Key Verse: Psalm 90:12
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Good morning class and welcome to Spiritual Arithmetic 101. What is Spiritual Arithmetic? Simply put it is taking those basic math skills of subtraction, division, addition, and multiplication that we learned in our early school days and applying those concepts to our spiritual growth process.

First, let us examine the basic principle of subtraction. Even small children understand basic mathematical equations such as two take away two leaves zero. Just as the basic skill of subtraction is taught and learned early in life, the principle of Christ’s forgiveness should also be learned early in life. Christ “takes away” the sins of those who repent and believe on Him (Repentance – Sin = Forgiveness). In 1 John 3:5 we read these words, “And ye know that he was manifested to take awy our sins, and in him is no sin.”

Second, let us examine the basic principle of division. In Isaiah 53:12 we read, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Christ is our example. He gave Himself for us, dividing a portion with the great. As Christians, we are to follow Christ’s example. In 1 John 2:6 we read, “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” We should divide our time, talent, testimony, and treasure – paying the tithe, or tenth of our income, so the Church can meet its responsibilities to do the work God has given it to do (see Malachi 3:10).

Third, let us examine the basic principle of addition. We would all agree that the way to gain more of something is to add to that something. For example, if a child has one apple and then a friend gives him another apple, he now has one more apple than he originally started with or two apples. We are to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ by adding, or increasing in the fruits and virtues of the Spirit. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we are taught, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” We begin with faith and end with love – (Faith + Virtue + Knowledge + Temperance + Patience + Godliness + Brotherly Kindness + Charity [the pure love of Christ] = Growth in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ). Adding these many fruits of the Spirit to life will settle, establish, and strengthen us as Christians.

Finally, let us examine the basic principle of multiplication. Some people seem to have difficulty with the multiplication tables. In reality, multiplication is simply repeated addition. It is fascinating to observe the great increase that multiplication brings. For example, if you have some good news to share with a lot of people, start out by telling a couple of your closest friends. It is almost guaranteed that each of those friends will tell a couple of their close friends, and so on and so forth until the news is spread over a large area. Christ wants the number of His disciples to be increased. This is done through our missionary efforts of sharing the Gospel and bringing others unto Him. As we do this we will receive multiplied blessings (see Jude 2).