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PASTORAL PSYCHOLOGY
religious movement of the mind as synonymous with a
fundamental change of mind. A personal revival is confused with a
new birth, with the consequence that not a few members of the
Christian Churches who believe they are converted remain in
the state of revival.
Revival has been described as akin to what occurs when a
person is half awakened, while conversion means that he has
been thoroughly aroused from sleep and gets up.
A person who has been spiritually awakened is conscious of
guilt and sin, and his desire reaches out for that which is good.
But it is only at his conversion and rebirth that this longing
breaks through to clear consciousness, is met and answered.
The new birth is a Divine creative act by which God desires to
restore His image in man. It has not only moral consequences.
. It does not extend only to certain aspects of man’s being, but
embraces the whole. Its result is not only new power but
renewal of life: a new person is created, in the spiritual sense.
Unfortunately there is in the modern world a tendency among
Christians to minimise the demands of religion and to water
down the old Christian ideals. Unless we distinguish between
different states of Grace and take account of degrees of faith
it becomes easy to discount the significance of the new birth
and to confuse it with something less fundamental, which is
accepted as its substitute. There is a great difference between a
life governed by pious aspirations and one characterised by
conscious fellowship with God and obedience to His will.
On the other hand, of course, it is possible to demand or
expect too much of the new birth, confusing it with Christian
perfection. There are great risks here; not the least of them
from the standpoint of assurance of salvation. Conversion is
merely a birth—a beginning. This work of Grace has the
significance and beauty of all beginnings—and their limitation.
If it is confused with perfection the believer can easily suppose
that his first experience ends his course of learning in the school
of God and gives him spiritual maturity.
To acknowledge the gradualness of our growth in faith is
necessary also as our just tribute to those who are spiritual
seekers but have not yet attained the full assurance of faith.
Those whose faith is weak have no remarkable experiences to
encourage them. Often they have no sense of assurance and
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