Recommended Reading

Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster		The Spirit of Disciplines - Dallas Willard

Monastic spirituality can also be called a way of life - either lived in a monastery or not - that requires a certain discipline to dispose oneself to meet the living God. The practices mentioned above: prayer, fastings, silence, vigils, reading, good works, are seen as means to that end, and never ends in themselves. In fact according to the ancient Christian tradition of the desert it is better to abandon the practices if they are not assisting one to greater openness and love of God and neighbor.

The inspiration for monastic spirituality is the example of individuals who have followed such a path or written about it since the latter part of the third century. These include such persons as Saints Antony, Pachomius and Mary of Egypt, Saints Basil and Macrina of Asia Minor, John Cassian of Gaul, Saints Benedict and Scholastica of Italy, and many others. These men and women have acted as guides in the discipline of seeking God with a monastic spirituality.

The carnal mind of man, the fallen flesh of mankind cannot ever change by himself. His will power, his strengths and abilities are completely unable to prevent his inner selfishness and greed. No works of his goodness and kindness will ever change his inner self and in the many moments he is caught off guard and slips in his aim to practice goodness. These moments are joined by the many events of hardships and sufferings in his life, where his goodness fails at no end. He is impossible to change his inner self no matter how hard he tries.

God, on the other hand, gives us the power to change our inner nature, our inner inherited selfishness and greed. Only with his Spirit can we obtain the power, strength and way that can change our inner selves for the good. As this Spirit enters our bodies, we do our best to obediently walk with it, falling many times, but slowly being transformed deep inside ourselves.

God gives this Spirit to us for free. It is a free, undeserved gift that is done out of pure love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness and true justice, the very qualities His Spirit will transform us with as we slowly grow and progress in maturity and become full grown in our powers of understanding and the fullness of Christ.

However being a free and underserved gift that we cannot obtain by our will power, nor works, we need to practice and incorporate in our daily lives the Spiritual disciplines that God sets out for us, having the prime example of his son, Jesus Christ, as our model to follow his steps closely. As we practice the disciplines of prayer, solitude, mediation, fasting, study, simplicity, service, confession, worship and celebration, we both allow God's Spirit to slowly transform us and we walk obediently with Him to change our inner selves, reflecting our perfect example and savior, Jesus Christ.

We practice the disciplines with joy and balance, never putting them as laws or rules, but as voluntary ways that change us, transform us as new creatures in Christ and ultimately bring us joy. The very joy in God that gives us strength.

To Walk As Jesus Did

We are under obligation to walk as Jesus did. In what ways are we to walk as he did? Glen Barker comments on 1 John 2:6,

"The author is not claiming that the walk of Jesus can be perfectly imitated but that there is a divine imperative-which must be taken seriously for believers to live according to the way Jesus lived." (1)

Obviously were not the Son of God, but we can be a son of God, as we:

"Received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." Romans 8:15-16

As "God's sons, his spirit moves us in many ways. Walking as Jesus did is walking with the Spirit. "Decipleship results not so much in Christian indoctrination, (getting the right answers), as in Christlike transformation (living the right life). (2) The Gospels show a twofold way in which Jesus walked. We can see what he did, as a teacher, preacher and savior of man. Secondly, we can see how he lived as he traveled, touched, healed, slept and ate. We can imitate to the best of our ability, within reason, the way Christ walked.

Jesus Christ, our Chief Shepherd, our "role model for us to follow his steps closely," (1 Peter 2:21) practiced such spiritual disciplines as fasting, prayer and solitude, submission, service and meditation. (3) While the first thought that might come to mind is that "these are works of salvation," and "we are saved by faith only," eliminating the value of such spiritual disciplines, however these disciplines are not works for salvation but ways to open ourselves, make space and create room for God to enter in us to work with his Spirit. This does require some effort and discipline, but is not and attempt to "earn" salvation with works. It is however, a way to open ourselves up and allow room, space and openness in ourselves for God to work in us, filling us with his Spirit.

Spiritual disciplines can be described as John W. Frye states:

"What is a spiritual discipline? It is simply a human activity that creates a space or setting for God to work. I do mean for God to work and work mightily. I now understand, for example, that solitude and silence are not activities that earn God's favor or blessing. They are simply practices I choose to do that position me to receive God's favor or blessing." (4)

Our calling is to seriously consider not only Jesus teachings, but also his very way of life. A life that exhibited a consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines.

I. The original church and Apostles of Christ recognized that the meaning to Christ was more than the solely the forgiveness of sins with the death of Christ, but went much further to the resurrection of Christ and the newness of life, as a new creature, being transformed into the fullness, the likeness of Christ, imitating him in his way of life as he lived, taught and regularly practiced the Spiritual disciplines of fasting, mediation, solitude and prayer.

II. With recognition of our salvation depending on more than Christ's death and shed blood, but in addition to this, his resurrection, his life and his way of life, we can see how he lived and how we should live, as "we imitate his steps closely" and "walk the way Jesus did." For it is the life of Jesus that we are to imitate and the way of life that we obtain as a transformed new creation in Christ that pertains to our salvation:

"God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:5

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." 1 John 5:12

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

"For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Romans 5:10

"For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it." Galatians 1:13

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

As the above scriptures reveal to us the importance of not only Jesus death and shed blood, paying the ransom and reconciliation of us with God, but also of his resurrection, his newness to life, the way of life that we are to follow and walk in.

"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

III. It is true that the bible speaks of our bodies as full of sin, flesh being against the Spirit:

"For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death." Romans 7:5

However, our life that that Christ gives us pertains to our bodies. Our bodies our to be "our living sacrifices to God," as the "Spirit dwells inside of us," making our very bodies the "temple of God."

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? " 1 Corinthians 6:15

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

Despite our bodies being sinful and of the flesh, they are to be made sacrifices to God as his Spirit dwells inside and we use them with our new "life" that Christ gives us.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12;1

As Dallas Willard describes our bodies situation with God:

"Our bodies "does not contain in itself alone the resources of redemption. But still, I must insist that is was not made to be what we find it to be in its alienation from God.

The body's sad condition is a sure indication that id does not exist in its true element. We would no judge the possibilities of automobiles merely by a survey of those we find in the junk yard or the possibilities of plant life by considering only plants that have been starved of necessary nutrients.

The human body was made to be the vehicle of human personality ruling the earth for God and through his power. Withdrawn from that function by loss of it's connection with God, the body is caught in the inevitable state of c corruption in which we find it now. To readjust our view of the possibilities of our body and the spiritual life the body can experience provides the basis for our application of Spiritual disciplines, even as Jesus, God's Son, had done." (Italics added) (5)

IV. The later church and history took the words of Martin Luther and twisted them, misinterpreting his words on faith verses works, taking our salvation and labeling it as "Faith alone!," thereby eliminating the life saving "way of life" that Jesus lived and our imitation of him, to follow his steps closely, accusing this as pertaining to the type of works including in Apostle Paul's statements of faith alone for salvation. Suddenly we are free from All works. Yet imitating the way of life of Jesus with Spiritual disciplines were not included in Paul's message. In addition, Martin Luther never did say that we are complete from the type of works that imitate the life of Jesus, his understanding of James letter on "faith without works is dead," was clearly and accurately understood:

O, this faith is a living, busy active, powerful thing! It is impossible that it should not be ceaselessly doing that which is good. It does not even ask whether good works should be done; but before the question can be asked, it has done them, and it is constantly engaged in doing them. But he who does not do such works, is a man without faith. he gropes and casts about him to find faith and good works, not knowing what either of them is, and yet prattles and idly multiplies works about faith and good works.

Faith is a living well-founded confidence in the grace of God, so perfectly certain that it would die a thousand times rather than surrender its conviction. Such confidence and personal knowledge of divine grace makes its possessor joyful, bold, and full of warm affection toward God and all created things-all of which the Holy Spirit works in faith. Hence, such a man becomes without constraint willing and eager to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer all manner of ills, in order to please and glorify God, who has shown toward him such grace." (6)

Apostle Paul, the man who wrote the works Martin Luther had both quoted from and accurately interpreted, was man who truly practiced the spiritual disciplines in imitation of Christ.

Paul's practice examples:

Jesus practice examples:

Martin Luther's, a former Catholic Monk's, examples:

Additional comments on the "by faith" doctrine, erroneously omitting the Spiritual disciplines.

The life of the Jews, Jesus, His Apostles and later the early Christian church was one of fasting, solitude, prayer and mediation. Jesus Himself requested that his followers not be taken out of the world but maintain themselves in it with prayer to God and faith. In addition, Apostle Paul, a former Jewish Pharisee, regularly practiced the Spiritual disciplines before and after his conversion to Christ. Immediately after his conversion, Paul fasted in solitude, meditation and prayer for three days in the desert. As the Christians were persecuted they maintained a sense of identity and separation and never forgot that "their citizenship was in heaven and that they "were no part of the world" and "were strangers and pilgrims upon the earth." (Philippians 3:21; John 17:16; Hebrews 11:13-16)

With the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constatine to Christianity and his Edicts of Toleration in A.D. 311, Christianity gained legal status and a degree of security. In time new teachings of Origen and others emerged, making it increasingly popular to go out to and seek refuge in the desert to meditate and pray in solitude. Men, not following Christ's words, became hermits out in the desert. As more and more began doing this, they became open targets to predators. Who else would be a better vulnerable subject to rob and kill then a non violent hermit out in the desert. As contrary as it was, to protect themselves from not only attack from men but from wild animal attacks, small desert communities of monks were formed in the desert, each maintaining his life as a hermit, with fellow hermits, with his own small dwelling with a protective wall around all. Monastic orders such as Antony and Benedict were born.

But it didn't end here. It went deep out in left field. Men began suffering more and more, in their minds to follow Christ. The entire point of the disciplines was completely lost. Self inflicted pain was to be Christlike and he who does best wins. Like the Guiness Book of World Records, men began outdoing each other in painful and torturous lifetime episodes. Examples are, Pachomus who ate no cooked food for seven years, exposing the naked body to poisonous flies while sleeping in a marsh for six months, not lying down to sleep for forty or fifty years, not speaking a word for many years, proudly keeping a record of the years since one had seen a woman, carrying heavy weights everywhere one went, or living in iron bracelets and chains.

Simeon Stylites (A.D. 309-459), for instance, lived uninterruptedly for thirty years, exposed to rain and sun and cold. A ladder enabled disciples to take him food and remove his waste. He bound himself to the pillar by a rope, the rope became embedded in his flesh, which putrefied around it, and stank and teemed with worms. Simeon picked up the worms that fell from his sores and replaced them there, saying to them, "Eat what God has given you."

St. Finnchua is said to have spent seven years suspended by his armpits from iron shackles, so that he might get a place in heaven in lieu of one he thought he had somehow given away. He as well as St. Ite are said to have cause their bodies to be eaten into by beetles. St. Ciaran mixed his bread with sand. St. Kevin is said to have remained in a standing posture for seven years. Each example more amazing, more fantastic, than the next.