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BOOT CAMP FOR SAINTS. Hebrews 12:5-11. 04/28/2024. #44.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
1. Training
a. We like the rewards and goodness part of God’s promises, but not the trials and chastening part
b. We understand the trials of this world which comes from living in a fallen nature
c. We even understand when God must correct us because of sin
d. We are not as keen on the chastening of the Lord
a1. “Chastening” is not the word for punishment, but the word for training
a2. Every child must be trained to know right from wrong, correct from incorrect, and proper from improper
e. Beyond training in proper behavior, there is training in patience, fortitude, enduring hardship, perseverance, focus, and boldness of conviction
a1. These traits can’t be done via instruction alone, but by testing and experience
a2. The molding of a soldier or athlete (II Timothy 2) takes much discipline and deprivation
f. Heb. quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 don’t despise the chastening of the Lord, for every father chastens his son
a1. One of the proofs that we are children of God is that God chastens us
a2. A father does not chasten someone else’s children, but just his own children
g. A good father molds his son into a godly honorable person, to show respect, reverence, and reliability
h. Those who are not chastened are not true sons
i. At times, discipline seems harsh (Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joseph, Paul, Peter…)
a1. This is the only way to achieve holiness
a2. A soft Christian is a weak Christian
2. Embrace the chastening
a. We are told to endure (Eng. word gymnasium) God’s chastening
a1. An athletic term = to push self to limit
a2. To be spiritually exercised
b. The discipline of the Lord is to our profit, not for arbitrary general principles or to inflict pain
c. God knows what discipline we need, even if we think that He is being overly harsh (Job)
d. To accept trials and hardships is to learn from them and to learn from them is to be effective for God
3. The finish line
a. Chastening must be viewed from the results
a1. Unpleasant and distasteful, but faith requires trust in Lord (Job 13)
a2. God will turn the disciplined saint into a praise to His glory (Romans 8:28-39)
b. For a short time, our trials are very uncomfortable, but for eternity, they yield the joyful peaceable fruit of righteousness (partakers of His holiness)
c. Reward is not only in what we do, but in being faithful in tribulation and trials along the way
a1. We are to be an example of righteous endurance to others as the see Christ work in us
a2. It is not the journey that matters, but the destination, making the journey worthwhile
d. A spiritual saint has been trained and his trust is seen
Key passage: Romans 8:28-3928 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.