Discipline

2 Timothy 3:14-17
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, June 28, 2009
Copyright © 2009, P. G. Mathew

As Christians, we need discipline. A godly brother recently approached me to tell me that he was sad because I had said that I was not rebuking anyone anymore. He said that he and his wife had been greatly blessed by a rebuke I once gave them because it set them on the way to the city of God, the straight and narrow way to everlasting life. My defense was that people do not appreciate discipline, correction, or rebuke, so why should I rebuke anyone? But I realized my brother was rebuking and correcting me. As a pastor, it is my God-given solemn charge to rebuke. Paul wrote to Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage” (2 Tim. 4:1-2). It is the charge of every minister of the gospel; therefore, we must not shirk from it.

So I have changed my decision. I will continue to discharge my duty as a pastor, including the duty to discipline, rebuke, and correct. Such discipline is biblical. In fact, God disciplines only those who are his sons. Hebrews 12 tells us that this chastisement by our heavenly Father is proof of our sonship, for God does not rebuke those who are not his beloved children. Fools despise discipline, but lack of discipline results in everlasting death and ruin.

The Importance of Discipline

First, let us look at some scriptures that demonstrate the importance of discipline:

1. Proverbs 13:24: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” The function of the rod is to drive out foolishness and impart wisdom by enforcing God’s teaching.
2. Proverbs 19:18: “Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.” Death means damnation. If parents do not discipline their children biblically, they are in some way responsible for their eternal damnation. This is a serious charge.
3. Proverbs 22:15: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.” Folly means godlessness. It is not mere stupidity. It is foolishness, because “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” We are conceived in sin, born in sin, and practice sin daily. We need the expulsive power of the rod to deal with our sins.
4. Proverbs 23:13-14: “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.” Now, the correct meaning is, if you do not punish him with the rod, he will die. Keep that in mind. That is what the text means. “Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death,” that is, eternal death. Do not be emotional or insecure in disciplining your children. How many insecure parents do not discipline children for fear the children may cry. But there is no greater punishment than the eternal death of a person. Judicious and loving parental discipline helps save a child from eternal death.
5. Proverbs 29:15: “The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” There is shame. The rod drives out godlessness and imparts wisdom. When we fail to administer the Lord’s discipline, our children will disgrace us and God.
6. Deuteronomy 6:6-7: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” We ourselves first have to love God and his word. It is to be on our hearts. If we do not love God’s word and his discipline, we can never impart it to anyone.
7. 1 Kings 1:5-6: “Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, ‘I will be king.’ So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.” Then the Holy Spirit says, “(His father had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’ He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.)”
8. Revelation 2:20-23; 3:19-20. Jesus Christ disciplines. Though earthly fathers may not discipline their sons, God disciplines his. Note serious statements that Christ, the head of the church, makes about the church of Thyatira. “Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Rev. 2:20-23). Then he speaks to the church of Laodicea says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:19-20). I say that this morning to you: Be earnest! Don’t treat God or his word or his servant with contempt. I bring to you the word of God.

The Purpose of Discipline

An unregenerate man hates discipline, but a born-again child of God loves it. Therefore, it is the duty of a parent, a pastor, and every brother and sister in Christ to give discipline. Listen to the words of the psalmist: “Let a righteous man strike me-it is a kindness; let him rebuke me-it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it” (Ps. 141:5).

What is our attitude toward discipline, rebuke, and correction? Such correction, or rebuke, is priceless, according to the Bible, imparting wisdom while driving out godlessness. It is a divine judgment if we are left alone and not disciplined.

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 30:12 speaks of “those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth.” How often we hear of people who claim to be Christians, yet they choose the way of a fool and sin against their families through adultery. Too bad no one rebuked such people and spoke to them about Proverbs 5, 6, and 7, which speak about adultery and sexual immorality. What a waste such people’s lives are! The fool’s way is the broad way of destruction. May we all listen to God to discipline, correct, rebuke, teach, and train in the way of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Definition

Theologian Paul Gilchrist gives a definition of discipline: “Confrontation, rebuke, correction is to be considered, therefore, as an integral part of brotherly love. To rebuke, to correct, to convince or convict would not only imply exposure of one’s sin but also to call a person to repentance.”¹ It is what is called theofugal ministry, causing a person to flee to God from sin.

What, then, is discipline? Discipline “embraces all aspects of education from the conviction of the sinner to chastisement and punishment, from the instruction of the righteous by severe tests to his direction by teaching and admonition.”²

David was a wise king, yet he acted foolishly when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah, God’s servant. God sent Nathan to rebuke David, to mete out punishment, and to correct him. The way of the sinner is always hard. Yet thank God for his redemptive discipline. Let us therefore that brother and sister who in love rebukes us when we wander from the truth. He is the Nathan sent by God himself.

God’s Eternal Plan

God’s eternal plan is not to make us rich and famous, but to make us holy and blameless. The goal of God’s discipline to drive out godlessness from us and to impart godliness to us; therefore, he disciplines his people through sufferings. We are to be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. Our heavenly Father achieves this purpose through discipline.

The Agents of Discipline

God uses several agents in bringing discipline to his children. Our heavenly Father himself disciplines us directly. He also disciplines us through the Holy Scriptures, as we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. But he also uses human beings as agents of discipline. For children, parents are next to God, put in charge to teach their children to revere God. Pastors are also appointed by God to do this job: “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17). Jesus instructed, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).

The grace of God also disciplines us. Look at Titus 2:11-14. In the Greek text, it says, “For the grace of God,” [or “the saving grace of God] has appeared to all men. It [disciplines, trains] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager [zealous, earnest] to do what is good.” Elsewhere Paul writes, “Just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). Cheap grace does not exercise any authority in a believer’s life. But the true grace of God will rule our lives through righteousness.

Another agent who functions under God’s order to discipline us is Satan. Paul writes, “When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:4-5). God uses Satan to deal with our arrogance. Paul tells Timothy, “I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be [disciplined, trained] taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:18-20). Satan is a teacher. And sometimes God will even kill his people so that they will be kept from committing more sins and will be taken to heaven instead. God has all sorts of ways to deal with our arrogance. Paul told the Corinthians, “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 11:30).

The Fruit of Discipline

Understand that God’s discipline includes teaching, rebuke, correction, punishment, and training in righteousness, that we might do the will of God. The goal of all discipline is to produce godliness, holiness, righteousness in us. “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:10-12).

Paul declares, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has decreed from all eternity that we should do them” (Eph. 2:10, author’s paraphrase). God wants his children to be like him, so he says, “Be ye holy because I am holy,” and “Without holiness no one will see God.” If you do not like the rebuke or preaching from a godly man, God will deal with you. He is almighty, we are weak, and he always wins.

God the Father produce holiness in us through discipline (PGM). Even the sinless son of God learned discipline from what he suffered. “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:8-9). Jesus was not exempt from obedience. He obeyed and died the death of the cross to fulfill the Father’s plan for our salvation.

Biblical Discipline

Let us now look at Paul’s words to Timothy that focus on the biblical idea of discipline: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:14-17).

1. Be Highly Disciplined

First, Paul was a highly disciplined man. Earlier in this epistle he writes, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings” (2 Tim. 3:10-11). If we are not highly disciplined people, we cannot teach discipline to others. Fathers and mothers must be disciplined so they can lead their children. A pastor must be disciplined so that he can say, “Follow me as I follow the Lord.” Paul himself wrote, “No, I beat my body and make it my slave” (1 Cor. 9:27). Yes, all sorts of passions can rise from within us, but a disciplined man will say no.

2. Abide in the Truth

Then Paul says, “Abide in what you learned and are convinced of.” That simply means, “Trust and obey” or “Hear and do.” This is not speaking about coming on Sunday mornings, listening, and going away. It does not mean one listens to one’s parents but pays no attention to what they said. “Abide” means to believe and behave in accordance with what is taught.

In Greek culture, as well as in Judaism and Hinduism, disciples followed the master. Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Disciples are learners from the master. When the master goes to various places, the disciples also go. They are always learning. The purpose of this teaching is that the students’ philosophy, manner of life, and everything must conform to the master. That is what happened to Jesus. He chose certain disciples. These students were to grow up to their master (Luke 6:40).

The first and most important element of discipline is teaching the truth. In Deuteronomy 11:18-21 we read, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”

What are we to teach? We must teach what is the standard, a body of doctrine that tells us how then we should live and interpret reality correctly. We must teach the word of God, not words of men or mere cultural conformity.

We must teach what is the authority. Timothy was to believe the word of God that he had learned from his grandmother, his mother, and above all, from Paul. He was to learn the Holy Scriptures that he had been taught throughout his life, beginning in infancy. He was not to embrace unorthodox progressive ideas or advanced learning from men.

3. Learn the Holy Scriptures.

We are to learn the holy Scriptures, which are mighty to make us wise unto salvation. The Old Testament promised a Messiah, who came in Jesus Christ. “The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). Human religious ideas can only send one to hell. The Holy Scriptures show us the way to heaven and everlasting life.

4. Through Faith in Jesus Christ

Paul reminds Timothy “how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Scriptures reveal Jesus Christ as prophet, priest, king. Read Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 5:39, 46, Romans 1:12. All Scriptures speak of Jesus Christ and his work. We receive salvation by trusting him alone savingly. Confess him as Lord.

5. All Scripture Is God-Breathed

Why trust in the Scriptures and person of Christ? Because all Scripture is God-breathed (theopneustos). All Scripture is the result of the breath of God-his expiration, not inspiration. God spoke, and creation sprang into existence ex nihilo. Even so, Scripture is the product of God’s breath-the Spirit of God. Its origin is God. It is not man’s word. (PGM) Man wrote under the complete control of God’s Holy Spirit. Every word of Scripture is true and infallible and eternally authoritative. So we read, “It is written” and “Thus saith the Lord,” “The Holy Spirit spoke through David,” and so on.

The Scripture is the only authority for our lives and salvation. That is why we say sola scriptura. That includes the apostolic writings, as Peter declares in 2 Peter 3:16. Discipline begins with embracing the holy Scripture as the only authority for man to live by. It is God’s word, the truth book because it is God-breathed-out, God-spoken word.

6. It is Profitable

Jesus asked, “What shall it profit a man if he gains whole world but loses his soul?” Yet how many people chase after money, power, brilliance, or sports. Yet none of these can save one’s soul. Scripture alone is profitable because it alone points us to the only Savior, Jesus Christ.

7. Profitable for Teaching

Paul says Scripture is profitable for several things. First, he says, it is profitable for teaching. The first ingredient of discipline is teaching. Discipline depends on teaching doctrine, a body of truth that speaks of God, the world, man, sin, redemption, what is right, what is wrong, hell, heaven, the Savior, and eternal happiness.

We must study the Bible, preach it, and teach it so that others will know what truth is. Believers in the early church devoted themselves to the apostles’ doctrine. What about you? Do you study it daily with maximum application of your intelligence? Do you see the world through the lens of Scripture? If not, you are ignorant and will be easily deceived by worldly ideas and lusts. Let Scripture be your counselor. Scripture speaks truth about what we need to hear. Salvation comes only through it. Thus Paul writes, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching” (1 Tim. 5:17).

8. Profitable for Reproof

Scripture is also profitable for reproof. The psalmist says, “You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth-each man is but a breath” (Ps. 39:11). Look at the language: their wealth, their bodies, their reputation, are all consumed by God like a moth. Paul says Scripture is also profitable for reproof and rebuke, which is part of discipline. Scripture rebukes us when we stray from the way of the word. We are not to turn to the right or to the left to follow human psychology, sociology, or false science. When we go the wrong way, Scripture reproves us, finds fault with us, and convicts us. As I preach, people get convicted.

God’s agent is to confront us, admonish us to repent, and show us our sin and wrongdoing. Thank God for rebuke and reproof! Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent” (Rev. 3:19). In Luke 17:3 he says, “So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”

9. Profitable for Correction

Reproof is negative in character because it points out our sin and demands confession and repentance. But correction is positive because it turns the sinner from the error of his ways to the right way.

Just as the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to go and find the wandering sheep and bring it back home, so correction brings us back to God and to righteousness. Correction is especially the responsibility of a pastor, but it is also the responsibility of all the people of God. Paul writes, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). James exhorts, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). We should therefore thank God if a brother or sister comes to us and says, “You are not doing this right.” That is their responsibility. We must learn even from our enemies and from our children, for our God can speak through anyone, even a donkey. Correction shows God’s love for us.

Correction is an aspect of full-orbed discipline: teaching, reproof, and correction. It is especially aimed at restoration. We understand when people sin because we ourselves sin. But the issue is to bring the sinner back to God. So through corrections, the adulterer is convicted of his sins, repents, and returns to his wife. He is restored, and heaven rejoices when one repents. The prodigal repented and was restored to his father as his son in good standing. Thank God for divine teaching, reproof, and rebuke. Thank God for his loving correction. We all wander and we all need to be rebuked and restored.

After God used Nathan to correct and restore David, David wrote at least three psalms (Ps. 32, 51, 139) about this experience. Correction restores us to orthodoxy and orthopraxy. A sinning person has a problem with his creed. Before a Christian sins, something goes wrong in our belief system and we reduce God and deny Scripture’s authority and teaching. So restoration is first to correct teaching which then leads to correct behavior.

Correction is aimed at straightening us out. That is what the Greek word epanorthôsis means. Somehow the people of the church become crooked and the Scripture has the function of straightening us out. Oh, what a profitable Book!

10. Training in Righteousness

Finally, all Scripture, being God-breathed, is profitable for training in righteousness. The Bible trains us in righteousness, not unrighteousness (Ps. 23:3). Someone once said that the Bible will keep us from sinning, or sin will keep us from this holy book. Show me a man who is sinning, and I will show you a person who stopped reading the Bible, praying, and listening to the word of God for some time. Yes, such a person may still be coming to church, but that does not mean anything. “Hearing, you will not hear.” A spiritual deafening and blindness can take place that results in a closed, hardened heart.

Scripture never trains people to do wickedness. For example, the Bible teaches about purity for men and women. Sexual immorality is a serious issue that affects one’s entire life. Not only does Scripture teach us truth, but it also trains us to practice truth. So not only should we hear truth and understand truth, but we must do truth. Jesus says, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17). There is no good in just hearing the truth. He also declares, “If you hear these sayings of mine and do them, you will be likened to a wise man who built his house upon a rock” (Matt. 7:24).

Paul instructs, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28). When a thief comes to Christ in faith, he becomes a child of God, repenting of his sins and confessing Jesus is Lord. Jesus is not lord of a thief who violates his commandment. So the former thief is now trained to stop stealing and to start obeying God’s commandment by working six days a week, even doing manual labor, as the Greek text says. Now he can provide for himself and his family. But there is more. Not only does he do these things, but he also gives to those who are needy.

The thief does all this through the training of the Scripture in the Spirit’s power. He knows what God’s will is and he does it. Through the training of Scripture in righteousness, the former thief has now become a giver. This is true conversion, and we see such changes in others. A liar tells the truth. A lazy man becomes highly productive. A drunkard becomes sober and a responsible parent and spouse. A loser becomes a winner. A dropout graduates at the top of his class. A dope addict becomes a productive Christian, delivered from all addiction by the Holy Spirit power. An adulterer becomes completely faithful to his wife.

God’s word is profitable. It trains us again and again until doing the will of God becomes our habit, delight, and character. I recently went to the dentist and he said it was a good idea to use an electric toothbrush. Now, I do not like electric toothbrushes. But I bought one and started using it, and now I like it. As Jay Adams says, it takes only six weeks of training for something to become a habit.

I also did not like exercise. But we bought a treadmill, although at first my exercise was sporadic. But I said I would do it regularly, and now I exercise regularly. I go to bed in anticipation of exercising the next morning. That is what training is: doing something again and again until it becomes habit.

Paul told Timothy, “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8). We train ourselves to be godly by reading the word with intellectual preparedness, wanting to know what God is teaching, and giving him the best time, that we may learn something every day. As we meet with God and read the word, the Holy Spirit opens it up to us. It may take six weeks; after that, you will be hooked. So train yourself to be godly, not to be wealthy or beautiful. Being godly is much better than trying to get pretty externally.

Paul also says, “For physical training is of some value.” Actually, it is of little value. The Greeks gloried in physical exercise. But Paul looked at it and said it profits little, and only for a few years. Pretty soon your body gives out. “But godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both this life and the life to come.”

Godliness has eternal value. Therefore, we must invest in it and train ourselves to be godly through learning the Scriptures, learning to pray, and learning to do good. The Hebrews writer says, “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:10-11).

Proverbs 22:6 admonishes, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” God’s way will be ingrained in him. Paul says, “No, I beat my body and make it my slave” (1 Cor. 9:27). In other words, when our lust comes up and registers in our brain, if we are trained in righteousness, we will say no. So Paul tells the Corinthians, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

Friends, your body is not your own, if you are a Christian. And even if you are not a Christian, it is not your own. A Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must honor God with our bodies by saying no to sin and yes to the will of God.

11. Thoroughly Qualified for Every Good Work

The final purpose is “that the man of God be qualified for every good work.” When Scripture is applied by the Spirit to us, we become thoroughly fit, equipped to do every good work. This is God’s eternal decree, that we “do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

What is a good work? A good tree produces good fruit. So a child of God produces good work by doing the will of God. If we are not doing good works, if we are not holy, God did not elect us. If he elected us from all eternity, he will make us holy, one way or another. Before we became Christians, we were dead in trespasses and sins. All we produced were the dead works of sin. But now we do good works of delightful obedience to God by love power. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). These good works honor God. The chief end of man is to honor God and to enjoy him forever.

God in grace even rewards us for our good works. Good works prove we are sons and daughters of God. Through the discipline of the Scriptures, God accomplishes his eternal purpose of creating a holy people, eager to do good works through obedience to God. If we are not obedient, we are neglecting God’s word. Hearing only makes us deaf and we do not receive grace. We are not seeing or fearing God. Fear of God always keeps us from sinning.

If a person is sinning, we are to conclude that the person does not fear God or his parents or the pastor or anyone else. He may think that what he does in private is no one else’s business and that no one sees or is harmed. But God sees. The psalmist says, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Ps. 139:1-4).

In Genesis 39 we read that God was with Joseph. When tempted by Potiphar’s wife, he said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Joseph did not have a Bible; he knew only what his father had told him about God. Yet God was with him, and he would not sin against the God who was with him. He was practicing God’s presence.

We cannot escape from God’s sight. In Revelation 1-3 we find the phrase several times, “I know your works” (oida sou ta erga). His eyes are like flaming fire. They penetrate everywhere we try to hide from God. But our sin will find us out.

The Disciplined Man

Thank God for his discipline! Because he is our Father and we are his dear children, he disciplines us by his word and Spirit, by our parents and our pastors, and by our brothers and sisters. He teaches, rebukes, punishes, corrects, and trains us in righteousness. He is determined to make us a holy people so that we may live with him in everlasting joy. We are disciples of Jesus. We learn of him and are becoming like him.

Who is a disciplined man? He is a lover of God and his word. He is a holy, powerful man, a man of self-control. He says no to sinful passions and yes to God’s holy will. He is successful in all his ways and points people to the way of everlasting life. A disciplined man is directed by the Scripture and led by the Spirit. He sees by faith God in front of him, behind him, and all around him. He governs his life by this high theology that God is with him.

May God help us all to live such disciplined, holy lives that will please God and result in great blessing for us.

¹ Paul R. Gilchrist, “Yakah: Decide, Judge, Prove, Rebuke, Reprove, Correct,”Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Vol. 1, edited by R. Laird Harris et al (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 377.

² Ibid.