spiritual discipline #2

hivner1 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:07:50 +0000

“… train yourself to be godly. ⁸For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come… we have put our hope in the living God…”

Well isnt that a nice, pithy statement! Be a good Christian because Jesus will give you a cookie when you get to heaven. Better yet, a golden palace. Too often passages like these that speak of eternal rewards are used as sales pitches and maniputive ploys. Furthermore, I too often close my heart to the implications of eternal rewards because I struggle to comprehend them. Rather than allowing myself to gain a Spirit-filled vision of what this might look like I choose to ignore the concept altogether or reduce it to something manageble. This leads me to cynicism and ultimately disbelief about the power of eternal rewards–thus, a loss of true motivation for a vital Christian life. And yet when you survey scripture, especially the work of Paul,

I would argue that this captures Paul’s motivation as he writes in Phil 3:10, “¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

My thinking was totally distorted about this kind of language until I read N.T. Wright’s book on the subject called Surprised By Hope. Wright argues that our lack of zeal about eternity can partly be attributed to a theological misunderstanding. Whereas the scriptural picture of the afterlife is very material, the traditional christian understanding has been largely influenced by platonic dualism which perceives matter as inherently evil and therfore rejects the notion of such a material eternity.

Furthermore, the New Heavens and New Earth is not a far off domain in the galactic playhouse. Rather, those places are the same which we walk over today! Therefore, the implications for how we live, work and play carry over into a very tangible and recognizable environment that we knew in our fallen bodies–except without the fallenness… Amen!

spiritual discipline

hivner1 — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:43:58 +0000

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1 Timothy 4 (NIV)

¹The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. ²Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. ³They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. ⁴For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

⁶If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. ⁷Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. ⁸For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

⁹This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance ¹⁰(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

¹¹Command and teach these things. ¹²Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. ¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

¹⁵Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. ¹⁶Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

What about this passage serves as a theme for both myself and perhaps yourself?

The primary challenge of 1 Tim 4 is learning how to cultivate the art of spiritual discipline, for it yields reward not for this life only but for the next as well. Paul implores the reader to “train yourself to be godly”, or “discipline yourself for godliness” (NASB).

On the surface, ideas of training and discipline strike an uneasy chord with the Christian who has been correctly taught the doctrine of grace. Paul writes to the Ephesians, that we have been “saved by grace, not by works so that no one can boast… and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God…” And again Paul writes to the Colossians, “just as you have received Christ Jesus, so also walk in him…”

Evangelicals often wrangle about the right way to conduct Christian living. Those who proclaim themselves to be “under grace” often scoff and mock the more traditional church goers as “legalistic” (i.e., not under grace but under the law). The more traditional church goers preach fire and brimstone towards those who have a heavy emphasis on living under grace. They argue that without rules and strict discipline, one is liable to fall away from faith and run full-on into a life of sin fueled by a theology suggesting “God doesnt care” because he already paid for sin. Tragically these two camps of Christians often spend more time criticising each other than on actually seeking to worship the Lord their God with heart, mind and soul. Enough ranting…

The Biblical idea of spiritual discipline has nothing to do with earning anything, especially salvation. In fact, spiritual discipline is a concept that is latent within the gospel itself. When one senses a need for greater discipline in an area of one’s life, it is often because of a deficiency that without such discipline, that particular area would not come under control. It is an admittance of weakness.

Weakness is the initial step in coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ. It is in this same mindset, in reference to a passage stated earlier (Col 2:6), that we are to continue to grab hold of if we desire to walk from Jesus and effectively hear from him. It is the hardened heart of the religious Pharisees that Jesus reserved his harshest words for. It is the hardened heart that kept the disciples from learning Jesus’ unique lessons for them in Mark 8. The Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea to proclaim, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Francis Schaeffer often spoke of this mindset as “putting creature before creator”. O. Hallesby’s book, Prayer, begins with a chapter called “What Prayer Is”. The beginning of all prayer, O. Hallesby asserts, is helplessness.

“My helpless friend, your helplessness is the most powerful plea which rises up to the tender heart of God. He has heard your prayer from the very first moment that you honestly cried to him in your need, and night and day he inclines His ear toward earth in order to ascertain if there are any helpless mortals turning to Him in their distress… Be not anxious because of your helplessness. Above all, do not let it prevent you from praying. Helplessness is the real secret and the impelling power of prayer. You should rather try to thank God for the feeling of helplessness which He has given you. It is one of the greatest gifts which God can impart to us. For it is only when we are helpless that we open our hearts to Jesus and let Him help us in our distress, according to His grace and mercy.” O. Hallesby, Prayer, pp. 22-23

How is this helplessness related to spiritual discipline? Helplessness is the foundation and impetus for godliness, and godliness holds promise for this life and the life to come as well. Next time we will take a deeper look at the eternal rewards of spiritual discipline.

h i v n e r

spiritual discipline #2

spiritual discipline