Modern Spirituality and the Children of Israel
According to a lecture by David Wells given as the Page Lectures (Nov 9-10, 2005) at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In his lecture, he states three intersting facts:
As fallen humans, the pendulum always swings between extremes. Organized Biblical Chrisitanity gets too dependant upon the offices of the church, then it swings the opposite way, abandoning the need for offices the Lord installed. We swing toward tradition being a companion of the Word, then counter that tradition is to be fled. We present the gospel as a "ticket to heaven," then oversteer toward the gospel being only about this life.
Modern American spirituality seems to be all about spiritual journey. However, much like the Israelites roaming through the desert, modern spirituality is on a journey, but with no destination. Man is encouraged to search himself, his spirit, his thoughts. After doing so, man is left at himself, his spirit, his thoughts. He has traversed nowhere, but because he has been journeying, he feels he has accomplished much.
We should not neglect the journey, for God receives glory and the world is evangelized through our sanctification here on earth. However, we do not hope in the journey. Our hope rests in the end (Romans 8:18-39).
We have not been called to roam aimlessly until the end, but like the Israelites under Joshua, we've been called to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4).
Our journey must not be about the journey, but our journey should be about the destination.
- 8 of 10 Americans describe themselves as spiritual.
- 6 of 10 say their spirituality is important to them.
- Yet, 4 of 10 describe themselves as "Spiritual, but not religious."
As fallen humans, the pendulum always swings between extremes. Organized Biblical Chrisitanity gets too dependant upon the offices of the church, then it swings the opposite way, abandoning the need for offices the Lord installed. We swing toward tradition being a companion of the Word, then counter that tradition is to be fled. We present the gospel as a "ticket to heaven," then oversteer toward the gospel being only about this life.
Modern American spirituality seems to be all about spiritual journey. However, much like the Israelites roaming through the desert, modern spirituality is on a journey, but with no destination. Man is encouraged to search himself, his spirit, his thoughts. After doing so, man is left at himself, his spirit, his thoughts. He has traversed nowhere, but because he has been journeying, he feels he has accomplished much.
We should not neglect the journey, for God receives glory and the world is evangelized through our sanctification here on earth. However, we do not hope in the journey. Our hope rests in the end (Romans 8:18-39).
We have not been called to roam aimlessly until the end, but like the Israelites under Joshua, we've been called to enter into His rest (Hebrews 4).
Our journey must not be about the journey, but our journey should be about the destination.
posted by danny2 @ 8:17 AM
1 Comments:
At 10:34 AM,
jason said…
Its good to recognize that God is glorified in both the refining of our character and the resurrection bodies we will take on when we leave this Earth.
As for our culture, I find it to be both uplifting and disheartening that America would seem to be so spiritually oriented; uplifting in that we know they are no longer denying the immaterial parts of our existence (as the modernists would seem to have done), disheartening in that there are so many more things left to lead them astray. In the end though, "no one know the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him" (Matt. 11:27).
By the way, Wells wrote an article in the book Whatever Happened to the Reformation? entitles "Born Again or Regenerate?" that was excellent... if anybody wants to borrow it, I would be happy to lend it to them.
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