J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Maturity (affiliate link). Chicago: Moody Press, 1962. 192 pages.
J. Oswald Sanders is one of my favorite writers. He wrote Spiritual Leadership (affiliate link), the classic on which my dad and I based our book by the same name. In Spiritual Maturity, Sanders explores a subject that has occupied much of my thinking for the last year: spiritual maturity. I’m fascinated (and concerned) that so many long-time Christians have attended church for many years and yet remain spiritually immature. In this volume, Sanders offers solid teaching on how to develop spiritual maturity.
I don’t have much to critique, so I’ll highlight some points that stood out to me.
Sanders acknowledges that when we let God grow us spiritually, his timetable and methods may confuse us. Yet he cautions, “We should never, in impatience at the seeming inactivity of God, take things into our own hands and try to be our own Providence” (10). He underscores, “God has an end in view which is worthy of him, and will command our fullest approbation when we cease to know in part” (13).
When writing about heavenly visions people received in the Bible, Sanders points out, “In not one case did the vision immediately result in elation or ecstasy” (15). He cites Daniel 10:7-9, in which the prophet experiences a powerful heavenly vision. Sanders writes, “One of the most blameless of saints when confronted with the Divine Glory is prostrated at the corruption, not of his vices but of his virtues!” (19).
Sanders also looks at Jacob, an unlikely candidate for the important role God gave him. He asks, “Who else but God would have chosen a despicable character like Jacob? There is little that is attractive about this greedy, grasping, scheming man” (25). Yet he observes, “There is an optimism in God which discerns the hidden possibilities in the most unpromising character” (27).
Sanders argues that “an exaggerated emphasis on talents and qualifications has closed the door to the mission field for many a fine potential missionary” (43). He notes that Moses felt inadequate for the assignment God gave him. Sanders writes, “For each of his disabilities God had a satisfying answer and an appropriate provision” (46).
The book addresses the problems of self-centeredness and pride. Sanders includes an interesting quote from the valet of the German Kaiser, who said of the Kaiser, “. . . he had to be the central figure in everything. If he went to a christening, he wanted to be the baby” (52). Sanders observes, “Pride adapts itself to every temperament, accommodates itself to every situation. It’s remarkably fluid. It can be humble and haughty at will. There is a form suited to every character” (53). In reference to the Beatitudes, Sanders suggests, “Of all the qualities of character, meekness is probably the one least coveted” (101).
Sanders observes that many believers are missing out on much of what the Christian life offers. He notes, “There is a vast discrepancy between the life ideally depicted in the scriptures and that actually lived by most Christians. Some enjoy lives of spiritual affluence, others live in spiritual penury, always on the bread line” (124). He claims, “We become what we choose” (127).
Sanders challenges believers to set a positive Christian example for the unbelievers who are watching them. He exhorts, “What they see of Christ reflected in us should turn their antagonism and indifference into wistfulness and faith” (143). He laments, “It is the absence of the fire of God which accounts for the insignificant impact the Church is making on a lost world” (149).
At the end of the book, Sanders includes two chapters on the Pentecostal movement and speaking in tongues. He is clearly not afraid to wade into difficult or divisive issues!
I appreciate Sander’s writing, and I recommend reading any of his books. He was a veteran missionary statesman who wrote with authority. He was a good Bible teacher, and his writing contains bucketloads of insights.
This book deserves to be read slowly and with a pen and paper in hand. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 4
Leave a Reply