The subject of God’s discipline is an unpopular one in the church, mostly because we misunderstand what it is. Although society has changed and is continuing to change, the image invoked by the word discipline is a parent turning their child over their knee and spanking them. While that can be discipline, when done in the right way and with the right motive, it is often no more than punishment for bad or unacceptable behavior. That’s what we expect when we hear the word discipline associated with God; but that’s not what God does.
Yes, sin has consequences; but even those are not God giving us a metaphorical spanking. Rather, they are nothing more than the result of our actions. A woman who gets pregnant from having sex outside of wedlock isn’t being punished, her body is merely doing what it is designed to do. Her difficulty in dealing with that pregnancy is the result of her actions, nothing more.
Taking that a step further, the disease AIDS is sexually transmitted. Back when we first became aware of it, there were many people who were seriously afraid of catching it. Those who caught it were merely reaping the results of their own sin. The solution for all of them would have been to get married and be faithful to the person that they were married to.
Yet people sin all the time, both believers and unbelievers. Many of these people have an image of God, sitting on His throne in heaven, waiting to cast lightning down on them when they sin. The problem is, they’re thinking of the wrong god. That’s Zeus, the god of the sky in Greek mythology. As the father of all Greek gods, he was symbolized by a lightning bolt and was known for casting his lightning bolts at those who displeased him. Equating Jehovah God with Zeus is both wrong and an insult to Jehovah, the God of the Bible.
God’s discipline is ultimately tied to His love for us. He disciplines us for our own benefit; knowing that our flesh fights against our spirit for control of our bodies and our very lives. The flesh and the spirit are diametrically opposed to each other; but for us to live a victorious life in Christ, the spirit must win. That takes discipline.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? – Hebrews 12:5-7
Yes, we are sons and daughters, and as such, we can expect God to discipline us; not to punish us, but to chasten us so that we might learn and grow, becoming truly mature believers in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Were it not so, the passage goes on to say that we would be illegitimate children, rather than the legitimate adopted children of God.
God’s Ultimate Purpose in Our Lives
It is commonly understood that God wants people to be saved, rather than face destruction. The whole purpose of Jesus coming to Earth and dying on the cross was to save people from their sin. Probably the most famous verse in the entire Bible speaks of this:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16
Just to be clear, this isn’t saying that God is sending anyone to hell; but rather that God has made a way for people to avoid hell and instead receive everlasting life. How? By accepting the offering made by His only begotten Son, Jesus, on the cross. As the next verse says, He is not willing that any perish or go to hell.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. – 2 Peter 3:9
We need to add to this understanding though. Many seem to have the idea that God is interested in nothing more than our receiving Jesus; just say the “sinner’s prayer” and you get to go to heaven. But to use that as a point of doctrine, we must ignore much of what the New Testament says. There are actually more commandments about how we should live in the New Testament, then we find in the Old Testament Law.
If all God cared about was getting us to say the sinner’s prayer, then He would have no need to discipline us. But there are two problems with that point of view. First of all, there is no “sinner’s prayer” in the Bible. What we know as the sinner’s prayer was actually invented by the great evangelist, Billy Graham. While it covers things that we are all supposed to do when we get saved; there is no such prayer or “formula” for salvation.
So, if God expects more of us than just to get saved and He intends to discipline us, what is the goal we should be seeking? What is He trying to accomplish in our lives?
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brethren. – Romans 8:29
God desires to remake us into the image of His Son, Jesus. That’s not to take away our unique characteristics or personality; but rather to give us the character of Christ to replace our fleshly nature and character. We are to die to self, allowing His nature to take over in us. Through this, we become a better, holier version of ourselves.
It is not surprising that the curriculum for these lessons would be difficult and that our flesh would rail against it. that just makes the lessons harder, causing God to discipline us even more. But we are to become an active part of this discipline process, learning from our suffering and becoming the people that God has created us to become.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect works, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4
The trick we all need to learn is how to recognize the lessons that God is trying to teach us, so that we can become an active participant in that process, rather than struggling against it. That is why James talks about counting it all joy. Yes, those trials are difficult; the discipline is difficult; but they are working out a good job for you and me. Allowing us to become perfected, more and more like Jesus Christ.
Jesus and His Disciples
Jesus’ followers in the Gospels were referred to as His disciples. Why is that so? It’s because He was disciplining them; teaching them a new way to live; to live by faith. There was absolutely no punishment involved in this, although He did verbally rebuke them on many occasions for their lack of faith. Each and every one of those times, He was trying to teach them something.
In three of the Gospels, the same story is recounted about Jesus falling asleep in the boat, while crossing a body of water, probably the Sea of Galilee. As He slept, a storm rose up, serious enough that His disciples, most of whom were fishermen, were concerned and awoke Him. All this was probably pre-planned, as the entire event existed to teach them a lesson about faith.
Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” 26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” – Matthew 8:27, also Mark 4:35-41 & Luje 8:22-25
The most obvious thing about this “discipline” is that the point of the lesson was faith. We can see that, in that their lack of faith was what He talked about. In the same recounting in the Gospel of Mark, the story starts out with Jesus saying “Let us cross over to the other side.” (Mark 4:35). That was the Son of God speaking, both giving them direction and making a declaration. There was enough power in that one short sentence to get them to the other side, if they had to fly there.
Yet when the wind and waves rose up, they forgot what Jesus had said and who He was saying it, reverting back to their natural knowledge as fishermen. Clearly it was a serious storm, as these men would have been accustomed to dealing with wind and waves. Yet they cried out to Jesus “We are perishing!” Whatever drove that storm, it was more than they were used to dealing with.
This was probably the teaching moment that Jesus had been waiting for. It is interesting that He rebuked them, disciplining them, before He solved their problem. He knew that the storm would not overcome them, so unlike the disciples, His priority was to use the teaching moment, rather than to stop the storm. Once He had done that, He showed them just how much power there was in His words, rebuking the storm and causing it to calm; in essence, putting a point on the lesson.
The Trying of Our Faith
Just as Jesus did with His disciples, God puts us through various tests and trails, not so that He can learn what is in our hearts and minds; but so that we can. He knows beforehand whether we will pass or fail the test, yet He gives it to us anyway. That way, we can learn about ourselves and see our need to grow.
This is not something that exists only in the New Testament or the Old Testament. God has not changed and has used this methodology for teaching His people throughout history. He even tested Abraham, commanding him to offer his son Isaac on the altar, in Genesis, chapter 22.
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” – Genesis 22:1-2
The story goes on to tell us how Abraham prepared and journeyed three days to get to the mountain. As they approached, he told the servants to wait with the donkey, while he and Isaac climbed the mountain to make the sacrifice. Along the way, Isaac asked his father, “Look the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). Abraham’s response gave God one of the names we know Him by, “Jehovah Jireh” or “God will provide” (Genesis 22:8)
God did in fact provide the lamb, or in this case, an adult ram for the sacrifice, once Abraham had done what God instructed. He built an altar, laid the wood, bound his son and laid him on the altar (Genesis 22:9). But when he raised his hand with the knife, to kill Isaac, the angel of the Lord stopped him (Genesis 22:10-12). It wasn’t until then, that they saw God’s provision of the lamb (Genesis 22:13).
God taught Abraham a valuable lesson about faith and provision on that day. Abraham passed the test, which not only proved to Abraham that he had faith in God and that God was the most important thing in his life; but it also showed that to the devil. Many years later, when God offered His Son on the altar of the cross, Satan couldn’t say that it was “unfair,” because Abraham had offered his son to God.
But How Do I Know?
One of the big questions we all face, when faced with hardship, is whether the hardship we are facing is from God or the devil. I’d like to propose that it is both at the same time. Jesus told us:
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. – John 10:10
God never does anything to steal from us, bring death into our lives or destroy us and those we love; that’s the devil who does that. But that’s not to say that God won’t use those things when they happen. He will take advantage of those opportunities and use them to bring about good in our lives; often by using them as teaching situations, helping us to grow. That’s the true meaning of:
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28
So, the question we need to ask ourselves is if we are those who love God, and who are called according to His purpose? If the answer is “Yes,” then we can know with certainty that God is going to use those things that the enemy brings against us to discipline us and teach us something we need to know. It will become part of that process of making us more like Christ.