Definition (Etymology & Biblical Usage)

Introduction to Admonition as a Means of Child Nurture

0:01 Now, as we continue our studies on the training or nurture of our children, we come this morning to a new unit of concern. Having focused our attention for a number of weeks at the crucial issue of the overall spiritual and emotional climate of our homes, we then turned our attention to the first of the two major means that God has given us for the nurture of our children, namely, instruction or training by means of a Bible-based and wholesome use of the rod of correction.

0:42 But according to Ephesians 6.4, there is a second major means placed in our possession for the nurture of our children, namely, that which is translated in most of our Bibles by the word admonition.

0:59 Or to train them in the chastening, the discipline, the instruction, and admonition of the Lord. And so, if we have used this circle to represent the family with the parents, the children, and having addressed the whole issue of the overall spiritual and emotional climate, we examined the first great instrument that God has put in our hands for the nurture, namely, the instrument of correction. Now, today, the second major instrument that God has given us, admonition.

1:40 And what we'll attempt to do this morning is simply to come to some Bible-based definition and understanding of the meaning of this word, admonition, the noun, and its verbal cousin, to admonish. It is absolutely crucial that we understand, understand what the Bible means when it says, nurture these children in the admonition which is administered under the canopy of the Lordship of Christ. And so, our study this morning will be almost 99.99% didactic.

2:21 That is, it will be pure instruction. I will take the role of a teacher and not of an exhorter, or an admonisher. And the way we will conduct our study is to, first of all, very briefly, examine the etymology of these two words, admonition and admonish. Then, secondly, and this will take the bulk of our time, consider the usage of these words in the New Testament.

Etymology of Admonition: 'To Put in Mind'

2:51 And then, thirdly and briefly, to draw some conclusions with respect to its meaning. First of all, then, the etymology of the words themselves. Now, the word etymology is just a big word to describe our attempts to understand the origin and construction of words. The dictionary defines etymology as the branch of linguistics that deals with the origin and development of words.

3:24 When we use a word in any given language, we're using a verbal symbol that did not somehow just drop down out of nowhere. It had its origin somewhere. And etymology is that branch of linguistics, or the study of languages, that deals with the origin and development of words. Now, in teaching the Scriptures in days past, and even in our own day, some have abused etymology, and drawn unwarranted and even fanciful conclusions as to the meaning of biblical words

4:04 by fixing that meaning primarily on the etymology of the word. Whereas the meaning of a word is determined by its usage, not by its etymology. However, etymology can sometimes help us in understanding the meaning of a word, for its usage many times stays very close to its etymology. So we're going to spend just a moment on the etymology of the two Greek words.

4:41 The noun is nuthesia, and the verb nutheteo. And both of them come from a combination of two Greek words, nous, which means, the mind or thought, and tithemi, a verb which means to place or to put something. So literally, by etymology, the word nuthesia, admonition, the noun, nutheteo, the verb, admonish, signifies to put in mind of something. You have the verb tithemi, to put or to place, the noun nous,

5:25 to place into the mind. So by etymology, the word would signify a putting in mind of something. And that's all I'm going to say about the etymology. I'll leave you to judge if in its actual usage by the Holy Spirit, its meaning has any real relationship to its etymology.

The Importance of New Testament Usage for Defining Biblical Words

5:50 Now we come, secondly, to the usage of these words in the New Testament. Now why is it important for us to examine the usage of these words in the New Testament? Well, please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and this text is crucial in any consideration of words found in the Scriptures. The Apostle says in verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 2, But we received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God,

6:34 which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth. So divinely revealed realities are expressed by the Apostle in divinely given words. Since we cannot construct thoughts without words, and words are the stuff of which thoughts are expressed, the thoughts of the mind of God cannot be conveyed to us apart from the superintendence of the Holy Spirit

7:19 in the very words in which His mind is revealed. And the Apostle was conscious that the Holy Spirit was superintending his own judgment in the selection of the words by which the great mysteries of God are being revealed. And for someone who is an expositor of the Scriptures, he must always remember the words or the thoughts of Albert Barnes embodied in these words. The Bible should be explained not under the influence of a vivid imagination, but under the influence of a heart and a mind imbued with a love of truth,

8:02 and by an understanding discipline to investigate the meaning of words and phrases, and capable of rendering a reason for the interpretation which is proposed. So in my own study, as I turn to this whole second major category of the divine means for the nurture of our children, I began not by assuming that I understood what admonish means and what admonition is, but seeking to rid my mind of all predisposition towards the matter of its meaning, turn to the Word of God,

8:45 and see how the Holy Spirit has used these words in order to arrive at an accurate understanding so that when I instruct, I may not be teaching you error, merely using the word admonition, but putting my own meaning upon it, but rather that together our judgments will be convinced that when I assert admonition means blank, you from the Scriptures will be convinced that that's not Pastor Martin's interpretation, that's the Holy Ghost's revelation of the meaning of his own words, and that you will receive it, not upon my authority, but upon God's authority,

Usage of the Noun 'Admonition' in the New Testament

9:28 as that authority is found in the words of Scripture themselves. All right? First of all, then, let's look at the uses of the verb, I'm sorry, the noun admonition. It's found here, as we've already indicated, in Ephesians 6-4, but there is nothing in the context to tell us what admonition means, except it is something different from chastening.

9:57 That's all Ephesians 6-4 would tell us. We're to nurture them in the discipline or chastening and admonition of the Lord. So whatever admonition is, it is something, at least in great measure, distinct from, different from chastening. But that's all we learn from that passage.

10:20 But there are two other usages of the noun in the New Testament, and let's look at them together. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. So this morning's going to be a Bible study, a word study. And I hope this doesn't bore you, because remember, we're following the tracks of the Holy Spirit, who gave these words.

10:38 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11. Now these things happened unto them by way of example or a figure, and they were written for our, here's our word, admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Now what is the context? The general context is the subject of Christian liberty.

11:02 Paul has addressed it in chapter 8. He has qualified in chapter 9 by his own example that a Christian, rather than using his liberties to the full under the pressure of higher concerns, may voluntarily relinquish the exercise of certain liberties, and now in chapter 10, he's going to give some warnings about people who were not careful with respect to their potential for sin. And so he begins by saying, I would not, brethren, have you ignorant. And then he starts speaking about the wilderness generation and all of their privileges.

11:42 That he's still talking about Christian liberty is evident, because down in verse 23 and following, he still is addressing, the subject, all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. So he takes some incidents from the great privileges of that wilderness generation, and yet, in spite of all their privileges, God was not pleased with most of them, and he brought judgment upon them. Verse 6 says, Now these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they lusted.

12:23 Then you will notice, verses 7, 8, 9, and 10, all begin with the words, neither, neither be idolaters, neither let us commit fornication, neither let us make trial of the Lord, neither murmur ye. Now, these things happen by way of example. They were written for our admonition, wherefore, let him that thinks he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Now in this context, do you see the flavor of the meaning of the word admonition?

13:02 It means our instruction with overtones of warning. Instruction by way of example with overtones of a call to holy caution. Now, let's see if that fits. These things happened unto them by way of an example, and they were written for our instruction and warning.

13:31 Written for our instruction and warning, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. I think you will agree that admonition carries in this particular usage the idea of instruction, instruction with overtones of warning, instruction suffused with a call to holy caution by way of negative example. Neither, neither, neither, neither.

14:06 That is admonition. Don't do what they did. All right? Now, Titus chapter 3 is the only other usage of the noun in the New Testament.

14:18 Titus chapter 3. And here, Paul tells Titus, verse 9, to shun foolish questionings, and genealogies, and strife, and fighting about the law, for they are unprofitable in vain. He's telling Titus that he is to resist, in the church at Crete, those that would seek to divert the people of God from being occupied with the concerns of practical godliness and holiness, and they get them all wrangling over sorting out old Jewish genealogies, et cetera. So, he says, if there's a man who refuses to accept your guidance, and he's going to be factious,

15:02 and he's going to be determined to keep the church all in a tizzy over these issues, he's a divisive, factious man, a factious man after a first and second, here's our word, admonition, refuse or avoid knowing that such a one is perverted and sinneth, being self-condemned. Now, here, the word admonition obviously has the connotation of a verbal rebuke, warning, and even a threat. After the first or the second admonition, you are to avoid, you are to refuse him, there is to be formal public discipline exercise,

Usage of the Verb 'To Admonish' in Acts 20:31 and Romans 15:14

15:47 but preceding it, there is to be pointed, specific, verbal rebuke, pointing out of his sin, and a warning, and a call that he desists. You see that flavor in the word admonition. So, those are the three usages in the New Testament. But now, we have eight usages of the verb to admonish, and we're going to look at these eight usages, and hopefully, we'll gain more and more of a feeling for the significance of this word, both its breadth, and both its, and its limitations as well.

16:26 And we'll start in the order in which it occurs in the New Testament. First of all, in Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. In this setting, you'll remember the Apostle Paul is gathering with the elders at Miletus.

16:41 He reviews the nature of his ministry among them for some three years. And then in verse 28, he turns to the elders, knowing that he will no longer, have a direct influence in his physical presence with the church at Ephesus, and lays the whole burden of the spiritual care of the church upon these elders. Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to shepherd the church of the Lord which he purchased with his own blood. And then in the course of that shepherding, he focuses upon one peculiar and prominent danger, which he knows, that church will face,

17:22 concerning which these elders are to be constantly watchful. I know that after my departing, grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves, either meaning from the eldership, or from the church at large, shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Now to buttress his exhortation, pay careful attention to all of the flock, the very flock purchased by the blood of Christ, and in your paying attention to the flock,

18:02 give special care to the wolves that roam without in packs, seeking to devour from without, and perverse men from within. He's going to buttress the importance of this, by citing his own example. Verse 31. Wherefore watch ye, remembering.

18:23 Now you see the flow of thought? He's charging them, pay careful attention to the flock, especially wolves without, perverse men within, be constantly on the guard, remembering. Let my own example, having gone before you in this path, constantly press your conscience to your duty. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space, by the space of three years, I ceased not to, here's our verb, admonish everyone night and day with tears.

19:02 Whatever admonition was, for the space of three years, he had engaged in it continually. He said, I ceased not to admonish you. He did it individually, he said, I ceased not to admonish every one of you. And he did it earnestly and compassionately, night and day, with tears.

19:30 Now, in the setting, what does admonish mean? Well, obviously, it refers to instructing, reminding, and warning the people of God, with reference to the dangers that will beset them, as a congregation. And Paul takes all of this instructing, reminding, and warning of them, and he binds it all up in a bundle, in the verb, nuteteo, I admonished. Alright?

20:07 Romans 15, 14. See, no application, we're just trying to find the meaning of the word. Letting God, the Holy Ghost, give us the meaning of His own word in Scripture. Romans 4 to 15 and verse 14.

20:22 Here, Paul has just completed a whole section again on the doctrine of Christian liberty, and as he's completed it, he is confident, or he makes an appeal, I'm sorry, verses 5 to 7, Now the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of the same mind, one with another, according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, wherefore, receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you to the glory of God. And that harks way back to what he said in the opening verses of Romans 14, when people have differing judgments about non-moral issues, they tend to draw back from one another,

21:06 and to associate only with those who live by their principles in what is called the adiaphora, or things indifferent. Paul says, no, you must not do this, you must not do that. No, you must not do this, don't judge one another, don't stand in the place of God with respect to your brethren, let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind, and here he culminates that entire treatment with the exhortation, receive one another as God has received you, I'm sorry, as Christ has received you to the glory of God. Now, as he thinks of the outworking of those principles, in the next few verses he demonstrates that the fact that Gentiles are now there with their different religious background

21:51 and different conscience about things indifferent is according to God's prophetic word, the church is to be made up of Jew and Gentile. Now then, as he thinks of how the people will implement these directives, this is what he says in verse 14, trying to give you a feel of the context, so we don't just jump down in a verse in isolation. I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also, here's our verb, to admonish one another. What is his confidence?

22:34 He's confident that by and large these Roman Christians are full of moral virtue. He says you are full of goodness. Not only is he confident they are full of moral virtue after what he has written, he's convinced they are filled with all knowledge. That is, they don't know as much as God knows, nor as much as they will know as they grow in grace, and certainly not as much as they'll know when they see their Lord face to face, for now we see through a glass darkly.

23:04 But he means all knowledge with reference to the things he's been talking about. You have sufficient knowledge to implement the directives I have given. You have the moral virtue that inclines you to do what I have directed. You have sufficient knowledge to implement what I've directed.

23:27 And he said being filled with moral virtue and with knowledge, you are now competent to admonish one another. And in the context, it would seem to imply you are competent to put each other in remembrance of gospel realities which have made Jew and Gentile one. You are full of moral goodness and sufficient knowledge to reprove any among you who begins to draw back in judges' brethren for the keeping of certain religious feast days, for the eating or non-eating of certain meats, and for the drinking or non-drinking of certain beverages.

24:10 He said, I'm confident. In essence, I won't have to come and be the monitor that you will implement my directives on Christian liberty. You're full of moral virtue, full of sufficient knowledge. Therefore, you are able to admonish one another, to put one another in remembrance of gospel realities that lie at the heart of Christian liberty, to encourage one another in the pursuit of the implications of those realities, and to reprove any among you who persist in living contrary to those realities.

24:48 Now, doesn't that seem to be the natural significance of the use of the word in this context? Does that carry your judgment that we're not importing some strange notion from a deeper spiritual meaning, as a certain radio teacher is always telling us? No, there is a deeper meaning. You beware of people who see deeper meanings that only their eyes can see.

25:09 And some of you still are too addicted to that certain radio teacher. And some of us don't like it when his influence undermines the patient, painstaking handling of the word of God in which we say, if you don't see it with your own eyes, it probably ain't there. No, he's got special eyes and sees deeper spiritual meanings. That's nonsense.

25:27 That's Gnosticism. I hope you're reading. We're not reading some deeper meaning. We're just seeing how the word is used in the context.

Usage of the Verb 'To Admonish' in 1 Corinthians 4:14 and Colossians 1:28, 3:16

25:37 All right? Very quickly now, the third verbal usage, 1 Corinthians 4.14. 1 Corinthians 4.14.

25:44 The general context, you remember, in the early chapters, Paul is dealing with the problem of divisions in the church at Corinth. And their divisions have been occasioned by the fact God blessed them with more than one preacher. And rather than accept that blessing and profit from it, they had made it a curse to themselves and they lined up some behind Paul, some behind Cephas, some behind Apollos, and then the hyper-spiritual said, a plague on your house, we line up behind Christ. So Paul, in dealing with the problem of division, says, if you only understood the nature of the ministry and of ministers, you would never make them the occasion of division.

26:21 So in these chapters, we have some of the richest teaching on the nature of the Christian ministry and precisely what a Christian minister is. Now, in dealing with these things, he says now in verse 14, I write these things not to shame you, but to, here's our verse, to, here's our verb, admonish you as my beloved children. For, though you have 10,000 tutors or instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I begot you through the gospel.

27:00 I beseech you, therefore, be imitators of me for this cause I've sent unto you, Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways, which are in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church. Now, in this particular context, when Paul says, I do not write the things I've written to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children, what had he done? He had pointed out their sin. He had exposed the folly of it.

27:35 He says, what are you lining up behind ministers for? What are they? They're instruments. One sews another one waters.

27:43 God gives the increase. He who sews, he who waters is nothing. God is everything. He's exposed their sin.

27:50 He's shown the folly of their sin. He has given instructions as to how to deal with their sin. And he says, all of that can be summed under one word. I've admonished you as my beloved children.

28:04 He said, everything I've done in these chapters is admonition. And in the context, admonition was naming the sin, pointing it out, exposing the folly of it, giving instructions how to deal with it. And furthermore, he says, it's proper for me to do this. And this is very significant for our Ephesians 6, 4 text because he said, it is the unique prerogative of fathers to admonish.

28:30 He says, as my beloved children, I point out your sin. I show the folly of your sin. I show you how to deal with your sin. I have a unique right to do this because though you might have 10,000 people come along and teach you, you only have one spiritual father.

28:50 I was the one through whom God, in the preaching of the gospel, brought you to birth, indicating whatever admonition is, it has unique significance in a domestic context. You see that nuance in the text? As my beloved children, I admonish you. All right?

29:11 Here then, it paints the picture of the father authoritatively reproving, instructing, and exhorting to positive changes in their thinking about the Christian ministry and in their behavior toward Christian ministers, and he says that's admonition. All right? Now then, Colossians 1.28.

29:32 We're right about on track. We keep on this speed. We'll get through them all, and hopefully we'll have this concept of what admonition is. Colossians 1 and verse 28.

29:46 This comes in the setting, beginning with verse 24, in which Paul is describing the nature of the apostolic ministry, and in the midst of describing the nature of the apostolic ministry, he says that it focuses upon the proclamation of Christ. Verse 28. Whom we proclaim, and the antecedent to the pronoun whom is Christ, Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we proclaim. The central concern of apostolic ministry

30:30 was proclaiming Christ. But now, in proclaiming Christ, he said there were these attendant and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ. So whatever admonition is in this setting, it is something different from teaching in isolation. In this context, he says, we admonish every man, we teach every man.

31:06 And if teaching is primarily the impartation of the knowledge of divine things, then admonition would be an activity of motivating to action, reminding them of the implications of truth, encouraging and warning and entreating them to give themselves up to the demands of that truth in their lives. In teaching, the truth is set forth by means of admonition. The truth is put on the people of God. And he says, my apostolic ministry was a proclamation of Christ

31:50 attended by admonition and teaching. Now then, in Colossians 3.16, we have an interesting thing. While the punctuation is debated and shows up in the marginal rendering, and in most punctuation is a matter of debate, we're not going to concern ourselves with that.

32:16 Verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, and it could be in all wisdom, comma, but our 1901 has let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, semicolon, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing and singing with grace in your hearts unto the Lord. Now the translation, one another, does not really most accurately reflect the word that is used in the Greek text. And here I quote from Lenski,

33:01 the Lutheran commentator. Greek participles have number, gender, and case, teaching and admonishing yourselves with psalms, et cetera. Our versions make the Greek word reciprocal one another. It is reflexive, teaching yourselves, teaching yourselves.

33:25 When we sing our psalms and our hymns and our Christian worship, all of us sing together, and we by no means chant the instructive and admonitory hymns, but we all say them first and foremost to our own selves. We speak as one body with this body present. The reflexive pronoun is correct. Think how rich our hymns are in doctrine.

33:58 Thus they teach and instruct in a most beautiful form, in a form that is readily memorized by the soul. This is self-admonition. But now notice in this passage, in contrast to the usage in chapter 1, teaching and admonition are reversed. Paul said in 128, whom we proclaim admonishing every man and teaching every man, here we are told that the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing are used as separate things and they

34:42 are reversed. Now I don't want to make any big case about the order in the one and in the other. Suffice it to say they must be distinct things or they would not appear in two places so close together as distinct things, even though the order is reversed. And it is not just the word of Christ but the word of Christ itself.

35:16 The word of Christ is the medium by which admonition is carried on. The word of Christ is taught but we must understand that the word of Christ is the medium by which admonition is carried on. We must never be content to have the word of Christ as mere teaching. Its implications for life and practice must constantly be kept in our minds and by admonition we put afresh

36:00 into our minds the implications and the demands of teaching. The word of Christ is the matter that has the foundation of our lives for us. We must understand that admonition is a temporary object that can be observed for the purpose of teaching so that

Usage of the Verb 'To Admonish' in 1 Thessalonians 5:12, 5:14 and 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15

36:37 We beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and, here's our verb, admonish you, and to esteem them exceeding highly in love for their works' sake. It is a call to the believers to know their God-given leaders, and to esteem them highly in love for their work. Now, how are those leaders described? They're described as those who labor among you.

37:12 They are resident, and they are active. They labor among you. Secondly, they are over you in the Lord. They preside, and they guide you in your congregational and individual lives in the Lord, that is, with respect to the law of Christ.

37:32 They do not meddle in matters that are none of their business. They do not meddle in the color of your tie, the cut of your suit, but with reference to matters that pertain to biblical directives, they are set over you in the Lord. So they labor among you. They are resident and active. They are over you in the Lord. They preside and guide.

37:54 And the third mark of what they do is they admonish you. They admonish you. Now, you see here, to think of the word admonish in its more limited sense. The word admonish of warning or reproving would certainly not be an accurate description of the labors of a godly pastor.

38:14 If they preside, and that refers to their labor in government, and admonish, and that's the word used to summarize their labor in the word and in doctrine, it would seem that here the word admonish broadens out to include within its compass the verbal interpretation, the interaction of pastors with their people, instructing them, guiding, exhorting, warning, reminding, and comforting. Here, admonition seems to reach its broadest spectrum of verbal pastoral activity.

38:59 Alright, do you see that in the setting? Now, just drop down to verse 14, and you'll see how then the word can be shrunken immediately in another context. That's why context is important. It's so vital.

39:11 And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the faint-hearted, support the weak, be long-suffering toward all. There are some disorderly people in the congregation. Paul had dealt with, mentioned it here, then in the second letter. He had to take it up again.

39:35 And he says that the entire congregation is, in terms of other appropriate biblical principles, to be involved in admonishing the disorderly. Now there, you see, admonition has its more narrow, restricted connotation of warning, reproving, putting the disorderly in mind of their duty, calling them to repent of their disorderly way of life, calling them to a life of orderly obedience to Christ. There, admonish, you see, has a more limited connotation than it had just two verses earlier when it speaks of pastors whose verbal labors are summarized by admonition.

40:18 Then 2 Thessalonians brings us to our final usage, usage number 8. 2 Thessalonians 3, 14 and 15. Then we have exhausted all of the uses of the verb and the noun in the New Testament. The context is, verse 6, I command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly and not after the tradition they received of us.

40:47 Here's a command to a halfway house of church discipline. It's not full excommunication, but it is public. It is to be enacted by the whole congregation. We command you, brethren, it's not optional.

41:02 It is a matter of apostolic law that when someone has been marked as one who has a pattern of disorderly walk among the people of God, yet still claims to be a brother and is a member in good standing, there is to be this corporate action short of excommunication. Now then, he goes on to show why in this particular instance the disorderliness of laziness and refusal to work and mooching on the people of God is indeed worthy of such a severe corporate action by the church. And at the end of that instruction he then says, verse 14,

41:42 And if any man obeys not our word by this epistle, note that man that you have no company with him, to the end that he may be ashamed. Now isn't it interesting, the very Greek word Paul used in 1 Corinthians 4, 14, I don't speak these things to shame you, but I admonish you as a father. Here he uses the same word and says there is a time when you need to put people to shame. See, some would say, oh Paul said I didn't say anything to shame you.

42:14 It's never right, never right to do anything that makes a Christian feel ashamed. Who said so? Well, Paul did. Ah, yes.

42:22 Paul said in that specific Corinthian setting with reference to that specific block of teaching given at that particular time, I don't say this to shame you. But, as my beloved children, I as your father, admonish you. But here he says, if the disorderly who's already received some general congregational admonition, assuming the people have been obedient to the first epistle, now when the second comes, he said if they have not heeded the general admonition of the people of God, they are to be marked by the congregation, obviously under the leadership of those who preside over you in the Lord,

43:04 5 and verse 12 of the first epistle, and you are to note that man, have no company with him to the end that he may be ashamed. He needs to begin to feel ashamed of his laziness and see it for the wickedness that it is. It's a violation of the first part of the fourth commandment, six days shalt thou labor. That's as much a command of God as to keep a seventh day set apart unto him.

43:33 But verse 15, and yet, do not count him as an enemy, though you're determined to see him brought to shame for his sin that may hopefully open up the springs of repentance and reformation of life, don't count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Now in that context, what would admonition mean? Obviously it would mean remind him of his duty, point out his sin and his fault, and call him back to the way of an orderly walk, by appealing to him to repent of his sin, seek the forgiveness of God, and be restored to full fellowship in the church. Admonish him.

44:17 It could mean nothing else in the context. When you act to withdraw certain dimensions of unrestricted social interaction from him, have no company with him, it's to make him ashamed. A group of guys are getting together in the hallway saying, let's go on out and have a hamburger after prayer meeting. And he comes in and says, can I join you fellas?

44:40 They said no. Yeah, that's what he meant. Keep no company with him. That is, don't allow him unrestricted social access to the people of God.

44:51 And then he ought to say, well why? He said, because you're walking disorderly, man. You ain't been working. You've been admonished.

45:00 You've been warned. You're lazy. You're walking disorderly. And he ought to slink out the side door with his head down, and go home and find a secret place, and fall on his knees and say, oh God, I love you, and I love your son, and I love your people, and I can't stand being cut off from free and open communion with them.

45:19 You're not supposed to go home and pout and say, I think they are holier than thou. I think they've got no change. That's the way some of you respond to the slightest form of social strictures. That's not a penitent heart.

45:33 That's a proud heart. Paul says, withdraw that it may be ashamed. Then you see him next Sunday morning, what do you do? You glower at him and treat him like an enemy?

45:46 No, no. You go to him, put your hand on your shoulder, and you say, now, what name can I take out of the vows so nobody thinks I'm talking about any Lucretius? All right. We'll call him anything we want to.

45:59 So and so. I want you to know that wasn't easy for me to do that Wednesday night. I remember the times when we sat in Tiffany's over a cup of coffee, and we've had good fellowship together. It hurt me.

46:10 It hurt me. It hurt me to say, I'm sorry. You're not welcome. And I want you to know, so and so, that I've been praying for you since Wednesday night, that you'd feel ashamed of your sin.

46:22 And I want you to know I've been praying you'd come to repentance. He says, you don't treat him like an enemy. You admonish him as a brother. What is admonition?

46:31 Remind him of his sin. Point out his errors. Call him to the way of repentance. All right.

Summary of Admonition's Meaning and Characteristics

46:37 You see that admonish must mean that in that context. All right. Let's run through all the usages. Now, I think you got a feel.

46:44 Let me just run back through. All right. What I did is I took all my notes and where I gave the summary observation under each text, I underlined it in red so I could go back right now, stick my nose in my notes and put them all together. All right.

46:59 The two usages, other usages as a noun. What did they mean? In 1 Corinthians 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44,

47:43 45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 70, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 76, 77, 78,

48:28 79, 80, 91, 92, 93, 93, 94, 94, 95, 100, 100, 12, 115, 12, 13, 14, 15, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 32, 33, 34, 35, The verb and the noun is that admonition is a verbal activity.

49:14 It's a verbal activity. In its broadest usage, it involves instruction, warning, motivating, reproving. In its more narrow usage, it focuses in upon pointing out fault, reproving and rebuking for that fault, and calling someone away from that fault or sin into the way of righteousness. That would seem to be the leading lines of significance of the use of the word.

49:47 And if it's to be administered in a godly way, it must be by people who can say to some degree they are conscious of being under the influence of moral goodness and of knowledge. I'm persuaded, he said, you are full of goodness, full of knowledge, but able to admonish. So without moral goodness as the motivating force and knowledge as the context out of which we admonish, our admonition will be unbiblical. And in the light of Paul's words, it ought to be motivated by parental love,

50:30 not parental irritation or parental abuse to shame a child and make him grovel. And in the light of Paul's words, as beloved children, I admonish you. And according to Paul's example as a spiritual father at Ephesus, it is something to be engaged in with constancy. Day and night I cease not with compassion and earnestness.

Commentary Support and the 'Admonition of the Lord'

50:56 Day and night with tears. And where necessary, with firmness, causing shame, as we found in 2 Thessalonians. And I would conclude. I would conclude my study by quoting from two commentaries that I found very helpful.

51:16 And I read the commentaries, but I said, let's see if they came to this conclusion by biblical means. And so after I'd done all my study, I went back and I said, yes, I think it fits. I found that many of the commentators referred to Trench's work on synonyms of the New Testament, and they cited him as the most accurate authority defining admonition. And here's a partial quote of Trench's definition.

51:44 Discipline is training by act, which Trench refers to the laws and ordinances of the Christian household, the transgression of which will induce correction. Whereas admonition is training by word, by the word of encouragement when this is sufficient, but also by that of remonstrance or reproof of blame, where these may be required. So the basic distinction then between nurturing them in chastening and admonition, this is by what we do to the child accompanied with words. This is by what we say to the child.

52:27 It is a verbal activity. That's from Jeffrey Wilson's little commentary. And then Hodge writes on Ephesians 6, 4, Admonition is the act of, or reminding one of his faults or duties. Children are not to be allowed to grow up without care or control.

52:48 They are to be instructed, disciplined, and admonished, so they may be brought to knowledge, self-control, and obedience. The whole process of their education is to be religious, and not only religious, but Christian. It is the nurture and admonition of the Lord, which is the appointed and the only effective, intellectual means of attaining the end of their education. Where this means is neglected, any other substituted in its place, the results must be disastrous failure.

53:22 The moral and religious element of our nature is just as essential and as universal as the intellectual. Then he goes on to demonstrate that the whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which the Lord prescribes, which He administers, so that His authority, may be constantly brought into immediate contact with the mind, the heart, and the conscience of the child. What we emphasize with regard to the rod of correction, it had to be the chastening of the Lord. His authority, His law, His will, which demands their spankings, the conscience and the mind of the will of the child must be brought again and again,

54:04 beyond the power of the authority and to the will of God. The Lord himself, and likewise with admonition, it must be made plain that in the full range of what it is to admonish, we are not simply imposing our value standards upon our children, imposing our way of life upon our children, it is the way of the Lord that we are imposing upon them. And I use the word imposing deliberately, not suggesting for me and my house, serve the Lord. No.

54:46 And while they're undermined, Christ's laws shall be obeyed. Even if their obedience is only rendered externally and grudgingly, it will be rendered nonetheless. Admonition of the Lord. It's only by making God, God in Christ, the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is to be believed, and in obedience to His, whose will, everything is to be done, that the ends of the train, of our children can possibly be attained.

The Folly of Neglecting God's Appointed Means

55:21 It is an infinite folly in men to assume to be wiser than God, or to attempt to accomplish an end by any other means than that which God has appointed. Ye fathers, nurture them. By what means has he appointed? Two great means.

55:42 Chastening of the Lord. Admonition of the Lord. We better well have not only a biblical doctrine of chastening, diligently, prayerfully, consistently implemented, but we better have a biblical doctrine of admonition, wisely, consistently, prayerfully administered, or, as Hogg says, the end, the nurturing of our children, the bringing of them to their full potential as image bearers of God, and hopefully by saving grace as the adopted sons and daughters of God, that potential will not be realized

56:25 if these means are neglected, either chastening or admonition, or if they are divorced from what it means, chastening and admonition of the Lord. We don't impose our Swedish or Scottish way of life. We don't impose our white, Caucasian, middle-class way of life. We don't impose our black, inner-city way of life.

56:51 We don't impose our Hispanic or our Dutch way of life. Let the Swedes and the Dutch and the Scot- go to their graves! But the ways of God are what we want to live on in our children. The ways of- And where there's anything in my Swedish or Scottish ways that violate the ways of Christ, I'd use language that would seem too coarse, so I won't say it.

57:23 Banish them to the pit! White ways, black ways, yellow ways, middle-class ways, upper-class ways, they are nothing! It is the ways of Christ that are everything. And your children have the right, when they develop years of discretion, to sweetly and graciously, not impudently say, Dad, Mom, would you mind giving me a biblical reason for admonishing me about that thing?

57:55 And you better be able to do it. Not simply say, Well, you do it because I say it! You do it because it's our ways! Perpetuate our ways through you!

58:05 Marvelous way to bind their conscience. God have mercy on you. God have mercy on me. God have mercy on us all.

Homework Assignment: Proverbs and Areas of Admonition

58:19 If we use any other means than those appointed by God. Now, for a little homework assignment, and oh, my time's gone. See, I said it was going to be mostly teaching when I got to admonishing and preaching. I got into trouble with the clock.

58:32 All right, I got the teaching done in time. But the preacher took over. But I don't apologize. I'm not going to say I'm sorry.

58:39 I'm not sorry at all. I'd say those things a hundred times if I thought it would get it into some of your hearts. But your homework assignment is, if at all possible, speed read the book of Proverbs this week with this question in view. What areas of life are the prominent focal points of the admonition of the Father in Proverbs to His Son?

59:05 What areas of life are the primary focal points of admonition? Now, I didn't say exhaustive. That wouldn't be a speed reading. And some of you wives wouldn't be fixing meals for your husbands and cleaning the house.

59:18 And I'd be in real bad trouble come next week. So just speed read and see what are the prominent areas of admonition. Because God willing, that's what we're going to do next week. Is we're going to, we've looked at what it means to admonish and I hope persuaded your judgment by direct contact with the Word of God.

59:39 We're now prepared to say in what areas am I responsible to admonish my children so that my admonition will be of the Lord. For we only know that from His Word. Let's pray together. Oh, our Father, how we thank You for the sufficiency of Scripture.