter on Hell. I didn’t get beyond the first question in the chapter.

The “interview” for the topic started off with this basic question:

Do you believe in Hell?

I expected there’d be a simple, one-word sentence as the answer – “Yes”. But I found something else. Oh, the “yes” is there alright, but the punctuation after it is a comma, not a period. “Yes,” is followed by three other words that completed the sentence and rocked my thinking at the same time. Here’s how the answer read:

Yes, all the time.

Man, that answer stopped me short! Those last three little words – “…all the time.” – hit me like an Evander Holyfield right.

Do I believe in Hell? Sure. No brainer. I know in my head, and hold to a personal belief that there is a literal Hell. But do I believe in it “…all the time”…? I’m not sure I measure up to that. I mean, if someone were to observe my life for a week or so, would they come to the conclusion that I do? Do my convictions, or more importantly my actions, give evidence that I believe in it “all the time”?

Wouldn’t you think that an “all the time” belief in Hell would show itself in a person having…I don’t know…a strong, passionate sense of urgency about it all?

In a past issue of armybarmy’s Journal of Aggressive Christianity, I read an article by Commissioner Wesley Harris entitled “Wake Up.” It spoke of this “all the time” characteristic as being one of the things that sets the early Army apart from our present Army. See for yourself (I’ve added the emphasizing):

Generally speaking, one of the differences between early day Salvationists and ourselves is that we often lack their sense of urgency. They would be amazed at the way in which we often close a meeting with a perfunctory nod towards the Mercy Seat, and a passing reference to the possibility of someone kneeling at it. Perhaps we too easily assume that there are no unconverted people in the hall. Our forebears in the faith used language that had the ring of urgency. They spoke of prayer battles and taking prisoners and saving the lost. The unsaved were in dire danger unless they became awake and aware of their spiritual condition. Early day Salvationists took the eleventh of our Articles of Faith seriously. Do we?

When I was a young officer one of my mentors was Commissioner George Jolliffe who was at one time private secretary to William Booth and even lived in his house at one stage. I asked him what was the secret of the Founder’s drive and he replied, surprisingly, ‘It was his belief in hell!’ That was what led him to challenge the cabby or the engine driver or the donor about their soul’s salvation.

He saw people starkly in danger of a lost eternity unless someone could awaken them to their need of a Saviour. There was no time to lose.

That's it...! The “all the time” spirit that the Doctrine Book spoke about!

Tell me...where and how have we lost it? More importantly, how do we get it back?

The clock’s ticking………..

Keep your altar ready and your fire hot...!

Willis