Doctrine of Divine Discipline

Doctrine of Divine Discipline

1. Divine discipline is punitive action from God for the believer only (Heb. 12:5). The unbeliever receives divine judgment (John 3:18).
2. God the Father is perfect; therefore, His discipline is perfect. Discipline is the sovereign right of God.
3. Divine discipline is based on God's love for the believer (Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19).
4. Divine discipline, no matter how severe, does not entail loss of salvation (Gal. 3:26; 2 Tim. 2:12–13).
5. Discipline can be removed or its severity diminished by rebound (1 Cor. 11:31).
   1. Stages of discipline for reversionism:
      1. Warning stage (James 5:9; Rev. 3:20).
      2. Intensive stage (Ps. 38:1–14). Includes "strong delusion" (2 Thess. 2:11).
      3. Dying stage (1 John 5:16). Persistence in reversionism results in the sin unto death (Rev. 3:16).
   2. The reversionistic believer manufactures his own discipline (Ps. 7:14–16). Since this is accomplished by his own negative volition, only his own positive volition toward doctrine can reverse the trend of intensive or dying discipline.
6. Discipline is related to the grace principle of turning cursing into blessing. If suffering continues after the believer rebounds, the purpose of that suffering is no longer punitive but is for blessing (Job 5:17–18; 2 Cor. 12:9–10).
7. All divine discipline is confined to time; there is no discipline for the believer in eternity (Rev. 21:4).
8. Triple-compound discipline combines self-induced misery with divine discipline.
   1. Mental attitude sins are subject to discipline.
   2. Motivated by mental attitude sins, the sins of the tongue become the basis for further punitive action from God (Matt. 7:1).
   3. God transfers to the maligner, gossip, or judge whatever discipline, if any, that He would have given to the one accused of sinning—the judgmental believer gets a portion of his quarry's punishment (Matt. 7:2).
   4. Therefore the believer must never assume the divine prerogative of judging others.