Renovation of the Heart
Spiritual Change (1|3)
Pages 75-80
• Transformation into Christlikeness Is Possible
• “Miserable Sinner” Christianity
• Never “There” Yet
TOGETHER read the devotional and the scripture.
INDIVIDUALLY take notes in your journal on what stands out.
Philippians 3:7-14 (NIV) But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV) Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
TOGETHER pray for one another.
INDIVIDUALLY answer the questions in your journal - process your devotional notes and pray.
Transformation into Christlikeness Is Possible
”We must be clear that such a transition (from self-adulation to self-denial) as is envisioned in Christian spiritual formation can actually happen, and can actually happen to us.”
What is your response to this statement? Do agree or disagree? Have you witnessed a radical transformation in a person? (like Ebenezer Scrooge level?)
”The sad thing when a leader (or any individual) ‘fails’ is not just what he or she did, but the heart and life and whole person who is revealed by the act. - Real spiritual need and change is on the inside, in the hidden area of the life that God sees and that we cannot even see in ourselves without His help.”
When someone fails (morally) the consequences of actions have a ripple effect. When the failure is exposed it affects not only those in the center of the failure but an entire community. Have you experienced a moral failure that affected you even if you were not in the center of it? What did it expose in your heart? Anger? Disgust? A desire to gossip? A desire to judge? Compassion? Empathy?
”Without the gentle rigorous process of inner transformation, initiated and sustained by the graceful presence of God in our world and in our souls, the change of personality and life clearly announced and spelled out in the Bible, and explained and illustrated throughout Christian history, is impossible.”
Do the common failures of Christian leaders and laypeople prove that transformation into Christlikeness is impossible?
“Miserable Sinner” Christianity
“We must recognize another factor that leads many to think that spiritual formation to Christlikeness is impossible. This is the widely held view that the low level of spiritual living among professing Christians is to be regarded as ‘only natural,’ only what is to be expected - lamentable as that may be. According to this view, human nature, flesh, life, and its world are all essentially vile, rotten, and worthless, especially on the inside.”
Is “miserable sinner” Christianity an accurate portrayal of the redeemed life in Christ? What is the valid point in the “miserable sinner” version? Is there one?
Never “There” Yet
“We deserve nothing before God, no matter how far we have advanced, and we are never out of danger. As long as we are ‘at home in the body’,(2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.) we are still just recovering sinners. And in these respects, though only in these respects, do we remain ‘as wicked as anyone else.’ To distort this important truth into a claim that we can never really change, especially in our hearts, is to substitute a glaring and harmful falsehood for a liberating and life-based truth. And that distortion, which sometimes is a true expression of genuine humility, can also be done by those who wish to take themselves off the hook, to enjoy remaining the same in their inner lives. It is not easy to really want to be different.”
What does this statement mean? How does it apply to you?
EXTRA READING:
“I did not ask for success, I asked for wonder. And you gave it to me.”
- Rabbi Abraham Joshua Herschel (1907 - 1972)