In the Face of God

by Michael S. Horton

Book Overview

Have modern believers grown too comfortable with God? In response to the unbiblical, mystical spirituality of our day, Michael Horton calls for a return to the teaching of the Apostle Paul and the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0849913020
• ISBN13: 9780849913020
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: W Pub Group
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

In the Face of God addresses how it is possible even within the Christian community to be too spiritual. He believes it is essential that doctrines and not emotions or experiences be the foundation of our Christian lives. He discusses how gnosticism has infiltrated the Christian church from the very beginning and how it has continued to do so ever since. For example, he argues that nineteenth-century romanticism influenced the church (and its hymns) by allowing gnostic ideas to creep into Christian terminology. He worries that in this seeker-friendly mindset that the church will lose the true message of the gospel as they try to meet the felt needs of the community without addressing the ultimate issue of salvation. He emphasizes the need for the preaching of the Word in churches, sound doctrines in the pulpits (not pop psychology), and above all else a realization that God is a God to be taken seriously. Throughout the book he presents how different men and women (in the Bible) have reacted to their personal encounters with God. Each one reacted not with joy or giddiness but with fear and trembling. Meeting God was a humbling experience for each one. Being in God's presence--being made aware (even a small glimpse) of his glory and power--only makes one more aware of how sinful we are and how small we are in comparison to God. He worries that people are seeking a "God" of their own creation that can be sought by anyone at anytime without a mediator without fear of judgement or punishment. The truth of the matter is that unless Jesus stands as your mediator God is not a "safe" God to approach. Without Christ, only judgement can be the result of a meeting with God.

Powerful and convicting

Horton assembles a powerful indictment of the modern church for her dalliances with the ancient heresy of gnosticism. Oftentimes I see certain practices -- particularly in charismatic circles -- that I find quite discomfiting, though until now I didn't know why. Horton compares and contrasts the Biblical model of spiritual intimacy with the self-centered "feeling" approach too many in the church follow. More importantly, he outlines the dangers of those approaches.This book will force you to seriously think about how you worship and how you view your relationship with God. It will also encourage you to listen a bit more closely to the message you hear from the Christianity-lite/group-therapy churches.

Challenging, Provocative, and Much Needed

This is a challenging but much needed book on the current state of the church and the "how" and "why" of worshipping a truly Holy God. Horton comes face to face with the current trends of gnosticism that is so prevalent in denominations today. He delineates why he thinks current worship baths itself in the idea of the gnosis and what genuine worship is all about according to the Scriptures. Horton is very honest, blunt, and theologically astute. Unfortunately, this book has not received the attention it deserves. Buy it and read it and I promise you it will challenge the way you view worship and God.

This is an incredible book.

I have read many books in the 22 years that I have been a Christian. But I have never read one that has so effectively challenged some of the Christian beliefs that I have been brought up with in the evangelical churches I have been involved with. This book affected me so much that I often had to set it down and ask the Lord to give me wisdom and understanding to discern the truth or falsity of the author's assertions. By the end of the book, I was fairly convinced that much of what Michael Horton has to say in this book is true today. When the church puts a greater emphasis on the theory of glory as opposed to the theory of the cross, you get Christians who are more focused on themselves and their own spirituality (subjective feelings) instead of Christians who need to look outside of themselves to the grace and saving work of Jesus Christ (objective knowledge, or the written Word of God). This book has literally changed my life. The evidence being that I now understand in a much greater way what Jesus Christ did for mankind when he went to the cross for our sins. I highly recommend that you read this book.