This post is based off of the book “The Knowledge of the Holy” by A.W. Tozer.

There are concepts and philosophies that have attacked the Church or “Christianity” throughout every age of history since Christ died and was resurrected.  In the book of Galatians it was legalism or “works based” salvation.  People were teaching that the Gentile Christians had to follow Jewish customs in order to be saved.  Another one was Gnosticism in which a group of people said, among many other things, that Jesus wasn’t really a man he only “appeared” to be.  He was really a spirit.  Later in history the Catholic Church strayed so far from Biblical teachings that it eventually led to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.  In short, they were withholding the Scriptures from the people and making up their own version of Christianity with all kinds of ideas not found in Scripture like the sale of indulgences and purgatory.

Therefore, if in every age of history Christianity has been attacked what is attacking us today?  I believe the concept we face today is the same thing that Tozer faced 50 years ago when he wrote this book: Humanism.  Tozer says that humanism has displaced theology as the key to the understanding of life.  In humanism the focal point of man’s interest is himself.  It’s a system of thought that stresses the potential value and goodness of human beings.  As Christians we technically reject this outlook because we believe that God should be the center of our thoughts and we believe that “there is none righteous” that “all have sinned” that our righteousness is as “filthy rags.”  We don’t believe in the inherent goodness of man.  But humanism is so prevalent in American culture that it has woven itself into Christianity.  Go to any Christian bookstore and look at how many self-help books are on the bestseller rack.  It’s filled with them.  The main idea that all of them are promoting is that Christianity’s main purpose is to make you the best you that you can be for your own happiness.

This is what is attacking the Church right now.  The idea that we follow God because it’s going to make us happy.  We are the focal point of Christianity.  Wrong.  God is the focal point.  We didn’t love God, we rebelled against him.  He loved us and sent His Son to die for us.  We were evil, loathsome, rebellious sinners and he in his everlasting mercy made a way for us to spend eternity with him.  But we exist to bring Him glory, not to make ourselves happy.  That being said, when we seek to bring God glory THEN we will find satisfaction and peace but the focus is always God’s glory not our happiness.

So how do we fight humanism in the church and bring back a lofty view of God?  Tozer says it starts with the individual.  We have to have a thorough knowledge of what God says about himself in His Word.  Not what Joel Osteen says about him in “Your Best Life Now.”  Getting to know God is, as Tozer says, “the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world.”  God has made himself available to us.  He has put his Spirit inside of us.  We can all know God like David knew God you want to know how?  You have to spend time with him.  You have to take time to study his Word, to pray, to listen.  My favorite quote from this chapter sums up exactly how to get to know God: “God is a Person and can be known in increasing degrees of intimate acquaintance as we prepare our hearts for the wonder.” You want to know God?  You have to spend time with him like you would with any other person.

Categories: Paul Austin The Knowledge Of The Holy

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