Quotes and ideas from Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart.
Dallas Willard is a Christian philosopher who at times is hard to read, yet well worth it when you give it a try. This evening a few of us will be gathering at a local library in Amsterdam to discuss the ideas from this book. Here I have written out some of the main points from each chapter. This book is all about people's lives being changed and that is ultimately what my job should be all about. Seeing people's lives changed through a relationship with Christ.
Chapter 1
…the situations in which we find ourselves are never as important as our responses to them, which come from our “spiritual” side (14).
The greatest need of collective humanity is renovation of the heart.
The impotence of “systems” is a main reason why Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convery some elements of a human system. They were instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life simply by fully living in the kingdom with him. (15).
The spiritual renovation oand ths “spirituality” that comes from Jesus is nothing less than an invasion of natural human reality be a supernatural life from above.(19).
In spiritual matters there really is no “Third world.” It is all third world.
In the degree to which spiritual formation in Christ is successful, the outer life of the individual becomes a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus. (22).
It is who we are in our thoughts, feelings, dispositions, and choices—in the inner life—that counts. Profound transformation there is the only thing that can deinitievely conquer outward evil.
Chapter 2
Man has a human nature and he is responsible for its formation. Everyone has spiritual formation even if they don’t believe in the spirit.
Make up of humankind. 1) Spirit (Heart/Will), 2) Mind (thought/feelings), 3) Body, 4 Social, 5) Soul.
Order of priority when God doesn’t have a priority. 1) Body, 2) soul, 3) Mind (thought/feelings), 4) Spirit, 5) God.
Order of priority when God is first. 1) God, 2) Spirit, 3)Mind (thought/feelings) 4) Soul, 5) Body.
It is the central point of this book that spiritual transformation only happens as each essential dimension of the human being is transformed to Christlikeness under the direction of a regenerate will interacting with constant overtures of grace from God. Such transformation is not the result of mere human effort and cannot be accomplished by putting pressure on the will (heart/spirit) alone.
Chapter 3 Radical Evil in the Ruined Soul
Sin does not make the soul worthless, only lost.
We are like farmers who diligently plant crops but cannot admit the existence of weeds and insects and can only think to pour on more fertilizer. Similarly the only solution we know to human problems today is “education.”
Prophet Jeremiah says, “The heart is more deceitgul than all else and is desperately sick: Who can understand it?” we have to recognize from our heart that we are the ones spoken of, that, indeed, I am the one described. Only then is a foundation laid for spiritual formation into Christlikenes….realistically, I’m not ok and you are not ok.
Denial of the lostness of humanity causes people to live in denial. Man therefore becomes god and the “Human body becomes the primary area of pleasure for the person who does not live honestly and interactively with God, and also the primary source of terror, torture, and death.”
Self-idolatry rearranges the entire spiritual and moral landscape…John Calvin said that, “the surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves. Yet self-obedience seems the only reasonable path for nearly everyone: “So blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love, that every one thinks he has a good reason for exalting himself and despising all others in comparison.
We cannot be changed spiritually as long as we sit on the throne of our universe instead of Christ.
Chapter 4 Radical Goodness Restored to the Soul.
Humankind must surrender all of his/her life to God.
The human being is capable of restoration/restoration that makes it somehow more magnificent because it has been ruined.
A human being is changed through radical subordination to God.
Christian spiritual formation rests on this indispensable foundation of death to self and cannot proceed except insofar as that foundation is being firmly laid and sustained.
The ruined soul is not be be enhanced but to be replaced.
These remarkable teachings and examples,which do so much to immediately transform life, all presuppose that one has laid down the burden of having one’s own way. You cannot begin to even understand them, much less follow them, ecept from a posture of self-denial firmly supporten upon confidence, and this based, in turn, in a strong experience of God’s all-sufficient presence in your life.
Chapter 5 Spiritual Change: The Reliable Pattern
Spiritual formation in Christ is the process by which one moves and is moved from self-worship to Christ-centered self-denial as a general condition of life in God’s present and eternal kingdom.
Transformation into Christ-likeness is Possible…Although there is much talk about “changing lives” in Christian circles, the reality is very rare, and certainly much less common than the talk.
Inner life is far more important than outer life.
Everyone must be active in the process of their salvation and transformation to Christlikeness. The initiative in the process is always Gods.
Learning to speak Arabic: Learning to speak Arabic does not just happen. One must be motivated to learn it and have a plan. It is the same with becoming like Christ. It does not just happen on its own.
Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or group, will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program (12 step program). There can be no doubt that the AA program originated and gained its power from Christian sources, to meet needs that Christian institutions at the time should have been meeting but were not.
VIM: General Pattern
Vision: Have a picture or vision of how thing can be.
Intention: Decide to go for it. Do it.
Means: Your plan or strategy for reaching your vision. Don’t give up.
By Jesus and for his Father, the heart is what matters, and everything else will then come along. And the process of inward renovation starts from the stark vision of life in the Kingdom of God.
Ghandi loved the teachings of Jesus, but was dismayed to see that the Christians who said they believed in Jesus and his teaching did not really believe them.
Spiritual Formation: Where there is a will, there is a way.
Interlude:
Kiss: Keep it simple s
People have difficulty integrating spiritual disciplines such as: solitude, scripture memorization, fasting, into the rest of their lives.
There are no formulas—no definitive how-tos—for growth in the inner character of Jesus. Such growth is a way of relentless seeking. But there are many things we can do to place ourselves at the disposal of God, and “if with all our hearts we truly seek him, we chall surely find him” (Jeremiah 29:13) or as the prophet Azariah said, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him”
(Matt) Personally, I take this to mean that there is no one way to follow Christ. Everyone has a personal relationship with him so we can not take something personal and boil it down to a formula everyone must follow. (Not very romantic or personal).
Chapter 6:Transforming the Mind (The thought life)
The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.
…we still have the ability and responsiblility to try to retain God in our knowledge.
Interestingly, you can’t evoke thoughts by feeling a certain way, but you can evoke and to some degree control feelings by directing your thoughts.
Ideas...are assumptions about reality….They are so pervasive and essential to how we think about and how we approach life that we often do not even know they are there or understand when and how they are at work.
It is extremely difficult for most people to recognize which ideas are governing their life and how those ideas are governing their life. This is partly because one commonly identifies his or her own governing ideas with reality, pure and simple. Ironically, it is often people who think of themselves as “practical” or as “men of action” –both, of course, major ideas—who are most in the grip of ideas: so far that they can’t be bothered to think. …One’s culture is seen most clearly in what one thins of as “natural” and as requiring no explanation or even thought.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION MUST TRANSFORM IDEAS
To change governing ideas, whether for individuals or for a group, is one of the most difficult and painful things in human life. Genuine conversion is a wrenching experience. It rarely happens to the individual or group except in the form of divine intervention, revolution or something very likely to a mental breakdown. It can cause deep and permanent damage to the most intimate of relationships, as Jesus forewarned (Luke 12:51-53). (98).
Images: Christ followers must keep the image of the cross vividly present in their mind.
Satan did not draw Eve away from God with a stick but with an idea. This is the basic idea of all temptation: God is presented as depriving us by his commands of what is good, so we think we must take matters into our own hands and act contrary to what he has said. This image of God leads to our pushing him out of our thoughts, as discussed inprevious chapters, and putting ourselves on the throne of the universe. The condition of the ruined sould and world naturally results. The single most important thing in our mind is our idea of God and associated images.
Dangers in our thought life with God
1) Pride and overconfidence in ideas, images, or bits of information.
2) Simple ignorance of facts.
3) Allowing our desires to guide our thinking: especially the desire to prove we are right.
4) The images we allow into our mind.
Chapter 7: Transforming the Mind 2
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5:24).
Self-control is the steady capacity to direct yourself to accomplish what you have chosen or decided to do and be, even though you “don’t feel like it.” 127
Chapter 8: Transforming the Will (Heart or Spirit) and Character
Thought, feeling and will give rise to character.
Will is the ability to originate or refrain from origination something: an act or thing.
The constant character of the will apart from God is duplicity—or, more accurately, fragmentation and duplicity.
Our only hope is to entirely place our confidence in the God and Father of Jesus Christ who is willing to enter the duplicity of our heart and bring it wholly to himself if we earnestly invite Him. He is greater than our heart and knows all things. (COMPLETE SURRENDER TO GOD).
Chapter 9: Transforming the Body
Even professing Christians, by and large, devote to their spiritual growth and well-being a tiny fraction of the time they devote to their body, and it is an even tinier fraction if we include what we worry about.
Our body is not just a physical system, but is inhabited by the real presence of Christ.
Not let sin have dominion in our death-bound (mortal) body to obey Sin’s desires.
My Body is not my property.
I am responsible for the care of my body, and it is the center of all the other responsibilities I have. But that does not imply that I and I alone have the right to say what is to be done with it, or in short, that I own by body.
Steps
1) Release our body to God.
2) No longer idolize your body
3) Do not misuse your body
4) Properly honor and care for your body (nourish, exercise, rest, etc)
Sabbath (way of saying God is God and I am not).
Chapter 10 Transforming our social dimension
Chapter 11 Transforming the soul
In most actual cases, the individuals are not at harmony with themselves, much less with truth and with God. Their habitual condition is one of conlict, and one of acting other than how they themselves intend or regard as wise.
The protective walls of the soul seem to have been broken down by pain and evil, leaving the person at the mercy of everything that happens.
Our sould is like an inner stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other element of our life. When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom.
Life is self-initiating, self-directing, self-sustaining activity and power. In this full sense, of course, only God has life.
When we speak of the human soul, then, we are speaking ot the deepest leel of life and power in the human being.
God has a soul :deepest most fundamental level of his being.
We must never forget that the indispensable first step in caring for the soul is to place it under God.
We will find his yoke an easy one and his burden a light one because, in learning form him, we have found rest to our soul.
Abandon results to God: rest in his life as he gives it. Resting in God, we can be free from all anxiety, which means deep soul rest.
Law and Grace go together.
The steamship whose machinery is broken may be brought into port and made fast to the dock. She is safe, but not sound. Repairs may last a long time. Christ designs to make us both safe and sound. Justification gives the first—safety; sanctification gives the second: soundness.
Our walk with Christ , well learned, is a burden only as wings are to a bird or the engines are to an air plane.
Chapter 13: Spiritual Formation in the Local Congregation.
The problem with local congregations and spiritual development is that quite often they get distracted from Jesus. Details of how the vessel should look like (worship style, paint, pet doctrines) get exalted above the treasure (Jesus). Willard shares unfortunately the goal of the western church is quite often just getting people ready to die and go to heaven, instead of getting heaven into people now.
He also shares that when you look at the early church, early Methodism, early etc. You always have to look at the early part of movements to see where they were still in love and after Jesus instead of after forms of worship. So he finishes this book off by quoting Matthew 28:18-20 and shares the directive of spiritual formation in the local church.
1) Make disciples, apprentices, of Jesus.
2) Immerse the apprentices at all levels of growth in the Trinitarian presence.
3) Transform the disciples inwardly, in such a way that doing the words and deeds of Christ is not the focus but is the natural outcome or side effect.
Dallas Willard is a Christian philosopher who at times is hard to read, yet well worth it when you give it a try. This evening a few of us will be gathering at a local library in Amsterdam to discuss the ideas from this book. Here I have written out some of the main points from each chapter. This book is all about people's lives being changed and that is ultimately what my job should be all about. Seeing people's lives changed through a relationship with Christ.
Chapter 1
…the situations in which we find ourselves are never as important as our responses to them, which come from our “spiritual” side (14).
The greatest need of collective humanity is renovation of the heart.
The impotence of “systems” is a main reason why Jesus did not send his students out to start governments or even churches as we know them today, which always strongly convery some elements of a human system. They were instead, to establish beachheads of his person, word, and power in the midst of a failing and futile humanity. They were to bring the presence of the kingdom and its King into every corner of human life simply by fully living in the kingdom with him. (15).
The spiritual renovation oand ths “spirituality” that comes from Jesus is nothing less than an invasion of natural human reality be a supernatural life from above.(19).
In spiritual matters there really is no “Third world.” It is all third world.
In the degree to which spiritual formation in Christ is successful, the outer life of the individual becomes a natural expression or outflow of the character and teachings of Jesus. (22).
It is who we are in our thoughts, feelings, dispositions, and choices—in the inner life—that counts. Profound transformation there is the only thing that can deinitievely conquer outward evil.
Chapter 2
Man has a human nature and he is responsible for its formation. Everyone has spiritual formation even if they don’t believe in the spirit.
Make up of humankind. 1) Spirit (Heart/Will), 2) Mind (thought/feelings), 3) Body, 4 Social, 5) Soul.
Order of priority when God doesn’t have a priority. 1) Body, 2) soul, 3) Mind (thought/feelings), 4) Spirit, 5) God.
Order of priority when God is first. 1) God, 2) Spirit, 3)Mind (thought/feelings) 4) Soul, 5) Body.
It is the central point of this book that spiritual transformation only happens as each essential dimension of the human being is transformed to Christlikeness under the direction of a regenerate will interacting with constant overtures of grace from God. Such transformation is not the result of mere human effort and cannot be accomplished by putting pressure on the will (heart/spirit) alone.
Chapter 3 Radical Evil in the Ruined Soul
Sin does not make the soul worthless, only lost.
We are like farmers who diligently plant crops but cannot admit the existence of weeds and insects and can only think to pour on more fertilizer. Similarly the only solution we know to human problems today is “education.”
Prophet Jeremiah says, “The heart is more deceitgul than all else and is desperately sick: Who can understand it?” we have to recognize from our heart that we are the ones spoken of, that, indeed, I am the one described. Only then is a foundation laid for spiritual formation into Christlikenes….realistically, I’m not ok and you are not ok.
Denial of the lostness of humanity causes people to live in denial. Man therefore becomes god and the “Human body becomes the primary area of pleasure for the person who does not live honestly and interactively with God, and also the primary source of terror, torture, and death.”
Self-idolatry rearranges the entire spiritual and moral landscape…John Calvin said that, “the surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves. Yet self-obedience seems the only reasonable path for nearly everyone: “So blindly do we all rush in the direction of self-love, that every one thinks he has a good reason for exalting himself and despising all others in comparison.
We cannot be changed spiritually as long as we sit on the throne of our universe instead of Christ.
Chapter 4 Radical Goodness Restored to the Soul.
Humankind must surrender all of his/her life to God.
The human being is capable of restoration/restoration that makes it somehow more magnificent because it has been ruined.
A human being is changed through radical subordination to God.
Christian spiritual formation rests on this indispensable foundation of death to self and cannot proceed except insofar as that foundation is being firmly laid and sustained.
The ruined soul is not be be enhanced but to be replaced.
These remarkable teachings and examples,which do so much to immediately transform life, all presuppose that one has laid down the burden of having one’s own way. You cannot begin to even understand them, much less follow them, ecept from a posture of self-denial firmly supporten upon confidence, and this based, in turn, in a strong experience of God’s all-sufficient presence in your life.
Chapter 5 Spiritual Change: The Reliable Pattern
Spiritual formation in Christ is the process by which one moves and is moved from self-worship to Christ-centered self-denial as a general condition of life in God’s present and eternal kingdom.
Transformation into Christ-likeness is Possible…Although there is much talk about “changing lives” in Christian circles, the reality is very rare, and certainly much less common than the talk.
Inner life is far more important than outer life.
Everyone must be active in the process of their salvation and transformation to Christlikeness. The initiative in the process is always Gods.
Learning to speak Arabic: Learning to speak Arabic does not just happen. One must be motivated to learn it and have a plan. It is the same with becoming like Christ. It does not just happen on its own.
Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or group, will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program (12 step program). There can be no doubt that the AA program originated and gained its power from Christian sources, to meet needs that Christian institutions at the time should have been meeting but were not.
VIM: General Pattern
Vision: Have a picture or vision of how thing can be.
Intention: Decide to go for it. Do it.
Means: Your plan or strategy for reaching your vision. Don’t give up.
By Jesus and for his Father, the heart is what matters, and everything else will then come along. And the process of inward renovation starts from the stark vision of life in the Kingdom of God.
Ghandi loved the teachings of Jesus, but was dismayed to see that the Christians who said they believed in Jesus and his teaching did not really believe them.
Spiritual Formation: Where there is a will, there is a way.
Interlude:
Kiss: Keep it simple s
People have difficulty integrating spiritual disciplines such as: solitude, scripture memorization, fasting, into the rest of their lives.
There are no formulas—no definitive how-tos—for growth in the inner character of Jesus. Such growth is a way of relentless seeking. But there are many things we can do to place ourselves at the disposal of God, and “if with all our hearts we truly seek him, we chall surely find him” (Jeremiah 29:13) or as the prophet Azariah said, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him”
(Matt) Personally, I take this to mean that there is no one way to follow Christ. Everyone has a personal relationship with him so we can not take something personal and boil it down to a formula everyone must follow. (Not very romantic or personal).
Chapter 6:Transforming the Mind (The thought life)
The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.
…we still have the ability and responsiblility to try to retain God in our knowledge.
Interestingly, you can’t evoke thoughts by feeling a certain way, but you can evoke and to some degree control feelings by directing your thoughts.
Ideas...are assumptions about reality….They are so pervasive and essential to how we think about and how we approach life that we often do not even know they are there or understand when and how they are at work.
It is extremely difficult for most people to recognize which ideas are governing their life and how those ideas are governing their life. This is partly because one commonly identifies his or her own governing ideas with reality, pure and simple. Ironically, it is often people who think of themselves as “practical” or as “men of action” –both, of course, major ideas—who are most in the grip of ideas: so far that they can’t be bothered to think. …One’s culture is seen most clearly in what one thins of as “natural” and as requiring no explanation or even thought.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION MUST TRANSFORM IDEAS
To change governing ideas, whether for individuals or for a group, is one of the most difficult and painful things in human life. Genuine conversion is a wrenching experience. It rarely happens to the individual or group except in the form of divine intervention, revolution or something very likely to a mental breakdown. It can cause deep and permanent damage to the most intimate of relationships, as Jesus forewarned (Luke 12:51-53). (98).
Images: Christ followers must keep the image of the cross vividly present in their mind.
Satan did not draw Eve away from God with a stick but with an idea. This is the basic idea of all temptation: God is presented as depriving us by his commands of what is good, so we think we must take matters into our own hands and act contrary to what he has said. This image of God leads to our pushing him out of our thoughts, as discussed inprevious chapters, and putting ourselves on the throne of the universe. The condition of the ruined sould and world naturally results. The single most important thing in our mind is our idea of God and associated images.
Dangers in our thought life with God
1) Pride and overconfidence in ideas, images, or bits of information.
2) Simple ignorance of facts.
3) Allowing our desires to guide our thinking: especially the desire to prove we are right.
4) The images we allow into our mind.
Chapter 7: Transforming the Mind 2
For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal. 5:24).
Self-control is the steady capacity to direct yourself to accomplish what you have chosen or decided to do and be, even though you “don’t feel like it.” 127
Chapter 8: Transforming the Will (Heart or Spirit) and Character
Thought, feeling and will give rise to character.
Will is the ability to originate or refrain from origination something: an act or thing.
The constant character of the will apart from God is duplicity—or, more accurately, fragmentation and duplicity.
Our only hope is to entirely place our confidence in the God and Father of Jesus Christ who is willing to enter the duplicity of our heart and bring it wholly to himself if we earnestly invite Him. He is greater than our heart and knows all things. (COMPLETE SURRENDER TO GOD).
Chapter 9: Transforming the Body
Even professing Christians, by and large, devote to their spiritual growth and well-being a tiny fraction of the time they devote to their body, and it is an even tinier fraction if we include what we worry about.
Our body is not just a physical system, but is inhabited by the real presence of Christ.
Not let sin have dominion in our death-bound (mortal) body to obey Sin’s desires.
My Body is not my property.
I am responsible for the care of my body, and it is the center of all the other responsibilities I have. But that does not imply that I and I alone have the right to say what is to be done with it, or in short, that I own by body.
Steps
1) Release our body to God.
2) No longer idolize your body
3) Do not misuse your body
4) Properly honor and care for your body (nourish, exercise, rest, etc)
Sabbath (way of saying God is God and I am not).
Chapter 10 Transforming our social dimension
Chapter 11 Transforming the soul
In most actual cases, the individuals are not at harmony with themselves, much less with truth and with God. Their habitual condition is one of conlict, and one of acting other than how they themselves intend or regard as wise.
The protective walls of the soul seem to have been broken down by pain and evil, leaving the person at the mercy of everything that happens.
Our sould is like an inner stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other element of our life. When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom.
Life is self-initiating, self-directing, self-sustaining activity and power. In this full sense, of course, only God has life.
When we speak of the human soul, then, we are speaking ot the deepest leel of life and power in the human being.
God has a soul :deepest most fundamental level of his being.
We must never forget that the indispensable first step in caring for the soul is to place it under God.
We will find his yoke an easy one and his burden a light one because, in learning form him, we have found rest to our soul.
Abandon results to God: rest in his life as he gives it. Resting in God, we can be free from all anxiety, which means deep soul rest.
Law and Grace go together.
The steamship whose machinery is broken may be brought into port and made fast to the dock. She is safe, but not sound. Repairs may last a long time. Christ designs to make us both safe and sound. Justification gives the first—safety; sanctification gives the second: soundness.
Our walk with Christ , well learned, is a burden only as wings are to a bird or the engines are to an air plane.
Chapter 13: Spiritual Formation in the Local Congregation.
The problem with local congregations and spiritual development is that quite often they get distracted from Jesus. Details of how the vessel should look like (worship style, paint, pet doctrines) get exalted above the treasure (Jesus). Willard shares unfortunately the goal of the western church is quite often just getting people ready to die and go to heaven, instead of getting heaven into people now.
He also shares that when you look at the early church, early Methodism, early etc. You always have to look at the early part of movements to see where they were still in love and after Jesus instead of after forms of worship. So he finishes this book off by quoting Matthew 28:18-20 and shares the directive of spiritual formation in the local church.
1) Make disciples, apprentices, of Jesus.
2) Immerse the apprentices at all levels of growth in the Trinitarian presence.
3) Transform the disciples inwardly, in such a way that doing the words and deeds of Christ is not the focus but is the natural outcome or side effect.
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