“Why do you contend with me? You have all transgressed against me, declares the Lord. In vain have I struck your children; they took no correction; your own sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion.” (Jeremiah 2:29–30, ESV)
One of the most difficult but important things to do as a parent is to discipline children. We do not want to do anything that will hurt our children. Obviously, we must not be physically or mentally abusive. However, discipline is critical in the upbringing of children.
We often confuse discipline with punishment. According to the Mirriam Webster’s Dictionary, discipline is training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties of moral character. Whereas punishment is the act of inflicting suffering, pain or loss as an act of retribution.
Discipline is positive and punishment seems to be negative. They also take different forms. Now there is a fine line that divides the two. However, the thing that sets discipline apart is the goal. Discipline is to develop virtue in a person.
When we raised our children, they never really liked the discipline. I did not like it when I received it as a child either. But it was essential in my upbringing.
The nation of Israel had turned their back on the Lord God. They rejected the word of the true prophets of God. They mistreated and put the prophets to death because they brought a warning, a message of discipline, to the nation that they did not want (Neh 9:26; 1 Thess 2:15). The warning was to return to the Lord, the best place to be. Only the Lord would provide them with every blessing they needed. He alone would provide for their protection and every necessary provision. Yet they chose their own way and this would lead to their distress.
We see this same situation being played out in our society today. Discipline is being abandoned. It is being abandoned in our homes, and in our society. This abandonment has come in the guise of freedom. This hedonistic philosophy has led to increasing problems for our society where we have departed from orderly moral conduct and even condoned wanton destruction of property.
How does this affect us as believers? Well, there are some churches that are now going the way of the lawless. Preachers who are more interested in building the empire of a large church or denomination are overlooking the tough messages of the Scriptures. There are many who profess Christ that, if the actually read the Bible, will reject certain moral precepts clearly delineated in the word.
They may not transgress in these areas themselves, but will condone the actions of others who choose to transgress in these areas. They do so by using a lot of false claims. One is a misapplied love ethic. It goes like this. We should love everyone and therefore we should allow those who take an unbiblical stand to continue in their ungodly living without saying a thing. In other words, we should condone such behavior as proper.
Another error is to deny the immutability of God. The Lord declares that He does not change (Mal 3:6). He never changes and thus His moral truths never change. Many who profess Christ today will conclude that the moral standards in the Bible were established based on cultural norms of the day. This denies not only the immutability of God, but the full authority of the Scriptures.
Professing believers and churches that hold to such views are following the pattern of the Israelites during the time of Jeremiah. What are we to do in this age? We must trust in the Lord and in the complete inspired authority of His word, the Bible. His word is immutable. Jesus stated it, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35, KJV)
Renewing the Heart 