A.W. Tozer in Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church
is quoted as saying, "The philosopher Socrates said, 'An unexamined life is not worth living.' If a common philosopher could think that, how much more we Christians ought to listen to the Holy Spirit when He says, 'Examine yourself.' An unexamined Christian lies like an unattended garden. Let your garden go unattended for a few months, and you will not have roses and tomatoes but weeds. An unexamined Christian life is like an unkempt house. Lock your house up as tight as you will and leave it long enough, and when you come back you will not believe the dirt that got in from somewhere. An unexamined Christian is like an untaught child. A child that is not taught will be a little savage. It takes examination, teaching, instruction, discipline, caring, tending, weeding, and cultivating to keep the life right."
Lest we blindly go through life erroneously believing we are saved, we need to examine ourselves as commanded by God. As parents, we need to examine our children as best we can, and then as they mature, teach them to examine themselves. All this reminds me once more of a fantastic sermon by Paul Washer that should be part of any serious Christian's collection. It can be found here, either to listen online or to download. I personally place them all on my ipod in a "Washer" playlist and listen whenever I'm in the car...sure beats the rot on the radio!
is quoted as saying, "The philosopher Socrates said, 'An unexamined life is not worth living.' If a common philosopher could think that, how much more we Christians ought to listen to the Holy Spirit when He says, 'Examine yourself.' An unexamined Christian lies like an unattended garden. Let your garden go unattended for a few months, and you will not have roses and tomatoes but weeds. An unexamined Christian life is like an unkempt house. Lock your house up as tight as you will and leave it long enough, and when you come back you will not believe the dirt that got in from somewhere. An unexamined Christian is like an untaught child. A child that is not taught will be a little savage. It takes examination, teaching, instruction, discipline, caring, tending, weeding, and cultivating to keep the life right."Lest we blindly go through life erroneously believing we are saved, we need to examine ourselves as commanded by God. As parents, we need to examine our children as best we can, and then as they mature, teach them to examine themselves. All this reminds me once more of a fantastic sermon by Paul Washer that should be part of any serious Christian's collection. It can be found here, either to listen online or to download. I personally place them all on my ipod in a "Washer" playlist and listen whenever I'm in the car...sure beats the rot on the radio!
1 comment:
Charley:
I actually went to download the sermons on God’s Word, from Paul Washer, you suggested a few weeks ago and downloaded this one as well. It is a very good word on a subject that many are hesitant to delve into, examining ourselves. I am preaching through the book of Hebrews and as I go through chapters 3 and 4 the same admonition comes up in that we are to examine ourselves to be sure we do not have an unbelieving heart. In chapter 3 verse 13 the writer of Hebrews even goes where most are uncomfortable and that is we are also called to encourage and exhort others to be sure of their calling.
I have started to upload the sermons on Hebrews and they are linked to through our new church start web page at: http://www.sovereigngracecf.org/page5.html. As we just started actual Lord’s Day services recently the previous chapters of Hebrews were in a bible study we were holding.
The whole idea of not simply taking the “great salvation” (Heb 2:3) provide by God for granted is stressed to the audience of Hebrews and we need to take this message to heart today.
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