“All that matters is faith, expressed through love.”
-Galatians 5:6b
This morning, as I prepared to read a devotional from A. W. Tozer, I reached over and grabbed the book. It was upside down, so I took a moment to read the following from the back cover: “Many of these 365 devotional readings come from sermons Tozer preached close to his death in 1963.”
When I came to the end of the devotional for today, I read, “-but when everyone goes home, no one is any better than he was before… The danger is that we teach and live so that truth is given no opportunity of moral expression.”
Preachers, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and Christians everywhere, take heed. The disease of sin is pervasive and resistant. There is no quit in our enemy. His influence upon culture and ideology is systemic. He’s engaged in a brutal war already lost. Yet he intends to maximize the carnage and body count. He intends to steal, kill and destroy. He poses as an angel of light leading saints astray - reducing their ministries to novelty and rubble.
Prior to Tozer’s quote above he wrote, “We need the caution that much theology, much Bible teaching, and many Bible conferences begin and end in themselves. They circle fully around themselves...” They do so because our ministries circle fully around ourselves.
At the end of his life and ministry, Tozer thought it imperative to share with us the allure and danger of fruitless endeavors “given no opportunity for moral expression.” I wonder how much of our lives are filled with such? How many of our days are filled with hollow existence bereft of authentic worship? How often are we truly, and fully, surrendered to the will and mission of God?
Pastors, preachers, church leaders and followers of Christ: are we universally committed to the fruitful multiplication of disciples or are we content with polite gatherings and performances? Are we addicted to the fleeting high of post-sermon handshakes and smiles or are we committed to the preaching of the gospel that is simultaneously a stumbling block and foolishness to unbelievers? Are we perfectly content with familiarity and the coziness of it all?
Is the measure of faithfulness to the gospel the size of our congregation, the size of the offering, or the Sunday-high? Do we teach and live without ever giving truth an opportunity for moral expression?
My sincere concern is that our enemy has convinced a vast multitude they are secure in Christ because of external trappings - not unlike the Pharisees and religious leaders, whom Jesus despised. We know the lyrics to Christian tunes. We own Bibles. We might even read it from time-to-time. We have a fish on our car and a “He is Risen” sign in our yard. We attend church and our small group. But, from our social media posts… from our expenses… if one were to interview our neighbors, co-workers, spouses, and children… If God Almighty were to examine the fruitfulness of the ministry of the gospel in our lives… where is love's expression?
“-but when everyone goes home, no one is any better than he was before… The danger is that we teach and live so that truth is given no opportunity of moral expression.”
When the devotional ends, the sermon finished, the Bible study complete, the small group dispersed… what then? Were you challenged, transformed or transfigured to be poured out for the gospel of Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom? If not, what’s the point?
Are we looking for the equivalent of a Christian pub “where everybody knows your name” or are you intentionally and relentlessly being grafted into the glorious narrative of redemptive history for the glory of His name?
If faith expressed through love is all that matters, does the fruitfulness of your life convey that truth and reality?
Blessings,
-Kevin M. Kelley
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