I found relevance in a work by AW Tozer on Discipleship. Seems I am not the only one hitting to wall in sharing with family while praying for them . Seems to me , there needs to be common ground. I am the chief of sinners btw. SUBSTITUTES FOR
DISCIPLESHIP
Pietism. By this I mean an enjoyable feeling of
affection for the person of our Lord that is valued
for itself and is wholly unrelated to cross-bearing
or the keeping of the commandments of Christ.
It is entirely possible to feel for Jesus an ardent
love that is not of the Holy Spirit. Witness the
love for the Virgin felt by certain devout souls, a
love which in the very nature of things must be
purely subjective. The heart is adept at emotional
tricks and is entirely capable of falling in love with
imaginary objects or romantic religious ideas.
In the confused world of romance, young
persons are constantly inquiring how they can
tell when they are "in love." They are afraid they
may mistake some other sensation for true love
and are seeking some trustworthy criterion by
which they can judge the quality of their latest
emotional fever. Their confusion of course arises
from the erroneous notion that love is an en-
joyable inward passion, without intellectual or
volitional qualities and carrying with it no moral
obligations.
Our Lord gave us a rule by which we can test our
love for Him: "He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and Iwill love him, and will manifest myself to him
If a man love me, he will keep my words He
that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John
14:21, 23-24).
These words are too plain to need much inter-
preting. Proof of love for Christ is simply removed
altogether from the realm of the feelings and
placed in the realm of practical obedience. I think
the rest of the New Testament is in full accord
with this.
Another substitute for discipleship is literalism.
Our Lord referred to this when He reproached
the Pharisees for their habit of tithing mint and
anise and cumin while at the same time omitting
the weightier matters of the Law such as justice,
mercy and faith. Literalism manifests itself
among us in many ways, but it can always be
identified in that it lives by the letter of the Word
while ignoring its spirit. It habitually fails to ap-
prehend the inward meaning of Christ's words,
and contents itself with external compliance
with the text. If Christ commands baptism, for
instance, it finds fulfillment in the act of water
baptism, but the radical meaning of the act as
explained in Romans 6 is completely overlooked.
It reads the Scriptures regularly, contributes
consistently to religious work, attends church
every Sunday and otherwise carries on the com-
mon duties of a Christian; and for this it is to be
commended. Its tragic breakdown is its failure to
comprehend the lordship of Christ, the believer's
discipleship, separation from the world and the
crucifixion of the natural man.
Literalism attempts to build a holy temple upon
the sandy foundation of the religious self. It will
suffer, sacrifice and labor, but it will not die. It is
Adam at his pious best, but it has never denied
self to take up the cross and follow Christ.
Another substitute for discipleship I would
mention (though these do not exhaust the list) is
zealous religious activity. Working for Christ has
today been accepted as the ultimate test of godli-
ness among all but a few evangelical Christians.
Christ has become a project to be promoted or a
cause to be served instead of a Lord to be obeyed.
Thousands of mistaken persons seek to do for
Christ whatever their fancy suggests should be
done, and in whatever way they think best. The
what and the how of Christian service can only
originate in the sovereign will of our Lord, but the
busy beavers among us ignore this fact and think
up their own schemes. The result is an army of
men who run without being sent and speak with-
out being commanded.
To avoid the snare of unauthorized substitution
I recommend a careful and prayerful study of
the lordship of Christ and the discipleship of the
believer. AW Tozer
DISCIPLESHIP
Pietism. By this I mean an enjoyable feeling of
affection for the person of our Lord that is valued
for itself and is wholly unrelated to cross-bearing
or the keeping of the commandments of Christ.
It is entirely possible to feel for Jesus an ardent
love that is not of the Holy Spirit. Witness the
love for the Virgin felt by certain devout souls, a
love which in the very nature of things must be
purely subjective. The heart is adept at emotional
tricks and is entirely capable of falling in love with
imaginary objects or romantic religious ideas.
In the confused world of romance, young
persons are constantly inquiring how they can
tell when they are "in love." They are afraid they
may mistake some other sensation for true love
and are seeking some trustworthy criterion by
which they can judge the quality of their latest
emotional fever. Their confusion of course arises
from the erroneous notion that love is an en-
joyable inward passion, without intellectual or
volitional qualities and carrying with it no moral
obligations.
Our Lord gave us a rule by which we can test our
love for Him: "He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he
that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and Iwill love him, and will manifest myself to him
If a man love me, he will keep my words He
that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings" (John
14:21, 23-24).
These words are too plain to need much inter-
preting. Proof of love for Christ is simply removed
altogether from the realm of the feelings and
placed in the realm of practical obedience. I think
the rest of the New Testament is in full accord
with this.
Another substitute for discipleship is literalism.
Our Lord referred to this when He reproached
the Pharisees for their habit of tithing mint and
anise and cumin while at the same time omitting
the weightier matters of the Law such as justice,
mercy and faith. Literalism manifests itself
among us in many ways, but it can always be
identified in that it lives by the letter of the Word
while ignoring its spirit. It habitually fails to ap-
prehend the inward meaning of Christ's words,
and contents itself with external compliance
with the text. If Christ commands baptism, for
instance, it finds fulfillment in the act of water
baptism, but the radical meaning of the act as
explained in Romans 6 is completely overlooked.
It reads the Scriptures regularly, contributes
consistently to religious work, attends church
every Sunday and otherwise carries on the com-
mon duties of a Christian; and for this it is to be
commended. Its tragic breakdown is its failure to
comprehend the lordship of Christ, the believer's
discipleship, separation from the world and the
crucifixion of the natural man.
Literalism attempts to build a holy temple upon
the sandy foundation of the religious self. It will
suffer, sacrifice and labor, but it will not die. It is
Adam at his pious best, but it has never denied
self to take up the cross and follow Christ.
Another substitute for discipleship I would
mention (though these do not exhaust the list) is
zealous religious activity. Working for Christ has
today been accepted as the ultimate test of godli-
ness among all but a few evangelical Christians.
Christ has become a project to be promoted or a
cause to be served instead of a Lord to be obeyed.
Thousands of mistaken persons seek to do for
Christ whatever their fancy suggests should be
done, and in whatever way they think best. The
what and the how of Christian service can only
originate in the sovereign will of our Lord, but the
busy beavers among us ignore this fact and think
up their own schemes. The result is an army of
men who run without being sent and speak with-
out being commanded.
To avoid the snare of unauthorized substitution
I recommend a careful and prayerful study of
the lordship of Christ and the discipleship of the
believer. AW Tozer
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