10.5.23
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
I just found out that a former pastor I know has left the faith and has embraced something other than historic, orthodox Christianity. He’s come to a place where Jesus is one among many and not One above all. Somewhere along the line his spiritual development hit a snag which unraveled whatever faith had formed in him. We know that no one enters the ministry fully formed, especially young men. I don’t think the church should demand fully formed men, but she must expect well-formed men. Many Christians, pastors or otherwise, are not fully-formed nor are they well-formed – they are mal-formed.
This picture might be helpful. You are happy that your children are well formed while on their way to becoming fully formed. You are not alarmed that your child’s leg is only half the size it will be when they are fully grown, because everything else is half-size, too. Yet if their leg was half-size and the rest of their body was three-quarter size, this would not be well-formed. You would be concerned – and for good reason.
Something like this can happen to a Christian. Even as a body should grow in harmony in all its parts, so a soul should grow in harmony in all its capacities. Your soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions. With your mind you think. With your will you choose. With your emotions you desire. Each of these capacities are to be submitted to Jesus and formed by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is developing disciples exercising Biblical thinking, having spiritual desires, and making godly decisions. I don’t know if these capacities can ever be fully formed on this side of heaven, but they definitely should be well formed. Yet often they are malformed. What does a malformed soul look like?
• A mind filled with Bible knowledge accompanied by little desire for the things of God.
• A will that is fixed on obedience to Christ, but with little Bible knowledge of what that looks like and so develops into a headstrong believer who insists on their way.
• Desires that pant after Christ, but no discipline of the will to resist temptation.
When your Christian mind, Christian will, and Christian desires form in an imbalanced way – you are a malformed believer. A malformed believer can never become a well formed one without some serious adjustments. The former pastor I wrote of is typical of those who develop their theological thinking at a faster rate than the development of their spiritual desires and surrendered will. A malformed soul will not stand in the day of trouble. He did not make godly decisions even though he was filled with Biblical knowledge. He did not make godly decisions because he did not have spiritual desires.
A high school wrestler joined the college wrestling team and after a few weeks of familiar basic training he asked the coach, “When are you going to show me the sexy stuff? When are you going to show me the super-fancy, can’t-be-beat moves?” The coach said, “If you know and practice the fundamentals, you can’t be beat.” Surely he exaggerated, but don’t miss the point. There’s no magic bullet; there’s no secret short-cut. Think of the game “Chutes and Ladders.” There are Chutes in the Christian life – but there are no Ladders. You can fall quickly, but you can’t rise quickly – there are no short-cuts to spiritual maturity.
What’s the way forward into being a well formed follower of Jesus? Practice the fundamentals: read the Word of God; obey Jesus; be filled with the Spirit; pray with faith; attend church; fellowship; give of your time, talent, and treasure. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. If you know and practice the fundamentals, you can’t be beat. This lifestyle promotes a well formed spiritual life and prevents a malformed spiritual life. One day I’ll see you in heaven and we’ll all be fully formed because we will all be like Him! 1 John 3:2.
Be blessed and stay healthy and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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