5 Fundamental of Faithful Living

5 Fundamentals of Faithful Living

Worship * Prayer * Bible Study * Fellowship * Evangelism

Let us begin with a definition of what we mean by the term, “spiritual disciplines.” Spiritual disciplines are the God-given means by which we pursue a God-like character. Let us put it another way: Spiritual disciplines are regular habits when practiced in humility by a person of faith will lead to a more Christ-like life. The two key elements are “regularity” and “humility.” No human practice in and of itself will make one either closer to or more like Christ. Therefore, this discussion of spiritual disciplines presupposes that a person has already surrendered to Jesus Christ as the Lord of life and has a passionate desire to do that which pleases the Father and makes one more like the Son. This discussion will be short by design. These Five Fundamental Habits of Faithful Living are incorporated into the very fabric of 242 Church. Through participation in the LifeCircles of the church a person will receive support and guidance in developing a disciplined life.

Biblical Text

1 Timothy 4:7 states the matter as succinctly as any text in the Scriptures. Paul addresses Timothy as a son in the faith giving Timothy the primary means by which Timothy can become a godly young man. The Word says, “But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (NAS). The word translated, “discipline,” is a form of the Greek word, “gumnazo.” From that Greek word we derive the English word, “gymnasium.” The association between the Greek and English become clear when you consider various modern translations of the verse.

The New International states it thusly, “train yourself to be godly.” The King James renders the passage as, “exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” Discipline, training, and exercise all have their place in a gymnasium. They all imply some degree of exertion and self-control. A person goes to a gymnasium with a desired purpose in mind: to exercise for some physical benefit or benefits.

Spiritual exercise also has a purpose as stated in our verse: godliness. Just as there are various “exercises” we can do to gain various physical benefits and better overall health, so there are spiritual “exercises” we can practice to obtain spiritual health and growth. When these disciplines or exercises become habits we become more and more like Our Lord each day. Just like no amount of physical exercise can produce a perfect physical being, likewise no amount of spiritual exercise will produce a perfect spiritual being. The goal is not “perfection,” but “progress.”

Matthew 22:38-40 lays out what it means to live in a right relationship with God in its simplest and most fundamental form. The practice of living a disciplined life is founded upon the most basic principle placed before us in Scripture. Our Lord, Himself, broke down all of the "Law" (representative of right living) in one command. This is called the Great Commandment. All of right living is summed up in these two verses: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

If you examine these verses you will notice that Jesus summed up all of the "Law and Prophets" (principles for righteous living) in terms of two essential relationships. Jesus spoke of a vertical relationship with God, and a horizontal relationship with our fellow men and women. These two relationships can be demonstrated in the form of a cross. Prayer and Bible study are the two disciplines that maintain the vertical relationship (the vertical beam of a cross). Fellowship and evangelism are the two disciplines that maintain a proper horizontal relationship (the horizontal beam of a cross). All of this is done in the context of worship -- that is, to glorify God with our lives. Therefore, the purpose for the Five Fundamentals of Faithful Living in their most fundamental expression is about relationships -- not rituals. To comprehend this basic teaching is to understand the core teachings of the Bible.

Lists of Disciplines

Various men and women of faith have compiled lists of the spiritual disciplines. These lists most often include something like prayer, worship, evangelism, service, fasting, solitude, and journaling. Other disciplines have been listed as confession, accountability, simplicity, submission, celebration (festivals), and sacrifice.

It is doubtful that any list exhausts all the possibilities. Some of the practices on various lists can and have been debated. Some disciplines are perhaps a part of or closely related to other disciplines like “prayer and fasting.” For the purposes of our church we have settled on a list of five. Through years of experience of living a disciplined life this author has found these five to be sufficient to serve as the “basics of Christian discipline.” While these five may not account for the whole dwelling of the Christian life, they certainly provide a solid foundation. When practiced regularly and humbly these five “habits” or disciplines will produce godliness. HERE IS A WORD OF CAUTION: when practiced as ends in themselves with an attitude of legalism they will produce nothing greater than the Biblical Pharisees. Even a casual reading of the New Testament demonstrates that some of Our Lord’s harshest words of criticism were reserved for the Pharisees.

The Five Fundamentals of Faithful Living as Outlined in John 15

Worship. Jesus Christ must be at the center of every Christian life and by extension every Christian church. Therefore, worship becomes sort of the hub around which our individual lives turn. By extension worship is the hub around which the life of any Christian church turns. Worship can contain many elements – both audio and visual. Worship can and should involve both Bible reading and prayer. Worship can involve singing or dance. Worship can involve drama. Writing in a journal can be worship. Worship can use just about any element as long as the purpose is to glorify and honor God in Christ. In the Gospel of John Jesus uses the word, "abide," (five times in the first eleven verses of the NASB) to describe what it means to be His follower, or disciple. This word in the original language of the New Testament (Greek) meant to "stay in a given place, state or relationship." Worship describes all the practices and attitudes that keep us in a proper relationship with Our Lord. This is not to say that our worship is what "keeps us saved." That is a result of grace alone. Worship is what keeps us "sanctified" which refers to the daily, moment by moment, consciousness of God's presence in one's life. Worship is not about rituals, but about abiding or remaining in the given state of grace. Worship without grace is simply ritual. Worship without grace is not "abiding" in a life-sustaining relationship with the Lord. Worship is hard to define in simple terms. READ HERE to see some of the problems with trying to define, or even describe worship. The key issue is the "centrality of Christ" in one's everyday life. Worship means keeping Christ at the center of one's thoughts and activities. Worship is as much an attitude as an action.

Bible Study. Bible Study encompasses all those activities that provide a means by which an individual absorbs the truth of God. Daily devotions, Scripture memory, sermons (especially with note taking), and inductive Bible Study are all means by which one can “breathe in the truth of God.” Again, in the Gospel of John Our Lord says, "If my words abide in you" (second part of verse 7). Then, in verse ten the Lord says, "If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love." The word, "keep," is an intensive word meaning to "watch with great care, or to watch to prevent loss or injury." Regular, daily study and application of God's Word is essential (fundamental) to living as a fully-functioning follower of Jesus Christ. God has ordained that we would discover Him through His Word. We cannot discover God apart from an understanding of His written Word, the Bible. Experiences (visions, dreams, insights, miracles etc.) may confirm or substantiate what is written in God's Word but cannot reveal truth outside of or beyond God's Word. Scholars refer to this as a "closed canon." God established what He wanted written and miraculously preserved its text until it was closed with the death of the last apostle.

Prayer. All relationships require regular communication. Prayer is the means by which we communicate with God. God in some way greater than our ability to comprehend speaks to those who pray. He speaks with those who pray. God’s thoughts communicated to anyone in prayer will always be in keeping with the Word He has communicated in writing. Yet, should God choose to speak to someone through dreams and visions, or with an audible voice He has that prerogative as God. Looking at the Gospel of John once again we see that Our Lord established prayer as one of the fundamental practices (disciplines) of a Christian's life. Again, in John 15, verse seven, the Lord says, "If you abide in Me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it shall be done for you." It is an amazing mystery how we as mere creatures have the ability to communicate with the Creator -- much less have the right to ask for anything. It's even more amazing that the Creator would even want to communicate with us; but in fact he commands us to ask (the word "ask" is in the imperative mood for those of you familiar with the fine points of grammar. This is the mood that expresses a command). Notice that true prayer is conditioned on "abiding in Christ" (worship) and "abiding in his words" (Bible Study). Prayer is not about the words we say but the relationshp we have with God.

Fellowship. Relationships require contact. Fellowship is nothing more than God’s people joining with each other to celebrate our common (koinonia) heritage as God’s people. This contact can be directed or casual. The key is that God’s people are celebrating a relationship based upon a common love for Jesus Christ and one another. Fellowship is the inward looking relationship between believers in the church. Following Our Lord's description of what it means to be His disciple (in John 15) the Lord says, "This is my commandment that you love one another" (verse 12). In verse 14 the Lord refers to our relationship with Him and His chosen ones as "friends." Fellowship is a deep abiding friendship with other believers. In verse 13 that friendship is described as being more important that life itself. We value other believers more than we value our very selves. The word "friendship" does not fully express the meaning of the word "fellowship." Sadly, most relationships in an average church do not even reach the level of "friendship," much less "fellowship." This is why the hub of church life at CityWideFellowship is the LifeCircle, or House Church. This is a very intimate group of people who are sharing their love for one another and celebrating their shared relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evangelism. Just as fellowship defines our interaction with those in God’s family, evangelism describes our relationship with persons outside the family of faith. Every person is either one or the other. One cannot have fellowship with a non-family member but one can express a Godly love to those outside the faith by serving and ministering to them in the Name of Christ with the desire that they might come to understand God’s love for them and accept God’s free gift of grace. Evangelism can be both direct and indirect. Evangelism can be both intentional and relational, and no doubt must be both. Rounding out our study of John 15 we read that the Lord said, "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples" (verse 8). When people think of this fruit they often refer to Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control." While these virtues (fruit) are certainly an important component of the Christian life, it is not the sense in which the Lord is using the word in John 15. In John 15:8 Jesus is using "fruit" to refer to the carrying of the seed of the gospel into the world. This is what fruit does. Fruit bears the seed of the plant in order to establish more plants. This becomes clear when you read verses 18-27, especially verse 27. Part of being a fully-functioning disciple of Jesus Christ is to maintain relationships with those outside of the faith for the purpose of sharing the gospel.

CONCLUSION

This page is nothing more than an outline of “how we do life together” at CityWideFellowswhip. This page is not designed to completely express all that is implied by 1Timothy 4:7. One will come to more deeply comprehend the disciplines of the Christian life as one practices them together with other believers through the Church. A more comprehensive study of these disciplines are offered as you move through the discipleship process of the church.

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