True Spirituality

A) True spirituality focuses on Christ’s cross not on human wisdom

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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.

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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

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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.’

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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.

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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

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Sometimes, sadly, love demands decisive action against unrepentant serious sin. A sinful lifestyle is incompatible with the health of the church.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.’

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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

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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

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Christianity invented a new word for graveyards, ‘cemetery’, which derives from the Greek word for dormitory.

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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