Our Lord’s Exhortation to Obedience and Humility: God’s Discipline Proves His Love
1 Since
we have such a huge crowd of men of faith watching us from the grandstands, let
us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, especially those
sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us
run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.
2 Keep
your eyes on Jesus, our leader, and instructor. He was willing to die a
shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward,
and now he sits in the place of honor by the throne of God.
3 If you want to keep from becoming fainthearted and weary, think about his patience as sinful men did such terrible things to him. 4 After all, you have never yet struggled against sin and temptation until you sweat great drops of blood.
5 And have you quite forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his child? He said, “My son, don’t be angry when the Lord punishes you. Don’t be discouraged when he has to show you where you are wrong. 6 For when he punishes you, it proves that he loves you. When he whips you, it proves you are really his child.”
7 Let
God train you, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children.
Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected? 8 If God doesn’t
punish you when you need it, as other fathers punish their sons, then it means
that you aren’t really God’s son at all—that you don’t really belong in his
family. 9 Since we respect our fathers here on earth, though they
punish us, should we not all the more cheerfully submit to God’s training so
that we can begin really to live?
10 Our earthly fathers trained us for a few brief years, doing the best for us that they knew how, but God’s correction is always right and for our best good, that we may share his holiness. 11 Being punished isn’t enjoyable while it is happening—it hurts! But afterward, we can see the result, a quiet growth in grace and character.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs, 13 and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those who follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves but become strong. Hebrews12:1-13 (TLB)[1]
The second and last time we see the Lord’s use of the word “Love” in Revelation is in chapter 3, verse 19. Above is Hebrews 12:1-13. The reason for this passage commenting on Revelation 3:19 is to see the warning God as our loving Heavenly Father provided ahead of time. Moreover, the warning is clearly an example of God’s love for us in that God does not want to see us, His children, hurt. But, as we will see in the book of Revelation, many will suffer because he or she does not nor will not heed the warnings from our loving Heavenly Father. God wants us to enjoy fellowship with Him as a parent-child relationship but as we saw in Revelation 2:4, backsliding or turning away from our relationship with God can and often does bring tragic results.
- 11 “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth” Proverbs 3:11-12 (KJV).[2]
- 5 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” Hebrews 12:5-6 (KJV).[3]
- 19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” Revelation3:19 (KJV).[4]
The point of the three passages above is to show that God in His Word mentions “For whom the Lord loves, He chastens,” repeatedly. For any parent to say something once should be enough for that child to listen, learn, and obey. But for God our Father to say this three times, we can surmise God means what He says.
V “And have you entirely forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you, his children? He said, “My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.” Hebrews 12:5–6 NLT
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Hebrews Explains That Difficult Times May
Come as A Result of God’s Discipline.
In reality, it is a sign of God’s love. In fact, discipline is so important that the writer explains it as the normal experience of believers. The believers should have remembered the words of Proverbs 3:11–12, which say, “My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.” Proverbs contain many words of wisdom regarding discipline, both earthly and spiritual. In these verses, both kinds of discipline are combined. This quotation teaches that God’s discipline comes from his love. God’s discipline, although difficult, should encourage us that God loves us. He cares about us enough to help us mature. Like a loving father, he wants us to stay away from what would hurt us and to move along the path toward maturity. Sometimes that involves discipline.
Ø
The Question Becomes: How Do We Know Whether the
Difficult Times We Face Are Part of The Discipline of The Lord or Something
Else?
For example, they could be the result of our own foolish behavior or attacks by Satan. Regardless of their sources, we can treat all difficulties as opportunities for us to grow and learn from God. The context of this chapter shows that these words apply to the suffering that believers face from hostile nonbelievers, those who mistreat Christians who stand for their faith. In many parts of the world, Christians face persistent persecution. Even if we are not experiencing persecution (and perhaps we should be if we are truly standing for Christ), we can pray for those who are.
Ø
Much Of the Force of This Verse Is Lost to
Modern Readers in An Age of Permissiveness.
Such harsh discipline (the Greek word for “punishes” literally means “to whip”) seems cruel to many, and the point of these verses may be overlooked. Discipline is a responsibility of human fathers; thus, the father who does not provide it shows indifference and a lack of love for his children. Human parents should learn from the way God disciplines. Parents discipline their children because they love them and because correction and teaching help train and educate children. The goal of correction shouldn’t be merely punishment, but to help teach important lessons and to help them become more responsible and mature. When we discipline our children, that correction should have the same loving purpose and self-restraint that God shows us.
LIFE APPLICATION: NEED PROOF?
Who loves his child more—the father who allows the child to do what will harm him, or the one who corrects, trains, and even punishes the child to help him learn what is right? It’s never pleasant to be corrected and disciplined by God, but his discipline is a sign of his deep love for us. When God corrects you, see it as proof of his love, and ask him what he is trying to teach you. If you believe that a sovereign God disciplines his beloved children, turning problems into moments of growth and finally joy, you will overcome fear and shame.
V “As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children after all.” Hebrews 12:7–8 NLT
Ø
Because God Promises to Discipline His
Children, Believers Must Endure This
Divine Discipline.
The only other choice would be to refuse to endure it, to pout, to grow depressed, or to give up completely. How much better to remember that, when God disciplines you, he is treating you as his own children. The rhetorical question, “Whoever heard of a child who was never disciplined?” pictures the Jewish fathers of the day who were responsible for the training, education, and discipline of their children. Proverbs explains that “those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them” (Proverbs 13:24 NRSV). Indeed, to refuse discipline would be tantamount to hating one’s children! While we may indeed know of some children who were never disciplined, we also know what kind of children they are—unruly, destructive, mean, and lacking self-control (the book of Proverbs also attests to this; see Proverbs 5:22–23; 10:17; 12:1; 13:18; 15:5).
Ø
Jesus Died on The Cross for Sinners. Those Who
Believe in Him Still Battle a Sinful Nature and Need Guidance in Order to Stay on
Course (12:1).
Sometimes we need God’s discipline in order to learn the tough lessons and not repeat the same mistakes. It works for our earthly children; it works for God’s spiritual children.
Ø
Therefore, Christians Will Experience God’s Discipline.
Those who are not disciplined are illegitimate and are not really his children after all. “Illegitimate children” were those born of a slave or concubine. In that culture, only illegitimate children received no discipline, attention, or education. Under Roman law, illegitimate children also did not receive any inheritance or recognition that came with being a genuine child. When we experience God’s discipline, we can be encouraged that we really are God’s children.
“God will go to any lengths to bring us to an acknowledgment of who he is.”
~Elisabeth Elliot
V “Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!” Hebrews 12:9 NIV
Ø
The Analogy Between Human Fathers and The
Heavenly Father Figures Often in Jesus’ Teachings (see Matthew 7:9–11;
21:28–31; Luke 15:11–32).
Here human fathers are compared to the Father of our spirits, that is, to the Creator himself. Verses 7–8 describe the value of discipline and that all of God’s children will endure discipline; verses 9–10 teach the parallel between God’s discipline and earthly parental discipline. All people (or at least the vast majority) had human fathers who disciplined them. Rarely did that discipline occur out of cruelty; instead, loving fathers would discipline with the children’s best interests in mind. As a result, we respected them for it.
Ø
If This Is True with Earthly Fathers, How Much More It Is So of Our Heavenly Father.
If we respected the discipline of our earthly parents, how much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live. Submission to God’s discipline means not trying to wriggle out of it by making excuses or hardening our hearts; instead, it means allowing the discipline to drive us to our knees before God so that he can teach us the lessons he has for us. This phrase recalls the challenge to covenant obedience recorded in Deuteronomy: “For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees, and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” (Deuteronomy 30:16 NIV, italics ours). Submitting to God means being willing to obey him. When we have this attitude toward God’s discipline, we will “live”—referring to our ability to truly enjoy this life and to look forward to eternity with God.
LIFE APPLICATION: REAL LIVING
The book of Hebrews stresses the importance of
submitting to God. The consequences of rebelling are disastrous. A biography of
the great essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson describes the change that came over him
when his first wife died young. He withdrew from the ministry and from the Christian
faith and became famous for advocating the glory of self. By the time he
reached midlife, he had “died” emotionally and spiritually. The fire he sought
in his own soul had become a dim flicker on a wet wick.
Instead of rebelling when life’s adversity rolls over you, regard your problems as God’s opportunities to shape your character. Depend on God for relief and deliverance. Trust God for vision to see beyond the bleakness. Believe God to be the loving parent he is. and live.
V For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always right and good for us because it means we will share in his holiness. Hebrews 12:10NLT
Ø
Earthly
Fathers Are Imperfect.
Sometimes they discipline when they shouldn’t or in the wrong way, and sometimes they fail to discipline when they should. But most of them did the best they knew how for the few years during which they had responsibility for us. Their effort reminds us of the perfection of God’s discipline. God always exercises the right discipline, in the right way, at the right time. His discipline is always right and good for us. His discipline is always to our advantage (see Romans 8:28–29; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Ø
God’s Discipline Also Means That We Will Share in His Holiness.
Discipline may not be enjoyed, but it brings great reward. Earlier in this book, the Christians were said to be partakers of God’s holiness (3:14). Christians already share in God’s holiness as a result of Christ’s work. Here, however, sharing in holiness refers to our growth. God’s discipline helps Christians become more and more like Christ, mature and complete (see Matthew 5:48; 1 John 3:2). Only God, the loving Creator, and Father could take the suffering brought upon his children by sinful unbelievers and turn it into a blessing for his children—drawing us ever closer to his holiness.
“It is doubtful if God can bless a man greatly without hurting him deeply.”
~A.W. Tozer
THEOLOGY OF TRIALS
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
As we live for
Christ, we will experience troubles because we are trying to be God’s people in
a perverse world. Some people say that troubles are the result of sin or lack
of faith, but the Bible teaches that they may be a part of God’s plan for
believers. Our problems can help us look upward and forward, instead of inward.
They can build strong character, and they can provide us with opportunities to
comfort others who are also struggling. Your troubles may be an indication that
you are taking a stand for Christ.
V
Suffering
Is Not Always the Result of Sin.
“His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he
was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned/said Jesus, ‘but this
happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” John 9:2–3
(NIV).
V
God Provides
Hope and Love in Suffering.
“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, whom he has given us” Romans 5:3–5 (NIV).
V
Problems
Help Us Trust in God’s Sovereignty for Our Lives. “We know that all things work together for good for those who
love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew,
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he
might be the firstborn within a large family” Romans 8:28–29 (NRSV).
V
Suffering
Enables Us to Comfort Others.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so
that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have
received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our
lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” 2 Corinthians 1:3–5 (NIV).
V
Our Eternal
Reward Outweighs Our Suffering.
“For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of
glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen; for what can
be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal” 2 Corinthians
4:17–18 (NRSV).
V
Problems
Open Up Opportunities for Service.
“I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped
to spread the gospel” Philippians 1:12 (NRSV).
V
Problems
May Be a Confirmation That We Are Living for Christ. “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God and is
intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also
suffering” 2 Thessalonians 1:5 (NRSV).
V
God
Uses Suffering in His Plan for Our Lives. “Finally, brothers and sisters, pray
for us, so that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified
everywhere, just as it is among you, and that we may be rescued from wicked and
evil people; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful: he will
strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” 2 Thessalonians 3:1–3 (NRSV).
V
Through
His Suffering, Jesus Fully Identified with Us. “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to
help those who are being tested” Hebrews 2:16 (NRSV).
V
Jesus Was
Willing to Obey God Even When It Meant Suffering. “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he
suffered” Hebrews 5:8 (NRSV).
V
Trials Help
Train Us to Be More Fruitful.
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it” Hebrews 12:11 (NIV).
V
Problems
Help Us Mature. “My brothers
and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy
because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let
endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking
in nothing” James 1:2–4 (NRSV).
V
Trials Help
Refine Our Character. “In
this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of
greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be
proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is
revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do
not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with inexpressible and
glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of
your souls” 1 Peter 1:6–9 (NIV).
V When We Suffer, We Share in The Suffering of Christ. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange was happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” 1 Peter 4:12–14 (NIV).[5]
Revelation 3:19 “As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten: Be Zealous, Therefore, and Repent”
[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The
Living Bible, Paraphrased.
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
[2] The
Holy Bible: King James Version.
1995. Electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[3] The
Holy Bible: King James Version.
1995. Electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Revelation 3:19 (KJV) The
Holy Bible: King James Version.
1995. Electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
NLT
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All
rights reserved.
NLT
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All
rights reserved.
NIV
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
NLT
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All
rights reserved.
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