Unused Truth
Unused truth in the Christian life can lead to a lack of balance and even heresy, emphasizing the importance of confessing our sins.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the danger of neglecting certain biblical truths while overemphasizing others, leading to an imbalanced Christian life. He warns that unused truth can become as ineffective as an unused muscle, and that holding a truth theoretically while failing to practice it renders it void. Tozer critiques the belief that since Christ died for all sins, confession is unnecessary, arguing that while it is true that Christ's sacrifice covers all sins, it does not negate the need for personal confession. This misunderstanding can lead to a form of heresy that lacks the opposition of traditional theologians. Ultimately, Tozer calls for a balanced approach to Scripture, recognizing the importance of both the truths we embrace and those we neglect.
Text
Lack of balance in the Christian life is often the direct consequence of overemphasis on certain favorite texts, with a corresponding underemphasis on other related ones. For it is not denial only that makes a truth void; failure to emphasize it will in the long run be equally damaging. And this puts us in the odd position of holding a truth theoretically while we make it of no effect by neglecting it in practice. Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle. Sometimes our dogmatic insistence upon "It is written" and our refusal to hear "Again it is written" makes heretics of us, our heresy being the noncreedal variety which does not rouse the opposition of the theologians.
One example of this is the teaching that crops up now and again having to do with confession of sin.
It goes like this: Christ died for our sins, not only for all we have committed but for all we may yet commit for the remainder of our lives. When we accept Christ we receive the benefit of everything He did for us in His dying and rising again. In Christ all our current sins are forgiven beforehand. It is therefore unnecessary for us to confess our sins. In Christ they are already forgiven. Now, this is completely wrong, and it is all the more wrong because it is half right. It is true that Christ died for all our sins, but it is not true that because Christ died for all our sins we need not confess that we have sinned when we have. This conclusion does not follow from that premise.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Balance in the Christian Life
- The Consequences of Unused Truth
- A Misleading Teaching on Confession of Sin
- Christ died for all our sins, past and future
- This does not mean we don't need to confess our sins
- Conclusion does not follow from premise
Key Quotes
“Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle.” — A.W. Tozer
“It is not denial only that makes a truth void; failure to emphasize it will in the long run be equally damaging.” — A.W. Tozer
“One example of this is the teaching that crops up now and again having to do with confession of sin.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Make a conscious effort to balance your Christian life by emphasizing all relevant truths.
- Don't neglect certain truths, even if they're not your favorite, as this can lead to unused truth.
- Confess your sins, even if you've been forgiven, as this is an important part of your spiritual growth.