LESSON 12

DISCIPLINE

STEP 7
" We humbly asked God to remove all our defects of character."
Hebrews 12:5b-6
My sons, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved
by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son
whom He receives.

THINK ABOUT IT
Change involves pain. It can be confusing and we can become impatient at the rate we
are going. But how we respond to these circumstances are actually the growing pains of
recovery.
We are now on the 12th lesson of our program. At this point, it is good to review the
past lessons.
In Step 1 with Lesson 1 (Denial and Powerlessness) and Lesson 2 (Unmanageable), we
accepted the truth that we are powerless over many things, and that the denial of this
powerlessness resulted to our lives becoming unmanageable. The unmanageability
lead to dysfunction, which unfortunately, is passed on from one generation to another.
In Step 2 with Lesson 3 (Sanity) and Lesson4 (Hope), we saw how family dynamics
influenced our beliefs and behavior. With no understanding of whether behavior
patterns were healthy or hot, we repeated the same actions over and over again in
order to survive the dysfunction. The good news is that these unhealthy patterns can be
unlearned. We are invited to believe that God's power is for us rather than against us,
and through Jesus, our hope of glory, we can be restored to sanity.
in Step 3, Lesson 5 (Decision) and Lesson 6 (Action), we learned that in turning our
lives and our wills to God, we need to let go of everything that temporarily filled our
desires and let God be the one to fill it. We enthrone God through Jesus Christ, giving
Him full control of our will and lives.
Step 4 covers Lesson 7 (Moral Inventor), Lesson 8 (Resentment) and Lesson 9
(Emotions). We painstakingly wrote down our inventory in submission to Gods
ownership of our life, and discovered the roadblocks that could hinder our recovery.
Step 5, Lesson 10 (Confession) taught us to be accountable to God and to our step
study group.
Step 6, Lesson 11 (Commitment compelled us to dig deeper into the cause of our
recurring character issues.
Today in Step 7, we will understand how these character issues can be effectively
resolved.

A. HUMBLY ASKED GOD

After we have acknowledged and identified our defects of character, we can now
voluntarily submit to the process that God chooses to remove these defects.
Humility, then, is the spiritual core of Step 7. It does not relate to anything like devaluing
oneself. It is rather humbly accepting our defects and replacing them with good
character based on the checklist of character defects and assets in the exercise.
Where God leads, we follow. What God commands, we obey. When God says trust, we
act on that trust.
Isaiah 64:8
But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father, We are the clay, and Thou our potter and all of us
are the work of Thy hand.

Just as the potter molds and shapes the clay according to his intended use. God molds
and shapes us into vessels fit for His specific purpose. The clay does not choose the
method by which it is shaped – such is the potter's discretion
We do not ever wish to be going through the fire but we must accept it with humility. The
Bible is clear about the purpose of fiery trials in life: the production character. Paul says
in
Romans 5:3-4
…we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope
Our character defects will not always be obvious to us even in times of ease and
comfort. But they emerge when we are under intense pressure or stress. Through these
circumstances, we will be able to identify and acknowledge them, and ask God to
remove these defects so that He can replace them gradually. Growth toward maturity in
faith and character requires intensive work.

B. REFINING FIRE OF LIFE

God's cleansing of our sin includes far more than just forgiveness. God's plans for us
include the removal of these character defects as well.
Ezekiel 36:25-26
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all
your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a
new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a
heart of flesh.
In these verses, the word "I” is repeated the most mainly because it is solely God's work
through Jesus. He initiates the cleaning from the very start until His work in us is
accomplished according to His desired plan.
John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name.
Although He created us all, not a people are privileged to be called children of God.
According to John, only those who believe in Jesus Christ are given the right to be
called children of God.

C. GOD'S LOVE IN DISCIPLINE

Hebrews 12:5-6
My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor taint wnen you e reproved by
Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom
He receives.
Love is God's reason for disciplining us as His children. This passage also shows the
varying degrees of how God uses different methods to discipline us. Notice that in the
first part, the word discipline is used as a noun to emphasize its use as God's tool to
accomplish His intended purpose.
…My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord.
God's training methods will always be progressive as when He trained the Old
Testament characters. Depending on how we respond to each method of instruction, He
uses different ways to communicate His lessons to us so that we remember them
1. Reprove
…nor faint when you are reproved by Him
To reprove means to show someone that he has done something wrong.
This often comes in the form of verbal warning. At times, God would talk to us while
reading the Bible; sometimes He would use embarrassing circumstances; or He would
speak through the teaching or preaching in the pulpit; or sometimes He would use
people to confront us about our wrong.
Reproof normally brings much discomfort as it reveals hidden things that imply the
presence of wrongdoing, eventually leading to shame or disgrace. This experience will
sometimes put us on the defensive.
2. Discipline
…For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines.
In this verse, discipline is used as a verb, an action that implies inflicting pain or
something unpleasant to cause emotional discomfort or unhappiness. Hence, this
answers to chastisement or chastening.
Normally, this method would push our limit to emotional exhaustion, which would lead to
anxiety, unease, or sorrow.
3. Scourging
He scourges every son whom He receives.
A scourge is a whip used as an instrument of punishment and then, figuratively, came to
mean to punish severely or as to drive as if by blows of a whip. It could also mean to
afflict with severe or widespread suffering and devastation which causes us to lose
hope on ourselves at the point of desperation. They come as trials, disappointments,
hardships, and even physical attacks that are painful to bear.
Step 7, therefore, will make us aware of the different methods that God often uses to
discipline or train us, not as a punishment, but rather to mold and shape us to be like
His son, Jesus, in character and behavior. To summarize, the different methods are as
follows:
METHOD EFFECT
Reprove Verbal Discomfort
Discipline Emotional Distress
Scourging Physical Pain Desperation

We might be at any stage of God's training program, but the pain is not the entire story.
Our suffering is not simply sheer circumstantial misery or the result of blind chance. The
purpose for our suffering is our transformation from the inside out.
1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary you have been
distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold
which is perishable, even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and
glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

D. HOW DO WE APPLY THIS LESSON?

God knows we are capable of change and that lasting change takes time. Yes, there will
be agony as we separate ourselves from our defects of character which has enabled us
to survive the dysfunction. Our journey towards recovery will be under God's refining
fire. It is easy to focus on the pain and discomfort that accompany these trials but we
should be thankful for the lessons being taught.
God is really pulling the weeds of our life, which are the character defects, in order for
the flowers to grow and blossom in us so that people will see His work and, therefore,
give the glory to God.
All discipline that God allows us to go through has a purpose – to reveal our character
during trying circumstances. Our part is to identify and acknowledge them and
cooperate with God as He teaches us to replace the defects with good ones. To prepare
us, the exercise in the last part of Lesson 12 is designed to help us process our self
during the refining moments of our trials.