Heart Health Food or Just Tasty Snacks
A true Christian assembly is characterized by humbleness and holiness, not by surface stimulation or novelty.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the danger of Christians becoming spiritually immature by seeking novelty and excitement rather than sound doctrine. He warns that a church focused on superficial stimulation is not aligned with New Testament teachings and that true faith requires repentance, humility, and holiness. Tozer critiques the tendency to dismiss serious messages as old-fashioned, highlighting that these are the very teachings that will be judged on the day of Christ. He calls for believers to seek deeper spiritual nourishment rather than mere entertainment, reminding them that true faith is demonstrated through obedience to God's will.
Text
Dr. Samuel Johnson, the famous English sage, once said that one of the surest evidences of intellectual immaturity is the desire to startle people. Yet there are Christians who have been fed upon the odd, the strange and the curious so long and so exclusively that they have become wholly unfitted spiritually to receive or to appreciate sound doctrine. They live to be startled by something new or thrilled by something wonderful. They will believe anything so long as it is just a little away from the time-honored beliefs of sober Christian men.
A serious discourse calling for repentance, humbleness of mind and holiness of life is impatiently dismissed as old-fashioned, dull and lacking in "audience appeal." Yet these things are just the ones that rank highest on the list of things we need to hear, and by them we shall all be judged in that great day of Christ. A church fed on excitement is no New Testament church at all. The desire for surface stimulation is a sure mark of the fallen nature, the very thing Christ died to deliver us from. A curious crowd of baptized worldlings waiting each Sunday for the quasi-religious needle to give them a lift bears no relation whatsoever to a true assembly of Christian believers.
And that its members protest their undying faith in the Bible does not change things any. "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
Sermon Outline
- The Dangers of Spiritual Immaturity
- The Consequences of a Church Fed on Excitement
- The True Nature of a Christian Assembly
- Characterized by Humbleness and Holiness
- Not by Surface Stimulation or Novelty
Key Quotes
“One of the surest evidences of intellectual immaturity is the desire to startle people.” — A.W. Tozer
“A serious discourse calling for repentance, humbleness of mind and holiness of life is impatiently dismissed as old-fashioned, dull and lacking in 'audience appeal'.” — A.W. Tozer
“Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We must be careful not to prioritize novelty and excitement over the timeless truths of the Bible.
- A true Christian assembly is characterized by a deep desire for repentance, humbleness of mind, and holiness of life.
- Our actions, not just our words or professions of faith, will be the basis for our judgment in the great day of Christ.