“I’m Not Religious, I’m Spiritual”

For those of us who often hear the above statement there’s a pretty good piece on First Things:

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2010/05/spirituality-without-spirits

I think this applies as much to professing Christians as to society at-large, that is, I often hear it from professing Christians and they typically don’t know what they believe – it’s like living in the ???????-???? Zip Code. We’re not doing anyone a favor by trying to attract them with, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual,” nor are we doing them a favor by allowing such a statement to pass without a winsome question or two.

There have been times when I’ve thought about what we’re missing in the trend toward non-denominational churches, with even denominational churches downplaying or hiding their denominational affiliations, at the expense of articulating Biblical teaching and yes…here’s that “D” word, doctrine. (Is a denominational church that hides its identity analogous to a warship not flying its nation’s flag?)

What I mean is that no one seems to know what they believe – everyone’s spiritual now and we don’t need doctrine. Guess I’d better stop on this one – anyway – the above is a pretty good article.

A Reconciliation To Avoid

My Puritan prayer this morning contained the following:

Grant that I may never trust my heart, depend upon past experiences, magnify any present resolutions, but be strong in the grace of Jesus: that I may know how to obtain relief from a guilty conscience without feeling reconciled to my imperfections. [Bold and italics mine].

How often I have been reconciled to my imperfections! How often I have sought detente and truce with my sin when there should never be accommodation with sin. How often have I played Chamberlain to sin’s Hitler! And how often have I acted the part of ancient Israel in Canaan in choosing to compromise with the inhabitants (sin) of the land of my heart.

“Lord Jesus, if today there is in me a reconciliation to sin in any form, in any shape, in any fashion, please reveal such to me in Your mercy and lead me out of that darkness, delivering me from myself while drawing me unto and into You.”