Personal Creed in Development
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the necessity of an informed and intelligent love for Christ in preaching and worship.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that preaching Christ transcends mere emotional expressions of love; it requires an informed and intelligent understanding of faith. He argues that while creeds can be recited without conviction, true worship necessitates a foundational knowledge of God, which forms an implicit creed. Tozer insists that worship must be rooted in both spirit and truth, highlighting that knowledge of God is essential for meaningful worship. He warns against the notion that mystical experiences alone can suffice without doctrinal understanding. Ultimately, Tozer calls for a balance between heartfelt devotion and intellectual engagement in our faith.
Text
Preaching Christ is generally, and correctly, held to be the purest, noblest ministry in which any man can engage; but preaching Christ includes a great deal more than talking about Christ in superlatives. It means more than giving vent to the religious love the speaker feels for the Person of Christ. Glowing love for Christ will give fragrance and warmth to any sermon, but it is still not enough. Love must be intelligent and informed if it is to have any permanent meaning. The effective sermon must have intellectual content, and wherever there is intellect there is creed.
It cannot be otherwise. This is not to plead for the use of the historic creeds in our Christian gatherings. I realize that it is entirely possible to recite the Apostles' Creed every Sunday for a lifetime with no profit to the soul. The Nicene Creed may be said or sung in every service without benefiting anyone. The standard creeds are a summary of what the Christian professes to believe, and they are excellent as far as they go yet they may be learned by rote and repeated without conviction and so be altogether stale and unprofitable.
While we may worship (and thousands of Christians do) without the use of any formal creed, it is impossible to worship acceptably without some knowledge of the One we seek to worship. And that knowledge is our creed whether it is ever formalized or not. It is not enough to say that we may have a mystical or numinous experience of God without any doctrinal knowledge and that is sufficient. No, it is not sufficient. We must worship in truth as well as in spirit; and truth can be stated and when it is stated it becomes creed.
Sermon Outline
-
I
- The importance of preaching Christ
- Beyond superlatives: the depth of preaching
- The necessity of intellectual content
-
II
- The role of love in preaching
- Intelligent love versus emotional love
- The impact of informed love on sermons
-
III
- The value of creeds in worship
- Limitations of historic creeds
- The essence of personal creed
-
IV
- Worshiping without formal creeds
- The necessity of knowledge in worship
- Worshiping in truth and spirit
Key Quotes
“It is impossible to worship acceptably without some knowledge of the One we seek to worship.” — A.W. Tozer
“We must worship in truth as well as in spirit; and truth can be stated and when it is stated it becomes creed.” — A.W. Tozer
“Glowing love for Christ will give fragrance and warmth to any sermon, but it is still not enough.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Engage with the intellectual aspects of faith to deepen your understanding of Christ.
- Reflect on your personal creed and how it informs your worship and relationship with God.
- Strive to balance emotional love for Christ with doctrinal knowledge to enhance your preaching.