The Means of Grace
Discipline in the Christian life is not a luxury. Without it we become confused, lose our way, compromise our principles, and discover that we are not the people we had intended to be.
No one is so sturdy in the faith that the temptation to surrender bit by bit does not erode conviction. Days go by and we discover that, instead of growing in grace in these days, we have wasted them.
These “means” to whose use we are tied are a positive set of directions for the Christian life, often called the “means of grace.” These means of grace are not a method of deserving God’s grace, but a pattern by which we enable ourselves to be receptive to grace and remove the barriers that God permits us to erect as the price of our freedom.
These tools, or aids, are ways by which we open ourselves to God’s free grace. In using them, we shape our lives in order to become open to God’s presence. They give our Christian pilgrimage a definite shape, in an age in which there is a general sense of loss of direction and confusion about right and wrong, along with an accompanying sense of God’s absence.
—Howard L. Rice,
Reformed Spirituality
Practicing discipline is not an optional extra for believers, but a necessary component for spiritual growth and maturity. It is essential to live a life aligned with Christian values and to deepen one’s relationship with God, rather than something that can be indulged in only when convenient. Just like physical training builds strength, spiritual discipline helps cultivate a strong faith and character. Discipline in Christianity avails us of the “means of grace” to exercise self-control and adhere to biblical principles, that we might grow, becoming more like Christ. Let us thirst after these “means of grace.” —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics