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Missions Matures a Local Church
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Showing posts with label A. W. Tozer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A. W. Tozer. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Genuine Faith - A.W. Tozer
“My fear is that the modern conception of faith is not the biblical one, that when the teachers of our day use the word they do not mean what the Bible writers meant when they used it. The causes of my uneasiness are these:
1. The lack of spiritual fruit in the lives of so many who claim to have faith.
2. The rarity of a radical change in the conduct and general outlook of persons professing their new faith in Christ as their personal Savior.
3. The failure of our teachers to define or even describe the thing to which the word ‘faith’ is supposed to refer.
4. The heartbreaking failure of multitudes of seekers, be they ever so earnest, to make anything out of the doctrine [of faith] or to receive any satisfying experience through it.
5. The real danger that a doctrine that is parroted so widely and received so uncritically by so many is false as understood by them.
6. I have seen faith put forward as a substitute for obedience, an escape from reality, a refuge from the necessity of hard thinking, a hiding place for weak character. I have known people to miscall by the name of faith high animal spirits, natural optimism, emotional thrills and nervous tics.
7. Plain horse sense ought to tell us that anything that makes no change in the man who professes it makes no difference to God either, and it is an easily observable fact that for countless numbers of persons the change from no-faith to faith makes no actual difference in the life.”
A. W. Tozer, “Faith: The Misunderstood Doctrine” in Man the Dwelling Place of God, pages 30-31.
HT: Truth Matters
1. The lack of spiritual fruit in the lives of so many who claim to have faith.
2. The rarity of a radical change in the conduct and general outlook of persons professing their new faith in Christ as their personal Savior.
3. The failure of our teachers to define or even describe the thing to which the word ‘faith’ is supposed to refer.
4. The heartbreaking failure of multitudes of seekers, be they ever so earnest, to make anything out of the doctrine [of faith] or to receive any satisfying experience through it.
5. The real danger that a doctrine that is parroted so widely and received so uncritically by so many is false as understood by them.
6. I have seen faith put forward as a substitute for obedience, an escape from reality, a refuge from the necessity of hard thinking, a hiding place for weak character. I have known people to miscall by the name of faith high animal spirits, natural optimism, emotional thrills and nervous tics.
7. Plain horse sense ought to tell us that anything that makes no change in the man who professes it makes no difference to God either, and it is an easily observable fact that for countless numbers of persons the change from no-faith to faith makes no actual difference in the life.”
A. W. Tozer, “Faith: The Misunderstood Doctrine” in Man the Dwelling Place of God, pages 30-31.
HT: Truth Matters
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Old Cross and the New
"Unannounced and largely undetected, there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross; but while likenesses are superficial, the differences are fundamental.
From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique---a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content and emphasis differ.
The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh, it meant the end of the journey and carried into effect the sentence opposed by the law of Sinai.
The new cross, in contrast, is not opposed to our flesh. It is a friendly pal, the source of oceans of good, clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged---he still lives for his own pleasure. But now he takes delight in singing worship choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a high plane morally, if not intellectually.
The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand a surrendering of the old life before the new life can be received. He preaches similarities rather than contrasts. He seeks to create more interest in the gospel by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands. His brand of Christianity offers the same things the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing that the gospel offers---only the religious version is better."
-A.W. Tozer
From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique---a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content and emphasis differ.
The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam's proud flesh, it meant the end of the journey and carried into effect the sentence opposed by the law of Sinai.
The new cross, in contrast, is not opposed to our flesh. It is a friendly pal, the source of oceans of good, clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged---he still lives for his own pleasure. But now he takes delight in singing worship choruses and watching religious movies instead of singing bawdy songs and drinking hard liquor. The accent is still on enjoyment, though the fun is now on a high plane morally, if not intellectually.
The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand a surrendering of the old life before the new life can be received. He preaches similarities rather than contrasts. He seeks to create more interest in the gospel by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands. His brand of Christianity offers the same things the world does, only on a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing that the gospel offers---only the religious version is better."
-A.W. Tozer
Saturday, August 22, 2009
In Everything By Prayer by A. W. Tozer
A. W. Tozer was "a 20th-century prophet" they called him even in his lifetime. For 31 years he was pastor of Southside Alliance Church in Chicago, where his reputation as a man of God was citywide. Concurrently he became editor of Alliance Life, a responsibility he fulfilled until his death in 1963. His greatest legacy to the Christian world has been his 30 books. Because A.W. Tozer lived in the presence of God he saw clearly and he spoke as a prophet to the church. He sought for God's honor with the zeal of Elijah and mourned with Jeremiah at the apostasy of God's people. But he was not a prophet of despair. His writings are messages of concern. They expose the weaknesses of the church and denounce compromise. They warn and exhort. But they are messages of hope as well, for God is always there, ever faithful to restore and to fulfill His Word to those who hear and obey.
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