Monday, August 17

Evangelism: Man-centered Christianity

A. W. Tozer was a gifted prophet who was able to "see" the current situation with a keen eye and write insightfully about how the Church should respond. As a pastor, I have been delighted by the daily Tozer devotional which I have recommended to our flock and heartily recommend to you as well. This devotional is divided monthly by theme, which for August is "Evangelism." The following is from August 11th.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. --1 Chronicles 29:11

Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show. (Man, The Dwelling Place of God: "Why People Find the Bible Difficult"), p. 27.

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