Why Discipline Children

"Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." (Proverbs 19: 18)

This Scripture also communicates:

"Do not kill him" and "Do not let him die" as well as "do not desire his death."

When parents refuse to discipline their children, they are enabling the child's sin in his flesh, thus slowly killing the child.

The writer of Hebrews explains:

"If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?" (Hebrews 12: 7)

How we know that we have the Spirit of adoption through Christ (Romans 8: 15), is that God leads us to be more like His Son, as the Spirit of God transforms us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

Proverbs also records:

"Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." (Proverb 13: 24)

Discipline is not about harming our children, but helping them to identify with the Spirit of God within them.

Every parent, who loves their children, desires that every child walk according to his or her calling in Christ to walk in the Spirit and thus not gratify the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5: 16-18)

Every person is born dead in trespasses (Ephesians 2: 1-6)

If parents do not discipline their children, to teach them that they do not identify with their flesh, a sense of frustration and demand, then they will start to punish themselves, demanding things that pertain to death, and punishing themselves for wrongdoing when Dad and Mom refuse to do so:

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8: 6)

There is indeed no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8: 3), and this freedom comes from the Finished Work of Jesus:

"1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 1-4)

Sin in our flesh has been condemned, so parents discipline their children so that they do not live according their flesh, but walk by faith in the blessed standing which they receive by grace through faith in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2: 4-8)

"For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.


"For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness." (Hebrews 12: 10)

Wow! To be a partaker of God's holiness, and all the blessings that come with it -- why would we not want to discipline our children?

Don't deny your children the grand wonders of growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3: 18), discipline your children that they may know and believe that they are loved by God, and reign in life (Romans 5: 17)