Developing A Personal Spiritual Growth Plan

“but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.” Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith…” 2 Peter 1:5 (NKJV)

“…exercise yourself toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (NKJV)

Spiritual health, like physical health, requires both input and output. We must not only take on those things necessary for spiritual health but we must also do those things that exercise ourselves toward godliness. This balance of input and output is meant to produce godliness in us. Godliness is essentially Christ-likeness. We want to be like Jesus. Since we want to be like Jesus, then we need to do those things that will produce godliness in our lives. Christ-likeness will be seen in specific ways.

My mind will be filled with Truth.

My affections for God will be fueled.

I will share Christ’s love as His witness in the world.

I will partner with other believers to advance God’s Kingdom.

I will invest in the lives of others.

I will progress (grow) in holiness.

We see all of these things when we look at the life of Jesus. When we grow in godliness, or Christ-likeness, we will see these things in our lives as well. As I look at these things two truths stand out to me.

Godliness is more than what I know. While knowing is certainly a part of what it means to be godly, there is more to it than just knowledge. The knowledge of what is right must lead us to do what is right. Behavior matters as much as belief.

It takes more than Bible study to grow in godliness. While Bible study is certainly foundational in godliness, more than Bible study is required to grow in godliness. There are a variety of ways we must “exercise” ourselves if we want to grow in godliness.

The goal of this personal spiritual growth plan is for us to commit ourselves to do those things that will produce godliness in our lives.