A) True spirituality focuses
on Christ’s cross not on human wisdom
Page 18
In a world that regards the message of Christ crucified as weak and
foolish, it will always be tempting for Christians to look elsewhere for the
power and wisdom we feel we need to impress others. Our attention can so easily
shift from the message of the Bible, with its focus on the saving work of
Christ through the cross, to other preoccupations. This development will often
be justifies as the result of the Spirit’s leading or an increase in spiritual
maturity, but in reality it is prompted by the mindset of the non-Christian
world. Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 1-2 makes it very clear that true
spiritual power and wisdom are found in Christ and the message of the cross.
A good test, therefore, of nay movement or message that claims to be
spiritual is to ask, ‘Does this point me to the crucified Christ and
encourage me to grow in knowledge and love of him, to serve him and imitate
him? If not, it does not come from the Holy Spirit, however impressive it may
appear. We must be on our guard against any departure from a focus on
Christ and the cross, whether it is caused by a deliberate decision or a
gradual drift which flows from a form of spiritual amnesia健忘症.
Page 33
Truly spiritual people do not abandon or contradict the teaching of the
Bible, but rather make every effort to hear and obey its message. If you want
to find a Spirit-filled church, look for one which takes the Bible very
seriously and gives time to hearing God speak through it. That will be a
church where the sermon is central to its meeting and not a plat form for the
preachers to put forward their own ideas, but rather a faithful exposition of
the truth of Scripture.
B) True spirituality respects
faithful leaders, not flashy ones
Page 51
The turning point was when he began to distinguish between worldly
understandings of success and God’s perspective. He writes, ‘It was a banner
day in our lives when we saw from the Bible that great public success in the
ministry …is not necessarily success in God’s eyes. God’s call is to be faithful rather than successful.
This brought Barbara and me to a profound and liberating realization. We saw
how success was equally possible for those in the most difficult of situations
– for example, those with small numbers and inadequate resources – as well as
those having vast ministries.’ They summed up t the lesson they learnt in one
simple phrase: ’Success is faithfulness.’
Page 53
Normal abilities are given by God and can be used by him, but they are
far less important than obedience to Christ’s commission. It is much better
to sit under the ministry of a faithful plodder with average gifts, who is
diligently living and teaching the true message of the Bible, than to attend a
church led by a ten-talent star who relies his own brilliance rather than on
the power of God’s word. Very few pastors have exceptional abilities. Most
of those God uses are ordinary people entrusted with an extraordinary gospel.
Their task is simply to do their best with the personalities and gifts they
have been given; God will do the rest. SO when we are next frustrated with our
leader’s failings, let us resist the temptation to complain and pray instead.
Page 53-54
God commands us to respect our leaders, but we must resist any tendency
to put them on pedestals and place too much focus on them. In our global
society, some pastors achieve international celebrity status, speak at
conferences around the world and are listened to by millions via the Internet.
We can thank God for their gifts and learn from their ministry, but we must
never forget that they are simply God’s servants: their role is to point beyond
themselves to God via his word. Let us make sure we focus on the message and
the great God of whom it speaks, not on the messenger.
C) True spirituality demands
holiness not moral permissiveness
Page 65
Sometimes, sadly, love demands decisive action against unrepentant
serious sin. A sinful lifestyle is incompatible with the health of the church.
Page 65
Paul urges us to ‘flee from sexual immorality’ because ‘all other sins
a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his
own body’ (6:18). It is not entirely clear what is meant by this statement, but
it does surely assume that our sexual identity is not skin-deep, like a coat of
varnish over the top of the body. It rather affects our innermost
personalities, and especially so when we remember that, as physical beings, we
are in a relationship with Christ. It is true that other sins, such as
drunkenness, affect the body, but no sin has a greater impact on the ego, the
inner person, than sexual sin.
Instinctively we know that sex is not simply a bodily transaction, with
no greater significance than eating or drinking; it is far more profound than
that. In its God-ordained context of marriage, sex can bring great good, both
through procreation and by expressing and deepening committed love. But when
sex occurs in the wrong place, it can bring lasting damages physically (for
example, through sexually transmitted infections), emotionally (perhaps in the
sense of having been used and then rejected) and relationally (maybe because we
hold back from commitment so as not to be hurt again after a previous sexual
relationship that caused such pain).
We must not negotiate but rather flee. That will mean fleeing the
situations which provide opportunities for temptation.
D) True spirituality affirms
both marriage and singleness, but not asceticism禁欲主义
Page 87
One friend of mine said that, before he was married, he found it
hard to understand why any married couple would need to be encouraged to keep
in having sex. Then, having been married for a while, he realized that Paul
understood the dynamics of real marriage. There are many factors that
threaten to kill, or at least stifle, romance and sex within marriage:
tiredness, especially when there are small children in the house or work is
demanding; unaddressed hurts or grudges that have been allowed to build up;
illness or depression; preoccupations with worries and concerns; or
over-busyness, so that a couple hardly have any uninterrupted time alone
together. Sex is a very important part of marriage, so couples should do all
they can to keep sexual intimacy alive and mutually satisfying.
Page 88
I believe the word ‘gift’ in verse 7 is most naturally understood as
the ability to be contentedly single or married but rather as the state of
singleness or marriage. Paul is grateful to God for his single state
because of the great opportunities it gives him in Christian service, and
whishes everyone could enjoy the same gift, but he does not go the next step
and denigrate marriage by comparison, because he knows that marriage is also a
good gift of God. That means that none of us is missing out. We all begin with
the gift of singleness, then some replace it with the gift of marriage, before,
in some cases, receiving the gift of singleness again after the death of a
spouse. Both marriage and singleness have advantages and disadvantages, but
both are gifts of God. Instead of focusing on what we do not like about out
situation, we should, as far as possible, thank God for what is positive.
Page 102-103
Christians hold marry only
Christians
There are advantages in singleness, but as has already been pointed
out, both marriage and singleness are good gifts of God, and so single people
are free to choose. However, their choice is not unlimited. Paul’s instruction
to widows in verse 39 applies to all Christians: we should only marry those
who ‘belong to the Lord’. It surely follows that it is unwise to enter into
a romantic friendship with a non-Christian, which, as it deepens, will lead
either to the temptation to disobey God in marrying them or to the agony of a
break-up. In my experience of pastoral ministry, I have seen more people drift
backwards, or completely fall away, as a result of going out with or marrying a
non-Christian than for any other cause. They have usually convinced themselves
in the early stages of the friendship that they will not get very involved with
the other person, but have then found that, as the attachment has grown, their
resolve to resist the strength of their emotions. They may comfort themselves
with the thought that they may be used as a means of converting the one they
love, and in God’s grace that sometimes happens, but, sadly, on the most occasions
the influence works the other way. It is important, therefore, that we take heed
to Paul’s instruction: ‘He [she] must belong to the Lord’ (7:39).
E) True spirituality promotes
spiritual concern, not unfettered freedom
Page 108
Theologian Jim Packer has concluded, “The inward experience of being
divinely guided is not ordinary one of seeing signs or hearing voices, but
rather one of being enabled to work out the best thing to do.’
Page 110-133
1) Love is more important than
knowledge (1 Corinthians 8)
What is the effect on other
Christians?
Those who have a good knowledge of the Bible’s teaching are especially
prone to spiritual pride. Perhaps we hear a passionate preacher who clearly
loves Christ and exhorts his hearers to love him too, but, instead of heeding
the message, we are quick to criticize, saying to a friend, ‘I didn’t like his
handling of the passage at all. He failed to put the verses in context and
completely missed the main point.’ Or when we are with other Christians from
different backgrounds praising God at a conference, we stay aloof in our hearts
and think to ourselves, ‘How can they sing that song? It’s theologically
vacuous. And I wish they wouldn’t keep talking about ‘worship’ as if it was
just singing rather than the whole of our lives offered to God.’ We may have a
point, but before we judge others, we should remember that God is more
concerned with the love (or the lack of it) in our hearts than the knowledge in
our heads.
As one preacher put it, ‘When God measures a person, he puts the tape
round the heart, not the head.’
2) The gospel is more important
than rights (1 Corinthians 9)
What is the effect on
non-Christians?
3) Spiritual health is more
important than freedom (1 Corinthians 10)
What is the effect on my
spiritual life?
THE G TEST
1. What is the effect on my spiritual GROWTH?
2. Will this be for the GOOD
of others?
3. Can I do this for the GLORY
of God?
F) True spirituality affirms
gender differences, but not social divisions
Page 142
When I preach at weddings, I sometimes encourage the new husband to
write down on this honeymoon the five qualities about his wife that he most
admires, and then to consider them again every anniversary. If she is
continuing to grow in these areas as the years go by, that is a sign that he is
loving her as he should, but, if she is not, that may be a sign that he is
failing to fulfill his role.
G) True spirituality
prioritizes love, not spiritual gifts
H) True spirituality focuses
on a physical future, not just the spiritual present
Page 196
Christianity invented a new word for graveyards, ‘cemetery’,
which derives from the Greek word for dormitory.
Page 210
My study of the New Testament at the time of my spiritual crisis as a
young man assured me that, along with all who had trusted in Christ, the Holy
Spirit was living in my life. That is a wonderful truth, but it is certainly
not a excuse for complacency. I may have the Holy Spirit, but does the Holy
Spirit have me?
True Spirituality: The challenge of 1 Corinthians for the 21st century
church (2011) by Vaughan Roberts
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