Discipline in Scripture

Discipline as a Form of Love

• Proverbs 3:11-12, do not reject the Lord's discipline, for discipline is a sign of the Lord's love
• Proverbs 29:17, discipline your children and they will give you rest
• Hebrews 12:5-11, God disciplines us out of love, for our good; though discipline isn't pleasant, it yields good fruit

Discipline to shape how we live 

• Proverbs 6:23-24, teaching is a light and discipline is life-giving, keeping us on the right path
• Proverbs 12:1, those who love discipline love knowledge, but those who hate to be rebuked as foolish
• Ephesians 6:4, bring up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord
• Titus 1:7-8, leaders should love hospitality, love goodness, be prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled
• Hebrews 5:8, Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered

Sermon ideas about discipline 

Healthy discipline  

In sermons about discipline, we should focus on good, healthy discipline, which derives from unconditional love. God disciplines us — and we discipline children, pupils, or others — out of a hearty desire to see them live well. We would be derelict to let them proceed in an undisciplined life given that sooner or later a lack of discipline leads to trouble. Even self-discipline stems from a healthy self-respect. We want to be everything God intended us to be. 

Good discipline, whether imposed by another or by ourselves on ourselves, is a pain, especially at first. It would seem more comfortable to let things slide. But the rewards of discipline overwhelm the pain. Discipline is the basis of freedom and power. A basketball forward who does a spin move in the lane or a concert pianist who rips off a fortissimo run in octaves need strength and fluidity to do these things — a mix of power and freedom gained through hours of painful, sweaty discipline. Free and disciplined lives are a kind of music we offer to our parents, to our teachers, to friends and family and colleagues. By offering the music to them, we also offer it to God. 

Spiritual disciplines 

Some virtues appear to spring from God-given temperament. We all know people who seem to have been born sweet. But for most of us, most of the time, good spiritual hygiene depends on the practice of time-tested spiritual disciplines. If Jesus needed to learn obedience, so will Jesus' disciples. We will need to train our brains, hearts, hands, eyes, and tongues to get us in shape for robust Christian living — eyebrows, too, when they still have a haughty spirit.  

Fortunately, the essential disciplines for Jesus' disciples have been taught and learned for centuries, including by our Lord himself. And they are available to us right now. What are these disciplines? Here's a sampling, taken from the philosopher Dallas Willard's book The Spirit of the Disciplines. In our sermons about discipline, we can go into detail about any and all of the following: 

• Solitude and, within it, silence to expose ourselves to ourselves and to provide a natural context in which to listen to God. Silence is also an excellent discipline in group settings where we have a hard time controlling our tongue. 

• Fasting and, within it, meditating upon God's word. Fasting equals self-denial, a way to expose how much we rely superficially on the pleasures of eating. Meditating secures in our lived experience the conviction that we have meat that the world does not know. 

• Secrecy about doing good and being good in order to mortify pride, vivify humility, and relieve yourself of the need for acclaim. 

• Study of God's word to dig up the treasures buried there and live off them. 

• Worship and, within it, celebration in order to mortify despair and to draw us into joyful repose in the household of God. Because we all become like the one we worship, blessed are those whose God is the Lord (Psalm 144:15). Feasting, dancing, singing — all at God's glad invitation — make us neighbors to the towering oaks who clap their hands before a storm because they are dusty and God is about to give them a shower. 

• Deliberate consciousness that the first heaven is the air around us, that God is alive in it, and that, bidden or unbidden, God is present there. This is a presence we cannot flee, and that, if surrendered to and dwelled in, will give us peace. All prayer, including short prayer ("Help, Lord!") is inescapably and gloriously local. 

• Confession of our sins to each other as well as to God. This anchor of twelve-step programs is a powerful mortification of the old self, which is why we shrink from it. And, of course, it's open to terrible abuse. Who but God can bear to know not only what I said, but also what I almost said? Still, if you confess to a friend that you lied to him, your confession will help you get it right the next time. 

Self-discipline and sanctification 

Our sermons about discipline can also highlight the fact that this program of renewal has nothing to do with earning our salvation. Justification is always by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.  

But sanctification is another story. Mortification of the old self and vivification of the new one require not only God's gift, but also our effort. No theologian should try to get us off the hook here. Patience, for example, is not only a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5; it's also our calling in Colossians 3. And nobody ever became patient without the daily exercise of self-control, especially in the left lane behind a poky driver. 

What about the cost? The disciplined life will cost us. But the undisciplined life will cost us far more, now and forever. 

Excerpts about discipline 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about discipline: 

"In the disciplines of mortification and prayer, the human person is trained in discipleship." Scripture Meditation by Brice Higginbotham from Homiletic and Pastoral Review

"Although the word 'discipline' can bring forth negative images and feelings, it's actually through the practice of the spiritual disciplines that we find the pathway to freedom – to love God and others more fully." Article about Theology by Lori Wilson from Colossian Forum Blog  

"Discipline shows us rights from wrong. It can break us down yet still lift us up." Poetry by Wayne Mall from the Bottom of a Bottle