In my own being, I could not exist very long as a Christian without the inner consciousness of the Presence and nearness of God! I can only keep right by keeping the fear of God on my soul and delighting in the fascinating rapture of worship. I am sorry that the powerful sense of godly fear is a missing quality in churches today. The fear of God is that “astonished reverence” of which the saintly Faber wrote. I would say that it may grade anywhere from its basic element-the terror of the guilty soul before a holy God-to the fascinated rapture of the worshiping saint. There are few unqualified things in our lives but I believe that the reverential fear of God, mixed with love and fascination and astonishment and adoration, is the most enjoyable state and the most purifying emotion the human soul can know. A true fear of God is a beautiful thing, for it is worship, it is love, it is veneration. It is a high moral happiness because God is!
Archive for July, 2009
A.W. Tozer
What is the difference between Biblical standards and convictions? Are all convictions personal? Is there even a difference? Terms can be confusing when we use them interchangeably and without defining them. A biblical standard is something in the Bible that we are called upon to measure up too, such as righteousness, holiness, purity, love, modesty, and so on and so forth. Just as a government sets forth standards for gas measurement, or food standards for restaurants, so we are given some standards in God’s Word. This differs from Biblical injunctions such as Sabbath observance. “Keep the Sabbath day holy” Exodus 20:8. These are clear commands that are unequivocal and unchanging. On the other hand Webster says that a conviction is, “A firmly held belief or opinion”. A conviction is a deeply rooted belief to do or not do something based on Biblical principles. When the Holy Spirit illuminates a truth in God’s Word, and then applies it in a specific way to a person’s life, that then becomes a conviction to be accepted or rejected. In a sense then, all convictions are personal, because unless a person follows them from a heart that is convinced of the truth, it is not a conviction, simply an opinion. As one preacher said, Biblical convictions are set up for us individually to help us remove things from our lives where Satan can tempt us. Now that does not mean that we can remove all temptation. Simply that we can remove some things from our lives that cause us to be tempted toward sin and possibly to fall. Convictions are guidelines that are put in place to help us to fulfill Godly standards, such as righteousness and holiness. Are convictions then to be chosen randomly according to how we want to live, or can we pick and choose? NO, God will convince us of certain things as we grow in the Word and apply it to life, and then God will probably add certain restrictions for us alone to follow, to help guide us on the right path. Convictions of certain truths and principles in the Bible are all about identifying us with Christ. A new believer may only be convinced that he is a child of God, but as he grows in the Word, God will convince or convict him of additional things in his life. We cannot expect the same out of him as a 50 year-old Christian. As Ravi Zacharias says, that if we change our convictions, we change the very nature of who we are. And as another author has written, “We don’t hold convictions, they hold us”. What convictions does God have for you today?
