Man, The Dwelling Place of God Ch. 3 (A.W. Tozer)

THE MAN WHO IS SERIOUSLY CONVINCED that he deserves to go to hell is not likely to go there, while the man who believes that he is worthy of heaven will certainly never enter that blessed place.

I use the word "seriously" to accent true conviction and to distinguish it from mere nominal belief.

It is possible to go through life believing that we believe, while actually having no conviction more vital than a conventional creed inherited from our ancestors or picked up from the general religious notions current in our social circle. If this creed requires that we admit our own depravity we do so and feel proud of our fidelity to the Christian faith. But from the way we love, praise and pamper ourselves it is plain enough that we do not consider ourselves worthy of damnation.

A revealing proof of this is seen in the squeamish way religious writers use words. An amusing example is found in a cautious editorial change made in the song "The Comforter Has Come." One stanza reads:

That is how Dr. Bottome felt it and that is how he wrote it; and the man who has seen the holiness of God and the pollution of his own heart will sing it as it was written, for his whole inner life will respond to the experience. Even if he cannot find chapter and verse to brand hint a child of hell, Ins heart indicts him and he eagerly accuses himself before God as fit only for perdition. This is to experience something profounder than theology, more painfully intimate than creed, and while bitter and harsh it is true to the man's Spirit illuminated view of himself. In so confessing, the enlightened heart is being faithful to the terrible fact while it is singing its own condemnation. This I believe is greatly pleasing to God.

It is, I repeat, amusing if somewhat distressing to come upon an editorial change in this song, which was made obviously in the interest of correct theology, but is once removed from reality and twice removed from true moral feeling. In one hymnal it is made to read,

The fastidious song cobbler who made that alteration simply could not think of himself as ever having been a "child of hell." A finicky choice of words sometimes tells us more about a man than the man knows about himself.

This one instance, if isolated in Christian literature, ought not be too significant, but when this kind of thing occurs everywhere as thick as dandelions in a meadow it becomes highly significant indeed. The mincing religious prudery heard in the average pulpit is all a part of this same thing-- art unwillingness to admit the depths of our inner depravity. We do not actually assent to God's judgement of us except as we hold it as a superficial creed. When the pressure is on we back out. A child of sin? Maybe. A child of hell? No.

Our Lord -told of two men who appeared before God in prayer, a Pharisee who recited his virtues and a publican who beat on his breast and pleaded for mercy. The first was rejected, the other justified.

We manage to live with that story in some degree of comfort only by keeping it at full arm's length and never permitting it to catch hold of our conscience. These two men are long ago dead and their story has become it little religious classic. We are different, and how can anything so remote apply to us? So we reason on a level only slightly above our unconscious, and draw what comfort we can from the vagueness and remoteness of it all.

But why should we not face up to it? The truth is that this happened not a long while ago, but yesterday, this morning; not far-away, but here where some of us last knelt to pray. These two men are not dead, but alive, and are found in the local church, at the missionary convention and the deeper life conference here, now, today.

Every man lives at last by his secret philosophy as an airplane flies on its electric beam. It is the profound conviction that we are wholly unworthy of future blessedness, that, we are indeed by nature fitted only for destruction, that leads to true repentance. The man who inwardly believes that lie is too good to perish will certainly perish unless he experiences a radical change of heart about himself.

The poor quality of Christian that grows out of our modern evangelistic meeting may be accounted for by the absence of real repentance accompanying the initial spiritual experience of the converts. And the absence of repentance is the result of an inadequate view of sin and sinfulness held by those who present themselves in the inquiry room.

"No fears, no grace," said Bunyan. "Though there is not always grace where there is fear of hell, yet, to be sure, there is no grace where there is no fear of God." And again, "I care not at all for that profession which begins not in heaviness of mind .... For the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and they that lack the beginning have neither middle nor end."

Thanks for the ping . . .

That San Diego ‘house church’ I was part of for over a year . . .

Saying glibly (or otherwise) “I’m sorry.” Was not allowed.

We had to say “I repent.” and to mean that we were earnestly going to do what we could to turn our behavior around from whatever we were repenting for.

Folks who arrived late to service had a spot in the service to repent to the whole congregation for being late.

Everyone else Biblically was to say “I forgive you.”

Incredibly, that group had the least gossip of any I’ve ever been around. Every member would take you to task and call you to repentence for saying anything negative about anyone UNLESS YOU WERE EARNESTLY INVOLVED IN TRYING, BEFORE GOD, TO HELP IMPROVE THE SITUATION, PERSON ETC. And if they thought there was even a slight chance otherwise, they’d quiz you about had you gone to the other person directly. What was the result. Had you taken someone else in The Body with you? What was the result. Were the parents of their several household “Spiritual Families” aware of the problem etc.

Otherwise, one repented for saying something negative and in some cases had to go to the person involved and repent, too.

Things got driven over the cliff in some respects on more than one occasion. And the nepotistic in-grownness of the daughters and sons-in-law being the only official leadership became problematic and intractibly so . . . particularly when one of the sons-in-law seemed compelled to trying to _________w anything that wiggled.

But for a good while, the group facilitated the spiritual, emotional, psychological, relational repair of a host of folks pastors and mental hospitals all over Southern California had given up on.

And, I think REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS practiced earnestly and rigorously was a key part of that redemptive powerfulness.

I think the Body of Christ misses out big-time when such is minimized or neglected. And many individuals, families and congregations pay a huge price that is not rightly attributed to such omissions of practicing Biblical Christianity.

Scripture indicates that the one who thinks there’s no sin within is deceived. The only route to deal with such sin is REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS.

And, part of that, Biblically, also is

CONFESS YOUR FAULTS ONE TO ANOTHER THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED. That group in San Diego also excelled honorably and healthily at that as well. To great effect. Most congregations ignore the vitality and Biblical imperative of that.

I think many times, even the RC’s have traditionalized and socialized it into far too much meaninglessness in terms of the spiritual impact it has on the individuals and congregations.

But there are important Biblical principles involved which cost us when neglected.

CONFESSION, REPENTANCE, FORGIVENESS—HUGE KEYS in spiritual life and certainly in spiritual growth.

Wellllll,

It started out as a mere supplemental teaching thing in the home of the Methodist MD and his wife high on a hill in La Mesa with a beautiful view of San Diego. Eventually, they formed a formal house church meeting in that home and the homes of the members.

Folks were divided up into “spiritual families” of 2-3 households that met weekly in addition to the Sunday meetings . . . each household had their turn on the “hot seat” for prayer, counsel, discernment, encouragement, repentance, etc.

And, there was teaching at the MD’s home most nights of the week of one sort or another.

The youth group I was in, at the time, had a series of things we did including a formal dinner at a fancy French Restaurant

. . . as well as hosting a party—each person was responsible to do so—and then critique and prayer over all that. Paul’s thing about learning to be content and function well in lofty positions as well as abased positions was taken seriously.

Family of origin hurts and dynmaics were not considered acceptabel road blocks to growth and right behavior—anything that surfaced was grist for the mill—usually deliverance prayers as well as counsel, encouragement, support, requirement to GROW ON.

House church movement is a wide movement building house churches meeting in homes and preparing for the day when that will likely be all that’s allowed, if that.

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