Role of corporal punishment in childhood salvation

No discourse on childhood salvation would be complete without the consideration of two very important verses found in the book of Proverbs. For those of you out there who are Christian parents, there is no better work on the subject of child-rearing than this. For the price of a good King James Bible, it is included absolutely free.

It was suggested that I write such a book once, but I must confess my own feelings of complete and utter inadequacy at writing a book better than one authored under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, one, and two, by one God said was the wisest man who has ever lived outside of Jesus Christ.

Thus, while the money would have been nice, you simply can do no better than reading and applying the book of Proverbs to your children.

Turning our attention, then, to chapter 23, we find these words: “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” Though Solomon mentions corporal punishment several times in relation to children, it is here alone that we find its connection with salvation when he says, “deliver his soul from hell.” But before we can focus on this, we must here address the use of the word “beat” as there are those whose hackles will be raised for lack of understanding.

In the King James Bible there are several words that are used in a generic sense whose specific meaning must be gleaned from its context. Three words I can think of immediately are wine, meat and man, all of which can have multiple meanings, with that of wine running the spectrum from grape juice to alcohol. The words “beat” and “beatest” are the same, and the context of these verses rests on the word “correction.” The idea here is molding and change of direction rather than damage and disfigurement. It is the making of a permanent impression on the mind with the aid of a temporary impression applied to the seat of the body. And it is called correction because every child is born with a natural “bent” toward evil which must be straightened out by their parents.

Now, the reason Solomon says that corporal punishment delivers a child’s soul from hell is not that it imparts salvation, but that by its use the child begins to understand what consequences are. A reward is that which is earned for good behavior and can be as simple as saying “good boy” or “good girl.” A consequence, however, is the wage that is earned for bad behavior or poor decision-making. The role of consequences in our lives is that of deterrence, helping us avoid making the same mistakes twice, and where they touch behavior, they teach the child what is acceptable and what is not.

The benefit of consequences is that once a child can make the correlation between them and bad behavior, the child can then begin to understand the correlation between sin and hell. Hell is what is earned for the commission of sin, however small or slight. It is a punishment and a consequence, not a reward. And like the choice between good behavior and bad, when confronted with the awfulness of hell as the penalty for their sin, they can choose Jesus who has already suffered their consequences for them. Thus the practice of corporal punishment is a good thing, and Solomon is consistent to equate its use with love as no parent in their right mind would ever want their child to spend the rest of eternity in hell.

If, then, corporal punishment is a fundamental component of salvation in a child’s life, and it is, then what are the ramifications of its absence?

The removal of consequences for wrong actions from the life of a child ultimately produces produces an adult with a jaded view of reality. Among other attitudes, they will evidence a resistant spirit toward any attempt to give them the Gospel, if not outright defiance. While their salvation is not impossible, it sure won’t be easy.

On a societal level, a campaign against corporal punishment is no less than a campaign against Christianity and God himself. It is to wage war against constitutionally guaranteed First Amendment freedoms feigning concern for a child’s body while disregarding thought for their eternal soul.

If Solomon is right and sparing the rod is to hate the child, and he is, even so is the advocacy of sparing the rod the same.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.