In John 4:24, Jesus said that the Father is seeking true worshipers, those who worship Him "in spirit and truth." Finding Christians and churches that incorporate both elements into their worship experience is becoming an increasingly greater challenge. It seems that people have a "zeal but not according to knowledge," or they have full heads with cold, unfeeling hearts. Yet God wants us to love Him with all our soul and with all our mind (not to mention with all our heart and strength) -- i.e., the totality of our being!
Joel Beeke has written an excellent article on the essence of true "experiential Christianity." It bears the title that appears at the top of this blog posting, and I print the article here for your consideration and edification. . . .
Spirituality is a subject much on the minds of people today. With its prevailing secularism and materialism, modern culture has failed to satisfy its consumers. Many are coming to realize the truth of what Moses said to the children of Israel, “Man doth not live by bread only” (Deut. 8:3). With Christ in His Sermon on the Mount, they ask, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?” (Matt. 6:25). The result is a new interest in discovering and nurturing the inward, spiritual dimensions of human life.
The cultivation of a spiritual life has been addressed in different ways by different Christian traditions. Roman Catholicism has offered a spirituality of ritualism and sacramental administration, and, alternatively, the disciplines of monastic life and the pursuits of mysticism. The Wesleyan Methodist tradition, the Holiness movement, and, more recently, Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement have offered a spirituality with less ceremonial or intellectual content and a great deal more emotion and subjectivism.
The problem with much spirituality today is that it is not closely moored in Scripture and too often degenerates into unbiblical mysticism. In contrast, Reformed Christianity has followed a path of its own, largely determined by its concern to test all things by Scripture and to develop a spiritual life shaped by its teachings and directives, which, in turn, is buttressed by biblical doctrinal standards. Reformed spirituality is the outworking of the conviction that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). In dependence on the Holy Spirit, it aims to achieve what John Murray called “intelligent piety,” wedding scriptural-doctrinal knowledge and heartfelt piety. Of the preachers, scholars, and writers who fostered this kind of biblical spirituality, none have excelled the English Puritans and their contemporaries in Scotland and the Netherlands. Their legacy excels in basing all spirituality, experience, and affections on the Bible and supporting confessional standards.
The dual emphasis of nurturing both the mind and the heart is sorely needed today. On the one hand, we confront the problem of dry Reformed orthodoxy, which has correct doctrinal teaching but lacks vibrant, godly living. The result is that people bow before the doctrine of God without a vital, spiritual union with the God of doctrine. On the other hand, Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity offers emotionalism in protest against a formal, lifeless Christianity, but it is not rooted solidly in Scripture. The result is that people bow before human feeling rather than before the Triune God.
The best of Reformed spirituality emphasizes the experimental side of faith. Because experimental faith has to do with the actual process of conversion, it is a great help both to understanding the process itself and in determining just where an individual person may be in that process. It also helps put more emphasis on the fact that conversion involves a daily encounter with God through His Word and providence and is not limited to a one-time experience. Experimental faith helps explain, in terms of biblical truth, how matters do go (Rom. 7:14-25) and how they ought to go (Rom. 8) in the Christian life. Such faith applies to all the experience of the believer – as an individual and in all of his relationships in the family, church, and the world (Col. 2:6-7).
By publishing and distributing Puritan and Reformed writings that consider the experiential side of Christianity, we hope that a vibrant Reformed spirituality will make greater progress among the people of God.
P.S. You can check out the publications referred to by Beeke at www.heritagebooks.org.
Joel Beeke has written an excellent article on the essence of true "experiential Christianity." It bears the title that appears at the top of this blog posting, and I print the article here for your consideration and edification. . . .
Spirituality is a subject much on the minds of people today. With its prevailing secularism and materialism, modern culture has failed to satisfy its consumers. Many are coming to realize the truth of what Moses said to the children of Israel, “Man doth not live by bread only” (Deut. 8:3). With Christ in His Sermon on the Mount, they ask, “Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?” (Matt. 6:25). The result is a new interest in discovering and nurturing the inward, spiritual dimensions of human life.
The cultivation of a spiritual life has been addressed in different ways by different Christian traditions. Roman Catholicism has offered a spirituality of ritualism and sacramental administration, and, alternatively, the disciplines of monastic life and the pursuits of mysticism. The Wesleyan Methodist tradition, the Holiness movement, and, more recently, Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement have offered a spirituality with less ceremonial or intellectual content and a great deal more emotion and subjectivism.
The problem with much spirituality today is that it is not closely moored in Scripture and too often degenerates into unbiblical mysticism. In contrast, Reformed Christianity has followed a path of its own, largely determined by its concern to test all things by Scripture and to develop a spiritual life shaped by its teachings and directives, which, in turn, is buttressed by biblical doctrinal standards. Reformed spirituality is the outworking of the conviction that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). In dependence on the Holy Spirit, it aims to achieve what John Murray called “intelligent piety,” wedding scriptural-doctrinal knowledge and heartfelt piety. Of the preachers, scholars, and writers who fostered this kind of biblical spirituality, none have excelled the English Puritans and their contemporaries in Scotland and the Netherlands. Their legacy excels in basing all spirituality, experience, and affections on the Bible and supporting confessional standards.
The dual emphasis of nurturing both the mind and the heart is sorely needed today. On the one hand, we confront the problem of dry Reformed orthodoxy, which has correct doctrinal teaching but lacks vibrant, godly living. The result is that people bow before the doctrine of God without a vital, spiritual union with the God of doctrine. On the other hand, Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity offers emotionalism in protest against a formal, lifeless Christianity, but it is not rooted solidly in Scripture. The result is that people bow before human feeling rather than before the Triune God.
The best of Reformed spirituality emphasizes the experimental side of faith. Because experimental faith has to do with the actual process of conversion, it is a great help both to understanding the process itself and in determining just where an individual person may be in that process. It also helps put more emphasis on the fact that conversion involves a daily encounter with God through His Word and providence and is not limited to a one-time experience. Experimental faith helps explain, in terms of biblical truth, how matters do go (Rom. 7:14-25) and how they ought to go (Rom. 8) in the Christian life. Such faith applies to all the experience of the believer – as an individual and in all of his relationships in the family, church, and the world (Col. 2:6-7).
By publishing and distributing Puritan and Reformed writings that consider the experiential side of Christianity, we hope that a vibrant Reformed spirituality will make greater progress among the people of God.
P.S. You can check out the publications referred to by Beeke at www.heritagebooks.org.