Spiritually Fit

Pastor A.W. Tozer once wrote that “complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.” But how does a believer grow spiritually? It requires training. Paul wrote to Timothy “…train yourself in godliness for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way…” (1 Timothy 4:7, 8 HCSB). It’s the word “train” that is imperative in this verse. In the Greek, the word “train” is gymnazo. It’s where we get the word “gymnasium.” It means to exercise enthusiastically, to train thoroughly, and to discipline yourself. When a first century Olympic athlete would prepare for the Olympics they would “train” and this is exactly what Paul had in mind when he wrote this to Timothy about growing spiritually.

Paul is telling believers they are to “train themselves in godliness.” In the same way an athlete prepares and dedicates himself or herself to their respective sport, so is the follower of Christ. An athlete disciplines himself or herself to a life of training. Discipline can be difficult, but living without it is disastrous.

You see, Paul is telling Timothy that in order for him to be a “good servant of Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 4:1), he needs to “train himself in godliness.” If we will only “nourish” ourselves on the word of God and seek the Lord through prayer, can we train ourselves to become spiritual athletes, but only if we are in Christ. He must dwell in us! Professional athletes don’t train once a month or even once a week, they train daily or for a lifetime. However, training the physical body has only a “limited benefit,” but training in “godliness holds promise for this life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

Physical fitness doesn’t just happen by being passive and inactive, nor does spiritual fitness. I encourage you in the power that is in Christ, to be strengthen spiritually by “training” yourself in the written Word, through a strong relationship with the Living Word, Jesus Christ. When the apostle John called Jesus the Word (John 1:1), he emphasized that Jesus was the revelation of God and He now dwells inside of believers through the Spirit.

Set your spiritual fitness goals, develop a spiritual fitness plan, gather the resources you will need (your Bible, prayer journal, other Christian books, sermon pod casts, etc…), and set aside the time you will need to grow.

Godliness is beneficial in EVERY WAY, so don’t delay your training!

Set Free By Grace

In our carnal minds we can’t imagine one person’s sin affecting the rest of humanity? It just doesn’t seem possible. But this is exactly what happened through Adam’s sin. Nevertheless, grace was coming to set humanity free.

Just about everyone has heard of Adam, the very first human being ever created by God. He was created perfect and lived in a perfect world. Adam lived in paradise and talked directly to God and like us He was created in the image of God. Adam was given clear instructions, the tree of life, and the authority to rule over the earth. So what went wrong? Satan arrive on earth. The father of all liars (John 8:44) had come to wage war against God’s newest creation and against God Himself. Satan manifested himself into a serpent and began to attack God’s character. Through temptation, deception, accusing, and denying the truth of God’s word, Satan played off the human freedom of Adam and Eve tempting them to choose their will over obedience to God. Tragically, Adam’s sin brought about the fall of humanity which has wrecked havoc upon this earth ever since.

The apostle Paul clarifies Adam’s sin and the remedy that is found in Christ when he wrote this; “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men” (Romans 5:18).

Let me put it this way, the sin and disobedience of Adam determined the destiny of every person after, a destiny that would end in eternal death without the intervention of our Creator and Savior. Adam’s original sin brought about God’s judgment on all humanity since he was the father of all mankind, while Jesus’ “one act of righteousness” brought about life to all who believe, because He was God in the flesh and the Creator of Adam (Colossians 1:16).

Acknowledge this in your life and you will live forever with Christ. Adam brought death, bondage, and depravity. But “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), Jesus Christ, has reversed the effects of “the first Adam.”

Jesus Christ grants all who believe in Him the opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life and forgiveness in exchange for a life of eternal death. This is grace and this is love. Understanding this eternal transaction should cause us to fall down broken before such a loving Savior.

Jesus awaits to justify (to be declared not guilty before God) all who seek after Him and His grace. It is truly amazing!

When Scripture Speaks, God Speaks

What is your view of the Bible? How you answer this question affects every aspect of your life, especially your perception of God and sin. The Bible must shape and inform every aspect of a believer’s life; there should never be a separation of public and private or work and church.   Having doubts about the inspiration of scripture or it’s inerrancy directly impacts a person’s ability to believe in faith. Most importantly, both the Old and New Testaments affirm the inspiration of God’s Word. Can a person trust everything that the Bible says? Absolutely! Most importantly the Bible itself claims to be the Word of God when Paul wrote to Timothy that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV).

Let’s examine the words “all Scripture.” “All” means exactly that, “all.” Any scripture that is read in the 66 books of the Bible is inspired by God. The word Scripture in this verse actually refers to the Old Testament, however the words “all Scripture” refer to the New Testament as well. We know this from Peter who grouped Paul’s letters with “the rest of the Scriptures” in 2 Peter 3:16. However the words “given by inspiration” are the most important. These words tell us that Scripture is divine, its supernatural, it means that God literally breathed out “all Scripture.” The bottom line is that the Holy Spirit worked through all 40 plus authors over a period of 1,500 years to write entirely and exactly what God intended. Much more could be written about this subject, but this one verse is sufficient for every believer to affirm, trust, and stand upon the Holy Bible.

With the words that follow Paul’s confirmation that all Scripture is inspired by God, we see a few  of the applications in which Scripture should be used. First, believers should use Scripture to determine and to learn correct “doctrine” or teachings. Second, believers should use it to rebuke or “reproof” themselves or others for false beliefs or ungodly behavior. Third, believers must measure themselves against Scripture as the absolute standard and use it “for correction” when they stray from being like Christ. Finally, believers are to use Scripture to “instruct themselves in righteousness.”

Remember when Scripture speaks, God speaks. Trust it and live!

With Fear and Trembling

Salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ. But so many false religions, to include the Catholic Church place a tremendous emphasis on good works to earn salvation. Scriptures are twisted and contorted to support their beliefs while many scriptures are completely ignored. Christians have always been saved for good works, not by their works, which makes a believer seek an explanation behind the meaning of what Paul commanded the Philippians in verse 2:12 when he wrote “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” The verse does not say we are to earn our salvation. Jesus didn’t go to the cross so we could earn our salvation. The work of salvation has been finished once and for all. When something is finished and completed, the payment has been received. However, people still feel the need to earn their salvation or some may feel as if they are going to lose their salvation, as some denominations and false religions teach.

So what does Paul mean by “work out”? The Greek meaning is that of a miner who would dig all of what God had put under the earth’s surface. I think of a coal miner who “works” to remove the valuable resources God has placed inside the mountains. Deep within the mountains is “black gold” just waiting to be dug out. By God’s hand something hidden so deep can be brought to the surface for the benefit of millions.

This is what Paul meant for the Christian. Hidden deep within every believer, the Holy Spirit is at work. As the believer studies the word, they learn the truth and are able to rightly divide God’s word and apply it. Most importantly they are able to grow into the likeness of Christ, the ultimate individual goal of every born again believer. Christians are able to “work out” everything holy and good that God has deposited inside of them. However, most importantly Christians are able to continually work to fulfill God’s plan for their individual lives and take an active part in their sanctification. Translation, believers can “work out” while the Holy Spirit sanctifies.

Finally, “with fear and trembling” believers are to “work out” their salvation. In other words, Paul is saying “work out” your salvation with a healthy fear of God and a deep reverence for His holiness and righteousness. 

Are You Coming After Him?

When the gospel is shared with unbelievers, there are critical elements that are often left out. There is the carnal desire for evangelists or chaplains like myself to “get decisions” for Christ, especially in environments that are often not conducive for properly sharing the full aspects of the gospel. Frequently non-believers are misled into making decisions to follow Christ with no understanding of the three primary conditions for becoming a disciple. All three of which are essentially non-existent in the lives of Christian’s today, particularly in America.

Jesus says “If anyone wishes to come after me” (Luke 9:23). Let me stop there for a moment. This phrase means to follow me, to be my disciple, to become a Christian. This cannot be skipped over. When we are giving an invitation to someone to receive Christ are we not asking them to come after Jesus? We better be. The world is already full of false converts or those who have received the gospel seed on rocky ground (Matthew 13:20, 21). With the current state of the American church and the continual onslaught of moral relativism, a greater focus must be placed upon making disciples and not getting decisions of people “confessing the sinner’s prayer.”

Our mission must be to make disciples who have been made aware of the conditions that Jesus set in Luke 9 and are willing to strive towards them. These conditions should be discerned and posed to those whom we share the gospel with. The first element is “denying self.” I once shared the gospel with a person and I mentioned self-denial and giving up his self-interests and he said he believed in Jesus, but he wasn’t willing to put Christ above his own needs or even his girlfriend. A person can’t do the will of God or obey the teachings of Jesus without denying self. The second element is “taking up one’s cross.” This means a person is willing to suffer and die for the sake of Christ and His gospel. This is a daily act. It’s like a military solider marching into war unafraid of dying for their country. The final element is to “follow Jesus.” This is to be done continually, as a military soldier following their platoon leader into battle.

Ensure you are asking those questions when sharing the gospel. If a person has acknowledged their sin and depravity before God and truly believed upon Christ for their salvation, then they will be willing to come after Jesus, deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus without question, even to the point of death.

This is what will revive the church and save our nation.