I Call It Heresy: And Other Timely Topics From First Peter Download Pdf

A. W. Tozer

I Call it Heresy is a vibrant study of the Lordship controversy long before it became amajor player on the theological stage. A.W. Tozer tackles the heresy of accepting JesusChrist as Savior but believing you postpone accepting him as lord over your life.In I Call ItHeresy, A.W. Tozer uses 1 Peter as his base to launch out into such themes as holiness,humility, the qualities of our divine inheritance and nine other timely topics.Originallyfrom Tozer Pulpit, vol. 5, this collection of sermons and reflections on 1 Peter addressesvery interesting and timely issues. It highlights the appeal of being of Christ's followersand being under His Lordship, helping us to say, "How satisfying it is to be under Hisauthority!"

About the AuthorA.W. TOZER began his lifelong pursuit of God at the age of seventeenafter hearing a street preacher in Akron, Ohio. A self-taught theologian, Tozer was apastor, writer and editor whose powerful use of words continues to grip the intellect andstir the soul of today's reader. Among his best-loved books are the classics The Pursuit ofGod and The Attributes of God.GERALD B. SMITH was a prolific writer and editor, mostwidely known for his A. W. Tozer books, some of which are Evenings with Tozer, Jesus isVictor, Mornings with Tozer, Jesus, Author of Our Faith and the missionary story of MabelFrancis, One Shall Chase a Thousand. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

I Call It Heresy!A.W. TozerCompiled and edited byGerald B. SmithCopyrightA division of ZurLtd.I Call it Heresy!978–1–60066–332–1© 1991 by Zur Ltd.Previously published byChristian Publications, Inc.First Christian Publications Edition 1991First WingSpreadPublishers Edition 2010All rights reservedScripture taken fromthe Holy Bible: King JamesVersionOriginally published as The Tozer Pulpit Volume 5CONTENTSTitle PageCopyright1 ICall It Heresy!2 The Bible Is Not Dated3 You Can Have the Trappings4 Never Apologize forGod’s Mercy5 Holiness Is Not an Option6 God Names Me His Beneficiary7 Qualities of aDivine Inheritance8 Was Your Humility Showing Today?9 Husband and Wife: APartnership10 Trust God with Your Emotions11 The Christian Has a Right to Grin12 WhereWill the “Experts” Be When Jesus Comes?Chapter 1I Call It Heresy!As obedient children, notfashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.(1 Peter 1:14)TheScriptures do not teach that the Person of Jesus Christ nor any of the important officeswhich God has given Him can be divided or ignored according to the whims ofmen.Therefore, I must be frank in my feeling that a notable heresy has come into beingthroughout our evangelical Christian circles—the widely accepted concept that wehumans can choose to accept Christ only because we need Him as Savior and we have theright to postpone our obedience to Him as Lord as long as we want to!This concept hassprung naturally from a misunderstanding of what the Bible actually says about Christiandiscipleship and obedience. It is now found in nearly all of our full gospel literature. Iconfess that I was among those who preached it before I began to pray earnestly, to studydiligently and meditate with anguish over the whole matter.I think the following is a fairstatement of what I was taught in my early Christian experience and it certainly needs alot of modifying and a great many qualifiers to save us from being in error.“We are savedby accepting Christ as our Savior; we are sanctified by accepting Christ as our Lord; wemay do the first without doing the second!”The truth is that salvation apart fromobedience is unknown in the sacred Scriptures. Peter makes it plain that we are “electaccording to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit,unto obedience” (1 Peter 1:2).What a tragedy that in our day we often hear the gospelappeal made on this kind of basis:“Come to Jesus! You do not have to obey anyone. Youdo not have to change anything. You do not have to give up anything, alter anything,surrender anything, give back anything—just come to Him and believe in Him asSavior!”So they come and believe in the Savior. Later on, in a meeting or conference, theywill hear another appeal:“Now that you have received Him as Savior, how would you liketo take Him as Lord?”The fact that we hear this everywhere does not make it right. To urgemen and women to believe in a divided Christ is bad teaching, for no one can receive halfof Christ, or a third of Christ, or a quarter of the Person of Christ! We are not saved bybelieving in an office nor in a work.I heard well-meaning workers say, “Come and believeon the finished work.” That work will not save you. The Bible does not tell us to believe inan office or a work, but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Person who has

done that work and holds those offices.Now, note again, Peter’s emphasis on obedienceamong the scattered and persecuted Christians of his day.It seems most important to methat Peter speaks of his fellow Christians as “obedient children” (1 Peter 1:14). He was notgiving them a command or exhortation to be obedient. In effect, he said, “Assuming thatyou are believers, I therefore gather that you are also obedient. So now, as obedientchildren, do so and so.”Obedience Taught Throughout BibleBrethren, I would point outthat obedience is taught throughout the entire Bible and that true obedience is one of thetoughest requirements of the Christian life. Apart from obedience, there can be nosalvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility. The essenceof sin is rebellion against divine authority.God said to Adam and Eve, “But of the tree ofthe knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatestthereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Here was a divine requirement calling forobedience on the part of those who had the power of choice and will.

CONTENTSTitle PageCopyright1 I Call It Heresy!2 The Bible Is Not Dated3 You Can Havethe Trappings4 Never Apologize for God’s Mercy5 Holiness Is Not an Option6 God NamesMe His Beneficiary7 Qualities of a Divine Inheritance8 Was Your Humility Showing Today?9Husband and Wife: A Partnership10 Trust God with Your Emotions11 The Christian Has aRight to Grin12 Where Will the “Experts” Be When Jesus Comes?Chapter 1I Call It Heresy!As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in yourignorance.(1 Peter 1:14)The Scriptures do not teach that the Person of Jesus Christ nor anyof the important offices which God has given Him can be divided or ignored according tothe whims of men.Therefore, I must be frank in my feeling that a notable heresy has comeinto being throughout our evangelical Christian circles—the widely accepted concept thatwe humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need Him as Savior and we havethe right to postpone our obedience to Him as Lord as long as we want to!This concepthas sprung naturally from a misunderstanding of what the Bible actually says aboutChristian discipleship and obedience. It is now found in nearly all of our full gospelliterature. I confess that I was among those who preached it before I began to prayearnestly, to study diligently and meditate with anguish over the whole matter.I think thefollowing is a fair statement of what I was taught in my early Christian experience and itcertainly needs a lot of modifying and a great many qualifiers to save us from being inerror.“We are saved by accepting Christ as our Savior; we are sanctified by acceptingChrist as our Lord; we may do the first without doing the second!”The truth is thatsalvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred Scriptures. Peter makes it plainthat we are “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, throughsanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience” (1 Peter 1:2).What a tragedy that in our day weoften hear the gospel appeal made on this kind of basis:“Come to Jesus! You do not haveto obey anyone. You do not have to change anything. You do not have to give up anything,alter anything, surrender anything, give back anything—just come to Him and believe inHim as Savior!”So they come and believe in the Savior. Later on, in a meeting or

conference, they will hear another appeal:“Now that you have received Him as Savior, howwould you like to take Him as Lord?”The fact that we hear this everywhere does not makeit right. To urge men and women to believe in a divided Christ is bad teaching, for no onecan receive half of Christ, or a third of Christ, or a quarter of the Person of Christ! We arenot saved by believing in an office nor in a work.I heard well-meaning workers say, “Comeand believe on the finished work.” That work will not save you. The Bible does not tell usto believe in an office or a work, but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, thePerson who has done that work and holds those offices.Now, note again, Peter’s emphasison obedience among the scattered and persecuted Christians of his day.It seems mostimportant to me that Peter speaks of his fellow Christians as “obedient children” (1 Peter1:14). He was not giving them a command or exhortation to be obedient. In effect, he said,“Assuming that you are believers, I therefore gather that you are also obedient. So now, asobedient children, do so and so.”Obedience Taught Throughout BibleBrethren, I wouldpoint out that obedience is taught throughout the entire Bible and that true obedience isone of the toughest requirements of the Christian life. Apart from obedience, there can beno salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility. Theessence of sin is rebellion against divine authority.God said to Adam and Eve, “But of thetree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thoueatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Here was a divine requirement callingfor obedience on the part of those who had the power of choice and will.In spite of thestrong prohibition, Adam and Eve stretched forth their hands and tasted of the fruit andthus they disobeyed and rebelled, bringing sin upon themselves.Paul writes very plainlyand directly in the book of Romans about “one man’s disobedience” (Romans 5:19)—andthis is a stern word by the Holy Spirit through the apostle—by one man’s disobediencecame the downfall of the human race!In John’s Gospel, the Word is very plain and clearthat sin is lawlessness, that sin is disobedience to the law of God. Paul’s picture of sinnersin Ephesians concludes that the people of the world are “the children ofdisobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Paul certainly means that disobedience characterizes them,conditions them, molds them. Disobedience has become a part of their nature.All of thisprovides background for the great, continuing question before the human race: “Who isboss?” This breaks down into a series of three questions: “To whom do I belong?” “Towhom do I owe allegiance?” and “Who has authority to require obedience of me?”Now, Isuppose of all the people in the world Americans have the most difficult time in givingobedience to anyone or anything. Americans are supposed to be sons of freedom. Weourselves were the outcropping of a revolt. We spawned a revolution, pouring the teaoverboard in the Boston harbor. We made speeches and said, “That sound of the clash ofarms is carried on every wind that blows from the Boston Commons” and finally, “Give meliberty or give me death!”That is in the American blood and when anyone says, “You oweobedience,” we immediately bristle! In the natural sense, we do not take kindly to theprospect of yielding obedience to anyone.In the same sense, the people of this world havea quick and ready answer to the questions: “To whom do I belong?” and “To whom do I

owe obedience?”Their answer is: “I belong to myself. No one has authority to require myobedience!”In the Name of “Individualism”Our generation makes a great deal out of this,and we give it the name of “individualism.” On the basis of our individuality we claim theright of self-determination.In an airplane, the pilot who sits at the controls determineswhere that plane is going. He must determine the destination.Now, if God had made ushumans to be mere machines we would not have the power of self-determination. Butsince He made us in His own image and made us to be moral creatures, He has given usthat power of self-determination.I would insist that we do not have the right of self-determination because God has given us only the power to choose evil. Seeing that God isa holy God and we are moral creatures having the power but not the right to choose evil,no man has any right to lie.We have the power to lie but no man has any right to lie.Wehave the power to steal—I could go out and get myself a better coat than the one I own. Icould slip out through a side door and get away with the coat. I have that power but I donot have the right!I have the power to use a knife, a razor or a gun to kill another person—but I do not have that right! I have only the power to do it.Actually, we only have the rightto be good—we never have the right to be bad because God is good. We only have theright to be holy; we never have the right to be unholy. If you are unholy you are using aright that is not yours. Adam and Eve had no moral right to eat of that tree of good andevil, but they took it and usurped the right that was not theirs.The poet Tennyson musthave thought about this for he wrote in his In Memoriam: “Our wills are ours, we know nothow; our wills are ours to make them Thine!”

Chapter 1I Call It Heresy!As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to theformer lusts in your ignorance.(1 Peter 1:14)The Scriptures do not teach that the Person ofJesus Christ nor any of the important offices which God has given Him can be divided orignored according to the whims of men.Therefore, I must be frank in my feeling that anotable heresy has come into being throughout our evangelical Christian circles—thewidely accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because weneed Him as Savior and we have the right to postpone our obedience to Him as Lord aslong as we want to!This concept has sprung naturally from a misunderstanding of whatthe Bible actually says about Christian discipleship and obedience. It is now found innearly all of our full gospel literature. I confess that I was among those who preached itbefore I began to pray earnestly, to study diligently and meditate with anguish over thewhole matter.I think the following is a fair statement of what I was taught in my earlyChristian experience and it certainly needs a lot of modifying and a great many qualifiersto save us from being in error.“We are saved by accepting Christ as our Savior; we aresanctified by accepting Christ as our Lord; we may do the first without doing thesecond!”The truth is that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacredScriptures. Peter makes it plain that we are “elect according to the foreknowledge of Godthe Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience” (1 Peter 1:2).What atragedy that in our day we often hear the gospel appeal made on this kind of basis:“Come

to Jesus! You do not have to obey anyone. You do not have to change anything. You do nothave to give up anything, alter anything, surrender anything, give back anything—justcome to Him and believe in Him as Savior!”So they come and believe in the Savior. Lateron, in a meeting or conference, they will hear another appeal:“Now that you have receivedHim as Savior, how would you like to take Him as Lord?”The fact that we hear thiseverywhere does not make it right. To urge men and women to believe in a divided Christis bad teaching, for no one can receive half of Christ, or a third of Christ, or a quarter ofthe Person of Christ! We are not saved by believing in an office nor in a work.I heard well-meaning workers say, “Come and believe on the finished work.” That work will not saveyou. The Bible does not tell us to believe in an office or a work, but to believe on the LordJesus Christ Himself, the Person who has done that work and holds those offices.Now,note again, Peter’s emphasis on obedience among the scattered and persecutedChristians of his day.It seems most important to me that Peter speaks of his fellowChristians as “obedient children” (1 Peter 1:14). He was not giving them a command orexhortation to be obedient. In effect, he said, “Assuming that you are believers, I thereforegather that you are also obedient. So now, as obedient children, do so and so.”ObedienceTaught Throughout BibleBrethren, I would point out that obedience is taught throughoutthe entire Bible and that true obedience is one of the toughest requirements of theChristian life. Apart from obedience, there can be no salvation, for salvation withoutobedience is a self-contradictory impossibility. The essence of sin is rebellion againstdivine authority.God said to Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good andevil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surelydie” (Genesis 2:17). Here was a divine requirement calling for obedience on the part ofthose who had the power of choice and will.In spite of the strong prohibition, Adam andEve stretched forth their hands and tasted of the fruit and thus they disobeyed andrebelled, bringing sin upon themselves.Paul writes very plainly and directly in the book ofRomans about “one man’s disobedience” (Romans 5:19)—and this is a stern word by theHoly Spirit through the apostle—by one man’s disobedience came the downfall of thehuman race!In John’s Gospel, the Word is very plain and clear that sin is lawlessness, thatsin is disobedience to the law of God. Paul’s picture of sinners in Ephesians concludes thatthe people of the world are “the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). Paul certainlymeans that disobedience characterizes them, conditions them, molds them. Disobediencehas become a part of their nature.All of this provides background for the great, continuingquestion before the human race: “Who is boss?” This breaks down into a series of threequestions: “To whom do I belong?” “To whom do I owe allegiance?” and “Who has authorityto require obedience of me?”Now, I suppose of all the people in the world Americans havethe most difficult time in giving obedience to anyone or anything. Americans aresupposed to be sons of freedom. We ourselves were the outcropping of a revolt. Wespawned a revolution, pouring the tea overboard in the Boston harbor. We madespeeches and said, “That sound of the clash of arms is carried on every wind that blowsfrom the Boston Commons” and finally, “Give me liberty or give me death!”That is in the

American blood and when anyone says, “You owe obedience,” we immediately bristle! Inthe natural sense, we do not take kindly to the prospect of yielding obedience toanyone.In the same sense, the people of this world have a quick and ready answer to thequestions: “To whom do I belong?” and “To whom do I owe obedience?”Their answer is: “Ibelong to myself. No one has authority to require my obedience!”In the Name of“Individualism”Our generation makes a great deal out of this, and we give it the name of“individualism.” On the basis of our individuality we claim the right of self-determination.Inan airplane, the pilot who sits at the controls determines where that plane is going. Hemust determine the destination.Now, if God had made us humans to be mere machineswe would not have the power of self-determination. But since He made us in His ownimage and made us to be moral creatures, He has given us that power of self-determination.I would insist that we do not have the right of self-determination becauseGod has given us only the power to choose evil. Seeing that God is a holy God and we aremoral creatures having the power but not the right to choose evil, no man has any right tolie.We have the power to lie but no man has any right to lie.We have the power to steal—Icould go out and get myself a better coat than the one I own. I could slip out through aside door and get away with the coat. I have that power but I do not have the right!I havethe power to use a knife, a razor or a gun to kill another person—but I do not have thatright! I have only the power to do it.Actually, we only have the right to be good—we neverhave the right to be bad because God is good. We only have the right to be holy; we neverhave the right to be unholy. If you are unholy you are using a right that is not yours. Adamand Eve had no moral right to eat of that tree of good and evil, but they took it andusurped the right that was not theirs.The poet Tennyson must have thought about this forhe wrote in his In Memoriam: “Our wills are ours, we know not how; our wills are ours tomake them Thine!”Oh, this mystery of a man’s free will is far too great for us! Tennysonsaid, “We know not how.” But then he girds himself and continues, “Yes, our wills are oursto make them Thine.” And that is the only right we have here to make our wills the wills ofGod, to make the will of God our will!God Is the SovereignWe must remember that God isWho He is and we are what we are. God is the Sovereign and we are the creatures. He isthe Creator and therefore He has a right to command us with the obligation that weshould obey. It is a happy obligation, I might say, for” [His] yoke is easy and [His] burden islight” (Matthew 11:30).Now, this is where I raise the point again of our human insistencethat Christ may sustain a divided relationship toward us. This is now so commonlypreached that to oppose it or object to it means that you are sticking your neck out andyou had best be prepared for what comes.But how can we insist and teach that our LordJesus Christ can be our Savior without being our Lord? How can we continue to teach thatwe can be saved without any thought of obedience to our Sovereign Lord?I am satisfiedthat when man believes on Jesus Christ he must believe on the whole Lord Jesus Christ—not making any reservation! I am satisfied that it is wrong to look upon Jesus as a kind ofdivine nurse to whom we can go when sin has made us sick, and after He has helped us,to say “Good-bye”—and go on our own way.Suppose I slip into a hospital and tell the staff

I need a blood transfusion or perhaps an X-ray of my gall bladder. After they haveministered to me and given their services, do I just slip out of the hospital again with acheery “Good-bye”—as though I owe them nothing and it was kind of them to help me inmy time of need?That may sound like a grotesque concept to you, but it does pretty welldraw the picture of those who have been taught that they can use Jesus as a Savior intheir time of need without owning Him as Sovereign and Lord and without owing Himobedience and allegiance.No Such Concept of SalvationThe Bible never in any way givesus such a concept of salvation. Nowhere are we ever led to believe that we can use Jesusas a Savior and now own Him as our Lord. He is the Lord and as the Lord He saves us,because He has all of the offices of Savior and Christ and High Priest and Wisdom andRighteousness and Sanctification and Redemption! He is all of these things and all ofthese are embodied in Him as Christ the Lord.My brethren, we are not allowed to come toJesus Christ as shrewd, clever operators saying, “We will take this and this, but we won’ttake that!” We do not come to Him as one who, buying furniture for his house, declares: “Iwill take this table but I don’t want that chair”—dividing it up!No, sir! It is either all of Christor none of Christ!I believe we need to preach again a whole Christ to the world—a Christwho does not need our apologies, a Christ who will not be divided, a Christ who will eitherbe Lord of all or who will not be Lord at all!I think it is important to agree that truesalvation restores the right of a Creator-creature relationship because it acknowledgesGod’s right to our fellowship and communion.You see, in our time we have over-emphasized the psychology of the sinner’s condition. We spend much time describing thewoe of the sinner, the grief of the sinner and the great burden he carries. He does have allof these, but we have over-emphasized them until we forget the principal fact—that thesinner is actually a rebel against properly constituted authority!That is what makes sin, sin.We are rebels. We are sons of disobedience. Sin is the breaking of the law and we are inrebellion and we are fugitives from the just laws of God while we are sinners.By way ofillustration, suppose a man escapes from prison. Certainly he will have grief. He is going tobe in pain after bumping logs and stones and fences as he crawls and hides away in thedark. He is going to be hungry and cold and weary. His beard will grow long and he will betired and cramped and cold—all of these will happen, but they are incidental to the factthat he is a fugitive from justice and a rebel against law.So it is with sinners. Certainly theyare heartbroken and they carry a heavy load. Certainly they labor and are heavy-laden.The Bible takes full account of these things; but they are incidental to the fact that thereason the sinner is what he is, is because he has rebelled against the laws of God and heis a fugitive from divine judgement.

I Call economy recession, I Call titans nfl

The Warfare of the Spirit: Religious Ritual Versus the Presence of the Indwelling Christ,

Man: What it Means to Have Christ Living in You (AW Tozer Series Book 3), The Set of theSail, Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts, The Gospel According to Jesus: What IsAuthentic Faith?, Christ the Eternal Son: A Beautiful Portrait of Deity from the Gospel ofJohn

Absalom Peruq, “Truths That Stand Strong!. A book for every serious Bible study student.Wonderful truths presented!”

kaaytie, “great book. I bought this for my mother and she loves it. She can write notes inthe book and highlight great parts.”

Rugged Path, “A. W. Tozer stands up for Lordship Salvation .... A.W. Tozer stands up forLordship Salvation decades before MacArthur.”

Michael Taylor, “Yet Another Great Title By Tozer!. "I Call It Heresy" by AW Tozer is a seriesof messages focusing on the issue of Jesus Christ being both Savior (His death on thecross paid the penalty for our sins that we could never repay through good works) andLord (He has the right to rule over our lives, after all, He's God and knows what's best forus!). The issue has been one of several the church has had to resolve over the years.Indeed, just seeing Jesus Christ as our Savior but not our Lord is nothing but "easy faith".Inthis title, Tozer addresses many topics, including:- Being a follower of Jesus means webelong to another world better than this one.- The world has nothing to offer thebeliever.- The futility of trying to have a hope without God.- The person who is in Godshould raise their expectations and challenge God to help them dream great dreams offaith for God's glory.- God blesses us because of His mercy and not our goodness.-Various ways we experience God's benefits.- The importance of humbling ourselvesbefore God and let Him exalt us in His timing.- Instead of trying too hard to live theChristian life, trust and submit to God and let Him live through you.As with other Tozertitles, the book is convicting, challenging, and encouraging. Will be read again and highlyrecommended.You can't go wrong with a Tozer book!”

Stratiotes Doxha Theon, “Still thankful. Early in my Christian life I discovered the writingsof A.W. Tozer. This work was a challenge to me and what I seemed to be hearing inChurch so often. The "faith alone" extremism in many evangelical Protestant circles israrely challenged so forcefully as this little volume. Mr. Tozer continually reminded us ofthe cost of being a true disciple. His work continually reminds us of the fallacy entailed inthe common notion that we can claim faith without demonstrating obedience. Laterbecoming a Roman Catholic has not dampened my thankfulness for the work this greatteacher did in drawing me into a closer and real relationship with my risen Lord. Few

modern evangelical authors will challenge you as A. W. Tozer does again and again. Thislittle book will set you on the right course to following Christ with an authentic, dynamic,and overcoming faith.”

Patrick McIntyre, “Landmark book on 20th century salvation heresy. Tozer's I Call It Heresygoes a long way toward explaining why over 60% of Americans call themselves "bornagain" while according to George Barna less than 10% could be considered Christian in theBiblical sense. Tozer if one of a few prophetic voices of the 20th century who saw theproblem of "Sunday evangelism" before the heresy became mainstream. If you want tounderstand why "Jesus is my savior but not yet my lord" is an oxymoron, get this book!Patrick McIntyre, author of The Graham Formula”

The book by A. W. Tozer has a rating of 5 out of 4.8. 20 people have provided feedback.

Publisher: Wingspread; New edition (August 1, 2010)Publication date: August 1, 2010Language: EnglishFile size: 1037 KBText-to-Speech: EnabledEnhanced typesetting: EnabledX-Ray: Not EnabledWord Wise: EnabledPrint length: 182 pagesLending: EnabledScreen Reader: Supported