Preface:
NOT long ago Dr. J. P. Forsyth published two volumes in which he sought to give the Cross the place it ought to have in our theology, our preaching, and our life. The one was a series of lectures delivered at Yale University, Positive Preaching and the Modern Mind; the other The Cruciality of the Cross. I was so impressed by the deep importance of the truth he sets forth that I began making extracts, with remarks, having in view the directing of ministers and students to his teaching. And I also wished to point out what a wide application there was in these truths to the state of the Church, as revealed in many of his thoughts.
In The Cruciality of the Cross, I found this passage: “The New Testament represents a grand holiness movement; but it is one which is more concerned with God’s holiness than ours, and lets ours grow of itself by dwelling on His.” It suggested to me as a title for my book: “The Holiness Movement in Heaven and on Earth.”
As I began thinking and writing about the state of the Church and its relation to the Holiness of the Cross of which Dr. Forsyth speaks so strongly, the World Missionary Conference came in between with its strong declaration that the state of the Home Church was such as to prove itself utterly unfit for the work that God put before it. I was led to think of adding chapters on this subject to what I had already intended writing. But I had not gone far before it became plain to me that it would be better to publish the papers having reference to the Conference and its lessons separately and at once. Whether the first part will be published will depend very much on the reception that this little book meets with.
I am deeply conscious of the defects of my work. I cast it on the forbearance of my reader, and on the mercy of God. I send it forth because I believe that the book has a message from God for His people, and I shall not cease to pray that He may bring it to all for whom He has a blessing through it. May the call to repentance and prayer and a new consecration reach many hearts. ~Andrew Murray
114 pages.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917) was a missionary, statesman, educator, revivalist, evangelist, and pastor during the nineteenth century. He is one of the best loved and most widely read writers on the deeper Christian life.
It was a choice of logic to become a minister, but during the course of his studies, he met the God of the Bible and came to know Him more intimately than most. The theme of his life was, “May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love, and joy of God's presence, and not a moment without the entire surrender of myself as a vessel for him to fill full of his Spirit and his love.”
His personal knowledge and insight of God’s inward grace was evident in all his writings. With his extraordinary skill at putting his spiritual insight into the written word, it is no surprise that he was used mightily by God in his lifetime, with the effects of his literature still having far-reaching results in the hearts and lives of Christians today.
