I haven't thrown any Tozer at you for a while, but today's reading hit me hard. We often think of sin as being only something we "commit." But sin is an outgrowth from what's in our hearts. Tozer's comments today were convicting to me:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. --Galatians 2:20
To be specific, the self-sins are self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and
a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins--egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion--are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to exite little notice....
Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere
instruction. We may as well try to instruct leprosy out of our system. There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free. We must invite the cross to do its deadly work within us. We must bring our self-sins to the cross for judgment. The Pursuit of God, 43-44.
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3 comments:
Ouch!
It's easier to think of sin as something we commit rather than what it is, what's in our heart. To admit that it's coming forth from what's in our heart means some deep self reflection is necessary and that's never easy. But it's inevitable if we truly want to work on getting the sin out of our heart and life. Thanks for the reminder.
It seems pretty popular today to criticize us for our introspection. No doubt we are looking more within than we used to but I don't see how we can get the mission part right unless we get the self/heart part right. Nonetheless I can be supremely confident - so long as my confidence is in Christ Jesus who died for me.
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