by A.W. Tozer
One marked characteristic of present-day Christians is the low level of their spiritual energy, their all but total lack of moral enthusiasm.
I do not believe that it is necessary to prove this. We carry the proof in our own hearts and observe it in the conduct of our Christian friends. We may safely accept it as a fact and go on from there.
Back of this condition I believe there are four principal causes. They are:
- A deadened sense of sin in the Church. The very word sin is not in good standing in present-day philosophy and psychology. The intellectuals have put us on the defensive and have made us ashamed to believe in sin as a reality. It is somewhat like believing in nymphs or kelpies, quite all right for a less educated generation but surely not in keeping with our advanced scientific knowledge. The relativity of morals has been taught to our college youth for a long enough period to give the idea time to sift down into the mind of the man on the street and affect the whole popular concept of right and wrong. Hence there is no sharp line drawn between good and evil, even among church people.
- The result is that when people "accept" Christ they do so with little or no real conviction for sin and without radical repentance. It is rare now to see a transforming conversion. The average convert becomes one by a series of compromises, whereby he surrenders something to gain something and dickers for his salvation like a huckster. The thought of unconditional surrender to the Lordship of Jesus never enters his mind. A shoddy mercantile theology has reduced the whole thing to the level of an across-the-counter transaction with no loss of face to the sinner. Of course the resultant conversion is a cold-blooded, emotionless affair.
- Next in order and flowing directly out of these is the absence of an experiential encounter with the living God. The personal encounter gave fire and life to the religion of the Bible. "Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him." Jacob met God on two occasions and those meetings affected him as light affects a sensitized plate. Moses trembled before God in delighted fear. The Bible itself grew out of such experiences. They were not alike except in their spiritual content and their clear and lasting effect upon the individual heart. This content is so weak among Christians today as to be all but unrecognizable. The significant words of prophet and apostle were "I saw? I heard? the heavens were opened? I saw the Lord," and other like expressions. Today we try to substitute a pale, waxy "faith" for such vivid encounters. No wonder the Church has taken on the general tone of a convalescent hospital instead of the camp of a victorious army.
- The fourth cause of our lack of moral enthusiasm, as I see it, is the absence from our experience of an object for the heart's devotion. The great spiritual souls of other days had such an object. In the Old Testament they were frankly and unashamedly in love with the Most High God, and when He became flesh and dwelt among us He came still nearer to the hearts of His people. Paul's heart exploded into a burning volcano of love for the Lord Jesus. It was this and not his theology alone that made him the fiery spirit he was. This it was that gave us Augustine, Bernard, Francis, Rolle, Rutherford and the rest of the shining company.
Today we find ourselves on the fourth step of the chilly stairs that lead downward: 1. No conviction for sin. 2. No transforming conversion. 3. No encounter with God. 4. No object of worship. Where do we go from here?
( Article taken from The Price of Neglect, Chapter 8 )
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