Spiritual Disciplines

I go through life as a transient on his way to eternity, made in the image of God but with that image debased, needing to be taught how to meditate, to worship, to think. - Donald Coggan

1 Peter 2:2–12 ESV

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Spiritual Disciplines are a Door to Liberation

Refining ourselves to grow beyond spiritual milk will put us on the path to transformation

The author of Hebrews tells us the direction in which we ought to grow

Hebrews 5:11–6:2 ESV

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

Paul warns the Corinthians about being led astray from not growing

1 Corinthians 3 ESV

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Spiritual Disciplines move us from surface and superficial to depth and deliverance

We must hunger for God’s refinement. For God to grow us

Psalm 42:1–2 ESV

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Spiritual disciplines take discipline. We should so engrained in the disciplines that they become a part of our life and not foreign to it.

Being spiritually focused will help us to avoid sin. They are a doorway to escaping temptation

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

What is Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual Discipline is an inward out process first and foremost.

Sometimes we try so hard to fill ourselves with God without first emptying ourselves of us. Remember Paul tells the Ephesians to put off the ways of man and put on the cloth of Christ (Ephesians 4)

Richard Foster says:

When we despair of gaining inner transformation through human powers of will and determination, we are open to a wonderful new realization: inner righteouness is a gift from God to be graciously received. The needed change within us is God’s work, not ours. The demand for an inside job, and only God God can work from the inside. We cannot attain or earn this righteousness of the kingdom of God; it is a grace that is given.

Paul makes this very claim 35 times in Romans. Most clearly in

Romans 5:17 ESV

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

While this is God’s work in us, do not make the error of going in the opposite direction and be tempted to believe there is nothing we can do. We must not wait for God to come and transform us. Instead, we understand that God gives us the Spiritual Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.

In other words, we must accept his gift. The disciplines will allow us to do that.

Galatians 6:6–10 ESV

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Just as a farmer has the responsibility of cultivating the soil, planting the seed, maintaining, and prepping for the harvest yet without the power to grow we also must provide the right conditions within ourselves for growth to occur. We must be the right and good soil.

Again Richard Foster says:

The Disciplines are God’s way of getting us into the ground; they put us where he can work within us and transform us. By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God’s means of grace. The inner righteousness we seek is not something that is poured on our heads. God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where he can bless us…we must always remember that the path does not produce the change; it only places us where the change can occur. This is the path of disciplined grace…”

Deitrich Bonhoeffer says:

Grace is free, but it is not cheap

Just because God’s grace is unearned and a gift, we will only grow if we pay the price of consciously choosing the path of God

In our inner selves, our inner sanctuary, we must choose to be ripe for producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

What are the spiritual disciplines

There are internal disciplines

Meditation

Prayer

Fasting

Study

There are external disciplines

Simplicity

Solitude

Submission

Service

There are church wide disciplines

Confession

Worship

Guidance

Celebration

Not all disciplines are binding commands, but they are useful for our growth.

Conclusion

We will spend the next few months studying these disciplines with the purpose of preparing ourselves continually for God to supply growth within us.

1 Timothy 4:6–10 ESV

If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 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. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.