“Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health,” Donald S. Whitney. 2001. NavPress.*
Question 7: Are the Spiritual
Disciplines Increasingly Important to You? (excerpts and highlights from
Chapter 7; also, excerpts from “5 Things Every Christian Needs to Grow,” R. C.
Sproul. 2008. Reformation Trust Publishing) “For this reason I remind you to fan
into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands”,
2 Timothy 1:6
Dr. Whitney’s book, in chapter 7, begins with how to build a wood fire and sustain it. He uses this metaphor in a way similar to the apostle Paul’s inspired language in 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul’s admonition to Timothy to rekindle the faith flame in him. Dr. Whitney ends his introduction to the chapter with the following: “Nothing contributes to the growth of spiritual ‘heat and light’ more than the persevering practice of the Christian spiritual disciplines. The disciplines are the bellows and the iron poker – tools in God’s hands through which He stokes and blows upon the eternal fire He Himself ignites in His people.” He states that the spiritual disciplines are biblical, God-given and grounded in His Word; the Holy Spirit who authored the Bible works through the disciplines in ways unique to each believer. And that the spiritual disciplines in God’s Word are sufficient, requiring no ceremony, rite, ritual, religious habit or spiritual exercise. Nothing but God’s Spirit can create the environment Christians need as they pursue Christ’s holiness.
In this chapter, Dr. Whitney identifies the disciplines as devotional and sanctifying practices, e.g., prayer, fasting, solitude, private reading of and meditation on Scripture, as well as corporate worship. He adds a couple of pertinent points: the disciplines are practices, not attitudes, that engaging in the Christian disciplines is more than piety. The purpose is to use the disciplines as an instrument for pursuing a deeper communion and intimacy with Christ. To "add some meat to those bones", the fundamental premise Dr. Whitney provides, I have included in this paper the five spiritual disciplines iterated by Dr. R. C. Sproul in his book, “5 Things Christians Need to Grow,” to give believers substantive learning of what the spiritual disciplines are. The quotes and highlights from Dr. Sproul’s book are just that – they are not the full-on detail that the St. Christopher’s Tuesday evening Bible Study Group had the privilege of studying using Dr. Sproul’s book as a guide. (To obtain your copy, see above information in the introductory paragraph and purchase from Amazon or your favorite bookstore.) The five disciplines are Bible study, prayer, worship, service, and stewardship.
Immersing ourselves in the Bible -- not just as a goal to rush through the Bible in a year so as to check off a box – rather, we do so to gain the mind of Christ, to learn what discipleship is. Dr. Sproul uses 2 Timothy 3 to undergird that statement. Just as Paul wrote to Timothy in the first century AD, we, too, in our 21st century world and cultures, are exhorted to “continue in the things (of truth) which we have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,” knowing truth of Scripture -- not trying to piecemeal it through “hearsay”. Are we being strengthened in faith and in our walk with God by the study and application of God’s Word, or are we satisfied with head knowledge and the ability to quote scripture with the skill of the devil, while being detached from its application? (Matthew 4:5-6) Do we profit from our study of the Word to be able to comprehend Biblical doctrine, to be corrected by the Word in our thoughts and behavior and practicing repentance, to learn righteousness and holiness? (2 Timothy 3:15-17) Do we participate in a worship community’s teaching ministry regularly? (Ephesians 4:11-12) Do we hold scholarship and academic criticism of God’s Word above the Bible? (Matthew 5:17-19; 1 Thessalonians 2:13) Are we reading and meditating on the entire Bible, harking back to 2 Timothy 3:15-17? Are we growing in trust of God’s Word? (Psalm 119:42) Do we have in our Bible study arsenal a study Bible, a concordance, and similar resources?
- It
is our duty. We are called
to be a people of prayer. Dr. Sproul’s book refers to
explicit Scriptures: Romans
12:12; Philippians
4:6;
1
Thessalonians 5:17 – to name a few. Jesus gave a parable
recorded at Luke
18:1-6 as admonition of what we ought to do, i.e., it
is an ethical and moral necessity – a solemn duty we are to perform. Prayer is
conversation (two-way) with God, as we come before His throne in all
humbleness. (Hebrews
4:16)
- It
is a privilege. Prayer is instituted by God and gifted to
His people as a privilege not to be taken lightly. In God’s Word, our
relationship with the Father is like a marriage, where both persons are “one,”
not just signifying a communion or intimacy with God, but also agreeing
with God’s Word to us, which is what our “Amen” conveys. God will not hear the
prayers of willful sinners and nonbelievers. (Isaiah
58:3-5) Jesus was asked by His disciples how
to pray and he taught them. We benefit even today by their
inquisitiveness.
- It is a means. Prayer is a means God uses to bring about His intended “ends” and redemption; God uses our prayers as His instruments to bring about His will. We pray to change us, not God! Thus, our prayers informed by Scripture change things. (James 5:13-18) God answers prayers of those who seek His truth. (Acts 10) Prayer is effective most often when offered in “the Spirit” – praying God’s Word, being in unity with God’s will. (Ephesians 6:18-20) We often hear the expression, "the power of prayer;" it is often said in a way that makes it sound like rubbing an oil lamp and waiting for God to appear and give us what we want. As if "prayer" is an entity all unto itself. The truth is this: Prayer’s power is based in and tied to relationship with God; without that relationship, or a heartfelt desire to have one, a prayer has little power. (refer to Isaiah 58 above) Prayer, in tandem with the meditation on God’s Word, increases our trust in God multifold. (Mark 11:24; 1 John 5:14) Using the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern, some use this structure acronymically: ACTS – Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication – where God is praised and honored foremost.
We
are to prepare ourselves for worship. As we worship individually, we
come before God in prayer, praising Him and offering Him thanksgivings,
confessing our sins. Inculcating Scripture and understanding from God. In our
daily walk we demonstrate our worship by obedience
to Him -- which is the foundation and essence of worship, and doing all things to His glory. We are also called to come together
corporately to worship, as instructed in Hebrews
10:24-25.
In
the liturgies of some churches, there is a rationale for the “order of worship.”
We pray and praise God; we open our hearts, minds and spirits to hear the “cleansing”
Word of God read to us and are to contemplate on that Word; that Word of God is
then to be exposited by the preacher
who has prayed for God to put
His words in their mouth so that what is heard is coming from
God. We worship in obedience, are instructed in the Word, and we confess our
sins. We make peace with our brothers and sisters, then give our gifts to God in
grateful
thanksgiving cheerfully, as we approach His throne of grace
to engage in sweet
communion with Him through the remembrance of the Lord’s Supper.
Our words and hearts are filled with praise and adoration, in prayers and
supplications, as we bow before Him in humble obedience. Do we gather regularly
with our local worship community? Do we desire such gathering? Does our daily
walk, activity, attitudes, behavior reflect our daily
walk of worship of God? Is the majority of our worship
spent only inside a church building? Is
our worship bearing fruit?
Service. What does the Bible say about service? The best examples are found in Jesus. In addition to serving His Father by willingly submitting Himself as a sacrifice to open the means for restoration of the world with God, there are other ways that Jesus served others; He did not come to be served, but to serve. Part of that service was giving healing to many; the work was almost nonstop at certain times; He could feel the power leave Him, and in His humanity, the magnitude of His service often left Him quite tired! Jesus served the needs of His disciples so that they may accompany Him in His missionary work. In John 13, Jesus humbly cleans their feet, assuming the role of a slave, to teach them the necessity of how to serve one another with humility. Members of the early Church were inspired to serve one another to ensure that all needs were met. So that the Church could function as a community of oneness, God instituted a structure for corporate worship and life by creating servant leadership roles and servanthood opportunities in differing ministries within the Church. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 12:1-18; Acts 6:1-6) Ministerial, or as they are often called, “spiritual” gifts, have been given to all believers indwelt by the Spirit so that the work of the Kingdom may be carried out effectively. When persons choose to not use their gifts for whatever reason, there is a diminishment of effectiveness both seen and felt, and the congregation suffers from that imbalance and neglect. When we are not serving others as Jesus served, our worship may not be pleasing to God.[i] Service, for some, may be demonstrated in their vocation: some enter the broad field of healing; others may serve as caretakers for persons unable to do for themselves; may serve in the military or in the local police departments; may serve as grocery store workers, mechanics and technicians; in industries that support the environment; in the farming industry, in hospitality services, as educators, and the list goes on; always working as to the Lord! Find God’s purpose for you.
Stewardship. Often when a local church talks about "stewardship," it is during a campaign or other event to encourage financial giving to the local church. That is but a small though vital aspect of what Christian stewardship is. As we look at the disciplines God has given us, can we agree that these all fall under the broad heading of stewardship?
We are given stewardship of our . As Peter is inspired to write in his first letter, all Christians are called to be “stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Think. soberly. about the depth of that imperative. Even the word used here, manifold, just barely touches the edge of what God's grace is. How broad and how deep is God’s grace? Immeasurable. Yet God has given each of us grace in proper measure [ii] so that His Kingdom will increase in its earthly manifestation.
We have been made stewards of creation – how are we doing with that? Taking a look at the crises caused by climate change and global warming, we have to give ourselves as the human race an F-minus. While Jesus in his famous Mt. Olivet discourse recorded in the Gospels about the last days foretold the onslaught of what we are experiencing now in climate swings, melting polar caps, disappearing animal species, daily earthquakes, and polluted air and waters, and so forth, making that connection requires knowing Scripture and discerning the times.
Armed now with such vital information, what shall we do? Are we eager to add these disciplines to our lives? When this life is over, will we just be satisfied with “squeezing” through Heaven’s gate, or will our hearts long to hear the amazing words, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; come, enter the joy of your Master.” *The foregoing
represents my personal reflections on a study by Dr. Donald S. Whitney, Ten
Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health. (2001. By Donald S.
Whitney. NAVPRESS. ISBN 978-1-61747-187-2) Quotations and excerpts are
from that source, unless otherwise identified. For the 2023 Lenten season I
provided these thoughts to my local congregation's Bible study group. The questions
are not, however, constrained by a particular liturgical season, holiday, or
age group: these are questions every Christian may find useful
in fulfilling God's command at 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to
see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize
that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!"
The church at Corinth looked a lot like many of our churches today. [i] In
this context, worship and service is not just what we do inside a building. Jesus wants us
to worship corporately, yes, however, what happens next? Where is the most
important worship taking place? Outside
the walls of the church building in our daily walk. One church calls it, “the mission field” of self and community.
See also Ezekiel
3:16-21. [ii] Also see Ephesians 4:7. [iii] Several references are in Exodus
and Leviticus. Search in a program such as Biblegateway for one-tenth or tithe.
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