“Godly Discipline”
Hebrews 12:1-24
8-24-2025
In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ. In our Epistle lesson for today, the term "discipline" is used several times. Unfortunately, in our modern society, discipline has become a dirty word. In some circles it immediately conjures up visions of child abuse. No longer can a parent say, "I disciplined my child", without the fear of Child Protective Services coming out to investigate. Funny how things have changed in such a short time. Some of you may recall a fellow student being summoned to the front of the classroom in order to meet "Mr. Discipline" which was a nickname for the paddle. The "Board of Education" was made out of wood. A parent spanking their child was not uncommon. Granted, there were parents and teachers who abused this authority. But they were the minority. And so, you have to wonder; what caused us to shift so dramatically and to nearly abolish all forms of discipline?
Well, the crux of the problem lies in the confusion of terms. You see, when we say "discipline" people think of "punishment." But they’re not the same thing. Not all discipline includes punishment. Likewise, not all punishment includes discipline. For example, a parent or teacher might discipline a child using only verbal instruction. After all, the root word for discipline is “disciple” and part of being a disciple is instruction and learning. On the other hand, as I said, not all punishment includes discipline. When a person commits a crime and receives punishment from the court, it’s not necessarily to instruct. Even though we talk about rehabilitating criminals, the main purpose of the punishment is to make that wrongdoer pay a price. It’s one of the ways we keep order in society. If the court inflicts the punishment, it takes away the need of the victim or their family to seek revenge.
Because of all this confusion, discipline has received a black eye. It’s viewed as meanness. And so, many parents have chosen to raise their children with little or no discipline. This is supposed to be more loving. But deep down we all know the opposite is true. Our text from Hebrews speaks directly to this problem. It says that discipline is actually an act of love. If a parent does not discipline their child, then they are acting as if that child is not theirs; as if the child is illegitimate and belongs to someone else. That’s because the ultimate responsibility to discipline lies with the parent.
Years ago, when we were in eastern Iowa on vicarage, we had an incident that might help drive this point home. Andrew had a “lapse of judgment” which got him into trouble. He had done something not so nice to another kid in town. Gayleen and I laid out our discipline at home and then I took my son over to the boy’s house to apologize. We were met at the door by a not-so-nice mother who launched into chewing out my child. I stopped her dead in her tracks. I said, “This is MY son and it’s MY responsibility to discipline him, not yours!” We promptly walked away and went home.
You see, the problem was that a stranger won’t discipline out of love because that child is not theirs. However, loving parents will always have in mind what’s best for their kids even as they discipline them. In our household there were at least 2 reasons why we disciplined our children. First, to keep order and some sense of sanity. But secondly, and more importantly, we loved our children so much that we wouldn’t allow them to act in ways that might be harmful to themselves or to others. For example, is it not an act of love to teach your child to look both ways before crossing a street? Or to punish them for playing with fire? Or to physically restrain them from sticking a metal object into an electrical outlet? The answer is yes to all 3. And yet they’re all acts of discipline whether there was punishment included or not.
Well, in the same way that human discipline has been misunderstood, so has God'sdiscipline. It too is viewed by some as meanness. But the opposite is true. God loves His children and wants to keep them safe, both physically and spiritually. God laid down limits and boundaries for mankind since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve were told they could eat of any tree in the Garden except one—the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That boundary was for their own good, but they chose to ignore it. As a result, sin entered into the world. Later God gave His people the Ten Commandments to live by. These were boundaries to ensure a happy life for mankind but we ignored that too. God put those boundaries there out of love. He didn't do it to make life miserable for us.
Think about it like this. What would happen if football players chose to disregard the boundaries and rules in the game? How much fun would it be? What if they chose to keep the ball for 5 or 6 downs rather than 4? Or if they caught the ball out of bounds and just kept running with it? The game would be utter chaos. You see, those boundaries and rules are what makes the game fun. Take them away, and there's not much sense in going to watch or play such a mixed-up mess. In the same way, God has placed boundaries and limitations on this life to make it enjoyable. But we often choose to violate those boundaries and God must discipline us to get us back on track with His good and gracious will. He disciplines us by allowing trouble and hardship and even suffering into our lives. Not because He’s mean and hates us. Rather, He disciplines us as a loving father with our ultimate good and happiness in mind. He disciplines us because He loves us and claims us as His legitimate children through Jesus Christ. It may sound strange, but the writer to the Hebrews encourages us to rejoice when we’re disciplined. Why? Because it’s one of the many proofs that God loves us and we are His. If you were a stranger and He didn’t care, He’d let you go to hell for your sins and not give a hoot. But because He does care, He disciplines us to turn us from our sins to our Savior for forgiveness.
There's one other aspect of discipline that we need to look at which is mentioned in verse 1 of our text. It’s the whole idea of discipline as training. Athletes know this all too well. It takes lots of self-discipline to be the best in any sport. That discipline requires hours and hours of sweat and pain. Athletes know the truth behind the saying "No pain, No Gain." When we train our muscles to do something new and different, they naturally get sore. They ache. But as the body progresses, it builds up those muscles and a person's endurance increases. Pain is not fun. Yet the athlete knows that in the end it will produce a strong body which will be able to go that extra mile and excel in what they’re doing. That's the goal they’re focused on in order to endure their rigorous training and discipline.
It's no wonder that the writer to the Hebrews uses the analogy of an athlete to describe how Godly discipline helps us in our faith life. God wants our faith to grow stronger. And so He trains us with discipline. He allows us to experience difficulties and hardships to increase our spiritual endurance and strength. St. Paul put it so beautifully in Romans 5 when he says: "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
But just like physical training, spiritual endurance comes at a cost. It's painful. And yet, what keeps us going in spite of the pain is the ultimate goal at the end of the race. Like our epistle lesson says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Our Christian goal is that harvest of righteousness and peace which is ours through faith in Jesus. The neat part about this discipline is that we have our own personal trainer who is standing by to help us. That's Jesus Christ. He has endured the pain which we face in this race called life. And He did it perfectly. He is our pure example of how it is to be done. The problem is that we had no hope of being able to follow His example or to complete the race. We were so laden down with sin that we couldn't even walk the course, let alone run it because we were dead in our tracks due to our sin. So, when the holy Son of God came into this world, He took upon Himself the full weight of our sins. He took those sins to the cross and lifted that damning burden from us so that they would not hinder us anymore.
Christ also rose again from the dead. Now, everyone who has been Baptized has been joined with Him in His death and resurrection. Then, he sets us on a course to run in this life. Not the old rat race of death we had been on. This is a new course, a holy course. Our legs of faith have been strengthened by Him and He continues to nourish our souls so that we won't grow weak. He nourishes them through His Holy Word and the Lord’s Supper. Imagine if an athlete stopped eating and drinking during his training. He'd soon faint and fall flat on his face. It’s the same way for us spiritually. It is essential that we don't ignore God’s life-giving gifts. We, as a Church, are called upon by God to look out for our fellow runners in the race. That's why we must show love and concern for those who have chosen to neglect worship in God's House and Holy Communion. They are in effect, spiritually starving to death and making themselves unfit for the race of faith.
God has a very special prize for each of us at the end of our race. It's not gold or praise or fame. It's a crown. A crown of life. A crown of eternal life. So, no matter what kind of Godly discipline we’re enduring, may we receive it with joy, remembering that God is allowing it out of fatherly love. If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, He will lead us to that eternal goal and He will see to it that we finish the race strong. So, trust in Him and gladly endure His Godly discipline which is for your eternal good. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!