Disciplines of a Godly Man

by R. Kent Hughes

Men, if we wish to be good leaders we must recognize and embrace this conventional wisdom: vision, communication, delegation and organization, demonstration, and determination. We laud and commend all this, but we must practice it as well.

The bottom line was this: God’s people were required to give a minimum of 25 percent a year.

Giving from a heart overflowing with God’s grace, whether the giving be mandatory or voluntary, has always been the ideal for God’s people — before and after the coming of Christ. When a heart overflows in grace giving, a substantial amount of one’s income goes to God.1

The grace of giving has nothing to do with being well off. It is not dictated by ability. It is a willingness to give. Giving is viewed as a privilege. It is joyously enthusiastic and pleads for the opportunity to give more.

God can have our money and not have our hearts, but He cannot have our hearts without having all our money. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

The natural tendency is to put giving off until you feel able to give. Such thinking keeps many from ever giving. A preacher came to see a farmer and asked him, “If you had $200, would you give $100 of it to the Lord?” “I would.” “If you had two cows, would you give one of them to the Lord?” “Sure.” “If you had two pigs, would you give one of them to the Lord?” The farmer said, “Now that isn’t fair! You know I have two pigs.”

A preacher came to see a farmer and asked him, “If you had $200, would you give $100 of it to the Lord?” “I would.” “If you had two cows, would you give one of them to the Lord?” “Sure.” “If you had two pigs, would you give one of them to the Lord?” The farmer said, “Now that isn’t fair! You know I have two pigs.”5

If we want Andrew-like hearts, we must repeatedly expose ourselves to the raw realities of Christ as they are recorded in the Gospels. Magnetized hearts draw others to Christ.

Statistics demonstrate that ordinary Andrew relational evangelism is the most effective way to go. Recently The American Institute of Church Growth surveyed some 8,000 church attenders and found that 1 to 2 percent were people with special needs; 2 to 3 percent were walk-ins; 5 to 6 percent were influenced to come by a particular preacher; 2 to 3 percent came because they liked the church program; 1 to 2 percent came because they responded to a visitation effort; 4 to 5 percent were reached by Sunday school; .5 percent came through evangelistic crusades/TV programs; and a whopping 75 to 90 percent came through the influence of friends or relatives.5 Clearly, the personal ordinary Andrew approach is the most important aspect of evangelism, far outweighing institutional approaches many times over.

Salvation is by grace alone, and living the Christian life is by grace alone also.

It is God’s grace that energizes us to live out the disciplines of a godly man. There is always more grace.