The Indispensable Necessity of Spiritual Diagnosis
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the need for prophetic insight in the church to critically examine and understand the current state of Christianity.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the urgent need for spiritual diagnosis within the church, urging believers to question the underlying reasons for the current religious activities rather than simply observing them. He points out that many Christians are unaware of the true state of their faith and the relationship between God and their actions, likening the situation to the complacency of Judaism before Christ. Tozer calls for prophetic insight to discern the present spiritual condition, as historical knowledge alone is insufficient for understanding the current state of Christianity. He stresses that it is crucial for believers to seek clarity and understanding in their faith now, rather than waiting for future historians to analyze the past.
Text
Not the fact that the churches are unusually active these days, not what religious people are doing, should engage our attention, but why these things are so. The big question is: Why? And no one seems to have an answer for it. Not only is there no answer, but scarcely is there anyone to ask the question. It just never occurs to us that such a question remains to be asked. Christian people continue to gossip religious shoptalk with scarcely as much as a puzzled look. The soundness of current Christianity is assumed by the religious masses as was the soundness of Judaism when Christ appeared.
People know they are seeing certain activity, but just what it means they do not know, nor have they the faintest idea of where God is or what relation He has toward the whole thing.
What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight. Scholars can interpret the past; it takes prophets to interpret the present. Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on our yesterdays, but it requires a gift of clear seeing to pass sentence on our own day. One hundred years from now historians will know what was taking place religiously in this year of our Lord 1956; but that will be too late for us. We should know right now.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Problem of Unexamined Christianity
- A. The assumption of soundness without examination
- B. The lack of critical thinking in the church
- II. The Need for Prophetic Insight
- A. The difference between interpreting the past and the present
- B. The importance of clear seeing in understanding current events
Key Quotes
“What is needed desperately today is prophetic insight.” — A.W. Tozer
“Learning will enable a man to pass judgment on our yesterdays, but it requires a gift of clear seeing to pass sentence on our own day.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should be critically examining our Christianity and not just assuming it is sound.
- We need to seek prophetic insight to understand the true state of our faith and the world around us.
- We should not be satisfied with superficial activity in the church, but rather strive for a deeper understanding of our faith.