Temple Cleansers
The church's most pressing need is for Christians to acknowledge their worldliness and spiritual coldness, and to return to New Testament principles.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the urgent need for Christians to recognize their spiritual shortcomings and worldly behaviors, urging a return to the core message and methods of the New Testament. He calls for a collective confession of moral decline and spiritual coldness, advocating for the cleansing of both personal lives and the church from unscriptural activities and carnal projects. Tozer stresses that true revival begins with self-examination and the bold action of removing distractions that hinder genuine worship and service to God.
Text
The critical need in this hour of the church?s history is not what it is so often said to be: soul-winning, foreign missions, miracles. These are effects, not causes. The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray; that we should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low and we are spiritually cold. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, stop running when and where we have not been sent, and cease trying to sanctify carnal projects by professing that we are promoting them ?in the name of the Lord? and ?for the glory of God.?
We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament.
We need boldly and indignantly to cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place, and overthrow the tables of the money-changers. And this must be done in our own lives first and then in the churches of which we are a part.
Sermon Outline
- The Critical Need in the Church
- The Problem of Worldliness
- Returning to New Testament Principles
- Cleansing the Temple
- Removing Worldliness from Our Lives
- Overthrowing the Tables of the Money-Changers
- The Objectives of the New Testament
Key Quotes
“The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray;” — A.W. Tozer
“We need boldly and indignantly to cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place, and overthrow the tables of the money-changers.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should examine our own lives and confess our worldliness and spiritual coldness to God and others.
- We should stop running unscriptural activities and instead focus on returning to New Testament principles.
- We should work to reform the churches we are a part of by cleansing our own lives and promoting spiritual reform.