It could be said of them : " Ye sorrowed to repentance ." " For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of : but the sorrow of the world worketh death . For behold this selfsame thing , that ye sorrowed after a godly sort , what carefulness it wrought in you , yea , what clearing of yourselves , yea , what indignation , yea , what fear , yea , what vehement desire , yea , what zeal , yea , what revenge ! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter ." 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 . This is the result of the work of the Spirit of God . There is no evidence of genuine repentance unless it works reformation .
If he restore the pledge , give again that he had robbed , confess his sins , and love God and his fellow men , the sinner may be sure that he has found peace with God . Such were the effects that in former years followed seasons of religious awakening . Judged by their fruits , they were known to be blessed of God in the salvation of men and the uplifting of humanity . But many of the revivals of modern times have presented a marked contrast to those manifestations of divine grace which in earlier days followed the labors of God ' s servants . It is true that a widespread interest is kindled , many profess conversion , and there are large accessions to the churches ; nevertheless the results are not such as to warrant the belief that there has been a corresponding increase of real spiritual life . The light which flames up for a time soon dies out , leaving the darkness more dense than before .
Popular revivals are too often carried by appeals to the imagination , by exciting the emotions , by gratifying the love for what is new and startling . Converts thus gained have little desire to listen to Bible truth , little interest in the testimony of prophets and apostles . Unless a religious service has something of a sensational character , it has no attractions for them . A message which appeals to unimpassioned reason awakens no response . The plain warnings of God ' s word , relating directly to their eternal interests , are unheeded .
With every truly converted soul the relation to God and to eternal things will be the great topic of life . But where , in the popular churches of today , is the spirit of consecration to God ? The converts do not renounce their pride and love of the world . They are no more willing to deny self , to take up the cross , and follow the meek and lowly Jesus , than before their conversion . Religion has become the sport of infidels and skeptics because so many who bear its name are ignorant of its principles . The power of godliness has well-nigh departed from many of the churches . Picnics , church theatricals , church fairs , fine houses , personal display , have banished thoughts of God . Lands and goods and worldly occupations engross the mind , and things of eternal interest receive hardly a passing notice .
321