Last week we discussed the importance of spiritual discipline in our lives, both for the present struggles and to prepare us for those things we are not aware that may be coming our way. We will be talking about the specific disciplines that we should be developing soon. For this post however, we need to understand the process of developing the disciplines God offers.
The primary point we need to understand is this. Unlike the Fruit of the Spirit or the Gifts of the Spirit, disciplines are not automatically applied to our lives at salvation. The development of these practices require a commitment to change and a motivation to be the man God wants us to be. The writer to the Hebrews says it this way in 12:1-2, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. God paid the ultimate price for our salvation when he offered his perfect, sinless Son to die in my place. The least I can do is put some effort into the relationship.
There are two sides to the practice of discipline in our lives. First, he instructs us to cast off those areas of our lives that will get in the way of a growing relationship with Jesus. Notice the distinction that is made when discussing these “cast off” items in Hebrews. The writer first asks us to eliminate those things that hinder our journey, THEN he adds the sin that entangles. This points to the truth that there may be practices or priorities in our lives that are not sin but will still hinder us from being a fully devoted disciple of Christ. This may be a problem with priorities, other interests taking precedence over our pursuit of Jesus. The first commandment God gave was to not have any other gods before him. He then goes directly into a discussion of idolatry. As we look through Scripture, we discover that an idol is anything we deem to be more important to us than God. We may say these things don’t exist. However, our actions are more accurate in this discussion than our words. To what do we give our best time, talent, and treasure. These are not sinful activities but need to be put in their proper place to keep God in the forefront. This takes discipline to make it happen.
He then deals with sinful activity. For some, this may not be a problem. But I am aware that many men struggle with addictions and habits that keep them from experiencing victory in their walk with Christ. These also take discipline to overcome.
Paul said to Timothy in his first letter 4:7-8, Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Training implies effort. But it is not simply “trying harder”. A practical truth to assist us in this effort is this, “A good habit is as hard to break as a bad habit.” This process of discipline involves these steps, 1) Confess your struggle to our Lord. 2) Commit to God and yourself that you will do whatever it takes to cast off these hinderances. 3) Establish boundaries – Ex. If you struggle with pornography, put restrictive software on your computer or commit to staying off the computer when alone. 4) Choose a trusted, godly friend to hold you accountable on this journey. This should be someone other than your wife or girlfriend. 5) Celebrate each victory – a day free of the hinderance is a reason to celebrate.
These steps will be reinforced and empowered with the positive disciplines we will be discussing over the next several posts.