Most people are very diligent when it comes to guarding the health of their hearts, especially as they age. Regular checkups with their primary care physician, and maybe also their cardiologist, will sometimes lead to medications, exercise routines, and perhaps even surgery for ablations, valve replacements, or pacemakers. But are we as diligent when it comes to guarding the health of our spiritual hearts?
Our spiritual forefathers, the English Puritans, made this a matter of top priority in the Christian life. A favorite text for many sermons and books was Proverbs 4:23, “Guard the heart, for from it flow all the issues of life.” In our day we discuss this dimension of sanctification under the title of “Spiritual Formation.” It has become the subject of conferences and even of required courses in seminaries.
Speaking of doctrine, this is a good place to re-emphasize how important are both doctrine and life. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:16, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” All of us, not just pastors and teachers, need to be on guard, watching out for our own personal heart health (spiritual formation) – which involves sanctification, as well as watching out for the doctrines we embrace and teach – which involves especially justification. The late J. I. Packer was a Christian author, theologian, and expert on the Puritans. Someone asked him once in reference to what those Puritans thought, “Should one preach about doctrines?” to which Packer answered, “They would say, ‘Why, what else is there to preach?”’