I'm sure this is going to tick some fine people off, but that's never stopped me before.
I have no desire to be "spiritual" in the sense which is commonly used today. That doesn't mean I wish to be a dead doctrinalist or rigid moralist or anything else which people call me. Instead, it means I want to be mature in Christ - not in any sense of myself.
I think there's a lot of hubbub about the topic, but I side with Sinclair Ferguson on the topic.
h/t: Monergism"This first thing to remember, of course, is that we must never separate the benefits (regeneration, justification, sanctification) from the Benefactor (Jesus Christ). The Christians who are most focused on their own spirituality may give the impression of being the most spiritual ... but from the New Testament's point of view, those who have almost forgotten about their own spirituality because their focus is so exclusively on their union with Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished are those who are growing and exhibiting fruitfulness. Historically speaking, whenever the piety of a particular group is focused on OUR spirituality that piety will eventually exhaust itself on its own resources. Only where our piety forgets about itself and focuses on Jesus Christ will our piety be nourished by the ongoing resources the Spirit brings to us from the source of all true piety, our Lord Jesus Christ."
I will never forget a seminary class in which one of the participants talked at length about being "spiritual" and not "religious" on the one hand I understood what he meant but on another I could not help but think:
ReplyDelete"What has happened to the church that people fail to realize that our religion is spiritual?"
Rather than be indignant I need (as a leader) to insure that everyone under my care knows that what we are doing in our religious practice is a spiritual reality.
Bill,
ReplyDeleteLook up the definition of religion sometime. We forget that Jesus is King and we are bound to him. We neglect that he is the head of the church and we are in deep communion / union with him.
Ah, a great quote from a fellow ARP!
ReplyDeleteAs with the Apostle Paul, may we never boast except in the cross of Christ our Lord!!!