Until the day he died, A. W. Tozer never deviated from exhorting the church to walk like those who truly belong to the kingdom of God. Although he never softened his censure of what he called “churchianity built around showmanship,” he believed the Church was ripe for reformation, and he longed to see its return to the Holy Spirit-filled, humble, loving fellowship that typified the early church.
If you have ever wondered why the church has little influence in the world today, and, equally, how your life could more closely reflect the powerful witness that characterized the early Christians, Tozer’s flinty and uncompromising words will remind you of what is missing and challenge you to shun what is superficial so that you can walk toward authentic faith.
The Logos Bible Software edition of this volume is designed to encourage and stimulate your study and understanding of Scripture. Biblical passages link directly to your English translations and original-language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic and find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about the Word of God.
A. W. Tozer (1897–1963) was born on a small farm in what is now Newburg, PA. His family moved to Akron, Ohio, when he was just a young boy. At age 17, Tozer heard a street preacher, responded to the calling of Christ, and began his lifelong pursuit of God. After becoming an active witness of Jesus as a lay preacher, he joined The Christian and Missionary Alliance and was soon serving as the pastor of West Virginia’s Alliance Church. In 1928, he transferred to the Southside Alliance Church in Chicago, and his ministry continued there for 31 years. During that time, he preached on the Moody Bible Institute’s radio station. In the 1940s, Tozer was invited to speak at Wheaton College, and seldom a year passed after World War II that he didn‘t preach in the college’s Pierce Chapel. In 1950 he became the editor of The Alliance Life magazine and served in that capacity until his death.
Self-taught, with no formal Bible training, Tozer has been called a twentieth-century prophet within his own lifetime. Through years of diligent study and constant prayer, he sought the mind of God. A master craftsman in the use of the English language, he was able to write in a simple, cogent style the principles of truth he had learned. For Tozer, “there was no substitute for knowing God firsthand.” He wrote many of his books with one idea in mind—that his reader would achieve the heart’s true goal in God and maintain that relationship with Him.
James L. Snyder is the pastor of the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Florida, a Christian and Missionary Alliance church (1973–present). He is recognized as an authority on the life and ministry of A. W. Tozer, and has written a number of books as well as numerous essays in Christian periodicals about Tozer. He has a weekly radio ministry, writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column carried by 35 newspapers, as well as over a dozen monthly magazines, both online and print.
“Therefore, the epistles do not advise; they command.” (Page 20)
“Whenever you hear a man pleading for the right to be worldly, he is covering up a basic unbelief in his heart. The man who has been purged and illuminated will renounce the world, leave it and get out of it.” (Page 172)
“The last spiritual axiom is, God never lifts His hands off His work. He leads all things to an ordained end. He never lifts His hands off His work.” (Page 190)
“Another spiritual axiom that I borrow from Lady Julian is that God changes never, He is perfect.” (Page 188)
“There is an absolute authority within the Church, and that authority is Jesus Christ.” (Page 17)
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