THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! You are welcome to the pages of our “Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! We are still talking about why God allows pain and suffering in our lives; His goal is to draw our attention and draw us near to Himself to correct and to discipline us. I want to make sure we understand the difference between discipline and punishment. We are going to talk about that right now. These two words are often used as synonyms, yet they are not the same. Punishment is a sentence pronounced by court after it has established someone’s guilt. Punishment is a reprimand or a fine. Discipline, on other hand, includes some measure of judgment or punishment, but it goes a step further: discipline is meant to correct, instruct or cause changes in the life of a person that has been wrong . Besides, discipline requires some type of compensation or remedy that would prove that the guilty one has admitted his quilt and is deeply sorry. An offender might say: “I am sorry for what I did. Please, forgive me!” It is discipline that helps such a person to see that he is guilty and has offended other people and has caused damage to them. 
 THE GOAL OF DISCIPLINE IS REPENTANCE OF PRODIGAL SONS AND THEIR RETURN TO HOME: «As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent» (Revelation, 3:19).
 Repentance is the right reaction to discipline! Sin never is just one’s personal business, so to speak. Sin is not something you do to yourself; sin is something that inevitably affects others. Based on the Word of God, allow me to say very clearly that parents should discipline their children and use spanking or ‘a rod’ as one of the method. It says in the Bible: 
 “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly» (Proverbs, 13:24).
 We also read that: 
 «Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him»(Proverbs, 22:15).
 Considering all this, we can make the following conclusion: if love is the foundation or prerequisite of discipline, then if we punish our children by rod or spanking without love, we offend our children and abuse our parental authority. The purpose of a rod is not to hurt a child for his bad behaviour. A rod is meant to teach the children to distinguish right from wrong. Do not spank your children in anger or when you’re ‘out of love’. When we understand that the basis and the necessary prerequisite of discipline is love we can see the goal of discipline: it is to protect them from the difficulties and problems that come into a person’s life as a consequence of sin and rebellion. Through discipline we as parents teach our children the truth that sinful pleasures are fleeting but have serious consequences. Through discipline we help them see that it is better to choose the life of obedience and righteousness, than to get all the riches of the world but be far away from God and His standards. God disciplines every one of us for the very same reasons. We will continue on this tomorrow! I wish you God’s abundant blessings! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Support us so we can do more

We’ll get right to the point: we’re asking you to help us support our Church online minisry. We’re a nonprofit that relies on support from people like you. If everyone reading this gives €12 monthly, Spirit and Truth city Church can continue to thrive for years.

Similar Posts

  • Lust brings sin, and sin brings death

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    «Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death. Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.» (James 1:13-17).

  • We have to strengthen our spirit

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    The Bible states «A man’s spirit will sustain him in sickness, but a crushed spirit, who can bear?» (Proverbs 18:14). Satan wants to hit our spirit via hardships, trials and problems. When your spirit is strengthened, you can overcome any kind of weakness, get through all kind of hardships and trials. So how can we strengthen our spirit? God´s word and His promises strengthen our spirit and overcome weakness and sufferings. In order to not give up, we need to learn how to lean on the word of God and His promises – fully and unconditionally. We have to learn God´s faithfulness and realise that God will never forsake us unless we abandon Him ourselves.

  • We have to be ready to go wherever God sends us to

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    As we concluded yesterday, we have to become obedient disciples, so that our families, our church and our towns can be stirred. God uses obedient disciples to fulfil His prophesies and restore His will on Earth. Even more, we have to be ready to go wherever God sends us to. Thus we can fulfil our calling. Obedience to call begins with obedience to short instructions God gives to us through His word and our leaders in Christ.It´s also important to know that Jesus knows everything, He possesses all hidden information, necessary for our mission. That´s why obedience to the Lord who knows everything is vitally important! When Jesus had a need for a donkey to ride upon to Jerusalem, He knew where to find the animal. He knew where to go and find that donkey. He knew how to bring that donkey to Him.

  • Do not be discouraged if you feel like God hasn’t yet answered your prayer, keep praying!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Maybe you are praying to God and it seems to you that the answer isn’t going to come, maybe you feel like giving up on prayer, you think that prayer doesn’t work. I’ve spoken to people who were praying for a long time and started to disbelieve in the power of prayer as the answers were not immediate. The example of Canaanite woman shows us that it is wrong to think that there is no point in asking God for help. I would like to reassure you that your prayer is heard today! Even today there is magnificent power in prayer!

  • There are three main types of believers: observers, consumers/users and servants!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    What type of a believer are you? What are you: an observer, a user or a servant? Today we will attempt to establish what distinguishes observers and consumers from servants.Observes do not care for what goes on around them; they demonstrate indifference. What happens in church does not concern him; he thinks that he only needs to attend Sunday services. He is there for the worship and the sermon and it is enough for him. Such a believer has no problems; he is doing fine at work and at home. He simply observes the events around him and he is happy.

  • Discipline is one of the ways how God transforms His children into the image of Jesus Christ

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    We can miss many important and useful opportunities in life if we underestimate what is going on in our lives. God’s discipline is one of these opportunities. Believers have a tendency to despise the discipline of their Heavenly Father. Yet in the Epistle to Hebrews The Lord is calling us to resist the wrong attitude of some believers towards God’s discipline. It says in the Bible: « My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him» (Hebrews, 12:5). The believers that are focused on comfort usually are indifferent towards the truth of God disciplining them. Some of them aren’t even bothered by their sins or irresponsibility. People like that want to be blessed by God, yet they despise God’s discipline. The Bible also tells us that punishment is profitable for us and not God.