Disciplines of a Godly Man (Updated Edition): With Studyguide

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We cannot overemphasize the importance of this call to spiritual discipline. Listen to Paul again from 1 Timothy 4:7, 8: Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. Do all things without grumbling or disputing,” Paul says elsewhere, “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14–15). This light shines in what we say (or don’t). Ask God to make you radiantly thankful. 6. Correct with gentleness. We will never get anywhere in life without discipline, be it the arts, the trades, business, athletics, or academics. . . . This is doubly so in spiritual matters. . . . none of us can claim an innate spiritual advantage. In reality, we are all equally disadvantaged. None of us naturally seeks after God . . . . Therefore, as children of grace, our spiritual discipline is everything—everything! This is] one of the best books I’ve read. . . . What an outstanding volume. . . . I guarantee: Digest this book and you will bid the blahs farewell.

In our own time Winston Churchill has been rightly proclaimed the speaker of the century, and few who have heard his eloquent speeches would disagree. Still fewer would suspect he was anything but a natural. But the truth is, Churchill had a distracting lisp which made him the butt of many jokes and resulted in his inability to be spontaneous in public speaking. Yet he became famous for his speeches and his seemingly impromptu remarks. Ajith Fernando , Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka; author, Discipling in a Multicultural World Discipline—Religious aspects—Christianity.2. Spiritual life—Christianity.3. Men—Religious life.I. Title.I think there's a couple of things. One, it is straightforward. In that sense, it's manly and direct. In other words, the chapters are pretty hard-hitting. Whether you like them or not, they're in your face and they come at you. The other thing is that almost every chapter begins anecdotally or with a story that then feeds into what the biblical text is, then applies the text, and then has practical applications at the end. Each of the chapters are written to really engage you right from the beginning, so those are some of the reasons. 06:45 - The Necessity of Spiritual Discipline So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22) But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3-4) The book is separated int0 different sections, which include relationships, soul, character, ministry and discipline. Each section has multiple topics that relate to the section. All of which speak about disciplines a Godly man and what a Godly man should pursue. Each chapter starts with the hard, failed, truth of humanity and the state of man. Hughes pulls you in and reminds us all why we as men must discipline ourselves in a Godly manner.

Again, in our day, social media factors in significantly here. A social media profile gives us an opportunity to present ourselves however we want. And painfully few of us, when given the choice, show the world who we really are. We choose to highlight what we think makes us look good. We selectively post and comment based on what reflects well on us. In that way, social media easily becomes an education in self-boasting. We learn, through trial and error (and lots and lots of scrolling), what will win affirmation ( like) and admiration ( follow). Sign-up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

6. Discipline of Tongue

Every Christian man, whether a new believer or a mature Christian, will be challenged again and again by this remarkably wise and fascinating book. Kent Hughes skillfully weaves together the teachings of Scripture with real-life examples as he powerfully teaches us what true Christian manhood looks like in the ordinary details of our lives. I highly recommend this update of a book that is becoming a Christian classic.”

This is one of the best books I’ve read. What an outstanding volume! I guarantee: Digest this book and you will bid the blahs farewell.” Can we really become disciplined men of God — a spiritual Mike Singletary or Winston Churchill? Aren’t we just setting ourselves up for defeat? Answer this in your own words, without using evangelical clichés. Jascha Heifitz, the greatest violinist of this century, began playing the violin at the age of three and early began to practice four hours a day until his death at age seventy-five — when he had long been the greatest in the world — some 102,000 hours of practice. He no doubt gave his own Hear, hear! to Paderewski’s response to a woman’s fawning remarks about his genius: Madame, before I was a genius, I was a drudge. John Piper , Founder and Teacher, desiringGod.org; Chancellor, Bethlehem College & Seminary; author, Desiring GodThe call to train ourselves for godliness also suggests directing all of our energy toward godliness. Paul pictures this elsewhere: Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. . . . Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave (1 Corinthians 9:25-27). Intense, energetic sweat! We should singularly note that a sentence later in the context of Paul’s command to train yourself to be godly, he comments on the command and the intervening words, saying for this we labor and strive. Labor means strenuous toil, and strive is the Greek word from which we get agonize. Toil and agony are called for if one is to be godly. Self-love: ...In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. A face lit by a luminous screen is a study in passivity. Fleeting images, intermingled with the thousand commercials and banner ads of an average week’s viewing, instill passiveness. . . . The viewer becomes a passive, munching, sipping drone. . . . There are guys, voyeurs, who have substituted viewing for doing and imagine that they have scored a touchdown or taken a hill by virtue of having watched it—passive living legends in their own inert minds.

Where are we to turn for help? The most instructive example in all of God’s Word is the experience of King David as it is told in 2 Samuel 11. An inspiring and practical guide for men who seek to reflect God's glory in their lives. This book is a challenging text for personal devotions as well as for assisting young followers of Christ to grow in their walk with God." Michelangelo’s, da Vinci’s, and Tintoretto’s multitudes of sketches, the quantitative discipline of their work, prepared the way for the cosmic quality of their work. We wonder at the anatomical perfection of a da Vinci painting. But we forget that Leonardo da Vinci on one occasion drew a thousand hands. ⁵ In the last century Matisse explained his own mastery, remarking that the difficulty with many who wanted to be artists is that they spend their time chasing models rather than painting them.⁶ Again the discipline factor! That being said, a few men in our congregation went through this book together, and I think that's probably the best approach for a few reasons:

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As for the life to come, spiritual discipline builds the enduring architecture of one’s soul on the foundation of Christ — gold, silver, and precious stones which will survive the fires of judgment and remain a monument to Christ for eternity (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). These [sic] are a parable of what ought to be the loving husband's elevating effect on his wife. He is to be a man of the Word who lives a godly life, praying and sacrificing for his wife. His authentic spirituality is meant to buoy her onward and upward toward the image of Christ. The man who sanctifies his wife understands that this is his divinely ordained responsibility. [pg. 52] The potential of possessing the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) introduces the scandal of today’s church—Christians who do not think Christianly, leaving our minds undisciplined. The Apostle Paul understood this well: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). Each ingredient is a matter of personal choice. You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures regularly because you cannot be influenced by that which you do not know. . . .