Are Spiritual Disciplines optional for the Christian?
What comes to your mind when you think of spiritual disciplines? Buddhist practices? Maybe you think of having the “I can do it!” mentality? Or maybe you think of forcing yourself to do something that you absolutely hate? Do you see them as a crucial part of the Christian growth process? Or do you tend to shy away from them with the fear that you are trying to do things on your own apart from God’s free grace? I’ve wrestled with these questions throughout the years and there was a period of time where I couldn’t bridge the gap between being active and being passive. For a while, I thought just reading the Word of God guaranteed a secret mystical transformation that would automatically make me Christlike and give me victory over sin without putting much thought or effort into it. And for a while, I sat back and waited and waited for the day when God would magically zap me with the maturity wand, I realized that I wasn’t gaining much growth. I realized that due to unbiblical thinking, I was believing lies about the Christian life. I was waiting for the “second blessing” experience from the Holy Spirit that would elevate me to the next level as I believe Keswick theology wrongly teaches. God showed me that I was “the sluggard” that the book of Proverbs talks about.
The topic I’ve been assigned to is the role that spiritual disciplines play in the transformation process for those who struggle with being in bondage to sin. There are 2 questions that I will attempt to answer from the Bible.
Why do we need spiritual disciplines in our lives?
The Bible teaches that spiritual disciplines are commanded by God. 1 Timothy 4:7 says, “Rather train yourself for godliness.” Verse 8 gives us the reason why -for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Spiritual disciplines are valuable because they produce godliness. The opposite of Godly living is ungodly living and I need not remind you that being enslaved to sin falls under the category of ungodly living. Notice they are valuable in this present life which means that they are beneficial. Psalm 1 compares the righteous person with the wicked person. The difference is that the righteous man practices the discipline of meditating on the Word of God which not only makes him happy but also prevents him from giving into sin. The Apostle Paul knew and experienced the benefits of living a disciplined life. In 1 Corinthians 9, he chose to voluntarily give up his rights as a minister of God’s Word for the sake of the Gospel. Here we see that spiritual disciplines benefit others as we bear fruit for them to enjoy, they prevent us from ruining our testimony before others, and there are blessings and rewards that come from having a disciplined life. 2 Peter 1:8 tells us that actively pursuing spiritual maturity keeps us from being ineffective and unfruitful. Proverbs 5:23 tells us that disciplines may prevent death and keep us from being led astray. Many of us know someone or have surely heard of someone who has died from a life-dominating sin. Sin doesn’t discriminate. Genesis 4:7 tells us that it is ready and willing and waiting to pounce on us. Hebrews 5:14 describes the spiritually mature person as one who has had constant practice of discerning between good and evil which in turn keeps them from following sin. The ultimate goal of a disciplined life is to know God and make Him known! Intimacy with Jesus is one of the most effective preventative medicines one can take to keep from giving into sin. While much more could be said on the “why” let’s now transition into the “how.”
How do we incorporate spiritual disciplines into our lives?
The first way we can incorporate spiritual disciplines into our lives is by knowing where the source of power comes from. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” We don’t rely on our own strength as believers, we rely on God’s! Titus 2:11-12 says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldy passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. Being disciplined may seem like a daunting task, but it’s made possible by the grace of God. In John 15 Jesus commands believers to abide or remain in Him because apart from Him our efforts are meaningless and will surely fail. Practically speaking how do we do this? We can preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, pray and ask God to remind us that we desperately need Him, read the Bible to know and learn more about who God is in light of who we are, we can constantly surrender and offer ourselves to God so as to not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit and desensitize our conscience.
A disciplined life takes time, effort, and persistence. The second way to incorporate spiritual disciplines into your life is to be intentional and start doing something. Jesus is our prime example as He set aside time during His earthly life to go off by Himself and pray. In 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, the apostle Paul says, “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control.” He’s talking about being intentional here. Let’s go back to 1 Timothy 4:7 which says, “Train yourself for godliness.” The word “train” means to exercise vigorously, in any way, either the body or the mind. It presumes full discipline, necessary to be in top working condition. Godliness doesn’t come automatically, it comes by training and training takes discipline. Glenna Marshall reminds Christians to, “Build your life around spiritual habits, don’t just fit them in.” She goes on to say, “We practice perseverance today-every single day-so that we can practice it 10, 20, and 30 years from now.” The idea here is to start doing something now because habits take time to form. Good habits are important. This may mean starting out small. Start by reading the Bible and praying for 15-20 minutes daily. Set your alarm a half-hour earlier in the morning or shut off the tv a half hour earlier at night to spend time in the Bible. John Piper says, “There are many things you can do tired, but studying God’s Word is harder when you’re sleepy.” He encourages us to move the things we can do tired (grocery shopping, folding laundry, cleaning the house) to the edges of our day and give our most focused time to Christ.
The third way to incorporate spiritual disciplines into your life is by practicing what’s known as “the replacement principle” found in Ephesians 4:22-24. The idea here is to put off old habits and practices and replace them with new godly ones! This may be replacing sinful thoughts focused on ourselves with God-focused thoughts. It could be to stop hanging out with people or in places that will allow you to give into drugs, alcohol, etc, and replace them by hanging out with Godly influences. Replacing old habits with new ones may look like talking to a pastor and getting into Biblical counseling, joining a Bible study, seeking accountability, getting a new phone, reading the Bible, praying, and serving others in the local church or community. This will seem unnatural and hard at first, but over time it starts to become second nature. Don’t get overwhelmed if you fail, keep relying on God and keep at it! If you want to stop doing what you’re doing badly enough, I fully believe that God will provide you with the resources to do so.
The last thing I will say is that spiritual disciplines are for born-again Christians only. As I’ve written this geared towards believers, I’m well aware that they’re may be people reading this who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Being a Christian doesn’t mean being part of the elite club, it means being part of the sinner/screw-up club. Being a Christian means not being good enough since the Bible tells us in Romans 3:10 that no one is righteous before God and in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The good news is that God has provided a way of escape from eternal punishment and a way to have a right relationship with Him. It’s not found by looking inward toward yourself, it’s found by looking outward and upward to Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life and died on the cross for your sin and rose again proving that His sacrifice was sufficient to absorb God’s wrath for sin. If you put all of your trust in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for you personally and surrender to Him as Lord of your life, you will be saved. Christ’s death and resurrection free us from the penalty of sin and the power of sin. While many people may get sober apart from Christ, they will still face the penalty for their sins and are still enslaved to its power. Christ is our only hope of finding victory over addiction, but it’s open and available to all!
Further resources for reading:
Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes
Everyday Faithfulness by Glenna Marshall
Habits of Grace by David Mathis