Question: What is the difference between God’s discipline, correction and judgment?
These three concepts occur many times in the Old Testament and again, they are often confused or misunderstood. The wise person examines the Bible before making rash comments about God and exposing their own lack of understanding.
1. Discipline
Discipline means training that develops self-control and character.
Reminding Israel what had happened to them, Moses said, “You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you.” (Deut 4:35,36).
In other words God’s intention, through speaking to Israel, was to train them to become His people who lived according to His design-laws. [The Laws that God gave to Israel simply reflected the way He has designed humanity to ‘work’ best.]
Indeed later in Deuteronomy He reminded them that part of their training was observing how He had moved in power on their behalf to save them out of Egypt (Deut 11:2-7).
We often think of discipline as punishment, but God always views it as training. It is not destructive but formative.
In the New Testament, the writer to the Hebrews was to comment about God’s discipline:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Heb 12;11)
Note God trains for a good outcome.
2. Correction
The concept of correction is very similar – action taken to bring about change of behaviour.
“The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.” (Prov 29:15)
The whole point of God’s relationship with Israel was so that He could train them, correct them and bring them into a place of understanding where they could see that God had designed the world in a particular way and that He had designed us to ‘work’ in a particular way.
When they ‘worked’ or lived like that, then blessing flowed, partly because God brought blessings, but more simply because they were operating or working (if you will excuse the mechanical sense) as they were meant to, i.e. according to design. Because God is good and God is love, that way meant it is enjoyable and for our pleasure and benefit.
Yet, the truth is that Israel displayed the same sinfulness that is seen in all of mankind and foolishly turned away from God, rejecting all the goodness that is available when we live as designed!
In Leviticus we find God challenging Israel: “in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me.” (Lev 26:23). The “these things” had been a variety of punishments which were being used as forms of discipline to bring correction (change of behaviour)
3. Judgment
Judgment refers to an act of judging. When it is God bringing judgment there are always two aspects to it:
i) the act of assessing wrong or determining wrong and rendering a just verdict, and
ii) the act of bringing the decreed punishment, where there was an ongoing, established wrong.
Now there is nothing strange about this because we are very much aware of the law enforcement aspects of our own nations:
- lawmakers who decree the Law,
- police who apprehend apparent lawbreakers,
- judges who determine the truth of the situation and determine punishment, and
- prisons that implement the punishment (or whoever is involved in whatever other form of punishment is applied).
In respect of God, He is lawmaker, judge and executioner.
Executioner is in fact NOT the right word but we use it for the moment because it is what many think!
We need to observe, therefore, that punishment can be one of two forms:
i) death – where God sees and knows the person or group are so set in their ways that nothing
will change them,
ii) painful activity not involving death (often another hostile, godless nation) – where God sees that this will act in a corrective manner to bring about good change in them.
God’s Righteousness
Something to be noted along the way is the description of God that occurs again and again in the Bible: that God is righteous and everything He does is righteous.
This simply means that everything about God – His thoughts and His actions – are always exactly right. Because He has total knowledge and total wisdom He never ever makes a mistake.
Now obviously that is a faith statement which is in line with the Scriptural teaching and if you say, “Can you prove that?” I have to reply, “Yes, but only when you die and face God.”
However with a little thought and consideration, understanding can be gained from the study of the Bible in a far greater way that is usually found in people. Mostly we prefer to read little, study even less, and then make shallow comments that only reveal our lack of understanding.
Our difficulty is that we do not have total knowledge and we are so often motivated by self-centred emotions, so that our ‘judgment’ is often wrong – but God’s isn’t!
If we don’t understand the grounds on which God declares judgment (and He always does make it clear in Scripture WHY He is bringing punishment), it is simply that we don’t understand the awfulness of an attitude or action of an individual or group. Instead we foolishly blame God for what we assume (wrongly) is injustice.
