Spiritual Disciplines: Becoming More Like Jesus
If you want to get into better physical shape, you likely begin by setting goals and creating an action plan. You might resolve to make better food selections, go for more walks, join a gym, or participate in a weight-loss group. Perhaps you would do all of those things!
In theory, losing weight isn’t rocket science—it involves burning more calories than you eat, but in practice, it isn’t as easy as it sounds. The hard part isn’t deciding what to do; it’s doing it! Having a plan isn’t enough—you have to be disciplined enough to work it.
Spiritual growth requires the same disciplined approach. You have to know the steps to take, and then you have to actually take the steps.
In this study, we will look at some things to do in order to experience spiritual health. We won’t just consider what the Bible says about how to grow; we will also consider suggestions for immediate application of the biblical principles we will be discovering. These disciplines are worth our time and investment because they help us experience the life and joy Jesus wants us to have in Him.
Spiritual Disciplines: Becoming More Like Jesus
Session 1 The Benefit of Spiritual Disciplines 1 Timothy 4:1-10
Session 2 Knowing God Psalm 119:17-24
Session 3 Intimacy with God John 17:1-5,21-26
Session 4 Maintaining Focus on God Daniel 9:1-7,17-19
Session 5 Connecting to Christ’s Body 1 Corinthians 12:12-24
Session 6 Joining God’s Work John 15:1-8
Question 1:
What are some odd habits you’ve observed in others?
THE POINT
Growth in Christ occurs when
we practice spiritual disciplines.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFEWe have good habits, maybe a few bad habits, and perhaps a few unusual habits.
For example, some of us . . .
. . . tuck ourselves tightly into bed at night, a habit we started as children to protect ourselves from the monster under the bed.
. . . say “Wed-nes-day” phonetically when we need to write it out.
. . . pat down our pockets to ensure our wallet, keys, and phone are there—even if we put them there moments ago.
The writer Voltaire drank forty to fifty cups of coffee—every day! That may sound like a bad habit, but Voltaire also lived to the age of eighty-three. The artist Michelangelo slept in the same clothes for days on end and avoided baths. Again, this doesn’t sound healthy, but Michelangelo lived to the age of eighty-nine.
We might debate the relatively good or bad of certain habits, but there are some things we can do that are definitely good for us. Anything we do that helps us grow in our walk with Christ is definitely good, and we would do well to discipline ourselves to do these regularly and faithfully.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 Timothy 4:1-3
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
God has provided many good things for us, but the world seeks to distort them. Paul said this would happen, and he referred specifically to “later times.” Paul mentioned this again in his Second Letter to Timothy, and he referred to “the last days.” Both expressions carry the same meaning—the days between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and His return. As the end gets closer the world will be busy “following deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (v. 1).
Sadly, what is happening today is nothing new. As Paul did in his day, we see those who “abandon the faith.” People can claim to follow Jesus, but such claims don’t prove they have a new life with Jesus. Failing to live in obedience to Christ gives evidence that such people never had a relationship with Jesus to begin with.
Those who depart from the faith do not lose their salvation, because they weren’t saved to begin with. They are led astray by “liars, whose consciences have been seared,” people who offer a counterfeit spirituality. These people are hypocrites who engage in willful deception. In their deceit, they seek to distort the things of God.
Question 2:
What are some examples of good
things that have been distorted by our culture?
Paul gave two examples.
- Marriage. These deceivers, Paul wrote, will “forbid people to marry.” As the apostle wrote this letter to Timothy, the church was under attack from ascetics who prohibited people from getting married. The covenant of marriage is God’s good gift, and His people should celebrate it. Jesus Himself endorsed marriage: the joining together of one man and one woman in a lifelong relationship (Matt. 19:4-8); indeed, the setting of His public ministry was a wedding feast (John 2:1-11). While Paul did leave room for those who choose not to marry so that they could more fully devote themselves to God’s work, he did not forbid marriage; instead, he encouraged people in all circumstances to find God’s will for their marital status (1 Cor. 7:8-16).
- Food. The deceivers also will demand that the people abstain from eating certain foods—foods that “God created” for them to eat. In the garden of Eden, God allowed Adam and Eve to eat fruit “from any tree in the garden” except for “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:16-17). While the Old Testament law restricted the children of Israel from eating some animals (Deut. 14:3-21), God later clarified that Peter was free to eat anything “God has made clean” (Acts 10:15).
Our lives are to be grounded in our relationship with Christ, but by placing regulations on how we are to nurture and enjoy that relationship, spirituality becomes misguided. Such self-denying practices distort our understanding of God, our gratitude toward Him, and our walk with Him.
1 Timothy 4:4-7a
4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7a Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales.
Instead of rejecting the good things God has given to us, we are to receive and be thankful for God’s good gifts. God’s creation is good. On the sixth day, when “God saw all that he had made,” He declared that “it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). No exceptions. He made no mistakes. There were no errors. In totality and in each detail, it was very good.
We are to receive God’s good gifts, and then be thankful for them. Paul specifically mentioned marriage and food, but it’s also true with all of God’s creation. We receive and express thanks for all of creation, because it comes from His hand. The gift reflects the giver. The gifts that we receive from the hands of God are holy, and are to be accepted with thankful hearts, received prayerfully, and used responsibly.
GOOD THINGS
First Timothy 4:4 says that “everything God created is good.” Use the space below to list one or more “good” things you have recently encountered from the following categories.
In Nature:
At Home:
At Work:
Write a prayer to God, thanking Him for these good things in your life.
...........................................................................................
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s
mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
ROMANS 12:1
While it is true that all of creation is good, it’s also true that our abuse of what God has provided is bad. Using the earlier examples, when we abuse our sexuality or use it outside of God’s design, we are headed for destruction. Also when we abuse food, for example, as in gluttony, it leads to our harm. Paul did not teach freedom without limits; instead, he reinforced the goodness of God’s creation.
Paul urged Timothy to teach those he served. He was to correct the deceivers’ false teaching by focusing the believers’ attention on applying God’s truth. Our conduct must always be in line with the unchanging teachings of God’s Word, not on society’s ever-changing standards.
When we focus on God’s truth, we can avoid “godless myths and old wives’ tales” (v. 7). By silly myths, Paul was certainly referring to the teachings of abstinence from food or marriage, but the principle expands beyond those two teachings. The best way to know when a teaching is counterfeit is to be acquainted with the real thing. The same is true with avoiding silly myths. To avoid falling prey to silly myths circulated by false teachers, we must know the hallmarks of truth—and truth is found in God’s Word.
Question 3:
What are some teachings you’ve
heard are biblical but really aren’t?
1 Timothy 4:7b-10
7b 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. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
The apostle immediately followed with a second command: “train yourself to be godly.” The first command is incomplete without the second. Just as avoiding doing wrong is incomplete unless we also do what is right, avoiding silly myths is incomplete unless we also train ourselves in godliness.
Question 4:
What are the challenges and
benefits of training ourselves in godliness?
Just as rigorous training, hours of practice, and strict rehearsals improve the performance of athletes, musicians, and actors, diligent spiritual discipline benefits followers of Christ in this life. However, spiritual discipline also will benefit believers in the life to come. Physical exercise is good for us, but spiritual discipline is even more important because it has eternal consequences.This is why believers must be willing to train. “We labor and strive” because it is worth the effort. Laboring and striving do not denote easy activities. In fact, they often are quite rigorous. Instead, we are to take the best path—the one that leads to godliness.
One of the ways we train is by practicing spiritual disciplines, those “small things Christians intentionally do to open themselves to God’s work of conforming them to the image of Christ.”1 Practicing spiritual disciplines is an intentional act.
When we practice spiritual disciplines, we open ourselves up to God’s working in us so that He can produce godliness in us. As important as the spiritual disciplines are, our confidence is not in the spiritual disciplines.
Our confidence and hope are in God who is working though our obedience to conform us into Christ’s image. While we cannot manufacture godliness on our own, God will use our disciplined training to produce godliness in our lives.
Question 5:
How can we help one another train
ourselves in godliness?
LIVE IT OUT
What will you do to “train yourself to be godly”? Choose one of the following applications:
Commit. Commit to prepare for and attend every session of this study on spiritual disciplines.
Invest time. Add an additional thirty minutes each day to your quiet time for the next six weeks to practice the spiritual disciplines covered in this study.
Disciple. Develop a relationship with a new or young believer (of your same gender) to encourage his or her growth in Christ.
The best chance our neighbors have to learn about the truth may depend on our godliness. Perhaps people in your life are counting on you to be godly. Because of the need around us and in us, we must “labor and strive” to be in shape spiritually.
Teacher's Notes:
The Benefit of Spiritual
Discipline
The Passage: 1 Timothy 4:1-10
Video: 3 Strange Habits of Mr. Rogers
3 Strange Habits of Mr. Rogers
Click Here to Watch
What are some odd habits
you’ve observed in others?
Some athletes are known for adopting habits and rituals that
they believe will bring them good luck as they play their games. Professional
basketball player Kyrie Irving, who plays for the Brooklyn Nets, is one such
athlete who has an unusual pregame ritual. He burns sage in the arena before he
plays the game. The burning of sage is a Native American ritual, thought to
remove negativity in an area. Irving explains his reasons for burning the sage,
saying, “Just making sure we cleanse the energy in here and we play well. And I
want everybody to stay safe, not just my teammates.” If the opposing team allows
him to do it, Irving said he likes to burn sage at every game. [Obviously,
Christians don’t approve of pagan or folk religious practices.]
When asked about odd habits:
Anything we do that
helps us grow in our walk with Christ is definitely good, and we would do well
to discipline ourselves to do these regularly and faithfully.
Paul wrote the First Letter to Timothy around AD
63 after his first imprisonment in Rome. Timothy was leading the church in
Ephesus. In the letter Paul gave Timothy instructions concerning order and
structure in the church. In chapter 4, Paul addresses the issue of false
teachers and encouraged Timothy to be a faithful minister for Christ.
Practicing Spiritual Disciplines:
1. Keeps Us
from Departing from the Faith
1 Timothy 4:1-6
1 The Spirit clearly
says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught
by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences
have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to
be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is
received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and
prayer. 6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will
be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of
the good teaching that you have followed.
What are some examples of good things that have
been distorted by our culture?
Paul gave two examples:
1. Marriage. They were apparently
elevating celibacy as being more spiritual than marriage.
2. Food. Abstinence from
certain foods may have had its origins in the Mosaic laws regarding clean and
unclean foods.
How can we equip ourselves to identify false
teachings?
What distortions of biblical truth have you
encountered recently?
What are some teachings you’ve heard are
biblical but really aren’t?
An apple in the garden /
Three wise men / A whale swallowed Jonah / Money is the root of all evil / After being fired by the
Chicago Bears, iconic football coach Mike Ditka told the gathered media that
Scripture tells us “This too shall pass.” Except that’s not true. / Cleanliness is next to
Godliness / God works in mysterious ways / Love the sinner hate the sin / Be in
the world, but not of the world / God will not give you more than you can
handle / God helps those who help themselves
The apostle warned of those who would depart from the faith. The
Spirit of God communicated to Paul that those in the church who were not in the
Word and prayer would give way to deceptive teachings, demonic influences, and
dead consciences. They would practice things that were not biblical and godly.
Paul tells Timothy—and us—to stay in the Word and to teach the Word, so that we
and the people we lead could be good servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
constant engagement with the Scriptures through personal study and pastoral
preaching nourishes our faith and helps us become more like Jesus Christ.
Biblical preaching initially gets you out of the world, but biblical teaching
gradually gets the world out of you.
We are living in the later times right now! Paul
noted that the Holy Spirit clearly warned that during this time period some will
abandon the faith. This verse can lead to the question, “Can believers lose
their salvation?” In the Gospel of John, Jesus taught that He gives eternal
life to those who heed His voice and follow Him. No one is able to snatch
believers out of either His hand or God the Father’s hand (John 10:27-30). In
his letter to the Philippians, Paul wrote that God, who has begun a good work
in believers, will be faithful to bring that work to completion (Phil. 1:6; see
also Rom. 8:28-29).
Although true believers cannot lose their
salvation, we need to be vigilant lest we be deceived and led astray by false
teachers. Part of that vigilance entails dedicating ourselves to growing in our
faith. We must exercise
spiritual discipline.
While overall Paul’s position was the same—all
things come from God and therefore can be eaten—Paul did make one concession.
If eating foods sacrificed to idols caused a fellow, weaker believer to stumble
in his faith, then one should abstain from eating such foods for that person’s
sake (1 Cor. 8). Many times, we associate this teaching with drinking.
2. Helps Us
Develop in the Faith
1 Timothy 4:7-9
7Have 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. 9 This is a trustworthy
saying that deserves full acceptance.
Paul warned Timothy to reject the teachings of
the false teachers, labeling them as godless myths and old wives’ tales.
Timothy was not to allow himself to be drawn into discussions or debates
about such worthless issues.
What can Christians do to identify and avoid
myths?
The best way to know when a teaching is
counterfeit is to be acquainted with the real thing. The same is true with
avoiding silly myths. To avoid falling prey to silly myths circulated by false
teachers, we must know the hallmarks of truth—and truth is found in God’s Word.
What are the challenges and benefits of training
ourselves in godliness?
Challenges: Doing the work. An
athlete pushes himself in training because a certain exercise builds up his
body so as to help him achieve a certain goal. He doesn’t love everything about
training. But he still has to do it. In the same way, prayer, fasting, Bible
study, and other spiritual disciplines require the investment of time,
discipline, and dedication. The goal is a closer relationship with God that
will be reflected in a life of Christlikeness.
Benefits: When we practice
spiritual disciplines, we open up ourselves to God’s working in us so that He
can produce godliness in us. While we cannot manufacture godliness on our own,
God will use our disciplined training to produce godliness in our lives.
While spiritual growth ultimately happens
through the power of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, Christians have a role to
play in their own spiritual growth as well.
The apostle tells Timothy to “train yourself in
godliness.” Athletes don’t get better through trying, they get better through
training. You don’t learn to play piano just by professing, you learn by
practicing. Likewise, Christians cannot be spiritually transformed without
spiritual training. To “train yourself in godliness” means to practice the
spiritual disciplines that facilitate growth. When we pray, read the Bible,
journal, memorize Scripture, fellowship with believers, and get involved with
the work of the Great Commission, we position ourselves for God to mature us.
We can’t cause ourselves to grow, but we can give God the space—through
practicing the spiritual disciplines to change us more into the likeness of
Jesus Christ. Paul told Timothy that bodily training only benefits in this
life, but spiritual training benefits you for this life and the life to come.
Growth is not automatic. We must practice spiritual disciplines to experience
spiritual development.
3.
Equips Us for Disciple-Making for the Faith
1 Timothy 4:10
10 That is why we labor
and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior
of all people, and especially of those who believe.
God saved us for service.
The Holy Spirit regenerated us for
reproduction.
Jesus Christ delivered us for disciple-making.
We are changed to become world-changers.
Paul said, “For this reason we labor and strive.” We are to have a
great commitment to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). We are to grow-up in
Christ and help others grow up in Christ (2 Tim. 1-2). Paul said, “we have put
our hope in the living God,” and the God we serve is “the Savior of all
people.” Listen, we don’t have to make ourselves grow, we just have practice
spiritual disciplines. And, we don’t have to make others grow, we just train
them how to practice the spiritual disciplines. God does the saving and
sanctifying. God is the One who delivers and develops.
If we do the practicing, the Lord will do
the producing.
Growth in Christ occurs when we
practice spiritual disciplines.
