{"id":1303,"date":"2010-12-20T12:32:04","date_gmt":"2010-12-20T12:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2010\/12\/a-normal-christian-life--part-six.html"},"modified":"2010-12-20T12:32:04","modified_gmt":"2010-12-20T12:32:04","slug":"a-normal-christian-life-part-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/12\/a-normal-christian-life-part-six.html","title":{"rendered":"A Normal Christian Life—- Part Six"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thumbnail<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As
\nif Wesley were speaking directly to our Biblically illiterate culture, and
\nsadly our almost as Biblically illiterate church, he stresses that pure ignorance is a major cause of spiritual
\ndegeneration and apostasy.  <\/span><\/i>Here is
\nhow he puts it….<\/span><\/p>\n

Another general cause of this
\ndarkness is ignorance<\/i>; which is likewise of various kinds.  <\/span>If men know not the Scriptures, if they
\nimagine there are passages either in the Old or New Testament which assert,
\nthat all believers without exception, must<\/i> sometimes be in darkness;
\nthis ignorance will naturally bring upon them the darkness which they expect.
\nAnd how common a case has this been among us! How few are there that do not
\nexpect it! And no wonder, seeing they are taught to expect it; seeing their
\nguides lead them into this way. Not only the mystic writers of the Romish
\nChurch, but many of the most spiritual and experimental in our own, (very few
\nof the last century excepted,) lay it down with all assurance as a plain,
\nunquestionable Scripture doctrine, and cite many texts to prove it…. “But
\nis not darkness much more profitable for the soul than light? Is not the work
\nof God in the heart most swiftly and effectually carried on during a state of
\ninward suffering?  <\/span>Is not a believer more
\nswiftly and thoroughly purified by sorrow, than by joy? — by anguish, and
\npain, and distress, and spiritual martyrdoms, than by continual peace?” So
\nthe Mystics teach; so it is written in their books; but not in the oracles of
\nGod. The Scripture nowhere says that the absence of God best perfects his work
\nin the heart!  <\/span>Rather, his presence, and
\na clear communion with the Father and the Son: A strong consciousness of this
\nwill do more an hour, than his absence in an age. Joy in the Holy Ghost will
\nfar more effectually purify the soul than the want of that joy; and the peace
\nof God is the best means of refining the soul from the dross of earthly
\naffections. Away then with the idle conceit, that the kingdom of God is divided
\nagainst itself; that the peace of God, and joy in the Holy Ghost, are
\nobstructive of righteousness; and that we are saved, not by faith, but by
\nunbelief; not by hope, but by despair!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

What
\nWesley is talking about here is precisely the Catholic teaching of St. John of
\nthe Cross and his disciples that suggests that the dark night of the soul is
\nnot merely normal, it could be good for your spiritual formation!   <\/span>Not so, says Mr. Wesley.  <\/span>This is an unbiblical notion.   <\/span>What would Wesley as a pastor have us do, if
\nwe see someone in the process of committing moral apostasy or intellectual
\napostasy?  <\/span> <\/span>What would he have us do if a person is
\nstubborn about their sins, and refuses to repent or give them up?    <\/span>Listen carefully to what he says about
\npreachers who preach peace and mercy and compassion without any accountability
\nor repentance for sin….<\/span><\/p>\n

Accordingly, they know and use but
\none medicine, whatever be the cause of the distemper. They begin immediately to
\napply the promises; to preach the gospel<\/i>, as they call it. To give
\ncomfort is the single point at which they aim; in order to which they say many
\nsoft and tender things, concerning the love of God to poor helpless sinners,
\nand the efficacy of the blood of Christ. Now this is quackery<\/i> indeed,
\nand that of the worse sort, as it tends, if not to kill men’s bodies, yet
\nwithout the peculiar mercy of God, “to destroy both their bodies and souls
\nin hell.” It is hard to speak of these “daubers with untempered
\nmortar,” these promise-mongers, as they deserve. They well deserve the
\ntitle, which has been ignorantly given to others: They are spiritual
\nmountebanks<\/i>. They do, in effect, make “the blood of the covenant an
\nunholy thing.” They vilely prostitute the promises of God by thus applying
\nthem to all without distinction. Whereas, indeed, the cure of spiritual, as of
\nbodily diseases, must be as various as are the causes of them. The first thing,
\ntherefore, is to find out the cause; and this will naturally point out the
\ncure. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

As
\na good doctor of souls, Wesley says that one must be a good spiritual
\ndiagnostician.  <\/span>If a person merely is
\ndepressed, perhaps from losing a loved one, then there is occasion to preach
\npeace and offer comfort.  <\/span>But if their
\nsubdued or diminished spiritual state has a root in sin, or ignorance, or even
\nidleness, then that is another matter. 
\n<\/span>The cures of ‘the wilderness state’ are as numerous as its causes—
\noutward or inward sin, deliberate or accidental sin, ignorance or sloth. On the
\nlatter, following his Puritan forebears, Wesley stresses, <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps it is this very thing, the
\nwant of striving, spiritual sloth, which keeps your soul in darkness. You dwell
\nat ease in the land; there is no war in your coasts; and so you are quiet and
\nunconcerned. You go on in the same even track of outward duties, and are
\ncontent there to abide. And do you wonder, meantime, that your soul is dead? O
\nstir yourself up before the Lord! Arise, and shake yourself from the dust;
\nwrestle with God for the mighty blessing; pour out your soul unto God in
\nprayer, and continue therein with all perseverance! Watch! Awake out of sleep;
\nand keep awake! Otherwise there is nothing to be expected, but that you will be
\nalienated more and more from the light and life of God. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

From
\nthis quotation you can see clearly how much Wesley believed in an active
\napproach to spiritual formation, but at the same time he wanted a whole-hearted
\nnot a half-hearted approach to the matter. 
\n<\/span>A going through the motions of outward rituals without heart religion
\nwould not do.   <\/span>But at the same time, a
\npurely private and inward and mystical approach to spiritual formation was also
\nnot a Wesleyan or Biblical approach.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wesley
\nknew that at times, a Christian could suffer from heaviness, due to many trials
\nand temptations.  <\/span>The lamp light of joy
\nis burning low in such a situation, and to such a person, a word of reassurance
\nthat no temptation has overcome a believer that is not common and can be
\nprevailed over (1 Cor. 10) is the appropriate medicine.  <\/span>The causes of darkness must be diagnosed
\nbefore the cures can be administered. 
\n<\/span>Perhaps most importantly of all, Wesley had an absolute abhorrence of
\nthose who, like Job’s comforters, would want to ascribe every trial in life to
\nGod himself, including even the dark night of the soul.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

No,
\nsays Mr. Wesley, God does not willingly withdraw from anyone, and darkness is
\nnot something that strengthens one’s spiritual character. On the contrary it
\nweakens it.  <\/span>Love, joy, peace patience,
\nkindness, in other words the fruit of the Spirit are what forms us spiritually
\nfrom the inside out.  <\/span>While trials and
\ntemptations may test <\/i>our character, the
\ninward work of the Spirit and the outer partaking of the grace and knowledge of
\nGod through the Word and the sacraments are the normal means of spiritual
\nformation, the means of strengthening <\/i>our
\nspiritual character which certainly has as much do with what we do together as
\nChristians, as with what we do when we are alone with our God. <\/span><\/p>\n

No
\nwonder Paul said in good southern fashion— “ya’ll work out ya’lls salvation
\nwith fear and trembling for it is God who works within all ya’ll to will and to
\ndo.”  <\/span>Notice these last two verbs—- God
\nempowers the willing and doing of God’s good works and purposes on earth. God
\ndoesn’t just inspire good intentions, he enables willing and doing, he enables
\nthe obedience of faith, without which spiritual formation cannot properly or
\nfully transpire for what God intends by spiritually forming us is to make us
\nhis holy and loving people, joined together in harmony as one body of Christ,
\nat peace with one another, and experiencing wholeness, wellness, in our life
\ntogether as the church.      <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As if Wesley were speaking directly to our Biblically illiterate culture, and sadly our almost as Biblically illiterate church, he stresses that pure ignorance is a major cause of spiritual degeneration and apostasy.  Here is how he puts it…. Another general cause of this darkness is ignorance; which is likewise of various kinds.  If men…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nA Normal Christian Life- Part Six - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2010\/12\/a-normal-christian-life-part-six.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Normal Christian Life- Part Six - The Bible and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As if Wesley were speaking directly to our Biblically illiterate culture, and sadly our almost as Biblically illiterate church, he stresses that pure ignorance is a major cause of spiritual degeneration and apostasy.  Here is how he puts it…. 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A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}