The Difference Between LAW and DISCIPLINE

Sandeep Poonen

This is a very important distinction that all followers of Jesus must be able to clearly show from their lives. It is very important that all of us live increasingly free from a life under the Law, but also increasingly disciplined lives .

This is a critical distinction, and let me try to explain this statement. We must live increasingly free from a life under the Law:

A life under the Law refers to living based on rules and regulations. But we must first recognize how deep this mindset is within us. When we think about the Law, we tend to think about the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments and other various laws that we read in the Old Testament). However, our desire to live our lives with God based on a set of rules predates that. It goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil basically represents living by a set of rules. The other tree that contrasts this is the tree of life (or eternal life), which is to know God Himself (John 17:3). So we can either follow a set of rules that God has given, or we can get to know God Himself. And if we get to know God, we can live a life that is pleasing to Him based on the Person that we get to know.

Since it goes back to the first sin that we humans committed, we can see how deep-rooted this instinct to live by a set of rules is. Even just think for a minute about your daily walk with God. How do you assess whether you are pleasing to God day after day? If you’re like me, there is a HUGE tendency to think about the things that we did or didn’t do. Have I been reading my Bible faithfully? Have I been attending church regularly? Have I not been lusting? Have I not been getting angry? And so on. As you can see, I build a set of rules to gauge the quality of my spiritual life.

This is not the Law of Moses, but it’s still a life of rules. And Jesus came to this earth to set us free from living a life of rules and regulations. Many Christians think that freedom from the Law is freedom from the Old Covenant rules (don’t commit adultery, don’t murder, don’t steal, etc.). But they keep living life by a set of rules – maybe rules they find from the teachings of Jesus. And they are even more burdened in life because of the even-higher standards of the New Covenant (don’t lust, don’t get angry, love your enemies, etc.). That is not the freedom of Christ.

I think that as we examine our lives, we will see how deep-rooted our desire to live based on rules is. And we might be surprised how much we’re still burdened by a life of rules, even if they are rules based on something Jesus said.

We must also live increasingly disciplined lives.

Some people know verses that preach these truths above, and highlight them and celebrate God’s great news that He has come to free us from a rule-based life. But many such people do not also embrace the equally important truth that we must live increasingly disciplined lives. Some get so tired of living by a set of rules that they misunderstand the freedom of Christ to be a freedom without consequences.

But let’s look at what Jesus said about freedom in John 8:31-32 –Jesus said, here is not a set of doctrines or beliefs. Jesus explicitly said that HE IS the truth (John 14:6). So to know the truth is to know Jesus. And so we can paraphrase the second sentence to read: And you shall know Jesus, and Jesus said “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

We must first be crystal clear in our minds that “the truth” here is not a set of doctrines or beliefs. Jesus explicitly said that HE IS the truth (John 14:6). So to know the truth is to know Jesus. And so we can paraphrase the second sentence to read:And you shall know Jesus, and Jesus shall make you free.

This helps us understand Jesus’s point here: If we are disciplined (continue) to live our lives based on what Jesus teaches us, then we will be true followers of Jesus. And as we keep following Him, we will get to know Him more, and we will enjoy a life of increasing freedom.

So discipline is vital. Paul also tells us that the Holy Spirit wants to grow the virtue (fruit) of self-control (discipline) in us (Gal 5:22-23). And Paul tells us that we receive the Holy Spirit full of power, love, and discipline (2 Tim 1:7). Paul also urges us to live our lives like we’re running a race and where coming 2nd or 3rd is not enough, we must seek to win. So if we are genuinely seeking to live this life like an athlete training to come first in the race, then we will “exercise self-control in all things” (1 Cor 9:25). So I will discipline my body and make it my slave because I do not want to be disqualified (1 Cor 9:27).

The picture of the athlete seeking to win the race is very appropriate. Imagine a man seeking to win the Olympic marathon. He gets up every day before anybody else is up, and runs several hours each week. He monitors every thing he puts into his body. He monitors his sleep. He is single-mindedly focused for YEARS, seeking to win the Olympics. But he doesn’t glory in all his sacrifice. These are all necessary but joyful sacrifices because of His immense desire to win the Olympics.

We are like marathon runners, who are seeking to KNOW GOD AS A PERSON more and more. That’s the prize. We want to know His ways, what pleases Him, what makes Him happy, what makes Him sad, what makes Him excited, what He looks forward to, etc. To do this, we make sacrifices, and live very disciplined lives. So we make our bodies our slaves, we obey His commands, we care for His family, etc. But we don’t expect a medal or glory in that, because our immense desire is that we win the prize of knowing God (this is reflected very clearly as well in Phil 3:7-14).

Now, knowing God is NOT revealed to us through all the stories about God. Sure, they give us some clues, but even humans cannot be described by any number of books written about them; and neither is our infinite God.But we can know God, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to reveal God to us (John 16:14). And the daily circumstances and blessings and trials are ALL specifically packaged for us to get to KNOW GOD – through the Holy Spirit revealing God to us in the middle of all these situations.

The Holy Spirit will show us the way of escape out of every temptation to sin (1 Cor 10:13). The Holy Spirit will NEVER FORCE US to take the way of escape as He respects our free will. He will show us the way of escape, but we need to be DISCIPLINED to take the way of escape.

But if we are disciplined to take the way of escape, we will increasingly know God through them. That is why God tells us that we can rejoice not only for every good and perfect gift that comes from above (blessings), but also for the fiery trials that He allows. Because we can be ABSOLUTELY SURE of this: God causes ALL THINGS to work so that we can get to know God (this is our good) – Rom 8:28; Psalm 73:28.

Finally, let me end with the story of Jacob and Rachel. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, but her father Laban asked that he first work seven years for him. That’s a LONG time, but because of the love that Jacob had for Rachel, we read it said that the seven years seemed like only a few days to Jacob (Genesis 29:20). So also will it be with ALL our immense efforts to be more and more disciplined, more and more faithful against sin, more and more loving towards others, etc. They will be trivial sacrifice compared to the great reward of knowing God.

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