Discipline is an important topic that often convicts even the best of us because we all could use more of it in our lives. It is difficult to be committed to being disciplined in a world that provides immediate satisfaction for all your needs. Hungry? There are six fast food chains within two miles of you! Bored? There’s an immediate dopamine hit on the device in your pocket! Want to answer a question? Don’t look too hard, Google has an answer for that one! Discipline in our “Utopian paradise” is not seen as necessary by many, but to a follower of Christ, it is integral. Without it we are no longer set apart from the people of this world.

Discipline is defined in the Miriam Webster Dictionary as 1: punishing and penalizing for the sake of enforcing obedience and perfecting moral character; and 2: training or developing by instruction and exercise in self-control. Discipline as a follower of Christ is a development of habitual dying to flesh and self to glorify the Lord. This can include things like daily studying, regular prayer, and fellowship, and fasting. Discipline is important to a Christian life, though our salvation is not by works. It only helps to bring you closer to the Lord, refining you, and making you more like Jesus.

Hebrews 12:8-11

“But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then your are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful: nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

• By accepting Jesus into our hearts we accept the Holy Spirit of God into our lives. He is there to guide and discipline us so we learn self-control.
• We are supposed to be set apart from the rest of the world and discipline helps to display that.
• We respect our parent’s discipline from our earthly parents so we should respect our Heavenly Father’s guidance even more. Because He offers us His holiness and grace, we should respect His discipline even more: we should treat Him with the reverence and gratefulness He deserves.
• Discipline isn’t pleasant in the moment, but later it creates a sense of accomplishment, builds strength, self-control, and moral character.

Proverbs 3:11-12

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom He delights.”

• What kind of a father would choose not to discipline his children? Our Father in heaven is here to guide us, love us, and shape us into who we were always meant to be in the same way, just from a different vantage point.
• The Lord loves us and wants us to be morally upright and strong!

Imagine that! The Creator of the universe loves us! Don’t fret when He wants to guide or redirect us away from sin. He only does it to help us. His loving-kindness is everlasting and that means His chastening is a good thing. The Lord’s will should be our greatest desire, so His discipline should be welcomed.

Proverbs 12:1

“Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.”

• Solomon put it bluntly but perfectly.
• One thing I learned from my chaotic, harsh childhood witnessing adults, who more often than not could not accept fault or take criticism, was that admitting fault and taking constructive feedback is crucial to good decision making.

John Flavel says, “What health is to the heart, holiness is to the soul.” God offers us holiness with His gracious salvation. Without His guidance and chastening into that, it will be impossible for us to become partakers in such holiness. He sets the standard, and we must obey— surrender to His will to become perfect in Christ’s image. Faith in Him is the first step, obedience to Him becomes the lifestyle.

2 Timothy 1:7

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

• It may sound intimidating, God’s discipline, but He doesn’t want to scare us into submission. He loves us, and though He would like a reverential fear and respect, He doesn’t want us to be afraid of Him.
• These gifts He has given us are to be stewarded and used for His will— He wants our obedience for our own best interest.

He gives us power—that is clearly stated in this verse. We live under the blood of Jesus Christ, the one with the most powerful name. We live in His Spirit, so we hold His attributes. It is the wise choice to use them for His will. His will is that we are disciplined and are spiritually, behaviorally, and wholly set apart from the rest of the world. Living in discipline makes us different from the world who often live frivolous lives.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27

“And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

• We can’t just preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to people, speaking of His grace and forgiveness while still in sin. We can’t be perfect but willingly living in sin. We can’t be perfect but willingly living in sin contradicts the new nature God’s Spirit has put in us.
• His Spirit will convict us and that leads to discipline.
• We are fighting for and serving a crown that will last for eternity. This makes discipline feel more worth it because we know that we have eternity beyond this life.

Deuteronomy 8:5

“You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.”

• He is our Father and He knows what is best for us. It’s up to us to trust Him and His judgement for our lives.
• We all know it in our hearts that He is in charge of our lives and fate, but many who search for ways to deny His existence and sovereignty won’t listen to that voice inside them. They choose to ignore it and live how they please, worship undeserving idols, and keep believing they know what true joy is.

Revelation 3:19

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent.”

• This is Jesus speaking, explaining our relationship with Him. He loves us and as our Creator He will discipline us properly.
• Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Only He is holy. Only He is truly good. We fall so short that we are as a single atom in comparison to His greatness.
• Be zealous for the Lord! He is glorious and worthy of praise for His holiness and love!

Psalm 94:12-15

“Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. But judgement will return to righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.”

• Discipline in the ways of His moral law and avoiding sin leads us in the way of righteousness. He instructs us and helps us turn from sin. This is in our best interest. Don’t avoid the Lord’s instruction.
• The Lord won’t throw us away for being imperfect. He’ll take us as we are and help us. He’ll love and forgive us even when we don’t deserve it.

Job 5:17-18

“‘Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”

• This is coming from a man who just had his children, riches, animals, servants, and health taken from him. His faith in the Lord remained unwavering, and though he was angry, he was willing to recognize God’s sovereignty over his life.
• The Lord will allow us to be harmed to test our faith now, but to strengthen and reward us later. For the time being we can learn discipline in the midst of the trial.

Our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us. Since we will have eternity after this life, we can hold onto the knowledge that He will strengthen us and teach us all we need to know for the future. We also know from His word that He is with us through it all. It’s even one of His many names: Immanuel, God with us. He is there in the midst of the struggle and discipline, trying to prepare us for the wonders and glory we will witness later. The pain of today and the discipline now won’t even be on our minds later when we reside in His presence.

Proverbs 25:28

“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.”

• Our discipline is one of our many defenses from the enemy.
• Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us of the whole armor of God: Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, boots of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. To attain all these it takes a disciplined mind.
• We aren’t fighting a battle of flesh and blood: Instead it’s a war against principalities and rulers of darkness. This is a battle over our soul and applying the armor through discipline is a sure way to thwart the devil’s attacks.

Jeremiah 10:24

“O Lord, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.”

• We should want the Lord to correct and discipline us when we’re wrong because He knows what is best for us, and living in the image of Christ is what we strive for.
• The Father’s anger towards us would destroy us bringing us to nothing.

We love the Lord and all He does for us, including refining us so that we are more like Jesus. To be like Him is a gift of no measure and that is something that takes discipline from Him and ourselves. Our faith in Him is what anchors us, giving us hope in our sorrows. We should trust the one who holds the stars in His palm to guide, protect, and mold us into who we were always meant to be.

Thanks for reading this blog post! This study meant a lot to me because discipline is an area that I can always keep improving. I’m still polishing up my blog designing skills so I especially appreciate the patience of those of you keeping up with my posts. I hope these studies and testimonies are helping you grow closer to the Lord, as that is my intent. I pray for you brothers and sisters out there, for your well-being, and for the courage to continue spreading the word of our Lord and Messiah Jesus Christ. In these darkening days, we must keep encouraging and helping wherever we can.

Have a wonderful day!