Have you ever started a diet and workout routine only to relapse into unhealthy habits halfway through? Most of us probably have at some point in our lives. Usually, it happens because the going gets tough, we lose our motivation, and we lose sight of our goals. Just as in the physical aspect of our lives, we can become lazy in our spiritual lives as well. We can neglect basic spiritual disciplines such as Bible reading, prayer, serving others, and witnessing to others. When we neglect physical disciplines, it shows up in the way we feel, look, and act. The same is true when we neglect our spiritual disciplines. As human beings, we have a tendency toward apathy and atrophy both physically and spiritually.
So, how can we stay spiritually fit? The epistle of I John was written so that Christians can know how to stay in fellowship with God. We might say it is our instruction manual for staying spiritually fit in a distracting and deceiving world. The book of I John gives us three ways to stay spiritually fit: remembering the purpose of spiritual disciplines, keeping short accounts with God, and remembering our motivation. Let’s look at each in turn.
- Remember the purpose of discipline. The Greek philosopher Aristotle is credited with having said, “Through discipline comes freedom.” Well, before he said it, Jesus Christ said something similar. In John 8:31-32, Jesus told the Jews who believed on Him, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Disciples of Christ are to be disciplined. To be disciples, we must continue in Christ’s words. I John uses the word abide to describe this idea of continuing or being disciplined in our walk with the Lord. I John 2:24 says, “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.” As we abide, or stick with, the commandments God has given us from the beginning, then we are abiding with the Son and the Father.
At the end of the chapter, John writes, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” We are told to abide in Christ. That word abide means “to stay in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy; to continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry.” Can you see the idea of discipline in this word abide? We are to stay with Christ, to endure with Him through whatever life brings. We are to be present with Christ—to consciously choose to be with Him through reading His Word daily and praying always. We are to remain with, to stand by, and to tarry or linger with Jesus during the day and in the night seasons. Abiding means being constantly connected to Christ as our power source. It means making such practices as Bible study and prayer a daily discipline.
The purpose of discipline is not the pain. Neither is the purpose of discipline to make ourselves feel virtuous. The purpose of discipline is freedom. When we say no to little things along the way that hinder our growth, we are actually saying yes to the best things—spiritual growth and rewards. The purpose of discipline is to help ourselves survive what life hurls at us and then to thrive in life. When we observe physical disciplines like diet and exercise, we do so, first of all, in order to survive—to get healthy and extend our lifespans. As we stick with those disciplines and seek to maintain them, these disciplines become a matter of thriving, of staying healthy and strong.
It is the same with Bible reading, prayer, and becoming contributing members of the Church. We must observe the daily discipline of Bible reading and prayer, not because it hurts or because it makes us automatically good Christians, but because we need it for our very survival. How are we as Christians to stay grounded in a chaotic, wicked world unless we hear directly from God through His Word? How are we to see the power of God at work in our lives if we are not pursuing Him in prayer? Why should we expect to “get a blessing from church” if we are hardly there or sit like lumps when we are there? The first step to staying spiritually fit is realizing that we need basic spiritual disciplines. When we are disciplined in our spiritual habits, we find the freedom to live, not just the surviving Christian life, but the thriving Christian life!
- Keep short accounts with God. Just because we are developing spiritual disciplines in our lives does not mean that we will never make mistakes. As Christians living in our natural bodies in a fallen world, we will struggle with sin. We may have less than charitable thoughts and actions toward others. At times, we may surrender to fear rather than yield to the Spirit’s leading in our lives. We may even directly flout one of God’s commandments. When we have made a mistake in our physical regiments, what do we do? Do we quit pursuing our goals simply because we ate something we shouldn’t have or skipped a workout? Of course not! We start fresh the next day. That is the same attitude we should have in our spiritual life!
When we relapse into sinful habits, we can and should seek a fresh start with our Heavenly Father. The familiar verse I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The word confess here means “to say the same thing as another, to agree with, assent.” When we confess our sins, we are saying the same thing as God does about them. We are agreeing with God about the wickedness of our sin. We are assenting to His estimation of our sin. Confession is difficult because it takes humility to agree with God about how wrong we have been. Yet God responds to our confession with forgiveness. I love the meaning of the word forgive in this verse! It means to “send away, lay aside, forsake.” God does not excuse our sin. However, when we confess our sin, God literally sends it away from us. In His mercy, God lays aside our sin as if it were forgotten. He wipes our slate clean and gives us a fresh start. At that moment, our fellowship with God is restored. This forgiveness of God is faithful, meaning we can count on it every time. God is also just to forgive, meaning that we can know our forgiveness is judicially recognized and settled. What a joy to have the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father!
- Recognize Christ’s return is imminent. A third way to keep ourselves spiritually fit is to keep our motivation at the forefront of our minds. Have you ever been in the middle of a particularly difficult workout and the only thing that kept you going was visualizing your ultimate goal? Every good physical fitness routine needs a good motivation. That source of motivation may be different for each person. But the fact remains that without the proper motivation, the success rate decreases significantly. When it comes to our spiritual fitness, we need to have the proper motivation as well!
The good news is that all Christians have the same motivation. This motivation is not God’s favor because that was already given to us by Christ’s finished work on the cross and our faith in Him. That motivation is not fear because we are eternally secure in Christ who holds us in the palm of His hand (see John 10:28 and I John 2:25). As I John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” God’s love casts out our fear of judgement. Since God has already judged Christ in our place, those who have placed their faith in Him will never face the eternal judgment of God. As we are made perfect, or mature, in God’s love, we are released from that fear.
So, if God’s favor and our fear of judgement are not our motivators to be spiritually fit, what is? We find our motivation in I John 3:2-3 which says, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” The imminent return of Christ is our motivation to stay diligent and spiritually fit. Someday, when Christ appears to us physically, we will see Him in all His glory. At that moment, we will be like He is—glorified! Those of us who have this hope of Christ’s return are purified by this hope. The word purified means “to make clean, sanctify.” The hope of Christ’s imminent return sanctifies the Christian!
This is not an intimidation tactic. If we are abiding in Christ through daily Bible reading and prayer, and keeping short accounts with Him, then the thought of Christ’s return at any moment should not intimidate us. This verse uses the word hope—we have hope in His return. This hope is not an anxious wish; it is a sure expectation. And this is not something that conjures fear but fervency to live for Christ. When we are living in expectation and confidence of Christ’s imminent return, we will become more sanctified in our Christian life. In contrast, if we are living in forgetfulness of His return, we may be tempted to sinful and lazy living.
For example, remember when you were a child and your parents left you at someone else’s house while they went out together. If your parents were like mine, they likely gave you advice that went something like this, “Remember whose kid you are!” By this they didn’t mean, “Don’t get amnesia and forget your family.” They meant, “Remember we are coming back for you soon because you’re our child. Act accordingly.” This was their way of motivating us to behave in a way that would not embarrass or tarnish the family name.
In the same way, Christ wants to motivate us with His soon return for His children. In Matthew 25:13, Jesus said something much like our parents used to say to us, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” For God’s child who is in fellowship with his Father, these words are not ominous. Rather, they are motivating to keep walking as Jesus would walk, to keep running the race, to keep fighting the good fight. Putting Christ’s return at the forefront of our minds helps to keep us pure and make us more like the Christ for whom we are watching and waiting. Christ will come back for us at any time, and that is our hope and motivation for Christian living.
So, how would you do on your spiritual fitness assessment?
From I John we find at least three basic steps to spiritual fitness—remembering the purpose of spiritual disciplines, keeping short accounts with our Heavenly Father, and remembering our motivation of Christ’s return. As we develop basic spiritual disciplines, they will become more than just items on a checklist. They will become the spiritual nutrients that we crave every day. We will not want to miss a day of Bible reading or prayer because it is so essential to our spiritual wellbeing! In addition, the sweet forgiveness of our Father for Christ’s sake will keep us in fellowship with Him. As long as we keep Christ’s imminent return in our minds, we will grow in the sanctification and purification process. God has given us everything we need to stay spiritually fit and thriving in the Christian life.