The Old Cross vs The New Cross

If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the bosom of a self-assured and carnal Christianity. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it.

A.W. Tozer, cited by Gary Gilley, This Little Church Went to Market, pg.47

A.W. Tozer Quotes

These quotations are from 2009 posts, which I thought needed to be brought up again!

On Modern "Praise"

I’m always suspicious when we talk too much about ourselves. Somebody pointed out that hymnody took a downward trend when we left the great objective hymns that talked about God and began to sing the gospel songs that talk about us. There was a day when men sang ‘Holy, Holy, Holy,’ and ‘O Worship the King,’ and they talked objectively about the greatness of God. Then we backslide into that gutter where we still are where everything is about ‘I.’ ‘I’m so happy,’ ‘I’m so blest,’ ‘I’m so nice,’ ‘I’m so good,’ always ‘I.’ The difference between heaven and hell is the difference between God and I. Jesus Christ, by canceling His ‘I’ was the Christ of God, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. The devil by magnifying his ‘I’ became the devil -- when he said, ‘I will arise, I will raise my throne above the throne of God’.” (Sermon, “Ezekiel”)

You'd think Tozer was sitting in today's churches and listening to their "praise" choruses!

Was Tozer a “Mystic”?

Some of my friends good-humoredly - and some a little bit severely - have called me a “mystic.” Well I'd like to say this about any mysticism I may suppose to have. If an archangel from heaven were to come, and were to start giving me, telling me, teaching me, and giving me instruction, I'd ask him for the text. I'd say, "Where's it say that in the Bible? I want to know.” And I would insist that it was according to the scriptures, because I do not believe in any extra-scriptural teachings, nor any anti-scriptural teachings, or any sub-scriptural teachings. I think we ought to put the emphasis where God puts it, and continue to put it there, and to expound the scriptures, and stay by the scriptures. I wouldn't - no matter if I saw a light above the light of the sun, I'd keep my mouth shut about it 'til I'd checked with Daniel and Revelation and the rest of the scriptures to see if it had any basis in truth. And if it didn't, I'd think I'd just eaten something I shouldn't, and I wouldn't say anything about it. Because I don't believe in anything that is unscriptural or that is anti-scripture.  (What Difference Does the Holy Spirit Make?)

The Church’s Lost Testimony

The church has lost her testimony. She has no longer anything to say to the world. Her once robust shout of assurance has faded away to an apologetic whisper. She who one time went out to declare now goes out to inquire. Her dogmatic declaration has become a respectful suggestion, a word of religious advice, given with the understanding that it is after all only an opinion and not meant to sound bigoted. Pure Christianity, instead of being shaped by its culture, actually stands in sharp opposition to it. (Posted on the Apprising Ministries blog, but no reference was given).

Market-Driven/Seeker-Sensitive is NOT Biblical

A church fed on excitement is no New Testament church at all.  The desire for surface stimulation is a sure mark of the fallen nature, the very thing Christ died to deliver us from.

A.W. Tozer

Just Because It Is Attractive, That Doesn’t Mean It’s From God

No matter how attractive the movement may appear, if it is not founded in righteousness and nurtured in humility, it is not of God.  If it exploits the flesh, it is a religious fraud and should not have the support of any God-fearing Christian.  Only that is of God which honors the Spirit and prospers at the expense of the human ego.  “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

A.W. Tozer, The Divine Conquest, pg.120

Another Bad “Christian” Song

I’ve never heard of the song, “My Victory,” but a friend pointed me to it last week and I finally have time to address it.  It seems to be the latest song used over and over again at the assembly we left two years ago.  

The writers of this song are Charles Bentley, Darren Muligan, David Crowder, and Ed Cash.  Take a look at the lyrics.

You came for criminals and every pharisee 

You came for hypocrites, even one like me

You carried sin and shame, the guilt of every man

The weight of all I’ve done nailed into Your hands

Oh, your love bled for me

Oh, your blood in crimson streams

Oh, your death is hell’s defeat

A cross meant to kill is my victory

Oh, your amazing grace, I’ve seen and tasted it

It’s running through my veins, I can’t escape its grip 

In you my soul is safe 

You cover everything

Oh, your love bled for me

Oh, your blood in crimson streams

Oh, your death is hell’s defeat

A cross meant to kill is my victory

BRIDGE

Behold the lamb of god

Who takes away our sin, 

Who takes away our sin 

The holy lamb of god 

Makes us alive again

Makes us alive again

Behold the lamb of God 

Who takes away our sin

Who takes away our sin

The holy lamb of god

Makes us alive again

Makes us alive again

Oh, your love bled for me

Oh, your blood in crimson streams

Oh, your death is hell’s defeat

A cross meant to kill is my victory

Nothing like a little repetition to work up those emotions!  As for the theology in the lyrics, my friend said, It’s truncated theology.  "The cross meant to kill is my victory" - no it isn't.  Our victory is in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and doesn't stop at the cross which was an instrument of suffering for the sake of our sins but it doesn't stop there.  "Your death is hell's defeat" - no it isn’t; Jesus rose from the dead—that is death's defeat.  There is no mention in this song of Jesus’ resurrection. It could have been written by a Catholic wanting to put Jesus on the cross over and over again…

I have to agree with my friend 100% on this one.  Music leaders, where is your discernment?!?!

WELL SAID!!!

Thanks to J.L. Pattison

Be Discerning!

Any of [the teaching] that is good is in the Word of God, and any that is not in the Word of God, and any that is not in the Word of God is not good.  I am a Bible Christian and if an archangel with a wingspread as broad as a constellation shining like the sun were to come and offer me some new truth, I’d ask him for a reference.  If he could not show me where it is found in the Bible, I would bow him out and say, “I’m awfully sorry, you don’t bring any references with you.”

A.W. Tozer, cited by Gary Gilley in Think on These Things, September 2008, p10

True Faith

A Right Conception of God is Needed

A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well.  It is to worship what the foundation is to the temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb the whole structure must sooner or later collapse.  I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. . . .  Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow; they are themselves idolatrous.  The idolater simply imagines things about God and act as if they were true.

A.W. Tozer, "The Knowledge of the Holy Spirit," pg.3-4, cited by Bill McKeever and Eric Johnson in "Mormonism 101," pg.33

Does Your Worship Reflect the Culture?

We Need Spiritual Leadership

Until self-effacing men return again to spiritual leadership, we may expect a progressive deterioration in the quality of popular Christianity year after year till we reach the point where the grieved Holy Spirit withdraws—like the Shekinah from the temple.  

A.W. Tozer.  Cited by Leonard Ravenhill,  Why Revival Tarries, pg.76

Was A.W. Tozer A Mystic?

I've had commenters in the past decry my use of quotations from A.W. Tozer because they claim he was into mysticism.  None of the stuff I've ever read by him shows even a hint of mysticism, but, then again, I've not read all that Tozer has written.  At any rate, I came across this citation by Tozer, printed in the May 2009 issue of The Berean Call apologetics letter:

"Some of my friends good-humoredly -- and some a little bit severely -- have called me a 'mystic.'  Well I'd like to say this about any mysticism I may suppose to have.  If an archangel from heaven were to come, and were to start giving me, telling me, teaching me, and giving me instruction, I'd ask him for the text.  I'd say, 'Where's it say that in the Bible? I want to know.'

"And I would insist that it was according to the scriptures, because I do not believe in any extra-scriptural teachings, nor any anti-scriptural teachings.  I think we ought to put the emphasis where God puts it, and continue to put it there, and to expound the scriptures, and stay by the scriptures.

"I wouldn't -- no matter if I saw a light above the light of the sun, I'd keep my mouth shut about it 'til I'd checked with Daniel and Revelation and the rest of the scriptures to see if it had any basis in truth.  And if it didn't, I'd think I'd just eaten something I shouldn't, and I wouldn't say anything about it.  Because I don't believe in anything that is unscriptural or that is anti-scripture."

Worship Music, Worship Teams

It should be obvious to any thinking observer that today's "worship music" is designed to please man, even the carnal and the unsaved, and not God.  In The Purpose Driven Church (p.279), Rick Warren bold declare, "We use the style of music the majority of people in our church listen to on the radio . . . contemporary pop/rock."  This is the world's music, and it draws the worldly into the church.

In plain words, the music in purpose-driven churches is not chosen because it pleases God, but man.  Purpose-driven worship is less about worshipping God than about entertaining the "worshipers."  That is its deliberate design.  Thus, the music and the entire "program" (like any secular performance) must appeal to the audience rather than to the One whom they are supposedly worshiping!

In Born After Midnight, A.W. Tozer declared, "Much singing. . .has in it more of romance than it has of the Holy Ghost.  Words and music [don't reflect] the reverent intimacy of the adoring saint, but the impudent familiarity of the carnal lover."  Nor are those churches that are driven by the new "purpose," which has become the vision of tens of thousands of today's pastors, the only ones that have turned worship upside down and inside out.  The same is true of thousands of other churches that have forgotten the fact that worship, far from being for our enjoyment, is supposed to be directed toward God!  Rare is the awesome reverence that befits those bowing in His presence to singHis praise.  The attitude, dress, and sensuality of many "worship teams" and their "music" would not be tolerated for a moment by God before His throne!


Dave Hunt, "Loving God," The Berean Call, November 2004

Do Battle or Frolic?

Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell . . . [and in] God and righteousness and heaven. . . . Humans, our fathers held, had to choose sides — they could not be neutral.  For them it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if they chose to come out on God’s side, they could expect open war with God’s enemies.  The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. . . .

How different today. . . . People think of the world not as a battleground, but as a playground.  We are not here to fight; we are here to frolic.  We are not in a foreign land; we are at home. . . .  [This idea] has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of fundamentalist Christians.  They might hedge around the question . . . but their conduct gives them away.

A.W. Tozer, cited in The Berean Call, April 1993, “Quotable.”

What Is the Modern "Church" Winning People To?

Any objection to the carryings on of our present gold-calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, “but we are winning them!”  And winning them to what?  To true discipleship?  To cross-carrying?  To self-denial?  To separation from the world?  To crucifixion of the flesh?  To holy living?  To nobility of character?  To a despising of the world’s treasures?  To hard self-discipline?  To love for God?  To total commitment to Christ?  Of course the answer to all these questions is no.

A.W. Tozer, “Man, The Dwelling Place of God.”

Seek God As He Is

As the sailor locates his position on the sea by ‘shooting’ the sun, so we may get our moral bearings by looking at God.  We must begin with God.  We are right when, and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position.

Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly.  We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.  The flesh whimpers against the rigor of God’s inexorable sentence and begs like Agag for a little mercy, a little indulgence of its carnal ways.  It is no use.  We can get a right start only by accepting God as He is and learning to love Him for what He is.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p.95

Malady of the Soul?

The idea of cultivation and exercise [of the Christian faith], so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture.  It is too slow, too common.  We now demand glamour and fast-flowing dramatic action.  A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals.  We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God.  We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit.  These and such as these are symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p.65

Do You Know the Peace of God?

Every age has its own characteristics.  Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, pg.17

We Need A New Type of Preacher

If Christianity is to receive a rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any now being used. If the Church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting.Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many), he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom. Such a man is likely to be lean, rugged, blunt-spoken and a little bit angry with the world. He will love Christ and the souls of men to the point of willingness to die for the glory of the One and the salvation of the other. But he will fear nothing that breathes with mortal breath.

A. W. Tozer, The Size of the Soul, 128-129.

Reposted from 7/10/08

Entertaining the Goats

This by A.W. Tozer; you'd think he was seeing today's seeker-sensitive, market-driven and emergent movements.

Without biblical authority, or any other right under the sun, carnal religious leaders have introduced a host of attractions that serve no purpose except to provide entertainment for the retarded saints

It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction.  It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God.  One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments. ...

Any objection to the carryings on of our present gold-calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, “But we are winning them!”  And winning them to what?  To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world?  To crucifixion of the flesh?  To holy living?  To nobility of character?  To a despising of the world’s treasures?  To hard self-discipline?  To love for God?  To total committal to Christ?  Of course the answer to all these questions is no.

(Man: The Dwelling Place of God, p.136)