Good habits, not bad habits

‘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’; 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Discipleship is the believer’s response to the invitation to enter and participate and enjoy the communal life of the God who is three in one. All discipleship involves ‘grace’ and ‘effort’. ‘Grace’ is the help God gives us, and ‘effort’ is our response to the grace/help God gives us.

‘Effort’ alone leads to the Pelagian heresy that progress in discipleship is up to us, while conversely, imagining that God will do everything for us, without us, leads to apathy.

Just as God’s grace comes to us through Christ’s atoning work, through the word of God, and his Holy Spirit within us, so God calls us to respond by seeking him, living with him, learning his ways, and obeying him.

We each need to learn how to take steps to be godly. Perhaps by establishing a habit of beginning our times of prayer with thanksgiving.

Or, listening to a worship song.

Or, reading one psalm each morning and ‘taking it with us’ through the day.

Or, choosing one person to pray for throughout each day,

Or, by practicing saying things that encourage and bless others.

Such little patterns of living not only underpin our days, but they shape our souls, and through them, we learn godliness, … ‘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’. We are strengthened to turn away from temptation.

So, how do we overcome temptation?

1. By understanding what temptation is, and what sin is, and understanding that temptation is not sin.
2. By ‘making no provision for the sinful nature’ – by taking steps to eliminate the possibility of sinning, (by not taking your bathers in case you are tempted to swim in the lake).
3. By seeking the outpouring of the love of Christ into your heart by the Holy Spirit; Ephesians 3:16-19.
4. By engaging with scripture, so we know and understand the powerful and glorious life of the kingdom so we can learn what it is and how to live the kingdom life.
5. And by taking steps to learn and build habits of godliness into our lives.