Think About It #4: Does Practicing Spiritual Disciplines Cause Spiritual Growth And Does God Expect You To Practice Them?

Many believers all over the world are told that if they are to grow closer to God and grow spiritually, they need to practice the spiritual disciplines.

Some ask,

“What are the spiritual disciplines?”

Spiritual disciplines are a list of spiritual practices created by spiritual leaders (not by God) for those they lead to fulfill if they are to grow spiritually and grow closer to God.

These leaders convince those they lead that spiritual growth and closeness to God come through spiritual disciplines.

Consequently, millions of believers commit themselves to following the disciplines daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, believing that as they practice the disciplines they will get closer to God and grow spiritually.

Some may ask,

“What are the spiritual disciplines?”

It depends what spiritual leader one follows.

Google spiritual disciplines.

There is page after page of spiritual disciplines to practice for a believer to grow.

I counted 27 pages!

I Googled books on spiritual disciplines – I counted about 30.

These books and lists of spiritual disciplines stress the need for daily Bible reading, daily quite times, daily devotions, weekly participating in small groups, memorization and meditating on verses, journaling, confessing sins, serving, fasting, solitude, evangelism, contemplation, self-examination, and silence.

The list goes on...Google it...you will see.

Fancy terms, such as “the daily office” and "centering" are now being given by those who push the disciplines on those they lead.

The daily office/centering is setting aside time throughout the day to contemplate God...to empty your mind and fill it with God.

The spiritual disciplines find their roots in the monks who would practice the disciplines in their monasteries, far removed from the average life of the average person in the world.

The monks had plenty of time and few responsibilities...they had plenty of time for the disciplines.

Spiritual disciplines made their way to the United States around 1978 with Richard Foster’s book, The Celebration of the Disciplines.

With this book, the spiritual disciplines slowly begin to replace the spiritual truths of grace – all that God did for us in Christ and Christ in us as the means of spiritual growth and closeness to God.

I was caught up in the practice of these disciplines for about 5 years.

Eventually and thankfully, I was taught the spiritual truths of all God did for me in Christ (see Romans, Ephesians, Galatians).

Through these truths, I experienced closeness with God and spiritual growth, which the spiritual disciplines never produced in my life.

In my experience, I have met many believers who have been indoctrinated with spiritual disciplines but have never been instructed in the spiritual truths of grace.

That was me for 5 years.

Most believers have never heard about the spiritual truths of the new covenant/testament of grace.

That was me too.

There was a group of people in Colosse who learned about the spiritual truths of grace from Epaphras.

Epaphras learned about them from Paul.

Paul learned about them from Jesus (Acts 20:24; 26:15-18; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesians 3).

The moment the Colossian people learned about the spiritual truths of grace it totally changed their lives, producing spiritual growth and enabling them to experience closeness with God.

This is found in Colossians 1:3-8.

In my own experience and in talking with many, many believers, the practice of spiritual disciplines left them feeling spiritually empty and condemned.

Yet the teaching of the spiritual truths of grace filled them with joy and freedom.

The teaching of grace is the teaching of all that God has freely, fully, and forever done for us in Jesus, leaving us nothing to do...nothing to practice...no list to fulfill...only to receive by faith what he has done.

If someone wants to practice the disciplines given to them by their spiritual leaders or written about in a book, they are free to.

Likewise, for those who, like me, find the disciplines create spiritual bondage and guilt rather than spiritual growth, they are free not to practice the disciplines.

Either way, do not let anyone tell you that you should practice the disciplines or will want to practice the disciplines.

It is for freedom that Christ set you free.

So don’t let anyone put you in a yoke of bondage to spiritual disciplines.

You will discover the closeness of God and you will grow spiritually as you come to a full understanding of grace – all that Jesus has done for you and his presence within you.

Oh...by the way...God does not expect you to practice the disciplines.

Think about it.