After reading Whitney'sSpiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,
what do you understand his main argument to be? Do you agree
with him or disagree? Why or why not? What are three spiritual
disciplines you need to strengthen and how do you plan to
implement them
According to Donald Whitney, “The Spiritual Disciplines are those
personal and corporate disciplines that promote spiritual growth. They are
the habits of devotion and experiential Christianity that have been
practiced by the people of God since biblical times”.[1]Spiritual
disciplines are about turning to God, focusing on Him, listening to Him,
speaking to Him, and then telling others about Him. Strengthening our
relationship with Him is both a motivation for, and a result of, spiritual
disciplines. The spiritual disciplines emphasize relationship. As Paul writes
to Timothy, “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily
discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things,
since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1
Timothy 4:7-8). Also, the spiritual disciplines uncover our sin that hinders
our walk with God. It is difficult to read God’s Word, speak to Him, and
focus on Him without seeing ourselves as the sinners we are. The spiritual
disciplines challenge us to cry out to God for forgiveness and cleansing.
Once we are born again, we are to live as transformed people and we are
to strive to become more and more like Christ. Practicing the spiritual
disciplines help us to do that. As Kenneth Boa states, “If we wish to be like
our Master, we must imitate His practice: if we believe He knew how to
live, we must seek the grace to live like Him”.[2]As we create a habit of
using these spiritual disciplines, we will find ourselves closer to God and
more spiritually empowered.
In my opinion, the most important and compelling reason to
practice the spiritual disciplines is because even though Jesus was the
only perfect person ever to live, he still practiced spiritual disciplines.
Throughout the gospels we see Jesus practicing the spiritual disciplines
such as praying (Luke 5:16), reading Scripture (Luke 4:17–21), fasting
(Matt. 4:2), and worshiping (Matt. 26:30). If Jesus thought spiritual
disciplines were crucial for himself, then they are even more important for
us. Jesus tells us “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in
Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do
nothing” (John 15:5). It is vital that we recognize that remaining in Christ
is not a passive activity. Jesus tells us that staying connected to him is
something that we are to do actively. Spiritual disciplines enable us to
maintain that connection. As that connection is maintained, fruit is
produced in us.
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