THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON DISCIPLINE
DR. JIM DIXON
1 CORINTHIANS 9:24–10:13
SEPTEMENT 14, 1980
Without discipline, no nation or country could survive long. There would be no armies, no military, no national defense. Without discipline, a nation’s children could not be reared properly. Without discipline, law and order could not be maintained. Without discipline most of the major accomplishments in athletics, in science, or in industry would have been impossible. Discipline breeds productivity. It is a tool that God has given to each and every one of us. God has given each and every one of us a capacity for self-discipline. We can use it, or we can abuse it.
Do you know people have used self-discipline to accomplish some of the craziest things? I read recently of a man in Texas who has walked 8,000 miles backwards. Great discipline. I question the purpose just a bit. You can look in the Guinness Book of World Records. You will find individuals who have stood the longest on one leg and laid the longest on a bed of nails. All those things require great discipline. But towards what end?
I read recently of a man in New York who has spent days, weeks, months and years developing the skill of apple peeling. This man can create out of a single apple an apple peel more than 130 feet long. It takes him eight hours. Great discipline, time, patience goes into that. But for what purpose? There is not much of a market for apple peels.
I read recently of a rabbi who lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has put great energy and discipline into rope jumping. This man can jump hours every day and has jumped 374,000 skips of the rope without a miss. He can do that in 5 hours. That is more than 145 revolutions a minute, more than two revolutions a second, and he can sustain that pace for 5 hours. But to what purpose? Do you think some morning this man is going to wake up and say, “What’s it all about? What’s it all for?”
The Apostle Paul had great self-discipline. He said, “I discipline my body and subdue it,” but he had a purpose. He said, “I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26). He said, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13b-14). Discipline was for the Apostle Paul a tool to be used for the purpose of obedience to Jesus Christ and conformity to His will. It was to be used for the purpose of sanctification and growth into the likeness of His great Lord and Savior. Peter said, “make every effort to supplement …your knowledge with self-control” (2 Peter 1:5, 6). It is not enough to know what we should do. We need self-control, self-discipline in order to do it. Discipline, self-discipline, is primarily a tool given by God to be used for the purpose of obedience to the will of Christ.
Many Christians do not take discipline very seriously. They do not take self-discipline very seriously. But God does. The Apostle Peter spoke to the Christians in Asia, and he said, “gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ And if you invoke as Father him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:13-19a). Our God in heaven takes very seriously this matter of obedience, conformity to his will. He wants us to learn to obey Him.
We live in a country where many people have very little interest in obeying God; and yet it is a curious thing I read recently of a Gallup poll, which shows that an incredible percentage of the American population claims to be born again Christians. A recent Gallup poll shows that 72% of the population in America believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Only 23% of this country’s population denies that the Bible is the word of God; 5% are not sure, but 72% of this country’s population believes that the Bible is the word of God. And 42% of the people in this country believe not only that the Bible is the word of God but also that it is without error, that it is infallible and inherent. Yet in the midst of all of this, crime is growing. Fornication and adultery are increasing. Marriages are crumbling. Something is wrong. Even Christians are beginning to tumble, beginning to fall to temptation and sin.
Sometimes we do not take this matter of obedience seriously enough. I have had people come into my office for counseling, premarital counseling, and they are Christians. I always have a form that I fill out, and I start with the groom. I get his address, and I get his phone number. Then I turn to the bride. I get her address and phone number. I can honestly say that more than 50% of the time their addresses and phone numbers are the same. There was a time four or five years ago when I would ask them that question. They would give me the same address, and they would be embarrassed, but it is not that way anymore. Very rarely do they even seem to be concerned.
I have had Christian married couples in my office who are having a sexual affair tell me that they believe that God has given it to them, given them this extra relationship because He loves them so much. He is providing all this. But God is not mocked and His word does not return unto Him void. We must be careful as Christians that we not pervert grace. Our God loves us; our Father, through Jesus Christ loves us. When we fall and repent in His love and grace, He is always willing to forgive. But if we are truly repentant, we will take this matter of obedience seriously.
Self-discipline is a tool that is to be used to exercise conformity to the will of God. If I discipline myself in the study of scripture, to read the scriptures regularly, it is in part because God’s word says that I am to abide in His word, that I am to study to show myself approved “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). If I discipline myself to spend time in pray regularly, it is in part because the Bible tells me, instructs me, that I ought always to pray and never to lose heart (Luke 18:1). If I discipline myself in diet and exercise, it is in part because as Christians we are told that our bodies are temples of the living God (1 Corinthians 3:16).
I discipline myself to spend time with my children. It is in part because I am told in the word of God that I am to rear my children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord; and if I do not have my house in order, I have no business sharing the gospel of Christ with the world. All these things, with a possible exception of diet and exercise, I do out of love. I love to study the word. I love to spend time with my family. I love to spend time in prayer. But it was not always like that.
When you love Jesus Christ, you want to please Him. But it is not always easy. You do not always want to do the things that He is asking you to do. Sometimes it requires self-discipline for the sake of obedience and by the power of the Spirit. What begins in discipline, ends in love.
I am really looking forward to the Bronco game today. I mean, I really am. I love football. I have always loved it. I am looking forward to two o’clock. I do not know why I am looking forward to it. They could very well lose, but I really look forward to it. Yet how much more I look forward to studying God’s word. That is how important it has become to me, and I know the place that self-discipline has had in that area of my life. The purpose of self-discipline is conformity to the will of God.
Finally, I would like to share with you about the source of self-discipline. It is one thing to say that we need self-discipline. It is another thing to know how we can get it. Many people all across this country are having a difficult time developing self-discipline in their lives. Psychologists tell us that every year millions of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and by the end of January, 90% of them have broken those resolutions because they do not have self-discipline.
I read recently in an article of Science News about a test that they had done with respect to the subject of longevity and long life. They discovered that there were seven areas, seven health habits that correlate with longevity or long life. They had discovered, first of all, that if you want to live a long time you always need to eat breakfast. Secondly, you should not eat between meals. Thirdly, you need to maintain proper weight. Fourthly, you should not smoke. Fifthly, you should drink in moderation or not at all. Sixthly, you should get seven to eight hours sleep a night. Seventhly, you should get plenty of exercise. This study was conducted over a long period of time with a statistically valid sampling of the American population. They showed that if an individual followed at least six of these seven criteria, they actually lived 12 years longer than a person who only followed three of them. A group of people that only followed three of them were traced over 10 years, constantly warned about their health habits. After 10 years, this study showed that they still only followed three of them. Their conclusion was that health habits are almost impossible to break because people just do not have the self-discipline.
As Christians, the Bible tells us how we can develop self-discipline. First of all, the Bible tells us that self-discipline comes from God, the Holy Spirit. It is a fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:22-24). The fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. The Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).
If you are having trouble in your life in an area of temptation, if you are falling, you need to come to the throne of God and say, “Lord Jesus, give me power by your Spirit. Give me power in this area. Give me by your Spirit self-control.” That is where you need to begin. A non-Christian does not have access to that, but we who believe in Jesus Christ do. He has promised power by his Spirit.
The Bible tells us that there is a second aspect of this development of self-control and that has to do with you. The Apostle Peter said, “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control” (1 Peter 1:5-6). Make every effort. I have seen so many Christians who have come up to me and said, “Wow, I’m really having a hard time in this area of my life. I don’t seem to be able to get victory over it. It must not be the Lord’s timing yet because I’m just not making any headway, so I won’t worry about it. The Lord will solve that in His good time. He hasn’t given me the power yet.”
That is not an accurate understanding of the word of God. It is not God’s fault when we fall. His power is available if we ask Him. But there also must take place a relinquishment of our will for every effort. The power of the Spirit is released in the midst of that attitude so that if you have a problem with the temptation in your life and are willing to make every effort, but you do not come to the throne of God and ask for the power of the Spirit, you will fail. If you have an area of your life where you are having trouble with temptation and ask for the power of God, but you do not make every effort, you will fail. You need both. You need the power of God, and you need the relinquishment of your will towards every effort. That is why you must take it seriously. This is the prescription the Bible has given with respect to the development of self-discipline and self-control.
There is another story I wanted to tell, but our time is almost up. In fact, it is up. I do want to share with you for a second regarding the matter of what happens in your life and in mine if we do not develop self-control. The Bible says that a person without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. A person without self-control, a Christian without self-control, has no defense against the evil one, no power over temptation.
There are two words that are used in the scriptures for self-control. One is the word enkrateia, which means inner strength, normally translated self-control. That word was used to refer to people who had the strength within to master their surroundings. People without enkrateia are individuals who were controlled by their surroundings. Maybe you have met people that are controlled by their surroundings. They get up in the morning, and the whole day they are bouncing off walls. Maybe you feel like that from time to time. I know I have. Feeling like you were shot out of a pinball machine. You go through your day like that. But God wants us to go through our day with power and purpose. The other word that is used in the Greek for self-control is the word, sophronos, which means minded. The Greeks used it to refer to self-discipline because they believed that a person without self-discipline did not have a sound or healthy mind, whereas a person with self-discipline had a healthy and a sound mind. There is this exhortation then in the scripture that we are to develop self-control.
Do you know what happens if you do not develop self-control and self-discipline? God will discipline you because He loves you and because you are his children. God is not in the business of disciplining the world. He only seeks to draw them to Himself. But you who believe in Jesus Christ and have come into the family of God as his very own children, God in His love now seeks to guide you in the path that you should walk. When you have no self-control, you can know that God will begin to discipline you. That is why the author of Hebrews says, “have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons?—do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:5-11).
That is the attitude that God would have us to adopt with respect to His discipline. It is because He loves us. As it says in Revelation, the Lord Jesus says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten” (Revelation 3:19), and yet God’s perfect will for you as His children is that He should not have to discipline you because you have developed self-discipline in areas of godliness.
I am sure you feel that way about your children. I know Barb and I do. We discipline Heather and Drew, but we do not want to have to keep disciplining them in the same areas. We want them to develop self-discipline in those areas. We do not want to have to keep disciplining Heather and Drew to look for cars when they cross the street, to eat right, to get plenty of sleep, to pick up after themselves. We do not want to keep disciplining them in those areas. We want them to develop self-discipline in those areas.
Our Father in heaven views us in the same way. He wants us to develop self-discipline for the purpose of obedience. When you take Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have done a lot when you say that Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Savior. You are not just saying that you have trusted your life to Him. You are not just saying that you want His blessing on your life. You are not just saying that you trust Him to provide for you. Now and forevermore, you are saying those things, but you are saying more than that when you call Jesus Christ, Lord. You are also saying that you love Him. You long to please Him and walk with Him. And that is a serious matter. It is a matter of obedience. It is a matter for self-control. Therefore, the Apostle Peter, when he lists the virtues of the Christian faith, includes the word self-control. He says, “For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be the more zealous to confirm your call and election, for if you do this you will never fall; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8-11).
Shall we pray? Father, we praise You, and we thank You for Your love for us. We thank You that You love us enough to call us Your very own children through belief in Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. And yet, Father, we thank You that You love us enough, that You long to make us like Yourself, and that You have given us an exhortation in Your word that we are to walk in the way that You would have us to walk. Father, help us in this matter of self-control. Anoint us by Your Spirit. Empower us by Your Spirit. Lord, we pray that we might be willing to make every effort in our love for You to please You. Lord Jesus, we pray these things in your great and matchless name. Amen.