In the first article dealing with personal discipline and holiness, we noticed some aspects of holiness. We saw that Scripture makes it very clear that God is holy. Therefore we are called to be holy. In the second article we studied some aspects of self-discipline. We saw that self-discipline is a concealed matter and accordingly it involves a close watch over self. This is necessary for personal holiness.

In this third and last article we hope to consider somewhat more in depth, the relationship between self-discipline and holiness.

I wish to start by emphasizing that holiness is a fruit of God's work in man. He grants the blessing of regeneration. He grafts a sinner into His Son and then the fruits of faith come forth.

Nevertheless, we read that the apostle Paul says: "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). In 1 Corinthians 9:27 the apostle writes: "But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection." He also admonishes Timothy: "Follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life" (1 Tim. 6:11).

This striving after holiness is of the ut­most importance. It is a pursuit for godliness. Woe to that man who does not know this pursuit. To pursue godliness and to walk after holiness, we must use the pathway of self-discipline. Again I want to mention our key text for this topic: "Exercise thyself unto godliness" (1 Tim. 4:7). In order to exercise ourselves to godliness we should use self-discipline.

The Blessing of Self-Discipline⤒🔗

By exercising self-discipline the strength is produced to be independent.

Many people do not have the courage and the strength to be independent. At times we may be called to do something that others do not do. Many live according to what others do. The majority does what the majority does.

In Exodus 23:2 we read: "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." That involves-self discipline. We must have the courage to be independent of others.

We think of men like Luther from church history and men like Jeremiah from the Old Testament. There was Daniel who was all alone at the court of Babylon where he had to give direction and in­struction. He stood alone, but he could manage because of the Lord his God. He was firmly rooted in the Word of God. He experienced ups and downs. At times he was forgotten and at other times he was in the forefront, but Daniel always remained faithful to the Word of God.

This was also the case with Luther and other Reformers. These men often stood alone and they could stand alone.

What was their secret? They were rooted in the Word of God. They were disciplined by God's Word. They looked not to themselves, but to the Word of God. They were independent from others.

We can also mention Elijah, Paul and Abraham. These men stood alone. They belonged to those people who pray: "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" They were people who had received courage to stand alone and the result was that they influenced and awakened others.

An awakening never came from the masses, put from strong personalities who trembled before God's Word and who were thoroughly steeped in the Word of God. Look at Josiah or Joseph! Look at Luther and Whitefield!

To persevere in this present age we ourselves must be have been seized by the Word of God. We must have been cut down and raised up by the Word of God. We must be people who by God's grace are growing in the Word of God. We are called to be people who exercise oursel­ves to godliness.

Self-discipline is a blessing, but the neglect of self-discipline is a curse. The results of a lack of self-discipline can be compared to addiction. Addiction leads to a weakening of the will. Drugs or alcohol weaken the will. Likewise, a lack of this self-discipline weakens the will.

The Means to Further Self-Discipline←⤒🔗

Meditation promotes and stimulates self-discipline. By this we touch one of the dangers of this age. People are so rushed today that they hardly take time to think. They must be entertained from morning to evening. Someone wrote, it is as if man lives in a bunker. He is concealed and has no perception of the real views of life. Man does not know why he is living and in­stead of seeking the truth, he is wasting his time.

The real evils of the entertainment in­dustry are not the violence and the profanity, offensive as they are. The danger of TV is the fact that man is kept busy. When the TV is turned on the mind is turned off.

Others have the radio on the whole day. They don't want to be alone. They can't stand quietness. They always have to hear something, because they are on the run. The way modern man lives corresponds to the situation of Huxley's book, Brave New World, written in 1932. In this book, Huxley projects a society where people are kept busy or entertained all day long.

In this world of hustle and bustle, one of the most difficult things for a person to do, is to sit down on a chair in a room and just think and meditate. It is necessary for us to take time to consider: "Where are my weak spots? Where does the devil get hold of me so easily? What are my bosom sins? Is it carnal lust? Is it self conceit or pride?"

It is very difficult for modern man to sit down and to meditate. Yet we see in our society a rising demand for books concerning the New Age movement and east­ern transcendental meditation techniques. Yoga belongs to this category. This kind of meditation originates from the realm of darkness and it leads to eternal darkness.

Eastern meditation focuses upon pantheism. The aim is that the self-conscious­ness of man emerges and dissolves into the "one". The object is to become one with the godhead. Just as a drop of water falls into the sea, never more to exist as a separate entity, so the individual must strive to be engulfed into the godhead. We have here the idea of pantheism. This kind of meditation is also characterized by a contempt for the physical body.

We may not comply with this pantheism because it is contrary to Scripture. We should also refuse to comply with deism because it teaches that God has left this world and that man has to help himself.

We hold to theism. Theism teaches that God is the Holy God Who is high above the whole of creation. We also maintain that God is close to creation and cares for His creation. Theism acknowledges that God is transcendent, above creation, and also imminent, that is in creation.

Meditation must focus upon this God and His Word revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. How blessed it is to meditate upon the sufferings of Christ! How blessed it is to meditate upon the glories of heaven or upon the attributes of God! It can also be beneficial to focus upon the terrors of hell.

The Importance of True Meditation←⤒🔗

The key to self-discipline and holiness is to have daily meditations on the Word of God. We should not just wait until we think the Spirit of the Lord is urging us to read and pray. Every day, as a golden rule, there should be this time set aside for quiet meditation. This should consist of the reading of Scripture, meditating upon that portion of God's Word and seeking the Lord in prayer. Every day we should have that special time in which we pour out our heart unto the Lord in devotion.

The Lord does not just let grace drop down from heaven. He binds us to the means. He desires that we search the Scriptures. Grace is a fruit and a gift of the Holy Ghost, but the Lord still binds us to the means.

History records that it has always been a habit for believers to spend time each day, for at least a few moments, with a good devotional book. One good book is sufficient to elevate your thoughts to God. The quantity is not important but the quality of reading is important.

This is all part of spiritual exercise. Self-discipline requires, above all things, a good habit or a good custom. It is essential that this should be a daily activity. Someone wrote: "The custom is one of the greatest powers of weakness." We take time to eat every day, otherwise we will become weak. Likewise, if we neglect spiritual food, our soul and our personality will suffer. A total lack of self-discipline will be the result.

This exercise to godliness takes time, effort and sometimes even self-denial. Did the Lord Jesus not say: "Enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret" (Matt. 6:6)? We must be alone before the face of a holy God.

In our meditations the focus should be: "Who is God for us and who am I for Him?" Read with the desire to have the Word of God personally applied to your soul and to your situation. Don't just read and then close the Bible, but meditate upon God's Word.

I want to refer to a Dutch puritan, Theodorus a Brakel, who said basically the same things. He notes:

He, who heartily wishes to experience God's grace and the forgiveness of sins, and to taste that the Lord is good and sweet and who longs to grow in communion with God, and who desires to abound in the love of Christ, that person is obliged for all things to daily have some Christian exercises.

In these exercises or meditations, we will become alarmed by our condition. We will learn to loathe ourselves and to seek our life outside ourselves in the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus. We must pray to be changed by the blessed working of the Holy Ghost.

We are entering an age which does not bode well for the Church of Christ. Before anything else, we should not retreat from our daily calling. We should retreat to our inner chambers to beseech the Lord for His power and for the might of His grace. To do this is to have a blessed life.

The outcome of such a life of holiness will be what Olevianus (one of the composers of the Heidelberg Catechism) said on his death bed. They asked him: "Are you sure of your salvation in Christ, just as you have preached to others?" His answer was: "Certissimus!" (Latin for "most certainly!") Olevianus was very much assured of his salvation. This assurance is the joy and the result of a life of self-discipline and striving for holiness.