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Sermon #4176

Balanced Discipline

A Sermon on Ephesians 6:1-4

Scripture

Ephesians 6:1-4 ESV NASB KJV
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring …

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Sermon Description

How should parents discipline their children? It can be a difficult topic since past abuses often provoke a parent to not discipline at all. In reaction to this, many Christians can react wrongly too. In this sermon on Ephesians 6:1–4 titled “Balanced Discipline,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds Christians the need for balance, especially when it comes to disciplining children. They cannot be reactionaries and revert to the old tyrannical methods, nor can they deny where Scripture says discipline is necessary for children. Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides parents and those in authority over children with several principles to guide them in not provoking a child to anger. Importantly, there is a call towards self-examination by parents. Dr. Lloyd-Jones sets Ephesians 5:18 as the paradigm to commence this self-examination. Being filled by the Holy Spirit will give parents power that is not uncontrolled, capricious, unreasonable, selfish, severe, or thoughtless. In other words, the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in parents’ lives. When this is the case, loving discipline is never domineering or possessive and guards against exasperating a child by changing rules and methods. Listen closely as Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides practical advice for parents that is biblically based.

The Book of Ephesians

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.