discipline: a cure for spiritual depression
Saturday, March 20, 2010
2 Peter 1:5-9
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with:
1. Virtue
2. and virtue with Knowledge
3. and knowledge with Self-control
4. and self-control with Steadfastness,
5. and steadfastness with Godliness,
6. and godliness with Brotherly affection,
7. and brotherly affection with Love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Context:
The Apostle Peter is writing to encourage people who are discouraged, so discouraged that they seem to be doubting the Faith which they had believed. (Enter in Spiritual Depression.)
Commentary:
"The first thing we have to consider is the cause of the condition. Why is that anybody ever gets into such a state?...why are they like that, why are they unlike Christians who are fruitful, and whose lives are effective and living and life-giving -what is the difference? That is the question we must consider, and it seems to be perfectly clear that the apostle here tells these people very plainly that there is only one ultimate cause for all the manifestations of this depression, and that is a lack of discipline." (Enter in God's double edged sword into thine heart!)
"Why are these people lacking in discipline in their lives, why is this slackness, this indolence so apparent in their lives? The first cause seems to be that they have a wrong view of faith."
"This is something which is very common. They seem to have had a kind of magical view of faith: the idea, in other words, that as long as you have faith all is well, that your faith will work automatically in your life, and that all you need to do as a Christian is just believe the truth....Putting it negatively I mean that such people do not realize that faith needs to be supplemented by virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity...They have one formula only and the one formula is that you must always be "looking to the Lord", and as long as you "look to the Lord" there is nothing else to do. They say that any attempt to do anything else is dropping back to the 'salvation by works' position. So if you have a problem in your Christian life they say to you: 'Just look to the Lord, abide in the Lord'. This is a very common error. You will find it in a most interesting form in the case of expositors who hold this view. In expounding certain passages of Scripture where much emphasis is put upon details they are obviously in difficulty, because from their standpoint you must not be concerned about details...The problem returns, and so the whole of their life is spent in trying to maintain this one position which they recognize...we must be sure that our view of faith is the New Testament view, and that we realize what the apostle means here when he goes on to say that we have to 'add' to our faith. to 'supplement' our faith, with certain other things." (Enter in a study of these supplements in 2 Peter 1:5-9)
D. Martyn LLoyd-Jones
"Spiritual Depression"
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with:
1. Virtue
2. and virtue with Knowledge
3. and knowledge with Self-control
4. and self-control with Steadfastness,
5. and steadfastness with Godliness,
6. and godliness with Brotherly affection,
7. and brotherly affection with Love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Context:
The Apostle Peter is writing to encourage people who are discouraged, so discouraged that they seem to be doubting the Faith which they had believed. (Enter in Spiritual Depression.)
Commentary:
"The first thing we have to consider is the cause of the condition. Why is that anybody ever gets into such a state?...why are they like that, why are they unlike Christians who are fruitful, and whose lives are effective and living and life-giving -what is the difference? That is the question we must consider, and it seems to be perfectly clear that the apostle here tells these people very plainly that there is only one ultimate cause for all the manifestations of this depression, and that is a lack of discipline." (Enter in God's double edged sword into thine heart!)
"Why are these people lacking in discipline in their lives, why is this slackness, this indolence so apparent in their lives? The first cause seems to be that they have a wrong view of faith."
"This is something which is very common. They seem to have had a kind of magical view of faith: the idea, in other words, that as long as you have faith all is well, that your faith will work automatically in your life, and that all you need to do as a Christian is just believe the truth....Putting it negatively I mean that such people do not realize that faith needs to be supplemented by virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity...They have one formula only and the one formula is that you must always be "looking to the Lord", and as long as you "look to the Lord" there is nothing else to do. They say that any attempt to do anything else is dropping back to the 'salvation by works' position. So if you have a problem in your Christian life they say to you: 'Just look to the Lord, abide in the Lord'. This is a very common error. You will find it in a most interesting form in the case of expositors who hold this view. In expounding certain passages of Scripture where much emphasis is put upon details they are obviously in difficulty, because from their standpoint you must not be concerned about details...The problem returns, and so the whole of their life is spent in trying to maintain this one position which they recognize...we must be sure that our view of faith is the New Testament view, and that we realize what the apostle means here when he goes on to say that we have to 'add' to our faith. to 'supplement' our faith, with certain other things." (Enter in a study of these supplements in 2 Peter 1:5-9)
D. Martyn LLoyd-Jones
"Spiritual Depression"
archived under Spiritual Depression, Words