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  ACCEPTING CHRIST MEANS REJECTING ALL ELSE
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: Accepting Christ involves not only acceptance, but also
rejection of what's contrary to Him, a fact often overlooked in
evangelism.

Topics: "Acceptance of Christ", "Rejection of Sin"
Scripture References: Matthew 6:24, Matthew 10:37-39, Luke 9:23, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 3:8, Colossians 3:2, James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-17

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes that accepting Christ requires not only an act of
acceptance but also a continual rejection of all that opposes Him. He
explains that Christianity is a balance of affirmation and denial, which
must be practiced daily throughout a believer's life. Tozer warns
against the misconception that one can live a wholly positive life
without acknowledging the necessity of rejecting sin and worldly
distractions. He likens this to the vital process of inhaling and
exhaling, where both acceptance of Christ and rejection of contrary
influences are essential for spiritual health. This truth is often
overlooked by those focused solely on the positive aspects of
evangelism.

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CONTENT
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The notion that we enter the Christian life by an act of acceptance is
true, but that is not all the truth. There is much more to it than that.
Christianity involves an acceptance and a repudiation, an affirmation
and a denial. And this not only at the moment of conversion but
continually thereafter day by day in all the battle of life till the
great conflict is over and the Christian is home from the wars. To live
a life wholly positive is, fortunately, impossible. Were any man able to
do such a thing it could be only for a moment. Living positively would
be like inhaling continuously without exhaling. Aside from its being
impossible, it would be fatal. Exhalation is as necessary to life as
inhalation.

To accept Christ it is necessary that we reject whatever is contrary to
Him.

This is a fact often overlooked by eager evangelists bent on getting
results. Like the salesman who talks up the good points of his product
and conceals its disadvantages, the badly informed soulwinner stresses
the positive side of things at the expense of the negative.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/accepting-christ-means-rejecting-all-else/
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