The Pursuit of Christian Maturity: Flourishing in the Grace and Knowledge of Christ

by A.W. Tozer, James L Snyder

In today's world of shallow pursuits, surface-level social media, and frivolous vanities, too many Christians are distracted from what really a passionate pursuit of Christ. Because of that, the enemy controls us, keeping us and the Church at large from being everything God wants us to be.

In this never-before-published compilation of teachings, A.W. Tozer dives deep into a favorite growing in Christ. With passion and biblical wisdom he equips you

- ignite a true desire for Christ
- overcome hindrances to your Christian development
- implement life-giving disciplines
- grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ

The deeper you mature in Christ, the less this shallow world can ensnare you. And the more you--and the Church--will truly flourish.

Genres: Faith, Christian

192 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2024

About the author

Aiden Wilson Tozer was an American evangelical pastor, speaker, writer, and editor. After coming to Christ at the age of seventeen, Tozer found his way into the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination where he served for over forty years. In 1950, he was appointed by the denomination's General Council to be the editor of "The Alliance Witness" (now "Alliance Life").

Born into poverty in western Pennsylvania in 1897, Tozer died in May 1963 a self-educated man who had taught himself what he missed in high school and college due to his home situation. Though he wrote many books, two of them, "The Pursuit of God" and "The Knowledge of the Holy" are widely considered to be classics.

A.W. Tozer and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, had seven children, six boys and one girl.

Reviews

[Maggie Martindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is actually so insightful, beautifully written, & wonderfully backed by God’s Word. I learned so much about ever striving towards Christ & growing in the grace & knowledge of Jesus Christ as 2 Peter 3:18 calls us to. Add to your reading list asap!

[Delaney Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read! Every chapter addresses the very real experiences Christians encounter on their journey of sanctification. Tozer strikes such a good balance of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility!

"You are not mature if you have a high esteem of yourself. He who boasts in himself is but a babe in Christ.”

"The deeper you mature in Christ, the less this shallow world can ensnare you.”

[Caroline Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this book constantly came back to the gospel — in every chapter and every subtopic, it came back to the plain truth of who God is and what Jesus did on the cross and what that means for us now. This book was convicting in SO many ways. It’s a must read!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with book club.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly amazing book! I love how each chapter ends with prayer and a song. I highly recommend anyone who has been a believer for a while and is seeking more ways to grow in faith and the knowledge of God to read this book. I would recommend new believers be grounded in their faith and understanding of what they believe before reading, but they could certainly read this with another seasoned believer.

[Justin Ruszkiewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not by any means a bad book, but I have to be honest and say that this was a very repetitive one. It feels like most of the chapters kind of have to do with the same idea of how problematic Christians are today—well, in Tozer’s day, that is. And I would argue it’s a very relevant book for today.

But Tozer has very rich content out there, and this just feels a little more shallow. A great book for those who are newer in their faith, but definitely not close to being one of his best or even better books. (I do not mean that in a judgmental way, I just mean that this is a simpler book that I think anyone can pick up and understand generally well.)

Tozer still shares some strong and profound thoughts sprinkled through the chapters, but don’t expect it to be at the volume of what you normally expect from him.

Lastly, Snyder organized the book with great chapter titles. But I didn’t feel like many of the chapters followed the titles or themes well.

Rating: 6.5/10, three stars.

[Ayden Tilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dislike that this book was heavily edited by whoever it was that compiled Tozer’s work into this book. It’s clear that he edited all of the writing to be more easily read to a modern reader, but I think that’s unnecessary as one of the things I enjoy about Tozer is his rich writing style.
Nonetheless, this was a great book! It had some really applicable passages which I always greatly appreciated in a theology book. Tozer reminds us of the devil’s power in our lives that we cannot ignore lest we fall for his schemes. Tozer also shows us how to work towards Christian maturity, reminding us that when we think we’ve made it, we’ve just gotten started. It is a constant fight, but God is good and Christ is sufficient!

[Belle Cousar Storck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written for someone who has placed their faith in Christ as their personal Lord & Savior. Discusses differences between “Carnal Christians” vs “Mature Christians” & was very humbling to read at times. I really felt like I learned a lot from this book & would recommend to a seasoned believer.

[Tina Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!!

[Thomas Bucholsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top 5 of all time