Conclusion: Disciples Who DO

Conclusion

In this conclusion section of our study on the spiritual disciplines, let's remind ourselves of the proper perspective on Spiritual Disciplines. It is important for us to remember that we are instructed to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." This process of becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ is a beautiful exchange between God's grace and our response to it.

In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul tells us, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."

Christians live in grace and by grace, not by works. We cannot boast about our own works, no matter how good they are. God gets all the glory, for He is the one who motivates us to do anything good. Even the faith we have is a gift of God.

Paul talks about spiritual gifts - given by grace - in verses 6-8. Do these gifts of grace do their own work in our lives, or is there something we are supposed to do with them? Do our efforts take anything away from God's glory? No, there is an inherent response necessary to the grace that is working IN us.

In Galatians 2:20, Paul said, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God." Who was doing the living - Paul, or Christ? (See 1 Cor. 9:27 and Rom. 15:18).

All our responses to God's dealings with us and all our practice of the spiritual disciplines must be
based on the knowledge that God is dealing with us in grace.
- Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace

It is also true that while we live in our human skin on this planet, we also have a responsibility to one another. Growing in grace and discipline is a way that we serve and build up each other as image-bearers of Christ. Scripture says we are members one of another. This should spur us to good works for the benefit of the whole. Be encouraged that true disciples DO what they have seen done. Our perfect example is Jesus. We can never be completely like Him this side of Heaven, but we can present our bodies a living sacrifice and let Him, by His grace, do a work in us. Our sanctification and transformation will be complete when we see Him face to face someday.

By themselves the spiritual disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.
- Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

We can become like Christ by doing one thing - by following him in the overall style of life he chose for himself. If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father…

The Spirit of the Disciplines is nothing but the love of Jesus, with its resolute will to be like him whom we love.
- Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines

Further Reading

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges, Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard

The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows by James Bryan Smith

Questions

  1. Since we belong to one another, what is my responsibility toward you to help you in obeying Paul's exhortations?

  2. Do we look on grace as a cover for wrong-doing, or as a motivation for right-doing?
    Almost 2,000 years later, can we truly follow Jesus Christ's life-model, or is it simply impossible in today's hectic world?

Application

Consider how the spiritual disciplines have changed your life?

Talk with someone or journal about how you would like them to change your life?

Petition God in prayer and thanksgiving to help you.

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