The Book Readers Guild: Orthodox Convictions of Ethereal Thinkers

Chapter 3: A Divine Attribute: Something True About God Opening Prayer: “Majesty unspeakable, my soul desires to behold Thee. I cry to Thee from the dust. Yet when I inquire after Thy name it is secret. Thou art hidden in the light, which no man can approach unto. What Thou art cannot be thought or uttered, for Thy glory is ineffable. Still, prophet and psalmist, apostle and saint have encouraged me to believe that I may in some measure know Thee. Therefore, I pray, whatever of Thyself Thou hast been pleased to disclose, help me to search out as treasure more precious than rubies or the merchandise of fine gold: for with Thee shall I live when the stars of the twilight are no more and the heavens have vanished away and only Thou remainest. Amen.” Definition: “… whatever may be correctly ascribed to God. For the purpose of this book an attribute of God is whatever God has in any way revealed as being true of Himself.” – Page 11. The following quotes are taken fr...

Chapter 2: God Incomprehensible “Lord, how great is our dilemma! In Thy Presence silence best becomes us, but love inflames our hearts and constrains us to speak.” – Page 7.   The idea of God being incomprehensible is in fact, well somewhat perplexing. We are beckoned to know Him yet scripture contends Him unknowable. Our hearts drive us to attest to His magnificence above all the heavens, but our words fall to the ground, failing to capture His essence. How can one know the unknowable and declare the inexpressible? Are these not compatible? Tozer maintains ”Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son,” said our Lord, “and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” The Gospel according to John reveals the helplessness of the human mind before the great Mystery, which is God, and Paul in First Corinthians teaches that God can be known only as the Holy Spirit performs in the seeking heart an act of self-disclosure. The yearning to know What cannot ...

Chapter One: Why We Must Think Rightly About God I have listed various quotes from the chapter that carry its chief message. Tozer employs a type of deductive thinking, charting where a soul, congregation or even a nation will wind up based upon what they believe about God; warning that ignorance and error concerning God’s nature and resolve leads to tragedy and hardship. We are forewarned by Tozer to do our 'due diligence' and so it behooves us to accept this chapter’s probe of our hearts, and to be mindful to make certain that what we believe about God is consistent with His nature and Word, and worthy of His Person. This could be considered one of the most compelling chapters of the entire book. “The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper enterta...

Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897 – 1963) was a pastor, preacher, author and editor. Often called a twentieth – century prophet, even within his own lifetime, Tozer was converted at seventeen after an encounter with a street preacher. Self taught, with no formal bible training, Tozer went on to have a ministry that would span more than forty years, and left a legacy of inspirational, Christ - centered books that have had a profound influence on Christians worldwide. The above excerpt is a direct quote taken from the book “The Knowledge of the Holy”. This book also represents my very first introduction to this man’s writings. What struck me is the humility that pours forth from off the pages. This is far from some stuffy stoic analysis of theological truth concerning God’s holiness. Tozer is truly reverential in his approach, attempting to convey, as best as language can communicate, God’s Person. Tozer addresses the increasingly concerning problem of the Church’s “low view of God”...

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Romans 8:37. We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" Take your sins to Christ's cross, for the old man can only be crucified there: we are crucified with him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus. To give an illustration--you want to overcome an angry temper; how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted him ...