“He has been calling loudly ever since He spoke your sins forgiven – if you are forgiven at all – entreating and beseeching you to be His ambassador. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull poor sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitying wail for help.”

Strong Truths from William and Catherine Booth:

Those who know something about the Salvation Army will know that on their crest there are the words “Blood and Fire”. They were founded in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth. It still ministers today, although much of its current emphasis in many places tends to be more in the provision of social services and the like.

The truth is, many Christian movements and organisations start off strong and vibrant, but not all of them stay that way. While many good people might remain in these groups, the original fire, passion and dedication of the founders can tend to dissipate over time. I have had many Salvos telling me this very thing.

I recently posted on the social media a powerful quote by Catherine Booth about opposition. Under it I added these words: “There are many great Salvos today. But I suspect that many (most?) in the West at least, upon reading that quote but not knowing who said it would OPPOSE it! They would say we are meant to be nice, gentle and kind and not turn people off by such strident remarks.”

One fellow from the Army quickly replied with these words: “You’d be amazed by how the Salvation Army founders are ignored or canceled in today’s Salvation Army. William’s, Catherine’s, Bramwell’s, Brengle’s writings and sermons are ignored, dismissed, hidden away. And not taught.”

I repeat, there are still many on-fire Salvos today who know and love their roots. But that cannot be said about all of them. To give you a feel for just what radical warriors for Christ the Booths were, let me share some powerful quotes from each one.

William Booth (1829-1912)

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”

“Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry.”

“Oh, my comrades, again I say what I have said before – when you see your duty, that is the moment of action. Don’t let that moment slip, and so miss the power of it, for, perchance, you will never be as strong again.”

“Teach your people. Teach them sound doctrine; if you do not give them the truth, somebody else will give them falsehood.”

“The chief danger of the twentieth century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, and heaven without hell.”

“God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible.”

“The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender to God.”

“Work as if everything depended upon your work, and pray as if everything depended upon your prayer.”

“Make your will, pack your box, kiss your girl, be ready in a week.”

“Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.”

“While women weep, as they do now, I’ll fight; while little children go hungry, as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a poor drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end!”

“You see we have no reputation to lose; we are not obliged to stop and consider what anybody will say; everybody has settled it that we are fools, if not a great deal worse; and, therefore, we can go into town and do exactly what we think best without taking the least notice of what anybody may say or wish. We have only to please God and get the people saved, and that is easily done.”

“I will tell you the secret [of success]. God has had all there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I, men with greater opportunities. But from the day I got the poor of London on my heart and caught a vision of…”

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