The spiritual disciplines have been assumed by many to be the rubric by which
spiritual maturity is measured. e The arguments are made that one is not serious
about their relationship with Christ unless one is engaged in various spiritual
disciplines. e Donald Whitney argues that “Thus, as we have seen in Hebrews
12:14, anyone who is not striving for holiness will not see the Lord.”[1] So, Whitney
argues for several disciplines by which one is to grow in holiness: e “Bible intake,
prayer, worship, evangelism, service, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude,
journaling, and learning.”[2] Whitney writes, “the biblical way to grow in being more
like Jesus is through the rightly motivated doing of the biblical Spiritual
Disciplines.”[3] e I have quoted Whitney verbatim not for convenience but for the
purpose of not being charged with hyperbole or exaggerated conflation of
Whitney’s argument. e The argument goes: Without holiness, one may not see the
Lord; the spiritual disciplines are the way to grow in holiness; therefore, one must
engage in spiritual disciplines. e The main question I must raise is how did the
body of Christ grow in holiness before the 16th century when the Scriptures were
not available in the common language of most believers? e Has this been the
standard of growing in holiness for all Christians at all times in all places? e Any
honest student of Christian history would have to say no. e Not only in church
history, but this also has not been the standard for the people of God in the Old
Testament either.
Now that I have said that, I must say that I believe that there can be many
benefits from Whitney’s list of disciplines, but I would argue that historically the
ordinary means of grace have been the standard of growing in holiness. e By
“ordinary means of grace,” I understand them in the traditional Reformed sense of
the rightful administration of the Word of God, the ordinances of Baptism and the
Lord’s supper, and prayer. All of which, other than prayer, happens primarily in the
corporate gathering of the church. e With our emphasis on individualism in our
current milieu, I know my beliefs may be considered anathema to many. e So, by
conviction, I believe that the areas I need to focus on are the corporate aspect of
worship and prayer. e I attend a Reformed Baptist church that agrees with these
tenets. e Every week, the Scriptures are read, prayers are prayed, and the Lord
Supper is administrated (yes, the Lord Supper every week). e I believe James M.
Reinihan states it best:
Faith does not come by journaling, or contemplation, or silence, or walking the
labyrinth. It comes by hearing the Word of God – the voice of the Prophet of the
church, Jesus Christ speaks to us in preaching. Too often, we fall prey to the
latest fads and trends; we want growth, and we want it now. But the best methods
are the old methods – they may be slow and seemingly dull; who really likes to be
as the farmer, waiting after months of toil and labor for the harvest, watching
growth in the smallest of increments? But he knows that the end result of his
patience will be delightful produce.[4]
There is no doubt that I will be considered a contrarian; that is not the case. e As
Reinihan notes, we are too often enamored by the popular evangelical culture
rather than Scriptural remedies for our spiritual growth.
