CONSECRATION BY JOHN R. MOTT CONSECRATION An Address delivered at the Student Volunteer Conference held at Liverpool, England, January 2-7, 1908 BY JOHN R. MOTT, M.A., F.R.G.S. STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT 125 EAST TWENTY-SEVENTH STREET NEW YORK This address was delivered before the Student Volunteer Conference, held at Liverpool, England, January 2-7,1908. It is reprinted from “Hoc Deus Vult,” the Report of the Conference, by permission of the Student Volunteer Missionary Union of Great Britain and Ireland CONSECRATION If a man is not a Christian he may debate whether or not he will become a Christian; but having once become a Christian there is no longer room for discussion as to whether Jesus Christ shall dominate him* Jesus Christ is our Lord* That we are Christians is not sufficient* That we are Christians bent on the evangelization of the world is not sufficient* It is obligatory that we be under the sway of Jesus Christ as Lord, that we be consecrated Chris¬ tians. This involves the absolute yielding unto God of the lives which hitherto we may have tried to direct and con¬ trol. It means the voluntary offering of ourselves to God to do His will instead of our own* We take the position to-night that Jesus Christ should dominate each delegate of this Conference. He should do so because of Who He is* The battle will continue to be waged in our colleges on both sides the Atlantic as to the Person of Jesus Christ; but the Student Christian Move¬ ment has sounded, and will continue to sound, no uncer¬ tain note with reference to the Deity of our Lord. The delegates of this Conference with Charles Lamb would stand were Shakespeare to enter the room; but we would 4 CONSECRATION kneel at the approach of Jesus Christ* Jesus Christ, the Perfect Pattern. Yes, and no Unitarian shall more strongly speak of the perfections of that wonderful char¬ acter than ourselves. Jesus Christ our Saviour! Yes, for we say to-night with conviction, not born of dogmatism, but with the knowledge each one of us has of the facts, that there is none other Name given under Heaven among men whereby we must be saved. But Jesus Christ is like¬ wise Lord. Yet one of the most alarming things is to find, both in our colleges and outside our colleges, so many Christians who have accepted Christ as their Saviour, but have not placed themselves under His sway as their Lord. They have tried, as Samuel Rutherford would say, to divide Jesus Christ into two parts. They have gladly availed themselves of His saving power, but to render con¬ stant, steady, and heroic obedience to Him, to work out their own salvation, to seek to follow in His steps, this, as Rutherford has quaintly said, is the stormy North side of Jesus Christ; and they fain would eschew or shift it. But Christ must have His rightful place. If He was what He claimed to be, and if He is what you and I believe Him to be. let us be consistent and logical, and give Him His rightful place as Lord. There is something inspiring about the fact that the many delegates of this Conference, though we have travelled from all parts of the world to Liverpool, though we have come out from under the sway of different earthly rulers and forms of Government, are able rever¬ ently to-night to make the common confession: 44 I be¬ lieve in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord.” CONSECRATION 5 44 0 Lord and Master of us all, Whate'er our name or sign We own Thy sway; we hear Thy call, We test our lives by Thine.” Jesus Christ should dominate us not only because of Who He is, but also because of what He has done. By His death on the Cross He loosed us from our sins. This cutting out of the sins of a man's life was the most wonderful miracle which Jesus Christ claimed to have performed. We may not understand why, we may not un¬ derstand how, but that there is a necessary connection between the sufferings and death of Christ on the Cross and emancipation from the power of sin and the washing away of sin stains there can be no question in the light of the ac¬ cumulating experience of multitudes of conscientious men. In other words, we are not our own, but we are bought with a price. And that death on the Cross gave Christ proprie¬ tary rights in each Christian in this hall. Therefore it is unfair and dishonest not to give Him absolute sway over us. He has the right to us. Purchase gives title. De¬ livery gives possession. Christ has purchased us. Let us give Him what He has purchased. Let us hand ourselves over to Him. I say by what He has done He has a right to us; and it is an exceeding belittling of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross that it does not impel us to cast ourselves and all we have quickly at His feet, rather than letting it sim¬ ply move us to reluctant and abridged and calculating gifts of parts of ourselves or of parts of what we have. Not so was it with Zinzendorff. One day, walking along a village 6 CONSECRATION street, he went into a little church, and while lingering there had his attention arrested by a painting that set forth the sufferings on the Cross of our Saviour; and as his eyes were fixed upon that scene of suffering love he noticed this couplet below: 44 All this I did for thee What hast thou done for Me? ” He was melted. He was subjugated. He rose a changed man. He went out to live that wonderful life, and in¬ augurated the movement which has planted in all parts of the world the Moravian Missions. Because of what He did He has a right to dominate every one of us. Likewise, because of what Christ's sway makes possi¬ ble in the life of the Christian He should dominate us. In order to guide us, in order to purify us, in order to trans¬ form us, in order to energise us; yes, in order to use us, He must have the right of way with us. For I ask you, how can Jesus Christ guide a man who is not yielded to Him? How can He purify a man who has not consciously put himself under His sway? Still more, how can He trans¬ form, how can He energise, and how can He wield? If we want to live lives of liberty, of power, we must be under the sway of that matchless hand. I fancy that the reason why here and there in this Conference there is a delegate who has been fighting a losing battle with his temptations, lies right here—that we have not yielded ourselves abso¬ lutely to His sway. It is inconceivable that the Christ Who conquered death should not lead you in easy triumph CONSECRATION 7 over any temptation if yon yield yourself to His irresistible power* In fact, all that we need is found in Christ, and through Him, if we yield ourselves to Him. As St. Francis expressed it, “We renounce everything that we may better possess everything.” Or as Nicholas Herman said, “We give the all for the all.” One of the principal perils in this matter of consecra¬ tion is that we do not make a practical thing of it. This is only tantamount to saying that we do not make our conse¬ cration actual and real. That is, we do not so order our lives as those should who say, Jesus Christ my Lord. We should not only say. Lord, Lord, but should also do the things which He says. Too often we make this matter of consecration something of the past or of the distant future. We hark back to some time in the past when with the best light we had we did consecrate ourselves, and we dwell on that fact as contrasted with making a diligent effort day by day to bring ourselves under the sway of Christ. Or we look to some distant time; we vaguely think of a day when we will perform this great act, when we leave college perchance, or when we get out to India—then we will hand ourselves over to the mighty working and control of Christ. It will not do to limit consecration to the realm of discus¬ sion and theory. It must be translated into fact. The great mission of the Church is to translate the abstract into concrete. What Christ wants is a life of constant response to His commands and wishes. That is consecration! Might we not examine ourselves in the quiet of this night before we pass into the Sabbath Day. Might we not 8 CONSECRATION with great conscientiousness forget those next to us, whom we are touching; remember there is One nearer than hands or feet, and expose ourselves to the scrutiny of the pure and sympathising eye of Christ. Let Him search us. If we detect any part of ourselves or of our possessions which has not been yielded to His sway, let there be a practical, prompt, and glad yielding to His Sovereignty. Wherein should Christ dominate us? Certainly in our bodies. The body should be allowed to do nothing which is inconsistent with its being the abode of Christ's Spirit. How this conception should revolutionise habits! We should present these bodies a living sacrifice, not half alive. We should not come with jaded nerves to render service to our Lord. We are to be careful of our health, yet not too careful—that is, not selfish. I do not forget that while we should not burn the candle at both ends, the candle melts away if it gives out light. It would be unfair in a Conference like this not to remind delegates that the price not a few of us will pay if we accomplish the desires of our Saviour will be the price of our lives. It has always been so; it always will be so. It is well that our consecration should include it, that this matter should be settled. At what a cost the Kingdom is won! But how gladly should we pay it if it be in the way of His appointment! Are you willing, if it comes in the path of God's appointment, to lay down your life in inland China, or by one of the great lakes in Africa, or on the plains of India? This mastery of Christ's includes not only our bodies, but likewise the use of our time. I sometimes think that CONSECRATION 9 our time is the most potent talent we possess. Yet I won¬ der how many of us have the habit month by month, if not oftener, of remorselessly examining ourselves with refer¬ ence to the use of this talent of time. Are we making the best use of it? Or are there spaces of time that are frit¬ tered away, and worse, it may be, in face of a crisis like that presented to us in the world to-day. How much some day we will wish we had utilized our time better I Little by little your life is drifting away. May God help you to make it a sacrificial offering! Who can measure the possibili¬ ties even of minutes which are dominated by the ascended Christ? The value of our actions and of our silent influ¬ ence at a given time depends upon the degree of our union with Christ at that time. How this should change the use of time! Then Christ should dominate not only the body and time, but our money as well. Our money is so much of ourselves or so much of somebody else—that is, it is stored- up personality. It is such a great power that I sometimes think of money as omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal. It has power greatly to multiply man's opportunities, in¬ fluence, and fruitfulness. We might solve all the financial problems of Foreign Missions if a sufficient number of Christians would acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their money. We are trustees, and in no sense sole proprietors. We are trustees not simply of a tenth but of all we possess. Christ cannot be called the Lord of a man's life if He is not at the same time Lord of his substance. I am alarmed by the signs I find on both sides of the 10 CONSECRATION Atlantic, not only amongst the very wealthy, but even amongst some who would not be called wealthy, of growing luxury and self-indulgence* The only thing that will meet the situation is an heroic call to self-denial* There is no real giving that does not carry with it the giving of self* I think of the Haystack Band of Williams College, with whose consecration began the modern missionary move¬ ment of the North American Continent. Those students fasted twice each week and gave freely out of their pov¬ erty* Their lives of self-sacrifice gave them world- conquering power. Think of William Burns, whose path I discovered in China was a blaze of light* Before he left Scotland, as well as while he was in China, he riveted upon himself the habit of self-denial, so that he conse¬ crated all his substance to the works of Christ. The life of David Hill should also be kept in memory in a Confer¬ ence like this. How carefully he scrutinized every expenditure! How jealously he used the wealth he inherited for the progress of the Kingdom! How simply he lived as to clothing, rooms, and social habits! I find one question in his daily act of self-examination was this: “What acts of self-denial can I do to-day?” Remember also Raymond Lull, who, when he heard the call of Christ, settled this matter once for all. He sold his property, which was not inconsiderable, and gave it to the poor, simply keeping a small allowance for his wife and chil¬ dren. He made his dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ: “To thee, Lord God, do I offer myself, my wife, and my children, and all that I possess, that I, myself and my CONSECRATION n children, may be Thy humble slaves.” I do not wonder that his life came with tremendous power against the Mohammedan world. The call to consecration is a call to self-denial. What is self-denial to you and me to-day may not be to-morrow. Let us not dream of great acts of self- denial which we will perform at some future time, but rather let us, by constantly reiterated choices between self- indulgence and self-denial, live lives of self-denial. Let us, moreover, give Christ the dominance or mast¬ ery of our thoughts. The really consecrated Christian is one whose every thought has been brought into captivity to the marvellous obedience of Jesus Christ. That is only other language for saying that a man has the mind of Christ. Can you imagine the mind of Christ entertaining thoughts like these: Envious thoughts or jealous thoughts! Jesus Christ as Lord. Selfish thoughts! Jesus Christ as Lord. Impure or unclean imaginations! Jesus Christ as Lord. Uncharitable judgments and unkind feelings con¬ cerning others! Jesus Christ as Lord. Certainly not! Let us be thorough-going at this point. It may mark the difference between a life of mediocrity and a life of holi¬ ness. No price is too great to pay to cut out from our mental habits any of these tendencies which do not end in God. And surely I need only to state that the dominance of Christ involves the mastery of the will. That carries with it the control of our aims, our ambitions, and our choices. Yes, consecration is a comprehensive thing. Jesus Christ moves amongst us and asks for all, He wants all. I say it reverently, and hope it does not jar against CONSECRATION 12 you, that we cannot be consecrated in water-tight com¬ partments; that is, we cannot say. Lord, be Master of my mind, but let me do as I wish with my body* We cannot say, Lord, be Master of my money; but let me settle the question of my life-work* No, Christ will not be played with* He is either Lord of all, as has often been said, or not Lord at all. He wants us undivided; and we will be dealing with the fringes of this subject to-night if we allow the question to linger in any mind that any mere gifts of time, money, influence, nervous energy, thoughts, and will compass the subject. Christ wants the entire personality, in all its relationships, through all time. He wants us not only for all time, but at all times* I like to think of conse¬ cration not so much as a great act at the beginning (it is that); but likewise a series of acts, a multiplying series of acts from year to year* Christ wants not only a surrend¬ ered will* He wants much more, a willing self-surrender— that is, a course of life* True consecration is thorough¬ going* McCheyne, who lived the life of consecration if any one ever did, said, “1 ought statedly and solemnly to give my heart to God.” Henry Martyn, whose life could be summed up as a remorseless denial of self, time and time again dedicated himself in language like this: “Once more would I resign this body and soul to the blessed dis¬ posal of His holy will.” And Thomas a Kempis, that voice that came up from close association with Christ, one day put the question and answered it: “How often must I perform this act of solemn resignation, and in what circum¬ stances is this self thus to be relinquished? . * . Al- CONSECRATION 13 ways, yea, every hour, as well in small things as in great/’ This takes ns to the heart of the very deepest lesson of life. Ottr consecration extends to all places. Surely conse¬ cration carries with it that we are at the disposal of Christ wherever we are. Yet a friend of mine said, “Anywhere, 0 Christ, save to China.” But it turned out that God sent him to China. Are you ready to go to India? If not, I am very thankful that for that additional reason to-mor¬ row is free from meetings, that we are going to have a day in which it is going to be possible to fight battles. May God let not any of us come up to night-fall without having yielded to the sway of Christ! Remember also that it is consecration to God, and not to a field, not to an occupa¬ tion. How much better to surrender to our loving Father than to struggle to get to India, or to struggle to stay at home against a reluctant will! Grace is abundantly given for a special act if we have performed the comprehensive act of saying that in everything we will yield to His sway. This matter of consecration, I want to say in this last quiet moment, is no light thing. It is a summons of our ascended Lord to each one of us to go with Christ to Geth- semane, and if need be to Calvary. At the Edinburgh Conference, you will remember, missionaries were quoted as saying that we needed 40,000 missionaries to evangelize the world. I want to say to-night that it is not necessary to have 40,000 missionaries. One thing is necessary, and that is that every student volunteer who presses to the front, and every Christian student who stays at home, be a Christ-conductor. Much is said in every Conference about CONSECRATION 14 the greatest need. But are we not agreed that the one great need is that more of Christ be released? And how is more of Christ to be released? Is it not invariably through un¬ hindered, open, and pure human channels? We recall to¬ night the words which Moody heard in Britain forty years ago, words which moved him as no other words he ever heard, words which transformed his life. A humble Chris¬ tian said in his hearing: “The world has yet to see what God will do for and through the man who is wholly conse¬ crated to Him.” “A man,” thought Mr. Moody, “not a great man, not a rich man, not an eloquent man—a man. I am a man. It lies with the man, whether or not he will or will not make the entire consecration.” That is a startling conception in the Old Testament which represents God as looking up and down the earth to find here and there a man whose heart is right, so that He can show Himself strong toward that man. Yes, Christ moves amongst us in this Conference to clothe Himself with men and women. I repeat it: He desires to clothe himself with men and women in this Conference; and what will not take place in the Universities of Britain and on the Continent and in America and in the Far East if we let Him do so. God grant that none of us may sink down into a life of mediocrity when it is possible for us to rise in new¬ ness of life, and henceforth to show forth His excellencies and to manifest His power. May our loving Lord, before Whom all idols must fall, actually conquer us, actually subject us! May the constraining memories of His Cross, and the love wherewith He hath loved each one of us, lead CONSECRATION J5 us at this hour to hand ourselves over to Christ wholly, ir¬ revocably, and gladly, henceforth to do His will and not our own! Copies of this pamphlet may be ordered from the Student Volunteer Movement, J25 East 27th Street, New York, at 5 cents each, 40 cents per dozen, and $2.50 per hundred, express charges prepaid