The Value of Discipline Among God’s People
Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk you in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you. — Jeremiah 7:23
As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. — Revelation 3:19
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: The vision and the plans belong to God; our part is to listen to the Spirit and obey. Opposition can arise within God’s own people: while some were rebuilding Jerusalem, others were exploiting their poor brothers and sisters. Nehemiah admonished the nobles, who accepted the correction and returned what they had taken. We too can go astray and need God’s discipline. Though receiving it is painful, it renews us and produces righteousness and peace. Trusting in Christ, we can continue his work despite resistance from within and without. Let us not despise his correction: it lifts us up and helps us persevere.
When God makes plans, he does so knowing that there will be those who receive his vision and carry them forward. The vision is always God’s. The Spirit speaks to believers and reveals the Father’s plans to them. The rest is a matter of obedience, if we have clearly heard the voice of God;
or disobedience, if his purposes have been misinterpreted or, worse, ignored. Often the enemies of God’s plans are among us. But God is a God of order, and he disciplines those he loves.
Let us return to Nehemiah. While the humbler people rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, others—wealthy and powerful landowners who were also Jews returned from captivity—exploited their poor and hungry brothers. They became lenders who burdened Hebrew families with debt at high interest rates. The poor even pledged their lands as collateral; the lowliest were forced into servitude by their own brothers. (Neh 5:1–6). It was not long before the people protested to the new governor, Nehemiah, and God empowered his servant to call the nobles to account for their conduct. They accepted the admonition, and everything the humble people had lost or pledged was returned to them.
Opposition to doing God’s will can also come from within. It is important to know this so that we remain alert. In a morally ruined world, the devil will always try to confuse us. Our confidence is in Christ, the cornerstone rejected by the builders, who became the Rock upon which his church is built and established. That is why “…the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). Christ’s church will have to endure the same sufferings as its Architect, but despite the resistance of its enemies—modern-day Sanballats and contemporary Tobiahs (Nehemiah’s enemies)—it will continue to rise in the face of all opposition, whether from within or from without.
That is why discipline among God’s people has undeniable value. We can make mistakes, but God does not; we can slip, but God lifts us up. We must be aware that God’s discipline brings blessing. The author of Hebrews reminds us: “Certainly, no discipline seems pleasant at the time it is received, but rather painful; afterward, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12:11). And our brother Job declares, almost jubilantly: “How blessed is the man whom God corrects! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty” (Job 5:17).
As children of God, we must regard God’s correction as necessary if we are to keep striving in spiritual battles and glorify God. We must be willing to let God’s finger “reformat” us from time to time, so that we can return to a renewed state of mind and take on new challenges with fresh vigor as we continue doing his work. In a world of spiritual and moral ruin, God’s discipline is a powerful value against the values of opposition and disobedience. Solomon understood this and left us this striking illustration: “The commandment is a lamp, teaching is a light, and discipline is the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23 NIV)
God bless you!
Suggested reading: Nehemiah 5.