R. A. Torrey on how to lose the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

If there is one dread that comes to me more frequently than any other, it is that of losing the power of God. Oh, the agony of having known God’s power, of having been used of Him, and then of having that power withdrawn, to be laid aside as far as any real usefulness is concerned. Men may still praise you, but God can’t use you. To see a perishing world around you and to know there is no power in your words to save. Would not to die be better than that? . . . I see so many men from whom God has departed, men once eminently used of God, I walk with fear and trembling, and cry unto Him daily to keep me from the things that would make the withdrawal of his power necessary. But what those things are I think he has made plain to me, and I have tried in the words here written to make them plain to both you and myself. To sum them up they are these:
1) the surrender of our separation
2) sin
3) self-indulgence
4) greed for money
5) pride
6) the neglect of prayer
7) the neglect of the Word.
Shall we not, by God’s grace, from this time be on our guard against these things, and thus make sure of the continuance of God’s power in our life and service until that glad day comes when we can say with Paul: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, “ (2 Tim. 4:7, 8.) or better yet with Jesus, “I have glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do.” (John. 17:4, R. V.)

-Modified slightly from The Baptism of the Holy Spirit by R. A. Torrey. (public domain) Available here, and elsewhere.

R. A. Torrey on the baptism with the Holy Spirit

“How the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can be Obtained” (From The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, 1895, by R. A. Torrey. Public domain. The book is available here, and from other sources.) Torrey believed that the baptism with the Holy Spirit was meant for all Christians. The following is a summary of a chapter of Torrey's book.

There are seven steps to obtaining the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All seven are stated or implied in Acts 2: 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . .”

1 Repent. That is, change your mind about Christ, by accepting Him as Savior and Lord.

2. Repent. That is, change your mind about sin, by putting away every sin, however trivial it may seem.

3. Be baptized. Torrey points out that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus right after His baptism. (Luke 3: 21 Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, 22a and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him) Torrey says that the experience of the household of Cornelius was exceptional, and that they were baptized with water immediately after they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

4. Obedience. “Total Surrender to the will of God.”

5. “Intense desire for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.” Torrey quotes Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” This desire must be for God’s glory, not ours, and must be a desire for a more effective ministry.

6. Ask God for a definite blessing – the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

7. Believe that you have obtained this baptism. Just as we aren’t saved by feelings, but can claim salvation on the authority of the Bible, Torrey says that we can claim the baptism of the Holy Spirit, if we have met the conditions, on the authority of God’s word.

Fundamentalism and evolution: history

A relatively brief, but authoritative, article on the history of the attitude of fundamentalists toward evolution and related topics has been published. The article is by Edward B. (Ted) Davis, an expert in the history of conservative Christianity in the US.

If you are really interested, you should read the article, but I'll summarize it this way: the attitude of fundamentalist Christians has, well, evolved since the rise of fundamentalism. As Davis puts it:

"Ironically, many of the most influential and outspoken antievolutionists of the last century—people such as [William Jennings] Bryan, [William Bell] Riley, [C. I.] Scofield, [Harry] Rimmer, and [R. A.] Torrey—would not be allowed to teach at . . ." institutions such as Liberty University, Bob Jones University, or Cedarville University, because they were not dogmatic enough about the age of the earth. He went on to say that "Fundamentalist views about science have evolved since the 1920s."

The evolution in position has led some current fundamentalists to reject the idea that the revelation of God through nature, as detailed in scientific findings, is significant, when compared to revelation through the Bible. It has also led them to adopt a particular interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis, which, many Christian scholars believe, is not necessarily the interpretation meant by the original author, or by God. The founders of fundamentalism mostly believed that God does speak to us through scientific findings, and these, and scripture, if interpreted properly, do not conflict. Most of them were open to the possibility that the earth was more than a few thousand years old, and to the possibility that some evolution occurred in the past.

It is true that God reveals Himself in many ways, and that some are more important than others, but rejecting His revelation through nature, or downplaying it unduly, is not wise.

The current position of fundamentalists on origins means that some people have, and will, reject the claims of Christ. That position is that the Bible definitely teaches, and Christians must believe, that the earth is only a few thousand years old. There are Bible-believing, God-fearing Christians, who believe that that is not the case. But the fundamentalist position, if it's the only one heard, may lead non-believers who are considering the claims of the gospel to think like this: "If the Bible really teaches that the earth is only a few thousand years old, and the geologic evidence contradicts that, why should I believe what the Bible says about sin and Christ?"

Thanks for reading. You may want to also see "Thoughts on Creation."