It is only by this submission to the One who created spirituality that His disciples will learn true spirituality. .
True spirituality mirrors what a fully mature follower of Jesus might look like (xxii). Overall Ingram summarizes this into three important parts. True spirituality focuses on relationships, on God's grace, and on God's specific and practical commands for the lives of His children. With these three elements at work in unison (and sometimes overlapping one another) discipleship is confined into a fathomable and reachable context. .
Ingram separates Romans 12 into five specific categories in order to outline the profile of a true Disciple. A disciple first must surrender and separate, and then sober in self-assessment, serve in love, and respond to evil with good (xx, xxi). These sections are all built on the foundational chapters in Romans, which precede chapter twelve. These chapters deal with Christ's work for mankind on their behalf. In addition Ingram points out that none of these steps would be possible without God's infinite grace.
Ingram makes it clear that before all else God requires His children's submission. I found profound strength in his point on page fifteen: surrender is not about what Christians have to give up, but about what they get in return. There is a beautiful communion in submission to God. Because He has our best interests in mind, our lives will be blessed more richly than if we tried to make our own way.
Pleasure, possessions, and position can never fulfill the deepest desires of the Christian soul (64). All Christians will struggle and battle in the fight against sin. It is not enough just for followers to surrender their lives to Christ-next they must take action. I found Ingram's words especially powerful in my life. Upon my surrender God would reveal things in my life, but I didn't feel a change. After revelation I needed to take action and demonstrate to God my commitment to His will.