A Disciplined Life

Lay it aside and run!

The Scriptures present the Christian life as a race that must be run...and won. To accomplish that dual goal, we must shed all sin as well as all weight that would hinder us. That requires sacrifice and self-discipline. We must also stick to the race with patient endurance. We need self-discipline for that as well.

If we live after the Spirit and not after the flesh, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16). We should constantly be putting forth every effort to make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14). Make no allowance, make no excuse -- avoid those things and situations that feed your flesh. Discipline yourself. Exercise temperance and self-control.

My worst days are my careless days. I know my flesh seems especially inclined toward irritability, lust, bitterness, and unrestrained pleasure. If my spirit is not constantly and faithfully on its guard, I "suddenly" find myself heeding my flesh. Carelessness has again led to making "provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof," which is precisely what I ought to avoid at all costs (Romans 13:14).

But I won't give up, and neither should you! "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). When you discover you've picked up that weight again, drop it again, and keep on running with patience!

Self-discipline?

Some folks protest at the notion of self-discipline, insisting that Christian living is simply and only a matter of Christ living in us and through us. They say that the Christian life can be lived only in the power of the Spirit and not in the power of self.

That is true enough...as far as it goes. Paul firmly asserts (at God's direction), "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). So, yes, God provides the will and the power to run this race. Even so, it is still up to us to exercise that will and that power!

Paul also testified that he kept his body under control and brought it into subjection ("I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection" -- 1 Corinthians 9:27). Furthermore, he calls on us to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh" (2 Corinthians 7:1), to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24), and to "mortify the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13). We have to act. We can't just sit around and wait for God to do all the work!