The Discipline Dilemma
When it comes to discipline in the Christian life, many believers feel that it is more drudgery than discipline. Prayer is seemingly lethargic. The practical value of meditation and devotional readings are reflected upon haphazardly. The real purpose of a spiritual discipline such as fasting is so far from being ‘relevant’ in today’s culture that it is often ignored. However, these spiritual disciplines are essential to the lives and spiritual maturity of any disciple of Christ. Far too often these basic, indispensable means by which believers flourish in their faith are simply forgotten.
God’s eternal plan of glorifying Himself through the redemption of mankind must ensure that every Christian will conform their lives to Christ-likeness through the use of spiritual disciplines. Although God will endow perfect Christ-likeness upon each believer when Christ returns, the Christian’s ultimate goal until then is to pursue holiness and godliness. It is these pursuits in holiness and godliness that spiritual disciplines are formed and carried out.
Spiritual Discipline & Its Roots
According to Donald S. Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, spiritual disciplines are “personal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual health” [1]. These derive from acts of devotion, surrender, and the pursuit of spiritual maturity. Spiritual disciplines may be categorized into the following: Scripture reading, prayer, evangelism, stewardship, worship, Christian service, fasting, meditation, solitude and silence, learning, submission, and even self sacrifice. These are just a small list that could include many other disciplines as well.
Whatever the discipline, the primary importance is not in the discipline itself, but in what the discipline achieves. There is little benefit in practicing any spiritual discipline without recognizing the purpose by which we are working through it. And that is the purpose and pursuit of godliness. First Timothy 4:7 tells us to “discipline [ourselves] for the purpose of godliness.” We must recognize it is not for the purpose of mere practice that we exercise spiritual discipline, nor for the benefits we may receive, but rather for the purpose and pursuit of godliness.
Spiritual disciplines have been a part of Christian practice for centuries. The Old and New Testaments speak of them, Christ heralds them in the Gospels, Paul writes of them, and others practice them. Some of the most influential persons are often the most spiritually disciplined as well. This is no coincidence. Examples include persons such as Augustine, John Calvin, John Bunyan, Martin Luther, and Jacob Arminius. Free Will Baptist examples include Benjamin Randall, Benjamin Laker, Paul Palmer, David Marks, and countless others. Regardless of one’s spiritual background or heritage, spiritual disciplines have played a role in the advancement of the gospel through the great heroes of faith.
The Downward Discipline Spiral
As time has marched onward, the more modernistic church movements have forgotten the sacrificial means of spiritual disciplines. There is still an emphasis on Scripture reading, prayer, evangelism, and worship. However, the time-honored, more serene disciplines have all but been forgotten. For instance, the discipline of fasting, once practiced regularly by the early church, is often seen as self-deprivation for weight management, instead of intense focus upon glorifying God through a perceived need or prayer request. Meditation (actively thinking and concentrating on a particular Scripture) and silence have been replaced with busyness and over-productivity to the point that the person who sits quietly and meditates or journals in solitude is viewed as lazy. And of course the idea of submission is replaced in our culture with an individualistic attitude coupled with a devaluation of God and the over indulgence of self. Sadly this is apparent even in Christian circles and churches today.
Such discipline has altogether become a dirty word in our culture. Words such as sacrifice, surrender, and submission is seen as unliberating and outdated. Rather, the pursuit of self in all forms (desires, wants, perceived needs, and the like) has taken humanity to a level from which it may never recover. Even the church is becoming affected by this alarming trend. The enticement of trying to meet the perceived needs of all parties who enter the church has caused the bride of Christ to search for a quick fix to spiritual maturity. We cannot achieve substantial depth in any relationship by immediate means, be it a business relationship, married relationship, or personal relationship. Similarly we cannot achieve instant, on-the-spot spiritual maturity in our relationships with Christ either. It takes time, energy, patience, and yes, most importantly, discipline.
The Model of Discipline
Christ Himself teaches us that spiritual discipline is self-discipline. And that disciplining oneself spiritually for the purpose of godliness must in fact demand and cost something of me. Jesus states in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This verse instructs us that a true disciple of Christ, in the very least, learns from and devotes him/herself to following Him. Richard Foster, in Celebration of Discipline, takes it further: “Learning and following involve discipline, for those who only learn accidentally and follow incidentally are not true disciples” [2].
Many professing Christians today are so spiritually undisciplined that its effect is greatly evident in their daily lives. So many persons are urged to discipline themselves in the areas of work, finance, and recreation that there is little time or energy (even in the Christians life) for disciplining themselves for the purpose of godliness. This is apparent in the realms of ministry as well. Christians often over-indulge themselves in church-related events, while neglecting the need to deepen their walk with Christ through participation in the spiritual disciplines.
This behavior stands in stark contrast to the emphatic command of Scripture. First Timothy states that we should “discipline [ourselves] for the purpose of godliness” (4:7). The original language makes it clear that this is not a suggestion but a command of God. When Holy Scripture is downplayed as mere suggestions instead of disciple-enriching commands, the very essence of who the Father is, is then compromised through the Christian’s behavior. And when growth-developing spiritual disciplines are downplayed, the heart of the Father hurts and the children of God suffer.
There is danger in neglecting spiritual disciplines in our daily lives. Charles Spurgeon stressed, “I must take care above all that I cultivate communion with Christ, for though that can never be the basis of my peace-mark that- yet it will be the channel of it” [3]. Neglecting the daily and intentional practice of spiritual discipline in the Christian’s life is much like starving oneself from the very nutrients that the body needs to sustain life. The ongoing disregard for such a vital necessity would not only be immature, but also down right inhumane! However, Christians practice this on a daily basis and excuse it away as unimportant and irrelevant to their beliefs. Therefore they are starving themselves to spiritual death through this horrendous neglect.
Conclusion
There is no shortcut to godliness. As has been the case for centuries, a depraved people will hunt for an easier way than through spiritual disciplines. Complacent Christians everywhere wonder why Christianity can’t be easy, free, and simple, instead of difficult, painstaking, and tedious. Just as the only way to God is through Christ Jesus, so too the only way to godliness is through the Christ-centered, liberating practice of spiritual discipline. Therefore, may we too follow Paul’s time honored words to young Timothy: Discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness.
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[1] Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991), 17.
[2] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1998), 8.
[3] Spurgeon. C.H., Peace By Believing in “Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit” (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1864; reprint, Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim Publications, 1970) Vol. IX, 283.
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