#1 from Colin on July 15, 2009

The following is taken from “Born After Midnight” by A.W. Tozer and should act as a wake up call to the church in North America today.

“Conversion for those first Christians was not a destination; it was the beginning of a journey. Today all is made to depend upon the initial act of believing. In the book of Acts faith was for each believer a beginning not an end; it was a journey, not a bed in which to lie while waiting for the day of our Lord’s triumph. Believing was not a once-done act; it was more than an act, it was an attitude of heart and mind, which inspired and enabled the believer to take up his cross and follow the Lamb.

To make converts here we are forced to play down the difficulties and play up the peace of mind and worldly success enjoyed by those who accept Christ. we must assure our hearers that Christianity is now a proper and respectable thing and that Christ has become quite popular with political bigwigs, well-to-do business tycoons, and the Hollywood swimming pool set. Thus assured, hell-deserving sinners are coming in droves to accept Christ for what they can get out of Him; and though one now and again may drop a tear as proof of his sincerity, it is hard to escape the conclusion that mst of them are stooping to patronize the Lord of glory much as a young couple might fawn on a boresome but rich old uncle in order to be mentioned in his will later on.

We will never be completely honest with our hearers until we tell them the blunt truth that as members of a race of moral rebels they are in a serious jam and one they will not get out fo easily. If the refuse to repent and believe on Christ they will most surely perish; if they do turn to Him the same enemies that crucified Him will try to crucify them.

Those first believers turned to Christ with the full understanding that they were espousing an unpopular cause that could cost them everything. They knew they would henceforth be members of a hated minority group with life and liberty always in jeopardy.

This is not idle flourish. Shortly after Pentecost some were jailed, many lost all their earthly goods, a few were slain outright and hundreds scattered abroad.

They could have escaped all this by the simple expedient of denying their faith and turning back to the world; but this they steadfastly refused to do.

Seen thus in comparison with each other is the Christianity of North American evangelicalism today the same as that of the first century? I wonder. But again I think I know.