====[ The Christian BBS - Vic., B.C. - 604-478-2789, 3/12/24 Baud ]====

This is a excerpt from Tozer's book "Gems From Tozer" and it is quite 
different than what you would read from the writings of those false 
prophets that have arisen and bealch out their heresies of the Blab it 
and Grab teachings, aka Believe it and Receive it, aka Confess it and 
Possess it.  The false teachers preach that you are wonderful and great 
and you should have no negative feelings about yourselve etc.
                                                       ...Dave

                            GEMS FROM TOZER

    For those who want a rule by which they can test everything, I make 
available here a little secret by which I have tested my own spiritual 
experiences and religious impulses for many years.
 
    Briefly stated the test is this:  This new doctrine, this new 
religious spiritual experience - how has it affected my attitude toward 
and my relation to God, Christ, the Holy Scripture, self, other 
Christians, the world and sin.  By this seven-fold test we may prove 
everything religious.

    3. Another revealing test is, How does it affect my attitude toward 
the Holy Scripture?  Did this new experience, this new niew of truth, 
spring out of the Word of God itself?  Whatever originates outside the 
scripture should for that very reason be suspect until it can be shown 
to be in accord with them.  However high the emotional content, no 
experience can be proved to be genuine unless we can find chapter and 
verse authority for it in the Scripture.  (Isa.8:20)

    Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with a lot of 
caution.  Over the last half-century quite a number of unscriptural 
notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they 
were among the truths that were to be revealed in the last days.  The 
truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and 
advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact 
opposite.  Beware of any man who claims to ve wiser than the apostles 
or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church.

    4. Again, we can prove the quality of religious experience by its 
effect on self-life.  The Holy Spirit and the fallen human self are 
diametrically opposed to each other.  (Gal.5:17)  Before the Spirit of 
God can work creatively in our hearts He must have our full consent to 
displace our natural self with the Person of Christ.  This displacement 
is carefully explained in Romans 6, 7, and 8.

    A good rule is this:  If this experience has served to humble me 
and make me little and vile in my own eyes, it is of God, but if it has 
given me a feeling of self-satisfaction it is false and should be 
dismissed as emanating from self or the devil.  Nothing that comes from 
God will minister to my pride or self-congratulation.
 
- Taken from the Media Spotlight Publication

../