In these verses we see what our Lord wants, and what He expects, for and from His children. We are continuing our messages on discipleship today with a message on discipline. Now, I know when the word “discipline” is used in relation to one of the Lord’s churches, most people think of what we call “corrective discipline.” But there is another kind of discipline, and that is the discipline we are going to look at this morning. The Latin word for “discipline” comes from “discipulus” which “also provided the source for the word “disciple.” The Greek word for “disciple” speaks of a pupil or a learner who desires to be like his/her Master. So there is discipline involved in being a disciple. We call it “cultural discipline.” A synonym for “discipline” is “self control.” We know that we have liberty in Christ, but liberty does not mean we should “ live however we want or do whatever we want.” If we so do, it will not be without consequences. There is a difference between liberty and absolute freedom. We have liberty in Christ, but it is intended for our spiritual growth, not so we may do as we please. Let me quickly add that the first place where a child should learn to respect authority and learn discipline and self control is in the home. If a child does not learn to respect the authority of parents in the home, he/she will not respect the authority of the teacher in the classroom, the police officer on the beat, or the laws of the land. The same is true of self-control. Self-control must be learned. In II Timothy 3:3 Paul says that one of the marks of many in the last days is that they will be “incontinent.” (INCONTINENT = without self-control.) (Bullinger-“without power or command over one’s self, or one’s passions; unbridled.”) We must all learn self-control and respect for authority, and that is a part of “cultural discipline.” What is “cultural discipline” as it applies to the saved? It is “the cultivation of Christian character in a saved person by the process of teaching, learning, and training from God’s Word that includes and involves self-discipline.” We develop this discipline through obedience. The Lord requires His children to behave in a certain manner. John 13:34-35 says we are to act in love toward one another. I John 2:3 tells us we are to act in obedience toward God. This discipline is developed as we live and learn from God’s Word. Be a good learner of God’s ways -- II Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” But not only should we learn them, we must live them -- I Corinthians 9:27: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

I. CULTURAL DISCIPLINE IS LIVING BY DESIGN.

II. CULTURAL DISCIPLINE IS LEARNING BY DOING.