Willard's thrust in this book is to emphasize and expound the vital importance of the spiritual disciplines to the Christian life and to clear away popular misconceptions of them. In the preface, he says: "My central claim is that we CAN become like Christ by doing one thing - by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father." He continues: "What activities did Jesus practice? Such things as solitude and silence, prayer, simple and sacrificial living, intense study and meditation upon God's Word and God's ways, and service to others. Some of these will certainly be even more necessary to us than they were to him, because of our greater or different need. But in a balanced life of such activities, we will be constantly enlivened by `The Kingdom Not of This World' - the Kingdom of Truth as seen in John 18:36 - 37." We must go beyond asking "What would Jesus do?" to practicing what Jesus practiced. "Following `in his steps' cannot be equated with behaving as he did when he was `on the spot.' To live as Christ lived is to live as he did all his life."
Some of the misconceptions he exposes, as they relate to practicing the spiritual disciplines, include the denigration of the physical body and confusing it with the fallen human nature, and the elevation of poverty as a virtue and denigration of wealth as a vice. He takes exception to some of the ascetic practices of some of the early Christian monks who went so far as to abuse their bodies. He also states: "to withhold our bodies from religion is to exclude religion from our lives" (pg. 30). Spiritual life is the body's fulfillment. He also respectfully disagrees with such notables as John Wesley and Alastair MacIntyre who more or less see the rich as destined for Hell. Additionally, he argues that salvation is not JUST forgiveness, as popularly taught today, but a new order of life (which includes forgiveness). He expounds more on this disagreement in his book "The Divine Conspiracy" and there takes exception to theologians such as Charles Ryrie. This disagreement is one of the contemporary controversial issues (not only among Arminians and Calvinists but even among those who believe in "eternal security" or "once-saved, always-saved") and involves the relationship of faith and obedience in a true (not just professing) Christian's life. Willard's position seems to be that discipleship and/or obedience to Christ is NOT optional but integral to what it means to be a Christian. But this implies that a lack of discipleship to Christ (which includes a lack of some sort of spiritual discipline in one's life) means a lack of salvation. This is what provokes debate since some see this as promoting the idea that we maintain our salvation by works, an idea that surely Willard would reject because it misunderstands his point about the relational aspect of salvation inherent in discipleship. He sees two great omissions from Christ's great commission in the contemporary Church (that is, among those who profess to be Christians): 1) the omission of making disciples, and 2) the omission of the step of taking our converts through training that will bring them ever increasingly to do what Jesus directed (see Appendix II). This book is intended as a biblical corrective to those omissions and I think it contributes admirably to that purpose. This is essential reading.
If you're feeling shortchanged by "contemporary" and "relevant" churches and Christian practices, this book will help you get in touch with our religion's 2,000+ year old roots, beliefs and practices.
This book, along with Foster's Celebration of Discipline, will encourage and guide you in pursuing a deeper and more satisfying Christian walk. I recommend this in the highest terms.Learn why the disciplines are not works, but active grace. Willard presents a helpful introduction to the theology behind the spiritual disciplines. This book is a perfect compliment to Richard Foster's the Spirit of the Disciplines. The ancient spiritual disciplines are normal Christianity and reveal why so many experience a faith so far below what is revealed in Scripture.
