A disciple of Jesus Christ is called to be a disciplined servant of our Savior. And every follower of Christ comes to realize that spiritual growth does not just happen automatically. In fact, whenever we fail to maintain discipline, we take a step backward and stunt our spiritual growth.
Believers have already arrived in terms of our standing with God through faith in Jesus (Justification). And we are growing to become more like Christ in our daily life (Sanctification). A believer’s justification is complete at conversion, whereas our sanctification is a lifelong process.
You may feel at times like you are taking three steps forward and two steps back in your life of discipleship. Needless to say, every Christian has room to become more obedient and disciplined as we seek to please the Lord moment by moment. Every follower of Christ is obviously a work in progress.
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Are there areas in your life today lacking in spiritual discipline? An undisciplined life creates complex problems. After all, God wired you to live a disciplined life. “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). And so, it is especially critical that your thought life comes under the control of the Holy Spirit. A disciplined mind is essential in order to walk closely with the Lord.
The Apostle Peter wrote to Christians, “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking” (2 Peter 3:1). Meditating upon the Word of God disciplines your mind and helps you stay under the control of the Holy Spirit. Wholesome thinking is a critical aspect of spiritual health.
Like you and I, Peter knew from firsthand experience what happens when we allow our mind to go off the rails. For example, one night while out on the lake, “Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus” (So far so good, right?). “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:29-30). Peter’s disciplined mind and strong faith initially enabled him to walk on water. But the second he took his eyes off Jesus and focused instead on the wind and the waves, fear quickly flooded his heart and mind.
And on the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter once again succumbed to fear when in three separate incidents he denied being one of Christ’s disciples. (see John 18:15-27) Peter’s crooked behavior was a shameful display and an ugly manifestation of the crooked thoughts he adopted when temptation came knocking.
You see, the battleground is the mind. And whenever you give up territory in your mind, (jealousy, lust, fear, etc.) you become far more susceptible to sinning with your words (lying, gossip, fits of rage, etc.) and even with your body (physical violence, sexual sin, gluttony, etc.)
There is no question that spiritual growth requires self-control. “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28). On the flip side, the Holy Spirit empowers believers to surrender our will and our desires to the will of God. “The fruit of the Spirit is … self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Thankfully, the Lord does not abandon us when we take a step backward. When Peter started to sink, “Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him” (Matthew 14:31). I suspect you can recall times in your own life when God rescued you after you foolishly chose to plunge headfirst into a particular sin.
Our Father in Heaven produces perseverance, character and spiritual maturity in the lives of His children (see Romans 5:3). “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). Bible reading, prayer, gathering with other Christians, serving people and obeying the Lord are five holy practices that help facilitate spiritual maturity while producing disciplined followers of Jesus Christ.
Our biggest threat oftentimes is not the world or even the devil, but our old self (see Ephesians 4:22-24). This internal dynamic led the Apostle Paul to write, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Romans 7:18).
When you were born again through faith in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, (see John 3:3-8; Titus 3:4-6) King Jesus replaced your old self on the throne of your heart (see Romans 6:1-18). Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Unfortunately, believers sometimes attempt to get back up on the throne. Rather than fully trusting God through the storms and saying “No” to sinful desires, we allow our old self to once again assert some measure of control over our thoughts and behavior, even if only for 20 or 30 seconds.
Giving into temptation disturbs a believer’s fellowship with the Lord. This ever-present threat requires constant vigilance, and it led David to wisely and humbly pray: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). The thoughts we entertain and the words we speak tend to reveal the measure of self-control we are enjoying at any given moment.
Jesus works in the hearts and minds of His followers to help us think straight and commit ourselves to this noble goal: “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The Apostle Paul also penned this powerful insight: “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:11-12).
Followers of Christ have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone (see Ephesians 2:8-10). And we learn more every day about the necessity of saying “No” to those thoughts and actions which God forbids, while putting into practice holy habits which help to foster spiritual growth.
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
