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How Saved Are We?: Has the Church Fallen Asleep in the Enemy's Lap?
We Don't Need a "Great Awakening" — We Need a Rude Awakening! For years we have preached a defective message— and now we have a defective Church. This unsettling book challenges us to ask ourselves what kind of born-again experience we have had if it calls for almost no personal sacrifice, produces virtually no separation from the world, and breeds practically no hatred of sin. Read this book and find out just how saved we are. It is time for a rude awakening!
- GenresChristian
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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47 people want to read
About the author
Michael L. Brown
143 books192 followersMichael L. Brown (born March 16, 1955) is a Messianic Jewish Old Testament scholar, professor, activist, itinerant speaker, and author who has preached in numerous countries and written twenty books. He is the founder and president of ICN Ministries. His writings have been translated into more than a dozen languages. He was married to Nancy Gurian on March 14, 1976 and they have two daughters, Jennifer and Megan, and four grandchildren.
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August 20, 2019I felt prompted to read this book as I was reading Kreeft's Back to Virtue when he says that there is no point in making "progress" if we are making progress as we die. Oh boy.
It was also interesting reading this after Ayn Rand. Rand would have been horrified at this author's insistence on suffering in Christianity. Yet I see a sort of strange resemblance in Rand's insistence for an objective right and wrong, consequences for compromise in the Christian reality of good and evil, heaven and hell.
As someone who attends church in America, I think a cry of awakening for the American church is much needed. We see mounting social justice movements rising, an outcry for morality as deep suffering progresses, while the church remains in lethargy.
This was not a book to philosophically contemplate but to convict me at the heart. It is meant to be jarring, it is meant to be counter-cultural. I pray that God draws me nearer to Him through the concepts shared in the book.
Quotes:
Charles Finney: "It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not left to the impression that he is unofrtunate. I think this is a very prevalent fault...They are calculated to make the sinner think more of his sorrows than of his sin, and feel that his state is rather unfortunate than criminal." (24)
"If the truth were known today, many of us would be exposed as lovers of the praise of men more than lovers of the praise of God. We would have to confess that we have held ourselves back many times...so as not to lose the esteem of our peers. But this is a great deception because our peers want our esteem as well...'...I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow...So then, no more boasting about men!' (1 Cor.3:5-7,21)." (72)
"But there is a tremendous amount of suffering that has nothing to do with God's will. Sometimes we suffer because of our sins or because we are ignorant of the promises of God. At other times we suffer because we are not equipped to resist the onslaughts of Satan. But there is a place of suffering promised us by the Lord. And that place of suffering is blessed...Dying in an earthquake or wasting away with cancer is not part of 'carrying the cross.' The cross is something we pick up willingly. We can choose to put it down...carrying the cross does mean following in Jesus' footsteps. And in his footsteps are rejection, brokenheartedness, persecution, and death. 'There are not two Christ's– an easygoing one for easygoing Christians, and a suffering one for exceptional believers. There is only one Christ' (Hudson Taylor)." (86-87)
"We talk about altar calls, but do we really mean what we say? The altar is the place of sacrifice. The altar is the place of death. We are called to be livings sacrifices, to live sacrificed lives." (87)
"We talk the right talk but walk the wrong walk. Our hatred of sin is paper thin. We have more cliches than convictions. Radical feminists are more militant than we are! We need a rude awakening" (116-117)
"God is only looking for yielded vessels, vessels that are suited for Him. They must be emptied of selfish ambition and dead to human agendas, dedicated wholly to the purposes of heaven. They must be men and women who will not count their lives dear, who will give themselves freely for this world. God is calling for workers who will pay any price and make any sacrifice – as long as it is for the glory of the Lord. He is searching for laborers who will go anywhere and do anything – if only souls can be saved. There is really no telling what God will do – if we respond to His call." (121)
"Is it wrong for ministries to make their needs known? Is it improper for them to share their visions and goals? Of course not...We are all fellow-workers with Him. We share together in His call. But there is absolutely no place for high-pressure tactics and passionate pleas, for marketing gimmicks and merchandising tricks, for slick salesmanship and manipulative methods – all done in the name of the Lord" (50).
"More than anything in the world, God wants us to share His heart. We are often hungry for His power, but seldom aware of His pain. We are eager to experience His goodness, but think little of His grief. 'Our Lord still agonizes for souls' (John Hyde). This must be at the foundation of our lives. Jesus bears our burdens. Can we bear His as well?" (77).
It was also interesting reading this after Ayn Rand. Rand would have been horrified at this author's insistence on suffering in Christianity. Yet I see a sort of strange resemblance in Rand's insistence for an objective right and wrong, consequences for compromise in the Christian reality of good and evil, heaven and hell.
As someone who attends church in America, I think a cry of awakening for the American church is much needed. We see mounting social justice movements rising, an outcry for morality as deep suffering progresses, while the church remains in lethargy.
This was not a book to philosophically contemplate but to convict me at the heart. It is meant to be jarring, it is meant to be counter-cultural. I pray that God draws me nearer to Him through the concepts shared in the book.
Quotes:
Charles Finney: "It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not left to the impression that he is unofrtunate. I think this is a very prevalent fault...They are calculated to make the sinner think more of his sorrows than of his sin, and feel that his state is rather unfortunate than criminal." (24)
"If the truth were known today, many of us would be exposed as lovers of the praise of men more than lovers of the praise of God. We would have to confess that we have held ourselves back many times...so as not to lose the esteem of our peers. But this is a great deception because our peers want our esteem as well...'...I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow...So then, no more boasting about men!' (1 Cor.3:5-7,21)." (72)
"But there is a tremendous amount of suffering that has nothing to do with God's will. Sometimes we suffer because of our sins or because we are ignorant of the promises of God. At other times we suffer because we are not equipped to resist the onslaughts of Satan. But there is a place of suffering promised us by the Lord. And that place of suffering is blessed...Dying in an earthquake or wasting away with cancer is not part of 'carrying the cross.' The cross is something we pick up willingly. We can choose to put it down...carrying the cross does mean following in Jesus' footsteps. And in his footsteps are rejection, brokenheartedness, persecution, and death. 'There are not two Christ's– an easygoing one for easygoing Christians, and a suffering one for exceptional believers. There is only one Christ' (Hudson Taylor)." (86-87)
"We talk about altar calls, but do we really mean what we say? The altar is the place of sacrifice. The altar is the place of death. We are called to be livings sacrifices, to live sacrificed lives." (87)
"We talk the right talk but walk the wrong walk. Our hatred of sin is paper thin. We have more cliches than convictions. Radical feminists are more militant than we are! We need a rude awakening" (116-117)
"God is only looking for yielded vessels, vessels that are suited for Him. They must be emptied of selfish ambition and dead to human agendas, dedicated wholly to the purposes of heaven. They must be men and women who will not count their lives dear, who will give themselves freely for this world. God is calling for workers who will pay any price and make any sacrifice – as long as it is for the glory of the Lord. He is searching for laborers who will go anywhere and do anything – if only souls can be saved. There is really no telling what God will do – if we respond to His call." (121)
"Is it wrong for ministries to make their needs known? Is it improper for them to share their visions and goals? Of course not...We are all fellow-workers with Him. We share together in His call. But there is absolutely no place for high-pressure tactics and passionate pleas, for marketing gimmicks and merchandising tricks, for slick salesmanship and manipulative methods – all done in the name of the Lord" (50).
"More than anything in the world, God wants us to share His heart. We are often hungry for His power, but seldom aware of His pain. We are eager to experience His goodness, but think little of His grief. 'Our Lord still agonizes for souls' (John Hyde). This must be at the foundation of our lives. Jesus bears our burdens. Can we bear His as well?" (77).
February 4, 2019
Certainly convicting as a Christian!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews