I fear any kind of religious stir

I thought the following quote from A.W. Tozer, in his book, [i]The Pursuit of Man[/i] on revival, was very poignant for today's church who seeks revival.

For myself, I fear any kind of religious stir among Christians that does not lead to repentance and result in a sharp separation of the believer from the world. I am suspicious of any organized revival effort that is forced to play down the hard terms of the kingdom. No matter how attractive the movement may appear, if it is not founded in righteousness and nurtured in humility it is not of God. If it exploits the flesh it is a religious fraud and should not have the support of any God-fearing Christian. Only that is of God which honors the Spirit and prospers at the expense of the human ego. “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31).

[edited: tried changing color, but don't know how!]

Recently I accidently cooked tainted fish in the microwave. The molecules of the fish became excited and heated to a popping crackling temperature, but after eating it I became terribly ill. Likewise a people may successfully rouse their church into a religous hothouse, but untill that people's ingenerate corruption has been dealt with by God, the affereffect is stomach-turning.

MC

This is an excerpt from a book called, " A PASTOR'S SKETCHES-Conversations with anxious Souls concerning the way of salvation" by Ichabod Spencer who was called the Bunyan of New York.

"Mere excitements of mind on the subject of religion, however powerful, unless they arise from the known truth of God, are never safe. Excitement, however sudden or great, is not to be feared or deprecated, if it is originated simply by the truth, and will be guided by the truth. All other excitements are pernicious. It is easy to produce them, but their consequences are sad. A true history of spurious revivals would be one of the most melancholy books ever written. The great leading doctrines of Christianity are the truths which the Holy Spirit employs when he regenerates souls. If young converts are really ignorant on such points, not having experimentally learnt them, they are only converts to error and deception. It is not to be expected, perhaps not to be desired, that young Christians should understand doctrines scholastically, or theologically, or metaphysically; but if they are Christians indeed, it is probable that their mind will be substantially right on such doctrines as human sinfulness, divine sovereignty, atonement, justification by faith in Jesus Christ, regeneration by the special power of the Holy Spirit, and the constant need of divine aid. God's children all have the same image, and same superscription - the family mark. Heaven has but one mold. "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image."

roaringlamb wrote:
This is an excerpt from a book called, " A PASTOR'S SKETCHES-Conversations with anxious Souls concerning the way of salvation" by Ichabod Spencer who was called the Bunyan of New York.

"Mere excitements of mind on the subject of religion, however powerful, unless they arise from the known truth of God, are never safe. Excitement, however sudden or great, is not to be feared or deprecated, if it is originated simply by the truth, and will be guided by the truth. All other excitements are pernicious. It is easy to produce them, but their consequences are sad. A true history of spurious revivals would be one of the most melancholy books ever written. The great leading doctrines of Christianity are the truths which the Holy Spirit employs when he regenerates souls. If young converts are really ignorant on such points, not having experimentally learnt them, they are only converts to error and deception. It is not to be expected, perhaps not to be desired, that young Christians should understand doctrines scholastically, or theologically, or metaphysically; but if they are Christians indeed, it is probable that their mind will be substantially right on such doctrines as human sinfulness, divine sovereignty, atonement, justification by faith in Jesus Christ, regeneration by the special power of the Holy Spirit, and the constant need of divine aid. God's children all have the same image, and same superscription - the family mark. Heaven has but one mold. "Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image."

Wow! This is a great quote! I need to find this book.

sermonindex wrote:

that does not lead to repentance and result in a sharp separation of the believer from the world.

Amen. A great thread brothers.

"...result in a sharp separation of the believer from the world."

This teaching is lacking in the church. Today's congregation is basically lead to believe that there doesn't need to be much, if any, difference from the world. What a stark contrast it is to Scripture! Being a follower of God REQUIRES a sharp separation of the believer from the world.

Wow! This is a great quote! I need to find this book.

You may find it here, enjoy :-)
[url=http://www.monergismbooks.com/pastorsketches01.html]Monergism Books[/url]

roaringlamb wrote:

Wow! This is a great quote! I need to find this book.

You may find it here, enjoy :-)
[url=http://www.monergismbooks.com/pastorsketches01.html]Monergism Books[/url]

Hmmmm.... I did read this on the site, though...

"'A Pastor's Sketches' is a must for anyone who finds the important work of bringing lost souls to the Savior important. It is interesting and intriguing. [b]You will need this if you have any interest in reading how a master of the ministry functioned before the [u]contamination of Charles G. Finney[/u] affected so many.[/b]"
—Dr. John Waldrip, pastor

Yeah, I don't see Bro. Ichabod being tight with Finney, and that would probably be because he was more Calvinistic in his approach.
There are many who question much of Finney's Theology, and his way of dealing with the unsaved, but this in no way means we should cast them aside. If we were to do this, we would have to cast aside Spurgeon, John Owen, Martin Luther, and many many other great preachers and men of God.