Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Biblical Discipline and Child-Rearing

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the primary issue regarding discipline in modern society?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the primary issue is "the breakdown of discipline in various ways and forms." He emphasizes that this breakdown "originates primarily in the home," explaining that "if you haven't discipline in the home, you'll have it nowhere." He traces a pattern where discipline first began to wane in homes, then followed in schools, and eventually spread throughout society, including in industry, commerce, business, and all professional spheres.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast the Victorian approach to discipline with the modern approach?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the Victorian approach as "excessive," "repressive," and often "brutal" or "inhuman." He notes the Victorian father was often a "tyrant" where "children were ruled severely and sternly" under the principle that "children are to be seen and not heard." In contrast, the modern approach has swung to the opposite extreme, "tending to do away with discipline altogether." The modern view rejects the concepts of justice, righteousness, wrath, and punishment in favor of peace, happiness, enjoyment, and ease.

What philosophical assumption does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say underlies the modern view of discipline?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the fundamental philosophy behind modern views of discipline as the belief that "human nature is essentially good." This assumption leads to the idea that what is needed is "just to draw out and to encourage and to develop personality" rather than punishing or correcting. He explains that this view holds that there must be "no repelling, no punishing, no administration of correction" because these things are considered repressive rather than constructive.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say the modern view of discipline has affected education?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, teaching methods have been significantly altered by the modern outlook. The new philosophy suggests that "you must not compel the child" or "force the child." Instead of mechanical learning of fundamentals like multiplication tables and grammar, modern methods insist that "teaching must be made interesting" and "everything must be explained to the child." He notes that industrialists now complain that job applicants "can no longer spell" and "can't do simple arithmetic" as a result of these educational changes.

What biblical balance does Dr. Lloyd-Jones advocate regarding discipline?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones advocates a middle ground between the Victorian harshness and modern permissiveness. He states, "The biblical and Christian attitude towards these two extremes is that they're both wrong." He explains that "the opposite of wrong discipline is right discipline, is true discipline," not no discipline at all. The biblical approach includes both law and grace: "It isn't law or grace, it is law and grace." He points to Ephesians 6:4, which instructs fathers not to provoke their children to wrath but to "bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe punishment is necessary according to the Bible?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones believes punishment is necessary because "man's nature is evil" as a result of the Fall. He argues that humans are "rebels," "lawless," and "governed by wrong forces," making them "impervious to all appeals." He points to rising rates of "juvenile delinquency, disorder in the home, theft, murders" as evidence that the permissive approach has failed. He states that "the biblical teaching is that such people are to be punished and are to feel their punishment" because "it's no use going to make your appeals in terms of sweet reasonableness to men whom you know are evil and governed by lust and passion."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones connect the doctrine of the atonement with the issue of discipline?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that those who reject discipline don't understand the atonement, which demonstrates that God punishes sin. He explains that on the cross, "this just and holy and righteous God was punishing sin in the person of his own son." The cross shows that "the justice and the righteousness of God demands this" and that "the wrath of God upon sin insists upon this." Rather than seeing only sentimentality in the cross, Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that "the Bible is full of this notion of offering and of sacrifice and of the shedding of blood."