Revival vs. Renewal?

 

These days many Christians are praying for REVIVAL. In the OT, two Hebrew words are translated into that English word. One of them means becoming well or alive after being ill or dead. The other similarly means “to return, go or come back to a place, condition, or activity where one has been before.” These words are used nearly 400 times. Its Greek equivalent and variations is used just over 50 times in the NT.

When applied to God reviving His people from spiritual deadness, the psalmist asks:

Psalm 85:5–7. “Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.”

The Lord’s answer could very well be these words:

Isaiah 57:15–19. For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before me, and the breath of life that I made. Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”

And our response should be like the prophet’s prayer:

Habakkuk 3:2. “O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.”

Interestingly, the idea of spiritual revival is not given space in the NT. Before Christ came, God’s people had problems with backsliding. They were saved from sin’s bondage in Egypt and given a new life in a new land with laws to guide them in living as His children, yet they failed repeatedly and needed restoration. When Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, giving all who believe a new life. The term is “born again” and because of this rebirth, we are like babes, starting out in Christ and living each day in a continual renewal. The old is put off and the new has come:

2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Colossians 3:8–10. “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

This renewal is make possible by the power of God’s Word. He changes the way we think. This is not a revival or a return to a former way, but a newness that transforms a person’s life!

Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Even to old age, this renewal is continual. 2 Corinthians 4:16 confirms it: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Revival and renewal give me two images. One is that of a good child who starts acting like a brat and is disciplined to go back to being a good child. The other is that of a new baby who is growing to adulthood. There is stumbling and mistakes along the way, but that person is renewed, not revived back to being a baby but picked up and helped to continue the process of maturing.

The words seem the same but the idea of revival is more of an OT term whereas renewal is how the NT describes spiritual growth. I do pray for revival in the sense that I want God to draw His people into a deeper relationship with Him. I might be using the wrong word in those prayers, but I’m certain God knows what I mean!

LATER: My hubby said this was "hard to understand" and my reply is this: The OT required God to revive His erring people, but the NT requires God's erring people to repent. When we talk about or pray for revival we want God to wake up the church but need to remember that He does this in us through our repentance, not some sort of 'zap'. He fills us with His Spirit in renewal but our part is vital. 1 John 1:9. Unless we give up our sins, we are stuck in our deadness.