Discipline

Seven Principles of Fathering
Today’s Focus: Principle #4 - Discipline
Scripture: Deuteronomy 7:9-11; Hebrews 12:6-12

Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Deuteronomy 7:9-11: Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth Him, he will repay him to his face. Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

In a world where we have two distinct cultures living in it, the culture of the orphan and the culture of the son, the view to discipline can be viewed in two different ways. Orphans or fatherless individuals view discipline as abuse because they have not known the love of a father and that with the love of a father comes chastisement. However the son views discipline as love. Though it is painful he or she knows that they are being disciplined in order to correct behavior and be a better person or son in Christ. Let me show this in scripture:

Proverbs 13:24: He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Proverbs 23:13,14: Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

So here in the Proverbs we see the Lord exhorting the need for discipline and stating that those who do not discipline their children hateth their son because the chastisement delivers their soul from hell because it puts them back on the right track. Now Hebrews 12:5-11 speaks about the chastisement of God and I stress that you read the entire passage but for the sake of time and space let me give you this portion of the scripture to drive the importance of discipline home.

Hebrews 12:6-8: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye BASTARDS, AND NOT SONS.

Do you see this? If you do not accept chastisement then you are bastards, fatherless children, orphans and not sons. Sons accept correction but though it be painful and hard at first, afterward it will yield peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who accept it (Hebrews 12:11).

Now let me say for the record there is a difference between abuse and discipline. Nowhere and no way am I advocating abuse but I am advocating discipline of a child and if done properly it will yield righteous fruit within a child in its due season. In the next message we will examine the conditional concept of multiplication and fruitfulness.

Peace, Love and Grace from the Father,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.