Excerpts from
The Church
Must Not Conform
By A. W. Tozer
"A stimulating little book written
by a thoughtful observer of the religious scene attempts to explain
Christian sects and denominations as reflections of the social
conditions out of which they sprang.
"The idea is, if I understand the
author's arguments correctly, that the differences in doctrine and in
forms of church government among various Christian bodies, have resulted
from different, economic, political, racial, and cultural patterns
throughout Christendom.
"According to this theory, a
democratic state would tend to produce a democratic church, whereas
under a political dictatorship, the authoritarian form of government
would naturally prevail within the Christian community. In a highly
cultured society, ritualism would mark the worship of the church, along
with much rich symbolism and forms of external beauty. ...this explanation is probably an
accommodation of
fact to theory and, while partly true, does not tell the whole story.
"One thing is certain, however; it is that wherever the Christian
religion differs from itself, there will surely be found elements that
are unscriptural, and altogether without Biblical authority, and it is
always those elements that divide the church against itself.
"
In whatever language they appear, the Scriptures continue, century after
century, to say the same thing to everyone. The Spirit that inspired the
Christian revelation never differs from Himself, but remains from age to
age the same.
"God works according to an eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ
Jesus before the world began, and our Lord assures that till Heaven and
earth pass, not one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law
till all be fulfilled. God's Truth is the same wherever it is found, and
if the church conforms to the Truth, it will be the same church in
doctrine, and in practice throughout the entire world."
See these excerpts from A. W.
Tozer's wonderful studies:
The
Old Cross and The New
Key
to the Deeper Life
Root of the Righteous
Born After Midnight