Deeply Personal
The sermon emphasizes the importance of genuine spiritual experience and warns against reducing spirituality to a formula, which can lead to spiritual failures and lack of inward assurance.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the necessity of the inner witness of the Holy Spirit for true Christian assurance, arguing that many believers today are weak and uncertain due to a lack of this profound experience. He critiques the tendency of some Christian workers to simplify the process of coming to faith into a formulaic approach, which can lead to superficial conversions devoid of genuine inner conviction. Tozer expresses that the complexities of spiritual life cannot be reduced to mere techniques or manipulative practices, as this undermines the authenticity of one's relationship with God. He calls for a deeper understanding and experience of faith that transcends mere intellectual assent or emotional manipulation.
Text
I once wrote of the need of the inner witness and pointed out that the lack of it is producing a strain of feeble Christians, weak, half-hearted and pitifully unsure of themselves.
A reader wrote to say in effect that she agreed with me fully and wanted very much to experience the inner witness but did not know how to proceed. She ended her letter with the request that I write something that would make the whole thing clear to her and others.
Much as I should like to comply with this request I am, of course, unable to do so. Indeed the very notion that the things of God can be reduced to a formula is back of many of our spiritual failures. Christian workers, in their eager desire to get the seeker ?through,? will, it seems, stop at nothing. They try to induce faith by baiting the seeker with Bible texts, all the while smiling and ?helping? by voice and gesture. The whole performance, while undoubtedly well-intentioned, acts as a powerful suggestion to raise expectation and predispose the seeker?s mind to accept whatever the worker desires that it should. Then follows a series of questions and answers, the questions carefully put in such a way as to suggest the answers, ending usually with the familiar ?Well, if He doesn?t cast you out, what does He do?? Of course there is only one answer to that question and the bewildered seeker gives it, ?Why, He takes me in.? This brings on a burst of Amens, along with a great deal of backslapping and handshaking, and another convert has been made. That such a convert lacks inward assurance is not surprising.
Sermon Outline
- The Need for the Inner Witness
- The Dangers of Reducing Spirituality to Formula
- The Consequences of This Approach
- Converts lack inward assurance
- The importance of genuine spiritual experience
Key Quotes
“The very notion that the things of God can be reduced to a formula is back of many of our spiritual failures.” — A.W. Tozer
“Christian workers, in their eager desire to get the seeker ?through,? will, it seems, stop at nothing.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Be cautious of approaches that try to reduce spirituality to a formula, as they can be misleading and ineffective.
- Seek genuine spiritual experience and inward assurance, rather than just going through the motions of faith.
- Christian workers should prioritize helping seekers experience the inner witness, rather than just trying to get them to convert.