Andrew Wilson delivered some brilliant teaching on the Spiritual Disciplines last Sunday. The point was that, like an athlete in training, they are methods and techniques for developing the fruit of the Spirit.
"the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Galatians 5:22-4
And thus... we become more like Christ, which is kind of the whole point. I think what was brilliant about it was that I had never heard / thought of some of them. I had also never thought in terms of abstinence and engagement. I have, to this point, subconsciously pursued all the disciplines of engagement while forgetting, neglecting, or not even realising the value of abstinence. Here's the list according to Wilson:
- Disciplines of Abstinence
Secrecy
Solitude
Fasting
Silence
Simplicity (Frugality)
Chastity
Sacrifice
Disciplines of Engagement
Study, Memorisation, Meditation
Celebration
Service
Prayer
Fellowship
Submission
Confession
I feel like a whole new set of tools have been place in my hands. This is good.
Good stuff Sam. I totally agree. Really useful tools, and we so often forget about abstinence.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like how we forget there are sins of omission (not doing what you’re supposed to do)
So often we think in terms of sins of commission (doing what you’re not supposed to do) but not omission!
Yes indeed – good to see you're listening to Driscoll!
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