Solutions October 2017 | Page 20

17; Gal. 4:4–7). Divine discipline,
therefore, is an encouraging affir-
mation of God’s fatherly love as
he disciplines us as sons for our
good, so that we might share in
his holiness (Heb. 12:5–11). Divine
discipline is used to show God’s
love in bringing about their full
adoption, and family status
means a call to live as a son (or
disciple) in line with that status.
God directly disciplines us to
bring about purity, and he also
has deemed that the church
exercise discipline so that disciples
of Jesus live out their identity in
holiness and righteousness. As
holiness was held as a standard
for Israel, so it is also required of
the NT church (Heb. 12:14). A
culture of discipleship is one where
formative discipline is normal,
and formal corrective church
discipline is practiced. As disciples
of Jesus, and as children of God,
we joyfully receive instruction
and correction so as to continue
growing as disciples and to
persevere in our faith until life is
done. It is crucial, therefore, that
Christians understand their identity
as sons of God and as disciples,
in order to rightly embrace the
call to live a certain kind of life.
As disciples we follow Jesus in our
mind, affection, and volition, and
when we deviate from his path
we receive discipline to help us
20 Solutions
understand how we veered from
living faithfully as disciples, and
then to repent and pursue the
right path by God’s grace. Thus,
disciples live under the Lordship
of Christ in ongoing sanctification,
celebrating the ordinances
together, and—if needs be—
corrective discipline. In the call
to discipleship and the call to
discipline the end goal remains
the same, namely, maturity in
Christ (Col. 1:28).
Dr. Jeremy Kimble (PhD,
Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary) is Assistant Professor of
Theological Studies at Cedarville
University in Cedarville, OH. He
served in pastoral ministry for eight
years and currently serves as an
elder at Grace Baptist Church in
Cedarville. He is passionate about
teaching college students, as
well as the local church, the truth
of God’s Word. He is the author
of 40 Questions About Church
Membership and Discipline.
Excerpted from 40 Questions About Church
Membership and Discipline by Jeremy M.
Kimble, © 2017 Kregel Academic