Discipline
in the Bible
In this week's study, we hear these words:
"Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They
do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached
to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1Cor 9:25-27).
Elsewhere in this letter, Paul uses the
same word: "If they (the unmarried and widows) cannot exercise
self-control, they should marry" (1Cor 7:9). And near
the end of this letter, he expresses a similar idea: "Therefore,
my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully
devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor
is not in vain" (1Cor 15:58).
But it isn't just in the First Letter
to the Corinthians where this ideal of discipline and self
control is expressed. Therefore, this article will look at
some other passages from Scripture that offer similar kinds of exhortations.
In the OT, the book with the most
to say about discipline is Proverbs. Here are some
examples. "The discipline of the Lord, my child, disdain
not; for the Lord loves whom the Lord reproves and chastises the
child the Lord favors" (3:11-12). "Train children
in the way they should go; even when they are old, they will not
swerve from it" (22:6). "Like an open city with
no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings" (25:28).
And there is that proverb so familiar to us even today because it
is quoted so often: "Parents who spare the rod hate their children;
but they who love them take care to chastise them" (13:24).
The last seven of the Ten Commandments begin
with the words, "Thou shalt not" (Ex 20:13-17).
Paul finds within himself an evil force luring him to violate these
commands: "The law said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin,
finding an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me every
kind of covetousness. . . . I do not do the good I want, but
I do the evil I do not want. . . . I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take
delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members
another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive
to the law of sin that dwells in my members (Rom 7:7-8, 19, 21-23).
Deliverance from this evil inner force comes
through Jesus Christ: "Now there is no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life
in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death"
(Rom 8:1-2). "For the concern of the flesh is hostility
toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and
those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are
not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only
the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the
Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if the Spirit
of Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the
spirit is alive because of righteousness" (Rom 8:5-10).
This life in the Spirit requires discipline:
"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of
power and love and self control. So do not be ashamed of your
testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear
your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes
from God" (2Tm 1:7-8).
God will enable us to have this self-control:
"Let us not indulge in immorality. . . . Therefore, whoever
thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.
No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and
will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial
God will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear
it" (1Cor 10:8, 12-13).
Toward this end, Paul exhorts the people:
"put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on
the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness
as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel
of peace. . . . With all prayer and supplication, pray at
every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful
with all perseverance" (Eph 6:13-18).
Second Peter too links self-control
to the virtuous life: "Make every effort to supplement your
faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control,
self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with
mutual affection, mutual affection with love" (1:5-7).
Discipline is part of Paul's list of the
fruits of the Spirit. "Live by the Spirit and you will
certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh
has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other. . . . The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:16-17, 22-23).
Other related NT texts say: "Do
not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what
is good and pleasing and perfect" (Rom 12:2); "Be sober
and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him steadfast
in faith" (1Pt 5:8-9).
The Letter to the Hebrews sees
God's discipline in our hardships: "Endure your trials as 'discipline.'
God treats you as sons and daughters, and what children does
a parent not discipline. . . . Parents discipline us for a
short time as seems right to them, but God does so for our benefit,
in order that we may share in God's holiness. At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later
it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained
by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may
not be dislocated but healed" (12:7,10-13).
The Book of Revelations also sees
God's disciplining us as the divine effort to promote spiritual
growth: [To the Church at Laodicea] "Those whom I love, I reprove
and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent" (Rev
3:19).
Jesus himself endured the discipline of
40 days fast in the desert. When tempted to take the easier
way, he showed self-control: "One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God" (Mt
4:4). And he encouraged his disciples to follow his example:
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross daily and follow me. For who ever wishes
to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake will save it" (Lk 9:23-24).
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| Text:
First Corinthians 9:19-27
19 Although I am free in regard to
all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many
as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew
to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under
the law -- though I myself am not under the law -- to win over those
under the law.
21 To those outside the law I became
like one outside the law -- though I am not outside God's law but
within the law of Christ -- to win over those outside the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win
over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at
least some.
23 All this I do for the sake of the
gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
24 Do you not know that the runners
in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
25 Every athlete exercises discipline
in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we
an imperishable one.
26 Thus I do not run aimlessly; I
do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
27 No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should
be disqualified.
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