read by the age of nine. At seventeen he entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, where he learned obedience, erect posture, precision and tidiness, and later, how to understand and lead men. Commissioned at eighteen as a lieutenant in his father’s regiment in the Royal Artillery, he lived an irreligious life, though sometimes slightly moved by his mother’s urgings to attend to spiritual things. All that changed when, virtually commanded by his recently converted brother, he went to an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody in Brighton. The American evangelist’s preaching convicted him of sin and reminded him that eternal wrath awaited the impenitent and unbelieving. He shrank back from committing all to Christ, however, until the last day, when he knelt
Together with the five university students and a friend from his regiment, Dixon became member of the group later known as the “Cambridge Seven.” He longed to become a missionary, but feared that he was unworthy for such a high calling. in submission to Jesus as Lord. Immediately, a powerful sense of God’s forgiveness and love overwhelmed him, and he was filled with profound joy. FAITHFUL BELIEVER
After his conversion, he began to read the Bible voraciously, as if it were the only book in the world. A conviction also came over him that to share the Good News of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ was more important than any other activity. At first he wanted to resign his commission in the army, but his father wisely counseled him to wait and to pray for God’s leading, which he did. His yearning to learn from the Gospel prompted him to join other followers of Jesus Christ with similar inclinations. Furthermore, he preached the Word in different places and used his free time to strengthen his faith. Soon he came into contact with other Christian friends. One of them was Montagu Beauchamp, a student at Cambridge, who introduced him to the literature of the China Inland Mission (CIM). He was struck by their simple faith in God to supply all needs, close identification with the Chinese people, commitment to the gospel while tolerating differences of opinion on secondary matters, and total dedication to the cause of bringing the gospel to the Chinese. When he met Hudson Taylor,
April 2019 / Impacto evangelistic
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