16.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• The sixteenth mark of a mature Christian is that he is disciplined.
• To be “disciplined” is to be strong from within.
• A disciplined person is not a slave to his own body. He controls his body in a way that glorifies God.
• Jesus Christ was disciplined.
  - All his life, he used his body to do God’s will.
  - Finally, he gave his body as a sacrifice for sins.
• The Holy Spirit wants to produce Christ’s discipline in us.
• Through discipline we will win a wonderful prize: the prize of a holy, useful life.
• We grow in holiness and discipline through day-to-day obedience.

16.2 Titus 1:7-8 (ESV)←⤒🔗

7. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,

8. but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

16.3 Disciplined: Strong from within←⤒🔗

There is a good reason why “holy” and “disciplined” are found right next to each other in Titus 1:8. Without discipline no one can be holy. If we want to grow in holiness, we need to be disciplined.

The word “disciplined” means “strong from within.” This word describes someone who can say “No” to his own passions and desires.

Does this sound like something you have already learned? You may be thinking of Lesson 4, where we looked at the word “self-controlled.” There we saw that a self-controlled person is careful with his thoughts, words, and actions. He continually brings himself under the control of the Spirit.

The word “discipline” is much like the word “self-control.” But discipline is especially about our bodily desires. A disciplined person is not a slave to his own body. He controls his body in a way that glorifies God. For example:

• He enjoys food and drink in a way that is good for his body and good for the people around him (Proverbs 23:20-21; Romans 14:19-21).
• He enjoys God’s gifts of sleep and rest, without becoming lazy (Psalm 127:2; Proverbs 20:13).
• He stays far away from sexual temptations (Proverbs 5).
• He is willing to endure pain for the sake of obedience to God (1 Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 4:1).

16.4 The discipline of Christ←⤒🔗

In Hebrews 10:5-7 we find a prayer that Jesus Christ prayed to God his Father:

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me…

Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’”

This prayer comes from Psalm 40:6-8. In this prayer we see something of Christ’s own discipline. He realized that God had prepared a body for him, so that he could do God’s will with this body. All his life, that is exactly what he did. Finally, he did God’s will by giving his body as a sacrifice for our sins.

How wonderful it is to think of the discipline of our Saviour! Without his perfect discipline, we would not be saved. And without his perfect discipline, he would not experience the great joy that he is now experiencing. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that this joy was the reason why Christ “endured the cross.” He wanted the joy of redeeming a people for himself and for his Father.

16.5 The prize of a Holy, useful life←⤒🔗

We ended Part 1 by thinking about the discipline of Christ. It is good to think about Christ’s discipline, because the Holy Spirit wants to produce the same discipline in you and me!

By ourselves we do not have this discipline. We so easily become slaves of the body and its feelings and desires. But the Holy Spirit frees us from this slavery. By the power of the Spirit, we can learn to control our bodies and use them to do God’s will.

God promises us a prize if we live by the Spirit’s power and learn to be disciplined. The apostle Paul writes about this prize in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (NIV).

Here Paul is not speaking about the prize of eternal life. Eternal life is something that every Christian (every person who believes in Christ) receives. No, Paul is speaking about another prize: the prize of a holy, useful life. This is a wonderful prize, and a prize that every Christian should desire.

Imagine knowing, day by day, that your life is pleasing to God. Imagine looking back on your life one day and knowing that you have used your time in this world to serve God. Imagine being in heaven one day, and seeing other people who are there because of your prayers and your witness! All these things are part of the prize of a holy, useful life. It is a prize that will last forever. But it is a prize that can only be won with the help of discipline.

That is why Paul says, “I strike a blow to my body.” It almost sounds as if Paul is beating himself with his fists! But that is not what he means. He means that he is strict with his body. He does not allow his body to control him. He makes his body his slave: his partner in serving God!

This is something we must all do if we want to win the prize of a holy, useful life. Like Jesus, we must focus on the joy that is waiting for us–not on the pleasures that we can have right now. We must be strong from within and strict with our bodies. Otherwise, our bodies will become our masters and we will miss many opportunities to serve God in this world.

16.6 Growing in holiness and discipline←⤒🔗

Before we end this lesson, it will be good to answer one question: How do we grow in holiness and discipline? The answer is simple: through day-to-day obedience.

Every day you have a choice to make. Will you obey and serve yourself, or will you obey God and serve the people around you?

Here is an example. It is Saturday morning. Tony has worked hard all week and he wants to sleep late. But his wife has asked if he can take her to town. So, Tony gets up early and makes breakfast. He helps his wife to pack her things and takes her to town. With kindness and patience, he helps her to find what she needs and then takes her home.

Tony could have obeyed his bodily desires by sleeping late. But he chose to obey God instead. He chose to love his wife, just as God commands him (Ephesians 5:25). A trip to town may seem like a small thing. But for Tony, it was a chance to walk in the power of the Spirit and to grow in holiness and discipline.

That is how we grow: step by step, choice by choice, day by day.