Discipline and the Holy Ghost

I really liked this post - some thoughts shared last month by a guy named Todd. Shared exactly a month ago, actually - 12 April on the Perfect Day facebook group - I read it then and am still thinking about it, I think he's on to something that I need to learn...

Just some personal thoughts.

In another post, the question of discipline has been raised. I think this is one of the principles of the gospel that requires really careful distinctions to be made.

Self-discipline is a key component of the gospel and the spiritual life. But as with everything, self-discipline can serve the instincts of the natural man, or it can help create the spiritual man.

Not making a basic distinction between the two can lead to the mistaken notion that one can discipline their behavior to become a Christ-like person. Some will read that sentence and recoil at it. And it is because this distinction is rarely made in the church. If there is a philosophy of man mingled with scripture that is taught from the top to the bottom of our church it is this: by acts of effort and discipline of our own acts, we can become like Christlike.

Why is this a problem? What could possibly be wrong with this teaching?

Let me try to articulate the truth, and then through the comparison identify what is wrong with that teaching.

The truth is something like this: we cannot by acting righteous become righteous. Only through the transformation of the Spirit does our heart and mind change and transform our being.

The only thing that we can ever do is make it possible for the spirit to transform us. That is the work. It can be summarized in one term: repentance.

We cannot make ourselves spiritual, we can discipline ourselves to yield to the spirit so that the Holy Ghost fills us with the spirit.

We cannot create within ourselves the characteristic of humility. But we can humble ourselves before the Lord (there is a important difference) so that his spirit fills us with the disposition of humility.

We cannot by taking thought fill ourselves with love. We can yield to the spirit of truth so that the Holy Ghost fills us with love.

We cannot discipline ourselves into not desiring evil. We can yield to the spirit so that the desire for evil is removed from us.

This subtle, yet critical, distinction is paramount for spiritual growth.

As long as we believe we can make ourselves righteous by taking thought we will exert tremendous amounts of effort trying to self-perfect, with little fundamental change.

Sure, we can adopt the posture and forms of righteousness. But without the transformative power of the spirit our efforts will be fruitless - or yield a moderate amount of light.

Some argue that we give our best efforts to develop the character of Christ and then he helps us to do so. Not really. Maybe a little. What usually happens is we think we have to expend a certain effort in the form and then Christ does the work after we show our best efforts. I actually don't believe this is true.

We expend our complete and total effort in yielding our total hearts to the spirit - then do as it directs - and the result is fast and complete: we become transformed in Christ.

The role of discipline in the gospel is not to self-perfect; it is to discipline ourselves to be constantly subject to the Holy Ghost and willing to do exactly as it prompts.

Those that believe that the gospel is about self-perfection and that Christ just comes in the end and sort of makes up the gap after our best efforts of discipline are exerted are those that teach transformation takes a long, slow, imperceptible process.

The miracle of Christ that all should experience is the miracle of transformation. It is full and it is quick. It doesn't take years. It takes hours, days, maybe months. It takes as long as it takes for us to yield our total hearts to Christ.

Richard Foster describes this when he wrote:

“A farmer is helpless to grow grain; all he can do is provide the right conditions for the growing of grain. He cultivates the ground, he plants the seed, he waters the plants, and then the natural forces of the earth take over and up comes the grain...This is the way it is with the Spiritual Disciplines - they are a way of sowing to the Spirit... By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.”

People can act meekly, but not be meek. A person can act humbly and not posses real humility. A person can act like they love, and possess no charity.

Let's stop expending so much energy counterfeiting the forms, and put all that energy into coming to Christ in a way that we can experience real and fundamental transformation through his Spirit.