The Gospel Is For Beleivers and Unbelievers Alike

The Bible’s message, however, is that the gospel is just as necessary for the Christian as for the unbeliever. We are to base the “duty” of discipleship on the gospel, resulting in the practice of a Christ-based acceptance with God and a Spirit-energized approach to the pursuit of holiness.  The so-called duty of discipleship then [...]

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Love is in All He Does to His People

God has thoughts of love in all He does to His people.  The ground of His dealings with us is love (though the occasion may be sin), the manner of His dealings is love, and the purpose of his dealings is love.  He has regard, in all, to our good here, to make us partakers [...]

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There is One Further Thing We Need to Do

There is, however, one further thing we need to do.  We should relate all of these disciplines back to the grace of God so that the practice of them does not cause us to think we are in a performance relationship with Him.  We need to continually remind ourselves that the performance of these disciplines [...]

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What We Are Now Doing, Is Likely Not Sufficient

If we are going to make progress in the pursuit of holiness, we must aim to live according to the precepts of Scripture – not according to the culture, even Christian culture, around us.  But how can we do this if we don’t know what those precepts are?  It is not sufficient for us to [...]

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Dependence on the Holy Spirit Should Permeate Them All

Dependence is not simply one of a list of several disciplines.  Rather it gives life and vitality to them.  Just as the principle of life that makes the seed grow gives fruition to all of the farmer’s efforts, so the enabling of the Holy Spirit within us gives fruition to our disciplines.  Therefore, as we proceed [...]

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Habits Often Trump Head and Heart

I believe that one of the chief characteristics of our sinful nature, or “flesh” as it is called in most Bible translations, is an attitude of independence toward God.  Even when we know and agree that we are dependent on Him, we tend out of habit to act independently.  It is part of the “evil [...]

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We Can Learn from Nehemiah on Prayer

We can learn from Nehemiah’s example how to pray for ourselves in the pursuit of holiness.  Like Nehemiah, we need to set aside time each day for planned, protracted, persevering prayer.  We need to lay before the Lord any areas of persistent sin in our lives: sins such as gossip, irritability, impatience, lack of love, [...]

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How Can We Grow in Our Dependence on Christ?

How then can we grow in a conscious sense of dependence on Christ?  Through the discipline of prayer.  Prayer is the tangible expression of our obedience.  We may assent to the fact that we are dependent on Christ, but if our prayer life is meager or perfunctory, we thereby deny it.  We are in effect [...]

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Those Are Not the Source of Our Spiritual Strength

A major temptation in the self-discipline approach to holiness, however, is to rely on a regimen of spiritual disciplines instead of on the Holy Spirit.  I believe in spiritual disciplines instead of on the Holy Spirit.  I believe in spiritual disciplines… But those disciplines are not the source of our spiritual strength.  The Lord Jesus [...]

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We Must Assume Our Responsibility to Discipline

If we are to make any progress in the pursuit of holiness, we must assume our responsibility to discipline or train ourselves.  But we are to do all this in total dependence on the Holy Spirit to work in us and strengthen us with the strength that is in Christ. – Bridges, Jerry; The Disciplined [...]

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