DOCTRINE OF INSTALLMENT DISCIPLINE

A. Installment discipline is the alternative to the sin unto death. The sin unto death is for the believer negative to or indifferent to doctrine. You have the choice of dying by the sin unto death or dying grace.

B. Because of involvement with the cosmic system during carnality, the believer has accumulated to himself unbearable suffering from the justice of God. Unbearable suffering is the result of failure to rebound and can only result in a prolonged stay in the cosmic systems.

C. As a result of the use of the rebound technique, this unbearable suffering is changed to bearable suffering by being given in installments. When suffering is designed for discipline, the believer cannot bear it. When suffering is designed for testing the believer possesses the doctrine in his soul necessary to apply to the situation and cope with it. No one after rebound receives discipline beyond his ability to endure, 1 Cor 10:13. The unbearable suffering is diminished to the point the believer can handle it.

D. Installment discipline results from spiritual failures in two categories: degeneration and reversionism or cosmic one and two. Your spiritual status makes no difference. A mature believer can enter cosmic system one or two. If you don’t stay too long you can still come out as a mature believer. The longer you stay in cosmic one and continue to become arrogant, the more easily you become negative to doctrine in cosmic two. This results in unbearable suffering.

E. Installment discipline provides the basis for the justice of God giving you full discipline, a little bit at a time, and using those increments to turn cursing into blessing.

F. Installment discipline gives the believer the opportunity to be disciplined without getting back into the cosmic system. A little self-pity under discipline and you’re back into arrogance. Installment discipline gives the believer the opportunity to avoid the cosmic system from which rebound has momentarily freed him.

G. It is better to have an occasional arrogant hangover, than to be permanently meshed in cosmic arrogance.

UNBEARABLE SUFFERING	BEARABLE SUFFERING
Issue: sin, human good and evil.	Issue is grace.
Divine discipline increases as the believer avoids rebound. The faith-rest drill is involved in the use of rebound.	All bearable suffering relates to the justice of God imputing blessing to the prefect righteousness of God.
The longer you stay in the cosmic system the greater becomes the carrying out of the discipline in instalments.	If the suffering is more than we can bear God will divide it into instalments. In each installment cursing is turned to blessing.
Discipline or suffering is either continued at the same level, or diminished, or removed.	Characterised by humility, flexibility and objectivity.

© 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.