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  AVOIDING SPIRITUAL DEFORMITY
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: A.W. Tozer warns against spiritual deformity, which occurs when
we allow our efforts to be right to lead us astray and cause us to
become spiritually deformed.

Topics: "Christian Character", "Spiritual Growth"
Scripture References: Acts 25:1

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes the dangers of spiritual deformity that can arise
from our well-intentioned efforts to be right. He warns against the
pitfalls of becoming brazen in our boldness, rude in our frankness, and
suspicious in our watchfulness, all of which can lead us away from
Christ-like qualities. Tozer illustrates how true courage and meekness
coexist in Jesus, and he reminds us that love should temper our honesty
and vigilance. He highlights the importance of maintaining a spirit of
charity and humility, even in the face of opposition, to avoid falling
into the traps set by the enemy.

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CONTENT
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There are areas in our lives where in our effort to be right we may go
wrong, so wrong as to lead to spiritual deformity. To be specific let me
name a few: 1. When in our determination to be bold we become brazen.
Courage and meekness are compatible qualities: both were found in
perfect proportion in Christ and both shone in beauty in His conflict
with His enemies. Peter before the Sanhedrin and Paul before Agrippa
demonstrated both qualities, though on another occasion when Paul's
boldness temporarily lost its charity and became carnal he said to the
high priest, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall." It is to the
credit of the apostle that when he saw what he had done he immediately
apologized (Acts 25:1-5). 2.

When in our desire to be frank we become rude.

Candor without rudeness was always found in the man Christ Jesus. The
Christian who boasts that he always calls a spade a spade is likely to
end by calling everything a spade. Even the fiery Peter learned that
love does not blurt out everything it knows (1 Peter 4:8) 3. When in our
effort to be watchful we become suspicious. Because there are many
adversaries the temptation is to see enemies where none exist. Because
we are in conflict with error we tend to develop a spirit of hostility
to everyone who disagrees with us on anything. Satan cares little
whether we go astray after a false doctrine or merely turn sour. Either
way he wins.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/avoiding-spiritual-deformity/
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