“…discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness…but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7
I honestly can’t count the number of times I’ve sat in Bible studies or small group circles where the question, “What are the marks of a growing Christian?” After some a period of awkward silence and you-answer-before-me glances, someone breaks the air and says, “Reading your Bible everyday.” Another says, “Attending Bible studies regularly.” Another says, “Making prayer lists.” Another says, “Morning devotions.” Another says, “Being in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.” Another says, “Listening to sermons on the way to work.”
All these things are good practices, for sure. But the original question was, “What are the marks of a growing Christian?” The problem with the answers above is that there are many people who read the Bible everyday, make prayer lists, consistently do morning devotions, regularly meet with an older person for “discipleship” meetings, and listen to sermons on the way to work who, to be frank, are very spiritually immature and are stunted in their growth. The problem with these answers is that those who give them are often equating disciplines with godliness. And that is no small mistake
I don’t deny that implementing spiritual disciplines are important. It’s true in every realm of life. Goals are achieved through disciplines. And every person who desires to obtain a particular goal must learn how to discipline himself and engage in particular disciplines. This is true in the realm of scholarship and academics. It’s true in the realm of sports and athletics. And it’s true in the realm of spiritual growth. Lazy, undisciplined Christians who simply insist on doing whatever they want whenever they want simply won’t grow. No discipline, no growth.
But there is no set of specific prescribed practices as to how we as Christians ought to discipline ourselves in order to grow. There are traditional practices. There are perhaps wise practices. There may be some proven practices. But when it comes to actual disciplines, there are no mandated practices. Take reading the Bible for instance. There is no mandated number of chapters that a Christian is prescribed to read from the Bible everyday, let alone a number of hours. There’s no mandated time and place that a Christian is called to regularly do his devotions. In fact, although we are called to meditate on the Word continually (Psalm 1), and although the Berean Christians are described as those who examined the Scriptures daily, the New Testament never even prescribes that Christians should read their Bibles daily. That’s because back then, many Christians didn’t even have a copy of the Scriptures available to them. The same goes for how we set up our prayer schedule (if we even have a schedule). The same goes for Scripture memory. The same goes for how we choose to engage in Christian literature and Christian media (online sermons, podcasts, etc).
Within particular principles, there are a variety of acceptable practices before God as to how Christians choose to implement disciplines to carry out those principles. Take the biblical principle of humbly receiving the Word of God into one’s heart, as James 1:21 prescribes. A Christian may indeed choose to regularly read their Bible – even on a daily basis. He may choose to, as friend of mine did, get up at 3:00am everyday to memorize the book of Romans. He may choose to read 10 chapters of the Bible a day. He may choose to read a verse a day and listen to a sermon on that verse in the evening. He may choose to skip daily Bible reading but instead take good notes from the Sunday sermon and Sunday school, and journal daily as to how he applied the Sunday sermon and Sunday school lesson for that particular week. He can choose to listen to 30 minutes of his audio Bible while going for a jog. He can join a Bible weekly Bible study. Within the principle of humbly receiving the Word, there are a variety of disciplines to carry this out.
And that variety should be there. That’s what Paul reminded the church in Romans 14. Whether it’s how one chooses to eat for the Lord or how one chooses to treat the days of the week for the Lord, how Christians choose to discipline themselves will vary. Thus, Christians should not place an emphasis on the implementation of a particular spiritual discipline, because particular and specific disciplines were never meant to be mark of spiritual growth or maturity.
This is not to say that we can’t advise or counsel certain people to particular practices that have proven themselves effective. It would be wise of us to learn from the lives of those who have walked before us and imitate the way they disciplined themselves (Hebrews 13:7) both principally and practically. Personally, I cannot think of a single practice or discipline that I regularly engage in for the sake of spiritual growth that I didn’t to some degree imitate from someone else. But it’s not because of the glory of the discipline itself that I chose to imitate it, but rather because of the goal that the particular discipline achieved for that particular individual I imitated is also the same goal I’m after. I also have no problem sharing what I do to discipline myself to others who ask, so long as they’re after the goal of the discipline and not the discipline itself.
And that goal is none other than godliness.
Godliness. Christlikeness. Holiness. That’s the goal. Spiritual disciplines are the means to godliness, but godliness – not discipline – is the goal. This is what Paul instructs in 1 Timothy 4:7 where he exhorts Timothy to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” The athletic analogy is impossible to ignore here, since the Greek word for “discipline” here is the word gumnazo from where we get the word “gymnasium.” The picture is that of – you guessed it – athletic training. For the competitive athlete, performance is the goal while training is the means to it. For the body builder, muscle growth and symmetry is the goal; resistance hypertrophy training is the means to achieve it. For the cross-country runner, running a 5K under a particular time is the goal; quarter-mile interval training mixed with long-distance runs are the means to achieve it. For the Christian, godliness is the goal; the spiritual disciplines – and let him choose what those may be for himself – are the means to gain it. Paul does not say, “Discipline yourself, because this is godliness.” He says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” Literally, “toward godliness.” Doing the disciplines in and of itself is nothing. But what the disciplines bring one to is everything.
And what exactly is godliness? No, it’s not reading the Bible everyday. No, it’s not having twenty different prayer lists. No, it’s not fasting every month. No, it’s not listening to sermons or joining five different Bible studies. Godliness is character. It is the consistent and increasing exhibition of particular character qualities that are consistent with the very character of Christ. And we need to go nowhere else than Scripture to find them. There’s Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruit of the Spirit. There’s 1 Corinthians 13 and the qualities of love. Theres’s 2 Peter 1:5-7 and the description of the divine nature. There’s Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 and the portrait of the new self. There’s 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and the description of elders and pastors we’re called to imitate. The wholistic portrait that these portions of Scripture paint is what it is that we, through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:3), aim for. How exactly we choose to discipline ourselves to get there is a matter of both personal conviction and proven wisdom and will vary from one Christian to another. But the ultimate goal of godliness is the same for all, and must look the same for all.
And if this godliness is not gained, the implementation of disciplines is indeed in vain. In other words, it doesn’t matter how many Bible studies and Greek diagrams I do on passages related to patience if I can’t stop losing my temper with my children when they make mistakes. It doesn’t matter how many Bible studies and accountability groups I attend if I can’t stop looking at pornography. It doesn’t matter how many books and sermons on self-control I read and listen to if I keep giving into road rage and gluttony. It doesn’t matter how many anger-management techniques I choose to implement if I don’t stop giving into road rage when I’m stuck on the freeway. It doesn’t matter how many hours I day I spend exegeting Philippians 4:13 and how many prayer lists I send to an accountability partner concerning the things that “I need to be thankful for” if I can’t stop complaining about my life to others.
So read your Bible. Attend Bible studies. Do morning devotions. Go on prayer walks. Get disciplined. But remember not to confuse discipline with godliness. For if Christ for whom the gospel saved me is not formed in me (Galatians 4:19), what does it matter how you disciplined yourself?
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