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Discipline Expects Discipline
Discipline Expects Discipline
The importance of school is applied learning. Practice what you know. Those involved in drugs have applied learning. Those who continue in cursing have applied learning. Those who do good works have applied learning. A girl visited the zoo with her mom and asked, “Why are the wildcats wild?” The mother said, “It is because their mother and daddy are wildcats”. That illustrates well a principle of scripture. We practice what we learn.
Godliness is learned. It is learned from the gospel (Titus 2:11,12). Godliness is an ability in which we dedicate our self to the task of discipline.
Discipline, whether it be by an animal, a person on drugs, or a Christian practice godliness is an expectation. Whatever “school”, “training”, or example is presented and learning, it will be applied.
This principle of discipline is what God commanded Israel to teach their children, “that ye might do them in the land” (Deuteronomy 6:1). God expected a discipline taught, learned, and practiced in the new land of Canaan.
As we sit in a Bible class or hear lessons for months and years, what are we learning? Have we learned to DO (Ephesians 2:10)? Are we disciplined and live disciplined lives? There are people who would like to teach a class or preach a lesson (2 Timothy 2:2), but have they done anything to apply what they already know?
Friends, learning a discipline like patience, love, rebuke error, control our tongue, be faithful, or be a better spouse are all expected to be applied. Even with prayer, the disciples came to Jesus asking, “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). They wanted to know how and apply what they learned. Are we ever learning a discipline, but is the discipline ever applied?
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ expects not only a sincere, conscientious heart. A disciple is someone learning a discipline to practice. It is expected he/she will do good works, not someone who wants to go to heaven, but a converted person who is humble to correct mistakes, loves God with their heart all the time, and lives soberly, righteously, and godly in this world (Titus 2:12). This we will do, because we TRUST the One who disciplines – God. We BELIEVE the promises He has extended to us for being disciplined. We become reliable, loyal, and responsible. We are the disciplined expected to be disciplined…
