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The Two Fires

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 16, 1911

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 46.

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The Two Fires

By Otto M. Hays

OTTO M. HAYS
EARTHLY fire is of two kinds: that which awes us with the spectacle of a burning building, and that which cheers us from the wintry grate.
Such also is the great difference between the two flames of religion: the one burns steadily and cheerfully in the Christian heart, radiating everywhere its warmth and comfort; the other leaps into the air in mighty flames, sending out on all sides the sparks and cinders of fanaticism, and attacking in its fury the established beliefs and doctrines of centuries.
There is a vast, inconceivable difference between divine fervor and dangerous fanaticism. Let us consider the source of the true fire and its workings, and in doing so contrast the fallacy of the false fire.
The world to-day is full of religious fire, but it is principally the ephemeral enthusiasm of humanity, or the emotion stirred by eloquence, or zeal for some human cause, or some selfish motive. But the true, inspired flame of religion is lighted on the altar of self-renunciation.
We find that the source of the true fire is in Jesus Christ; for no religious emotion or experience that fails to recognize sin and the sacrifice of our Saviour is acceptable to God or safe for man. We find the false fire originating in mere human emotion, intellectual culture, heart-stirring eloquence, or selfish zeal. It may even come from a spirit of fear or a guilty conscience. Remorse often carries with it a deep conviction of sin, yet has no saving power. The Holy Spirit must be an abiding presence if we are to have true spiritual life or acceptable worship. The true fire depends for fuel on the Word of God, while the false fire burns on human reasoning or the revelation of the imagination. Nadab and Abihu wanted to magnify their importance, and show that they were just as good as Moses and Aaron.
The greatest blessing of the true fire is complete purification, which is everlasting. It can not be said of false fire that it gives any blessing, either general or particular. The fire emanating from the Holy Spirit seeks its way to and consumes everything sinful, revealing it in the most glaring and humbling light.
The true fire warms and blesses; the false criticizes and judges. The fire of God burns gentle and tender, is free from strife and harshness, easy to endure, and sweet, though strong and everlasting. God gives us as our birthright a spirit not only of power, but of love. If we sell this birthright for a mess of pottage, we desecrate the divine gift and sin against the Giver.
In every course of life we find the channels of true and false fire, each working its own destiny. The flames invade everywhere, leaving in their path conditions either better or worse. The fire of God working in men's hearts renews faith long grown cold; cheers the young, sanctifies the gray-headed, rebukes sin, encourages virtue; quickly sows the world broadcast with the seed of love, that man may reap a harvest for time everlasting.
The fire of God kindled in the heart of Paul turned the world upside down; the fire of God in the heart of Luther brought about the Reformation; the fire of God in the heart of Livingstone opened Africa to the civilized world;the fire of God in the heart of Hudson Taylor penetrated the closed walls of China, and turned that nation of heathenism into the pathway of Christianity. Men of all ages have bowed their heads, and thanked God for the flames that turned their lives and made Christianity possible.
O my brother, look to the flames of your heart and see what burns there! Pray for the baptism of that fire which endues with the Holy Spirit, that your soul may become a burning and shining light.
Lakeland, Fla.