Christian Virtues - Discipline

Intro:

Good evening.

Tonight I want to talk about the virtue of discipline, or training we might say.

The Bible is very clear that discipline is a good thing, a necessity, a virtue — something that makes us fall more in line with the will of God.

And yet, discipline is severly lacking in many instances.

That’s really bad considering that parental discipline leads to SELF-discipline which is another way of saying self-CONTROL, which is absolutely vital for the Christian.

So for tonight’s discussion, I want to begin with the obvious, and that is …

Parental Discipline Toward Children:

It’s a lost art, I’m afraid.

We know the three verses - Ephesians 6:1–3 - “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.””

And then a fourth verse - Ephesians 6:4 - “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

You might remember a sermon several months back about that Greek Word paideia translated as “training” — It’s the idea of a worldview or the lens through which our children see the world.

It’s critically important that we train our children with a Biblical worldview — Thus, the principle of Deuteronomy chapter 6, for instance.

We talked about that in great detail in that sermon called “What is Your Paedeia?” (You can find it on our podcast network if you want to refresh your memory) …

But I want to focus on the discipline side of things tonight as we nurture a Christian worldview in the hearts and minds of our children!

Now to illustrate how this is a major problem if we neglect to do so, let me read this:

(Read highlighted parts of the Newspaper).

I find it interesting that there are parents bringing these concerns to the schools, and yet who is ULTIMATELY at fault?

(The parents!)

The school’s hands are tied because we’ve gotten so afraid of lawsuits that discipline is all but gone!

Surely Christian parents will do better, though, right?

I certainly hope so.

What does the Bible have to say about disciplining children:

Well, before we get there, let me talk about a couple of men the Bible tells us did NOT restrain their children — That is, they neglected to discipline them …

(Let’s read about Eli - 1 Sam. 2:12 [The next several verses explain how Eli’s sons were corrupting the offerings the people were bringing taking prime cuts of meat for themselves without boiling the fat off first, which Leviticus clearly speaks against]; 1 Sam. 2:17, 22-25, 27-36).

Now take a look at 1 Sam. 3:11-14!!!

Well history repeats itself as it always does, because Samuel ends up in a very similar situation with his sons! “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it!” (Read 1 Sam. 8:1-3).

So those are a couple of examples of otherwise pretty good men that were judges and priests of the Lord who did NOT discipline their children properly!

Well, what does the Bible say about disciplining children?

We’ll look at a few:

Proverbs 12:1 - “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.”

Proverbs 13:24 - “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”

In the KJV, this one reads:

“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.”

What does “betimes” mean?

As early and as often as needed!

Someone asks, “When should I start disciplining?”

The answer is a lot earlier than most people start — As soon as the child starts to show defiance, as soon as he engages in a battle of wills with you, as soon as he can sneer at you or give an ugly look to you, or do the opposite of what you asked him to do (or just not do what you asked) — Then he’s old enough to be disciplined!

(Now, common sense would say that take their age into consideration regarding the severity of the discipline — don’t forget that — But you’ve got to start early).

Proverbs 19:18 - “Chasten your son while there is hope, And do not set your heart on his destruction.”

I want to read that one also in the KJV:

Prov. 19:18 - “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.”

Notice that kids will cry when you discipline them — Don’t be let that deter you from doing what needs to be done to save their soul from destruction on down the road!

Proverbs 22:6 - “Train up a child (discipline) in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:15 - “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.”

Proverbs 23:13–14 - “Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.”

Proverbs 29:15 - “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

Proverbs 29:17 - “Correct (some translations say “discipline”) your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.”

With that, let me get into …

A Few Things We Have Learned About Discipline: (In no particular order)

Parking lot stripes make great training tools.

(You heard that right!)

(Explain, and talk about how you have to be very careful when they are really young or they first start learning this, for safety reasons).

Do you know the difference between training a dog and training a child?

Training children is a MILLION times more difficult!

(I’ve trained a couple of dogs to a small degree and they are MUCH easier to train).

Why is that? A little thing called “free moral agency” that children have that dogs don’t!

But do you know that there are a couple of basic principles that will affect the success or failure of both?!

REPETITION … and … CONSISTENCY!

Discipline that is handed down in the throes of anger is counter-productive and does not teach self-control.

You cannot play favorites — You have to have the same standards of discipline in place for ALL the children (Some children will challenge you more than others, but you have to be the same in your enforcement with each one).

Make sure the child knows exactly and PRECISELY why he is receiving discipline, and don’t allow talking back ever! (The last thing you need is to confuse him because you were not clear).

For every bit of “negative discipline” (punishment) that your kid needs, he probably needs three times that much positive discipline in the form of careful instruction (That goes back to Deut. 6 and Prov. 22:6).

When you do have to discipline in the negative sense, make sure you let them know that’s not fun for you, that you still love them, and reconcile as soon as possible.

Alright, what about …

Self-Discipline in Adults:

Will a child that is never disciplined properly, or inconcistently disciplined, grow up to be a well disciplined adult?

Will he be a good DISCIPLE (same root word as discipline!)? (Probably not!)

Discipline/training in children leads to the fruit of the Spirit known as self-control, which is absolutely vital once a child transitions to being a Christian.

Discipline/self-control is going to serve you well in life as an adult.

I remember when I was in Air Force ROTC in college, when most of the students were rolling out of bed at 7:55 for an 8:00AM class, on Monday/Wednesday/Fridays, you know what we were doing?

6:00 AM PT (Physical Training!) at the track!

Which meant that I had to get up shortly after 5 AM since I was a commuter student in college and didn’t live on campus (which, in my opinion is the only way to go if you ask me!)

Were there days when I was tempted to sleep through that alarm and skip PT for no good reason?

You better believe it!

But had I done that more than once or twice and receiving a warning a time or two, that would have been all for me and I would have been kicked out of ROTC! (And some were!)

That was an example in my life of having to DISCIPLINE myself.

In what ways might an adult need to discipline himself?

How about in his diet and exercise?

Somebody says: “What does that have to do with anything, preacher?”

Quite a bit, actually!

Paul said he buffeted his body daily (1 Cor. 9:27)!

Paul also said bodily exercise profits a little! (1 Tim. 4:8)

Our bodies are the temple of the Lord (1 Cor. 6:19)!

You show me a Christian who has really let himself go, or who is addicted to various substances, or has an eating addiction, or is in just absolutely terrible shape, and you’re probably showing me a Christian that has very little to no DISCIPLINE!

It matters!

The Christian life is ALL ABOUT the virtue of discipline!

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:12 - “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”

What’s he saying?

He’s saying: “I will not let myself be addicted to any earthly thing,” and …

“I will not let anything interfere with my discipline!” (or self-control)

So let me conclude tonight by looking at …

An Important Verse in the book of Hebrews:

And as we look at this, let’s answer the question: “What does GOD do with discipline?”

(Turn and read Heb. 12:5-13 and comment).

Discipline will make it work!

Conclusion:

Are you a disciplined Christian?

Are you motivated enough to be well-disciplined?

To practice self-control in all things?

Only you and the Lord know the answer to that all-important question!