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True Discipleship: Embracing the Call to Follow Jesus to Calvary with Faith, Sacrifice, and Devotion (Grapevine Edition)
Anything short of complete devotion to Christ is inadequate and must end in futility and loss.
- A. W. Tozer
There is no receiving Christ without the Cross, no receiving Christianity without surrender, no receiving God without full obedience.
Christianity has been watered down a cheap, inferior substitute of what God means for it to be. The idea of ‘accepting’ Jesus has shifted from revolutionary attachment to an impulsive decision, painless and without cost—and with no concept of discipleship.
The choice for anyone who claims to be a Christian is simple. Actually, there is no choice, says Tozer in True Discipleship. A Christian follows Christ. There is no alternative.
The purpose of redemption was to restore mankind to its former closeness with God. The goal of every Christian must be an increasingly intimate acquaintance with Him.
We must recapture the hope of His returning, and that hope must lift our lives beyond the earthly. With God as our refuge and the source of our strength, and with our eyes on our heavenly future and the promise of Christ’s coming, we must yearn to please our Savior and Lord.
- A. W. Tozer
There is no receiving Christ without the Cross, no receiving Christianity without surrender, no receiving God without full obedience.
Christianity has been watered down a cheap, inferior substitute of what God means for it to be. The idea of ‘accepting’ Jesus has shifted from revolutionary attachment to an impulsive decision, painless and without cost—and with no concept of discipleship.
The choice for anyone who claims to be a Christian is simple. Actually, there is no choice, says Tozer in True Discipleship. A Christian follows Christ. There is no alternative.
The purpose of redemption was to restore mankind to its former closeness with God. The goal of every Christian must be an increasingly intimate acquaintance with Him.
We must recapture the hope of His returning, and that hope must lift our lives beyond the earthly. With God as our refuge and the source of our strength, and with our eyes on our heavenly future and the promise of Christ’s coming, we must yearn to please our Savior and Lord.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2022
342 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
A.W. Tozer
664 books2,102 followersAiden 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 4, 2023
Very Harsh But A Necessary Truth
In all honesty, I was getting perturbed while reading closer to the end of this book. The reason is because it seems that Christianity today is divided by two opposing doctrines of Salvation. The true Gospel or Good News is that Salvation can only be had by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ alone. Plus nothing, minus nothing. But you have another Gospel that is called, these days, Lordship Salvation which means you have to be obedient to keep your Salvation and it seems to sneak works within Grace.
Tozer, in this work, is expressing that our Salvation is by Grace alone and then after you are saved, the reasonable response is to obey God and serve Him by following His Son.
A lot of confusion on this topic simply because you have Christians trying to mix verses for Salvation and verses for Service after one is saved and this just creates confusion.
In this work, Tozer is trying to get people to understand that being a Christian is not a walk in the park but rather a life that grows and matures as God chastises and disciplines us but at the same time have Peace through Christ alone regardless of circumstances.
A very complex theology but Tozer is great at getting us to get into our own Bibles and search for ourselves with a lot of prayer.
In all honesty, I was getting perturbed while reading closer to the end of this book. The reason is because it seems that Christianity today is divided by two opposing doctrines of Salvation. The true Gospel or Good News is that Salvation can only be had by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ alone. Plus nothing, minus nothing. But you have another Gospel that is called, these days, Lordship Salvation which means you have to be obedient to keep your Salvation and it seems to sneak works within Grace.
Tozer, in this work, is expressing that our Salvation is by Grace alone and then after you are saved, the reasonable response is to obey God and serve Him by following His Son.
A lot of confusion on this topic simply because you have Christians trying to mix verses for Salvation and verses for Service after one is saved and this just creates confusion.
In this work, Tozer is trying to get people to understand that being a Christian is not a walk in the park but rather a life that grows and matures as God chastises and disciplines us but at the same time have Peace through Christ alone regardless of circumstances.
A very complex theology but Tozer is great at getting us to get into our own Bibles and search for ourselves with a lot of prayer.
February 3, 2023
Astounding
I read Tozer A LOT. But this little book just made my spirit soar with every new sentence. Most do not know what true discipleship really is. Tozer, in typical fashion, brings it down to a level that will encourage, motivate and yes, cause you to repent. This is a book you’ll read over and over again.
I read Tozer A LOT. But this little book just made my spirit soar with every new sentence. Most do not know what true discipleship really is. Tozer, in typical fashion, brings it down to a level that will encourage, motivate and yes, cause you to repent. This is a book you’ll read over and over again.
November 24, 2025
The Truth About Discipleship!
The Book gave more understanding about the journey of being disciple and the true meaning of being disciple; discipleship cause for discipline, correction and rebuke when necessary. A lot of people are receiving salvation but not continuing the process of being disciple!
The Book gave more understanding about the journey of being disciple and the true meaning of being disciple; discipleship cause for discipline, correction and rebuke when necessary. A lot of people are receiving salvation but not continuing the process of being disciple!
May 7, 2025
Solid advice for Christian living
This excerpt from the book encapsulates what you’ll learn from the book:
“God’s loving motive is to bring us into total harmony with Himself so that moral power and holy usefulness become ours in this world and in the world to come.”
This excerpt from the book encapsulates what you’ll learn from the book:
“God’s loving motive is to bring us into total harmony with Himself so that moral power and holy usefulness become ours in this world and in the world to come.”
May 7, 2024
Great read
Very informative and interesting while easy to read. I love Tozer and his approach. Recommend all his writings. Inspiring as always.
Very informative and interesting while easy to read. I love Tozer and his approach. Recommend all his writings. Inspiring as always.
July 2, 2025
Straightforward no fluff book. If you dare to be mature this will point you in the right direction.
August 17, 2025
straight forward teaching from a Christian sage
An excellent read for those working on discipleship. Tozer provides an overview of the way ahead for those desiring to become a more mature Christian.
An excellent read for those working on discipleship. Tozer provides an overview of the way ahead for those desiring to become a more mature Christian.
May 3, 2024
Tozer is Amazing
His words are more true today than they were when he wrote them 100 years ago. You must read Tozer!
His words are more true today than they were when he wrote them 100 years ago. You must read Tozer!
April 5, 2025
I'm not trying to be overly harsh in my assessment, I just want to be realistic.
You end up realising this is a collection of things written by Tozer. Now, everything he writes is fairly good. Tozer was a faithful believer. This book is a collection of Tozer's writings on how Christians today fail to understand and pursue discipleship. It helps define discipleship from false Christianity.
The problem is that the content does not really help explain how discipleship should be pursued. I found myself rushing the end of the book and becoming increasingly annoyed from the lack of positive teaching. It's all well and good to say how we've gone wrong, but there's very little in the way of actual help here.
The people likely to start reading this book are those who sincerely want to pursue discipleship faithfully, but this is written for a lukewarm or a simply ignorant Christian who really needs a strong exhortation or rebuke. So unless that's you, look elsewhere for practical teaching.
You end up realising this is a collection of things written by Tozer. Now, everything he writes is fairly good. Tozer was a faithful believer. This book is a collection of Tozer's writings on how Christians today fail to understand and pursue discipleship. It helps define discipleship from false Christianity.
The problem is that the content does not really help explain how discipleship should be pursued. I found myself rushing the end of the book and becoming increasingly annoyed from the lack of positive teaching. It's all well and good to say how we've gone wrong, but there's very little in the way of actual help here.
The people likely to start reading this book are those who sincerely want to pursue discipleship faithfully, but this is written for a lukewarm or a simply ignorant Christian who really needs a strong exhortation or rebuke. So unless that's you, look elsewhere for practical teaching.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews