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The Indispensable Link Between Meditation and Sanctification By Massimo Lorenzini Introduction If you were the Devil, what would be one of your main strategies to counteract Christians today? I suggest that one of them would be to distract them from serious interaction with the Word of God by filling their minds with the things of this world. In his book, Pathways to Power, a book written in the early 1950s, Dr. Merrill Unger wrote: Meditation upon God’s Word is fast becoming a lost art among many Christian people. This holy exercise of pondering over the Word, chewing it as an animal chews its cud to get its sweetness and nutritive virtue into the heart and life, takes time, which ill fits into the speed of our modern age. Today most Christians’ devotions are too hurried, their lives too rushed.[1] If that was true in the early fifties, how much more is it true today—fifty years later in an age that has become even busier, more entertainment and activity-oriented, materialistic, and consumer-minded. Unger goes on to say: But holiness and hurry never did suit well to gether. Prayer and preoccupation have always been strange bed-fellows. A head knowledge of the Word may perhaps be consonant with the scurry of the age, but not a deep heart experience of its precious ness. A deep knowledge of spiritual things can only come by the way of unhurried reflection upon God’s truth and by prayer.[2] Speaking of Satan and his activity, someone has said “our adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds.” What we need is a time for quiet, stillness, and solitude for the purpose of meditating on the Word of God. Everything in your life will resist this. It will require firm resolve to become a truly spiritual person; resolve to think deeply about God’s truth in order to live it more consistently. Our thoughts, whether they are in harmony with God’s Word or not, will determine the way we live. Consider these words from the Psalms: Psalm 19:14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 104:34, Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord. From these verses it is clear that our meditation can be unacceptable and displeasing to the Lord. Therefore, we must take care to ensure that the meditations of our hearts are right before God. The only way we can do this is by patient reading, reflection, and response to the Word of God. The Bible instructs us to make it a habit to meditate on the Word of God: Joshua 1:8, This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Psalm 1:2, But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 4:4, Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. What is Biblical Meditation? Meditation in the Bible means reflective thinking on biblical truth so that God is able to speak to us through Scripture and through the thoughts that come to mind as we are reflecting on the Word, but that must also be filtered by the Word. The Word of God is central to biblical meditation, but sadly we too often neglect it to our peril. Irving Jensen wrote, “An unread Bible is like food that is refused, an unopened love letter, a buried sword, a road map not studied, a gold mine not worked.”[3] The goal of Christian meditation is to internalize and personalize the Scripture so that its truth can affect how we think, our attitudes, how we live, and all our actions. This doesn’t come easy or natural to anyone. We must work at it. As we’re told in Proverbs 2:1-5: 1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God. Jay Wegter has estimated that 95% of God’s people do not really make it their practice to meditate upon Scripture. J.I. Packer gives the following definition of meditation: to apply to oneself what one knows about the works, ways, wonders, and will of God. If 95% of God’s people neglect to do this, then it’s no wonder why so many Christians are floundering in their walk of faith rather than flourishing. The Role of Faith in God’s Word in Meditation Jay Wegter has said, “When we meditate we are informing our affections of the worthiness of its object of desire. Thus meditation is indispensable to holiness; for holiness is delight in the things of God. To that we would add all that John Piper emphasizes on the relationship of enjoyment of God to glory of God.” Here’s a bit of John Piper’s strategy for breaking the power of sin by meditating on the Word of God: This is the answer to our first question: How do dead people do battle with sin? They do battle with sin by trusting the Son of God. They are dead to Satan's lie, which goes like this: “You will be happier if you trust your own ideas about how to be happy instead of trusting the counsel and the promises of Christ.” Christians have died to that deceit. So the way they fight Satan is by trusting that the paths and promises of Christ are better than Satan’s. This way of doing battle with sin is called the “fight of faith” (1 Tim 6:12; 2 Tim 4:7). The victories of this fight are called the “works of faith” (1 Thess 1:3; 2 Thess 1:11). And in this warfare Christians “become holy by faith” (Acts 26:18; 2 Thess 2:13). How then do dead people “put to death the (sinful) deeds of the body”? We have answered, “By faith!” But just what does this mean? How do you fight sin with faith? I wonder how many believers today realize that faith is not merely believing that Christ died for our sins. Faith is also being confident that His way is better than sin. His will is more wise. His help is more sure. His promises more precious. And his reward more satisfying. Faith begins with a backward look at the cross, but it lives with a forward look at the promises. Abraham grew strong in his FAITH ... fully convinced that God was able to do what He had PROMISED" (Rom 4:20ff.). “Faith is the assurance of things HOPED for” (Heb 11:1). When faith has the upper hand in my heart I am satisfied with Christ and his promises. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “He who BELIEVES in me shall NEVER THIRST” (John 6:35). If my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can see the steak sizzling on the grill. The fight of faith is the fight to stay satisfied with God. “By faith Moses. . . forsook the fleeting pleasures of sin ... He looked to the reward” (Heb 11:24-26). Faith is not content with “fleeting pleasures.” It is ravenous for joy. And the Word of God says, “In God’s presence is fullness of joy, and in his right hand are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11). So faith will not be sidetracked into sin. It will not give up so easily in its quest for maximum joy. The role of God’s Word is to feed faith’s appetite for God. And in doing this it weans my heart away from the deceptive taste of lust. At first lust begins to trick me into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and begin to fight. I read that it is better to gouge out my eye than to lust (Matt 5:29). I read that if I think about things that are pure and lovely and excellent the peace of God will be with me (Phil 4:8ff.). I read that setting the mind on the flesh brings death, but setting the mind on the Spirit brings life and peace (Rom 8:6). And as I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugar coating off the poison of lust. I see it for what it is. And by the grace of God, its alluring power is broken. The challenge before us then is not merely to do what God says because He is God, but to desire what God says because he is good. The challenge is not merely to pursue righteousness, but to prefer righteousness. The challenge is to get up in the morning and prayerfully meditate on the Scriptures until we experience joy and peace in believing “the precious and very great promises” of God (Rom 15:13; 2 Peter 1:4). With this joy set before us the commandments of God will not be burdensome (1 John 5:3) and the compensation of sin will appear too brief and too shallow to lure us.[4] How to Meditate on Scripture Find portions of Scripture that you feel have much to say to you and that you really want to understand and assimilate into your life. Go back to these portions over and over again, even committing them to memory and praying through them. As you read and begin to get familiar with the passage, keep in mind that there are three things that must go together in biblical medita tion: READING, REFLECTING, and RESPONDING. The ultimate purpose of these three practices corresponds to the three great purposes of Bible study: OBSERVATION—What does the text say? INTERPRETATION—What does the text mean? APPLICATION—What does the text mean to me? How can I put it into practice? As you go through this, keep a pen and notepad handy to write down your observations and thoughts. Make an effort to summarize the main ideas God wants you to take away from your meditation. Try to remember these summaries and incorporate them into your prayer life. Suggested Exercises Your meditation on God’s Word will never cease to pay rich dividends of joy, wisdom, peace, maturity, and intimacy with God and others. God’s Word will become a source of life and the world, the flesh, and the Devil will look more and more like the dead ends that they are. You will begin to learn to feed your faith on God’s Word in general. You will see the true meaning of verses like John 4:13-14, “Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ ” Remember, Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Knowledge of Scripture is knowledge of Christ. Along with writing down your observations and responses to your meditation on Scripture, make an effort to see the infinitely surpassing value of believing God’s Word rather than the fleeting and vain promises of sin. As John Piper said, “Faith is also being confident that His way is better than sin. His will is more wise. His help is more sure. His promises more precious. And His reward more satisfying.” When you train yourself to think this way, you will have spiritual power to live in holiness. Cost/Benefit Analysis. Here’s one way you can do this: Jay Wegter suggests that we “systematically build a case for obedience and a case against disobedience with an exhaustive list of benefits for the former and negatives of the latter.” Take some time to write lists like this down in your journal. Yes, it will be a fight to make the time and to discipline your mind to think through this, but the rewards are immeasurable. Your heart will follow what your mind chooses to dwell on. The benefits of obedience will begin to look far better than the supposed benefits of disobedience and you will begin to find the desire to obey welling up in you. There is a cost/benefit or pleasure/pain dimension to all of the choices we make. What we need is wisdom to choose that which will lead to the greatest benefit or pleasure regardless of the cost or pain involved. Points to Ponder. Begin writing down a list somewhere that you can turn to again and again (a journal, for example) of summary points of spiritual truth that help you think biblically about your spiritual life. Every time you hear or think of a concise way of stating a biblical truth that can help you think and live biblically, write it down in your list. A beginning list of examples is included at the end of this article. A Suggested Text for Meditation. Begin practicing meditation on Colossians 3:1-17. The opening four verses are crucial and pave the way for the practical commands which follow. Begin with serious, personal reflection on the first four verses which can be outlined this way: I. Our life in Christ is to be pondered (vv. 1-2) II. Our life in Christ is presently hidden (v. 3) III. Our life in Christ is to be revealed (v. 4)[5] Here, we find the “already/not yet” tension of our present Christian experience. John Piper has a sermon titled “Already: Decisively and Irrevocably Free, Not Yet: Finally and Perfectly Free.” This summarizes very well our current relationship to sin. You may wish to read Jay Wegter’s manuscript on this text (see footnote 5) to learn more about it. Reflect on the remaining verses (vv. 5-17) and write down on index cards or in a journal a summary of what God is saying to you in His Word so that you can apply it and make it part of your thinking and living. When you have done this for some time, this text should become one of those bedrock passages of Scripture in your walk of faith. These truths should come to mind over and over again as you go through life. You may want to include in your meditation journal a record of how God is working in your life through the practice of meditation. This will become an additional source of encouragement to your faith and something you can pass on to your children or others you are discipling. By doing these things, God will be glorified in us as we find ourselves increasingly satisfied in Him. Soli Deo Gloria! Addendum Points to Ponder in Sanctification Christ alone is my eligibility for sonship, favor, love, and acceptance with God. I consent to be represented by Christ before the Father. I am justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. There is no condemnation for me since I am “in Christ.” I am dead to sin. Sin’s reign is Already decisively and irrevocably broken in my life even though I am Not Yet finally and perfectly free from it. I am glory bound. When Christ who is my life is revealed, I will be reveal with Him in glory (Col 3:4). God is reconstructing His image in me. I exist to reflect His glory. Though God’s image was marred in my life before salvation, mercifully God has, is, and will restore me to my created purpose. Faith is the root of works. I will feed my faith in my effort to be obedient to God. I will continually give thanks to God for His many blessings. In cultivating a thankful heart, I reject pride and self-pity, I reject thoughts of “rewarding” myself with sin. I refuse to offer obedience in an effort to “pay God back” for His many blessings. I will depend on God’s power through faith in His sure promises in order to obey Him. Obedience to God provides a better future and a deeper satisfaction than sin does. I will meditate on the excellencies of God’s being and sing His praises. I will delight in God. I will think on God’s marvelous works and His spectacular glory (def. of glory – “the beauty of God’s manifold perfections”—John Piper). [1] Merril F. Unger, Pathways to Power (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1953), p. 41. [2] Ibid., p. 41 [3] Irving L. Jensen, How to Profit From Reading the Bible (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1985), p. ix. [4] Condensed from John Piper, “How Dead People Do Battle With Sin,” sermon manuscript available online at: www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/sin/dead_battle.html [5] This outline is from Jay Wegter, “Christ Our Life,” available online at: www.frontlinemin.org/christlife.asp.

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