Reformed Hope for Prodigals: Discipline Within the Covenant

🏡⛪️Discipline Within the Covenant: When the Baptized Wander

The Waters That Remember – Article 13

Part IV – Discipleship, Discipline, and the Church

---

> “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives.”

— Hebrews 12:6

> “You can walk away from your baptism—but you can’t undo it.”

— A Father’s Warning and a Church’s Hope

---

There are few griefs heavier for a Christian parent or pastor than watching a baptized child walk away from the covenant. The child once held at the font, once marked with the water that spoke of belonging to Christ—now wanders from truth, avoids the Word, and lives as though God had never spoken their name.

And yet, in the wisdom of God, discipline is not a mark of failure, but of Fatherhood.

---

1. Baptized, Accountable, and Pursued

Paedobaptism has never meant presumption. To baptize a child is not to declare that they have saving faith, but to place them under Christ’s Lordship and the church’s care. It is to mark them publicly as one set apart, to be raised in the faith, taught the Word, and nourished within the means of grace. It is a summons.

But with the privilege of baptism comes the seriousness of accountability.

When a baptized child wanders—whether through apathy, rebellion, or outright apostasy—it is not the sin of a stranger. It is the sin of one who bears the name. Baptized sons and daughters, even when rebellious, are not outsiders. They are covenant-breakers. And because of that, the response must be not indifference or despair, but pursuit.

Covenant discipline is not a courtroom verdict—it is a household cry: Come home.

---

2. Discipline Proves Sonship, Not Rejection

The writer of Hebrews speaks with both weight and comfort:

> “The Lord disciplines the one He loves… He deals with you as with sons.” (Hebrews 12:6–7)

In God’s economy, discipline is not abandonment. It is evidence of belonging.

A parent who shrugs at rebellion doesn’t love well. A church that watches a young man descend into destruction without warning or correction is not being gracious—it is being negligent.

The Lord disciplines those He loves. Churches must do likewise.

And that means not only teaching and correcting—but restoring in gentleness.

> “If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.” (Gal. 6:1)

Discipline, rightly done, is not harsh. It is holy. And it is hopeful.

---

3. One Baptism. One Covenant. One Call to Return.

There is no such thing as re-baptism in Scripture. To do so would be to deny the endurance of the first mark. There is one baptism (Eph. 4:5), and it stands—even if the baptized forget it, trample it, or rebel against it.

Baptism is a covenant claim, not a conditional award. It is a branding, not a badge.

So when the baptized wander, we do not offer a new ceremony. We call them back to the one they already bear.

The wandering son in Luke 15 didn’t need a new robe sewn—he needed the Father’s robe restored. The covenant doesn’t disappear in rebellion. It haunts. It calls. It remembers.

The waters that once welcomed now beckon again: return.

---

4. Discipline Seeks Restoration, Not Exile

When church discipline is carried out faithfully, it is never for shame’s sake. It is not to humiliate. It is not to prove ourselves righteous while another is cast out.

Rather, it is a rescue mission.

> “Deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved…” (1 Cor. 5:5)

The goal is repentance, reconciliation, and renewed obedience.

Even excommunication—if it must come—is not the final word. It is the last warning cry of a church unwilling to lie and pretend all is well. It is the final shepherd’s staff, extended toward the sheep who will not listen.

We discipline not to destroy, but to save. And even when the prodigal runs far, the house still bears his name.

---

5. A Church That Chases Its Children

Discipline is not a solo task for elders. It is the work of the whole household.

Covenant faithfulness means that members pursue the wandering, pray for the rebellious, and refuse to speak of baptism lightly. A community that baptizes must also disciple. A community that teaches grace must also train for obedience.

And when discipline is necessary, the church must act—not from panic, not from pride, but from covenantal love. The same love that placed the child at the font must now walk with them through the fire.

Discipline is not abandonment. It is the pursuit of love that remembers.

---

❤️ Pastoral Words for the Heartbroken

To parents: If your baptized child has wandered, do not lose heart. The covenant holds firmer than your fear. God disciplines those He loves. The mark they bear is not erased by sin—it is calling them home.

To churches: Treat the baptized as those under Christ’s visible rule. Take their rebellion seriously—but do not despair. Call them back not as strangers, but as prodigals. They have a seat at the Table when repentance returns.

To the wandering: Your baptism still stands. You may feel far, but the One who named you has not forgotten. Return. The water remembers. The church still prays. The covenant cries out: Come home.

---

🌊 The Waters Still Call

Baptism is not a magic act. But it is not meaningless. It binds. It marks. It calls. And when the baptized stray, the waters don’t grow silent—they echo with the voice of the Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine.

Discipline within the covenant is the work of Christ through His church to draw back those who bear His name. It is not harshness—it is hope in action.

Let us embrace that hope. Let us practice that pursuit. Let us be a people who never forget the meaning of the waters—even when they run through the desert to find the lost.

---

> “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion…”

— Philippians 1:6

> “The Lord… will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake.”

— 1 Samuel 12:22