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

Similar Posts

  • Wrong motivation

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Spirit of competition . Some people are moved by the desire to prove to others what they can do. Those that are moved by this spirit can’t be still if they see someone else doing better than them. These people continually try to prove something to others, because they compare themselves to others all the time. They live according to someone else’s schedule since they do not have their own. The word of God said this is a wrong attitude:

    Spirit of competition . Some people are moved by the desire to prove to others what they can do. Those that are...

  • Cooperation with God

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    When we continually pray and worship God, then our main desire is doing the will of God. Many prayers remain unanswered by God, because these prayers have a wrong foundation and demonstrate wrong priorities. For example, you may pray for a person with some serious problems. And you ask God to remove his or her problems or to solve them. At the same time you know that even if the answer to this prayer comes, the problems might return, since the cause of them has not been removed. That is why when Paul prayed he always asked for the people to learn the will of God and have a desire to do His will and be fruitful.

    When we continually pray and worship God, then our main desire is doing the will of God. Many prayers remain...

  • True joy is a power that helps us to go ´till the end and reach the goal

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Even nowadays Jesus is still rejoicing when sees God´s will fulfilled on Earth as on Heaven. Do you want to please God more? Then consecrate yourself to reveal and fulfil His will for your life. You, for example, can dedicate your life to do your best drawing sinners into the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven rejoice each time when one sinner repents his sins on Earth.

    Even nowadays Jesus is still rejoicing when sees God´s will fulfilled on Earth as on Heaven. Do you want to...

  • Not only prayer helps us enter God’s presence, it is a source for godly revelations III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    We have been talking about prayer as the source of revelation and guidance in our lives. Yesterday, we saw that through prayer and fellowship with God, Jesus knew what and how He must do or speak. Jesus said, “Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19) After Jesus had taught in the temple, He spent nights on the Mount of Olives. There is no doubt, that He met the Father there and they had fellowship, but the next morning He brought a fresh Word for the people who came thirsty to hear this Word.

    We have been talking about prayer as the source of revelation and guidance in our lives. Yesterday, we saw that...

  • Jesus came to fill the Earth with His glory

    AutorsRolands Zeltiņš Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Jesus didn´t come into this world to die on the cross so that people become religious and indifferent to God. Contrariwise, Jesus came to fill the Earth with His glory just like rivers fill the seas. Jesus set an example of what we have to do. Wherever Jesus showed up He stirred the place! Everywhere He showed up people responded to His visit both positively and negatively. Some of them said: “Watch the Messiah, He is the answer, He is the son of God!” while the others stated: “He is obsessed by demons, He is a sinner, blasphemer, He is dangerous, so He must die”.

    Jesus didn´t come into this world to die on the cross so that people become religious and indifferent to God...

  • If we are not ready to change and start resisting them, then we are not really ready to be a disciple of Jesus Christ

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    What does it mean to be a disciple? A disciple is a person who is learning from someone else and knows that he needs to grow and gain some knowledge. A disciple is one who follows both the teaching and the life of his or her teacher. He imitates his teacher and later grows into the likeness of his teacher.

    What does it mean to be a disciple? A disciple is a person who is learning from someone else and knows that he...