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three incentives given by the 
author to promote such a run. And the first incentive we already 
considered, that great cloud of witnesses, those men and women 
that make up Hebrews chapter 11, the rest of, I just turned 
it on. the rest of the people of God 
and the history of the Church, they're not up there simply cheering 
us on, they're not up there simply as spectators, but rather they 
witness to the faithfulness and to the goodness and the consistency 
of God Almighty. So let us run with endurance 
the race that is set before us. having this great cloud of witnesses. The second incentive is found 
in verses 2 to 4. Obviously, we are to run looking 
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. And then the third 
incentive, as I mentioned, is found in verses 5 to 11, the 
purpose of the Father, specifically in view, is His paternal or His 
fatherly discipline over us. In other words, when we're running 
with endurance this race that is set before us, it's not going 
to be easy. It's not going to necessarily 
be just a downhill smooth run all of the time. No, rather, 
God the Father has His purpose in bringing discipline and chastisement 
upon his runners upon those who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ 
our Lord. So I'll just begin reading in 
chapter 12 at verse 1 and we'll read to verse 11. Therefore, 
we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares 
us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for 
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising 
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne 
of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners 
against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your 
souls. You have not yet resisted the 
bloodshed striving against sin, 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. 
For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he 
receives. If you endure chastening, God 
deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a 
father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, 
of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and 
not sons. 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? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best 
to them, but he for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his 
holiness. 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. Amen. So again, the duty stated. It's not an imperative, strictly 
speaking, but it is an exhortation with imperatival force at the 
end of verse one. Let us run with endurance the 
race that is set before us. That is primary in the author's 
mind. That's what he wants to exhort 
the people of God the audience to whom he is writing. We had 
seen in many instances where they had become sluggish, where 
they had become stagnant, where they are forgetful, and these 
things all help to promote apostasy or falling away from this confession 
of faith. So one of the themes, at least 
on the horizontal level, that the Apostle takes up in this 
book of Hebrews is to warn the people of God and to encourage 
the people of God that they continue on, that they do not let the 
earthly trials and the difficulties and the persecutions and those 
things weigh them down or cause them to stop this running race. 
So he states the duty, then he highlights these obstacles to 
lay aside. We are to lay aside every weight, 
every hindrance, everything that would keep us from running successfully 
this race. It may not necessarily be sin 
in and of itself, but if it doesn't help us in this running race, 
we need to set it off to the side. We do necessarily need 
to lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us. We don't 
run this race with endurance while we continue in patterns 
of sin. And then the manner specified, 
we are to do this with endurance. Notice that word comes up several 
times in the context. We are to run with endurance. We are to look to Jesus who endured 
the cross. We are to look to Jesus or consider 
Him, verse 3, who endured such hostility from sinners against 
Himself. And then in verse 7, if you endure 
chastening. So you see that repetition. of 
that particular Word. He wants them to endure. He wants 
them to persevere. He wants them to go forward in 
the fear of God Most High. So the cloud of witnesses, the 
example of our Lord Christ, and then the Father's purpose in 
dealing with His children are three incentives as to or to 
promote this faithful running, the race that is set before us. 
So tonight as we consider the purpose of the Father, we'll 
consider two broad categories with several considerations under 
each. The first is the presence of 
paternal discipline. And paternal simply means fatherly. Maternal means motherly. Now that we've all been educated 
in the use of those particular terms, the presence of paternal 
discipline is laid out in verses 5 to 10a. And then secondly, 
we have the purpose of paternal discipline in 10b, So that's 
where we're going this evening. The first section, the presence 
of paternal discipline, we notice there was a problem. That's what 
is being addressed in verse 5. And you have forgotten the exhortation 
which speaks to you as to signs. This is a bad thing. Forgetfulness 
in the Christian life does not help you. Forgetfulness in the 
Christian life only hinders you. Forgetfulness in the Christian 
life may ultimately destroy you. I think it was Dale Ralph Davis 
who says that amnesia promotes apostasy. Forgetting the promises 
of God, forgetting the warnings of God, forgetting the encouragements 
of God, is never a good thing. The verb is used here to indicate 
that they had entirely forgotten. Notice, you have forgotten. He's already reproved them, he's 
already rebuked them, for instance in chapter 6, of having become 
complacent or stagnant. These people started off, and 
now they're starting to lag. They're starting to turn back 
to the Mosaic Institute. They're going back to the Levitical 
priesthood. They're going back to the temple, 
and in that they're defecting from the truth as it is in Jesus, 
and so the author wants them to stop. He wants them to recall. He wants them to remember. He 
wants to fill their minds and hearts with the Holy Scripture. That's what he's doing here specifically 
in this appeal to the Book of Proverbs. They had a specific 
problem when Christians interpret difficulty, hardship, and trial 
as evidence that God has abandoned them. Remember, these people 
were suffering. Go back for just a moment. to 
chapter 10. Chapter 10 at verse 32, but recall 
the former days in which after you were illuminated you endured 
a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a 
spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations and partly while 
you became companions of those who were so treated. For you 
had compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering 
of your goods. knowing that you have a better 
and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. So initially they 
interpret this in the right way, we're suffering as Christians, 
let us persevere. Perhaps it starts to set in among 
them, hey, if we're God's people, why the trouble? If we're God's 
people, why the difficulty? If we're God's people, why are 
we... nice as we are, suffering these hardships for the cause 
of Jesus Christ. And so he's appealing to them 
with the scripture to remind them that this is, in fact, God's 
way with his children. O'Brien says the members of the 
community may have wondered why God's people suffer insult, rejection, 
and persecution at all. These experiences are enough 
to make them doubt God's love and loose heart. Remember, that's 
the emphasis in the section. Verse 3, lest you become weary 
and discouraged in your souls. A steady diet of trial, a steady 
diet of persecution, a steady diet of hardship without scripture, 
without a Godward perspective, without interpreting things according 
to the revealed will of God can lead to discouragement. And so 
he doesn't want that to happen. He wants the suffering runners 
on this race that is set before them to consider the faithfulness 
of God, to consider the plan of God, to consider the fatherly 
or paternal care of God Almighty. Philip Hughes says the discouragement 
of the recipients of this letter is attributable, at least in 
part, to a false reading of the situation in which they find 
themselves. Such hardship and affliction 
as they have had to endure in consequence of their profession 
does not mean, as some seem to have assumed, that God is unconcerned 
for their welfare and has left them without his aid and support. 
In other words, When tough times befall us, what is one of the 
tendencies or the temptations? It is to interpret it as if God 
has abandoned us. Now, maybe that's not true of 
you, but there's people I know that this is true of. A steady 
diet of trial and persecution and difficulty and hardship can 
lead some believers to the conclusion that God has left them. The author says the absolute 
opposite is what is true. The presence of trials does not 
mean the absence of God. The presence of trials means 
the presence of God. Isn't that beautiful? See, God's 
logic is completely topsy-turvy to ours. I'm not saying he's 
illogical. I'm just saying we don't jump 
on the same logical connection that he himself does. Notice 
this word of exhortation. I love this. And you have forgotten 
the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. See, highlight 
it. Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3 is the 
exhortation that speaks to the Christian church as to sons. I cannot stand that mindset that 
has no time for the Old Testament. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
if you haven't read your Old Testament today, you're a horrible 
person. But there are people, professing Christians, that want 
to have nothing to do with the Old Testament whatsoever. Why? It's the word of exhortation 
that speaks to you as to sons. This is a letter from God Most 
High, your Father, who has given this to you. The word or the 
living word of the Old Testament speaks with authority to the 
new covenant people of God. One commentator says the writer 
regards Proverbs 3 as God's personal word to those who enjoy sonship 
through the mediation of Jesus, who inaugurated the new covenant. Another man says the utterance 
of scripture is treated as the voice of God conversing with 
men. It's a high doctrine of scripture 
in scripture. Scripture doesn't treat scripture 
the way we, unfortunately, treat scripture. You have forgotten 
the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. That's the 
problem. Notice, secondly, the appeal 
to Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. My son, do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. 
For whom the Lord loves, he chastens. and scourges every son whom he 
receives." What better thing could there be than that? Don't 
interpret the presence of trials as the absence of God. Better, 
as a professing Christian, interpret the presence of trials as the 
presence of the father who is about conforming you to the image 
of his beloved son. You see, sanctification doesn't 
happen when we're sitting under palm trees. I was in Southern 
California, in Irvine specifically, and there are palm trees everywhere, 
and they're beautiful. But sanctification rarely takes 
place when we're sipping iced tea underneath a palm tree. It is when we run with endurance 
the race that is set before us. Hebrews citation of Proverbs 
3 shows that divine discipline and sonship go hand in hand. These are bedfellows. These are 
companions. discipline, and sonship go hand 
in hand. Note the assumption of the father-child 
relationship. Note as well the command to not 
despise God's chastening hand. Now, I don't think that means 
that if you lose your arm in farm equipment that you say, 
praise God that he took my arm. I think that'd be psychologically 
difficult to do. I really don't think a man could 
do that. Thank you, Lord, for, you know, hacking off my arm 
in this whatever it is. But don't despise God's ways. Don't speak ill of God's ways. Don't call into question God's 
ways. Christians do this all the time. 
Oh, I don't know why this is happening to me. I don't know 
why the Lord is doing this to me. I don't know why I keep having 
to go through these sorts of things. That means you're despising 
the way of the Lord. Do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord. When you spank your kid, The 
last thing you want from him is to say, I can't stand you 
and I can't stand the fact that you just spanked me. What will 
that cause you to do as a responsible father or mother? Hit him again. We should say, spank him again 
so we don't go to jail. Yes, we do not. encourage such things in our 
children. And yet, as the children of the 
living God, we seem to have little trouble despising the chastening 
hand of the Lord. So this is what the Apostle doesn't 
want. He doesn't want you to despise 
the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked 
by Him. Remember the context. Lest you 
become weary and discouraged in your souls. What happens when 
you're discouraged in your soul? What happens when you're discouraged 
by the chastening of the Lord? You tend to leave off the Lord, 
don't you? When discouragement settles into 
the heart, usually the first thing to go is Bible reading, 
and then praying, and then church attendance, and then sermonaudio.com, 
or whatever it is that you use to feed your soul. And this is 
what the author doesn't want. When you're running with endurance 
that race that is set before you, when discouragement sets 
in, the answer is not give in to it. The answer is to run with 
endurance looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, 
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising 
the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne 
of God. You mustn't become discouraged. You need Christ. You need the 
promises. You need the Bible. You need 
prayer. You need fellowship in the church. You need the ordinances. You 
need those things that God has given for the good of your soul. Do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord. Do not become discouraged when 
you are rebuked by Him. Far too often when God's chastening 
comes upon us, we reject it and we reject Him as well and conclude 
that he is not for us. That's absolutely wrong. And I'm preaching to me here. 
This happens. We get discouraged. We interpret 
all things around us as if God is not somehow for us at this 
particular time. Isn't it? Maybe you guys are 
all at a place of maturity in your faith that you don't need 
this exhortation. Well, suffer us another 35 minutes, 
and then you can go home and thank God that you're not like 
other men. This is the Christian life right 
here, run with endurance, the race that is set before us. Notice. We are not to be discouraged 
by his rebuke. And this is not an isolated theme 
in scripture. Do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. 
And then notice the specific reason given in verse 6. For, isn't this beautiful? It 
doesn't just say don't despise the chastening, don't be discouraged 
when you are rebuked by him. Sometimes as parents we do that, 
right? Don't this, don't that. They say, why? You don't need 
to know, just do what we say. God gives us the why. This Father 
in His paternal care over us not only tells us don't despise 
nor be discouraged, but He gives you the reason why you're not 
to, and that is verse 6, for whom the Lord loves He chastens. So in other words, when you feel 
the swat from on high, praise God that he loves you. Praise 
God that he is your father. And he scourges every son whom 
he receives. And as I mentioned, this is not 
isolated. We already saw this in Deuteronomy 
chapter 8. I mention it as if we just saw 
it last week. It's probably been a little while 
since we are in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 8.5, you should know 
in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God 
chastens you. Have you ever been anywhere and 
there's an undisciplined kid around you? Have you? It's obnoxious, isn't it? It's 
terrible. I remember when I first got converted, 
I loved the Proverbs. And somebody told me, hey, if 
you want to learn how to raise your children, read the Proverbs. 
OK. Proverbs speak about the rod 
and reproof. And I thought to myself, we used to go to the 
laundromat. We didn't have our own washing machine. We'd go 
to the laundromat. And I don't know why, but the kids there 
were just like terror on wheels. So I printed up the list of proverbs 
that dealt with child rearing. And just how arrogant and wicked 
this was. Excuse me, it looks like you 
need some help on how to rear that child. I think the Bible 
could be of some benefit. And I would give them this list 
of proverbs. I'm sure they just love that 
and thanked me for it. But when we are around undisciplined 
children, it rises up in our heart to discipline them. I shouldn't want to spank your 
kid. You spank your kid. This is common. This is nature. This is general revelation. These are no-brainers. For whom 
the Lord loves, he chastens. And every son he receives, he 
scourges. We know that in the earthly sphere, 
which the author is going to appeal to in just a moment. But for now, suffice it to say 
that if you're around an undisciplined child, he is obnoxious. If you're around a Christian 
that's never ever tasted the chastening hand of God, hopefully 
they're not obnoxious. But there's a dimension to their 
Christian experience that they haven't yet entered into. And 
so this is what God through Moses on the plains of Moab. You should 
know in your heart. This isn't something that you 
should say, wow, I can't believe that our God would chasten us. 
No, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, 
so Yahweh, your God, chastens you. This is something common 
in the scripture. Peter T. O'Brien defines it this 
way. He says adversity, suffering, 
and hardships are the means that God uses to bring His people 
to faithful obedience. Now, we may not have designed 
it that way, but God did. And I suspect that we would too. Because as you know, if you've 
reared children, if you only ever give them what they want, 
you only ever give them what they desire, you only ever give 
them sweets and no vegetables, they're obnoxious. You must discipline 
them, you must scourge them, you must chasten them in order 
to mold them into that image-bearer of God that they ought to be, 
right? So the Lord God has purpose that 
suffering, adversity, trial, and hardship is the common school 
that all of Christ's runners must go through. Now, if we are 
curious about this, Hebrews 11 should have already answered 
this. I mean, look at the end of Hebrews 11 and what our dear 
brothers and sisters went through in their Christian faith. We've 
read it. We should read it again. Others 
were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might 
obtain a better resurrection. Verse 36 of chapter 11, still 
others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains 
and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn 
in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered 
about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, 
of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and 
mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, 
having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive 
the promise, God having provided something better for us, that 
they should not be made perfect apart from us." So you see, the 
saints of Christ have gone through this school. The old covenant 
saints. Abel knew what it was like having 
a brother that ultimately murdered him. Enoch knew what it was like 
living 365 years with lots of kids and lots of sons and daughters. Noah knew what it was like living 
in a perverse, corrupt, violent society. Abraham knew what it 
was like. Sarah knew what it was like. 
All of the patriarchs, all of the saints of Christ know what 
it's like. But above all, Jesus Christ went 
through this particular school as well. In Hebrews 2.10, for 
it was fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are 
all things in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain 
of their salvation perfect through suffering. Jesus, the man, Jesus, 
the son of man, was made perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 5, 
7, who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers 
and supplications with vehement cries and tears to him who was 
able to save him from death and was heard because of his godly 
fear, though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things 
which he suffered. You see, for Christ it was this 
that he travailed that fit him, that perfected him. Again, the 
man Christ. And if that was the case with 
Jesus, and it was the case with our forefathers, And it's going 
to be the case for you and I as well. And the admonition is beautiful. Do not despise the chastening 
of the Lord. Do not be discouraged when you 
are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, 
and He scourges every son whom He receives. Philip Hughes refers 
to five young students that were imprisoned in Lyon in 1552. He says, five young students, 
imprisoned and shortly to suffer martyrdom, wrote to the church 
in Geneva. They said, we testify that this 
is the true school of the children of God in which they learn more 
than the disciples of the philosophers ever did in universities. They say, and they praise God 
for giving them His grace, not only the theory of His word, 
but also the practice of it. Benjamin Morgan, a theologian 
in the 1800s, a southern Presbyterian, made the comment. He saw several 
of his daughters die. They preceded him to the grave. 
He said he learned more theology at their deathbed than he did 
in all of his books. Now don't take that and say, 
I don't need to read books. I'm going to go visit deathbeds. Read books 
and visit deathbeds. The point is this. It is the 
school of suffering that very often is the means, well, that 
is the means that God uses to conform his children to his son, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. So the problem is addressed in 
verse 5a. There is an appeal to Proverbs 
in verse 5b and 6. Thirdly, there is the proof of 
God's fatherhood in verses 7 to 8. If you endure chastening, 
God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a 
father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, 
of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate, not 
sons. That is proof that God is in 
fact for us. The presence of divine chastening 
and rebuke is not the demonstration of his absence, it's the demonstration 
of his presence. You want to know that God is 
for you? Look at your misery. Not your misery. Your misery 
is taken care of by the grace of God. Look at your trials. 
Look at the afflictions. Look at the difficulties. Why 
do you think James tells us in James 1, my brethren, count it 
all joy when you fall into various trials. Notice what James does 
not say. Count it all joy when you find 
a sack of money on your way home from work. Count it all joy when 
you get a promotion at work. You see, we don't need to be 
commanded in that vein, do we? We don't need to be commanded, 
count it all joy when your wife makes your favorite meal. Count 
it all joy when your husband brings you flowers. No, that's 
something we've got down. We need to be told. We need to 
be commanded. We need to be exhorted by James 
to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. Again. not the trial in and of itself, 
thank you God for taking my arm, but the fact that in the midst 
of the trial we learn patience. We endure. We understand. We interpret things properly. We see that growth is in God's 
plan for us in that particular instance. The presence of divine 
chastening and rebuke is the demonstration of God's fatherhood 
in the life of the believer. Proverbs speaks to this. Again, 
these are passages that are analogous to the relationship between the 
father in heaven and his sons on earth. Proverbs 13 and verse 
24. He who spares his rod hates his 
son. You don't spank your son. You 
don't admonish your son. You don't correct your son. You 
don't exhort your son. You don't love your son. That's 
what the Proverbs say. He who spares his rod hates his 
son. But he who loves him does what? 
He disciplines him promptly. He doesn't allow that rebellion 
to fester. He doesn't allow that lawless 
nest to grow. He drives it out of him. He understands 
that the rod and the reproof, they give wisdom. So we're going 
to help you, son, to learn this lesson of wisdom. Proverbs 22.15. Proverbs 22.15. Foolishness is 
bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of correction will drive 
it far from him. That's what God does with us. He knows that we are foolish. He knows that we are prone to 
wander and prone to leave the God we love. So he applies this 
rod of correction to drive that folly from us so that we will 
not depart. Proverbs 23.13, do not withhold 
correction from a child. For if you beat him with a rod, 
he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod 
and deliver his soul from hell." Now, he's not suggesting that 
you take a bat and you beat your son on the head. God designed 
the human anatomy in such a way that there is a place where you 
can lay some blows and it will not sustain any permanent damage. So deliver those blows so that 
you deliver his soul from hell. This is what the Proverbs tell 
us. Do not withhold correction from a child. Do not let that 
lawlessness and rebellion and that foolishness just fester. It's not going to go away. It's 
not going to magically disappear. God says to earthly parents, 
you need to take these implements that I've entrusted to you, and 
you need to apply them in love, in kindness, in graciousness, 
but you need to apply them. Discipline in the father-child 
relationship is a given. If a person lacks this divine 
discipline, the implication is clear. Notice. But if you are 
without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then 
you are illegitimate and not sons. I've met people like that. 
See, things are going pretty well right now. I wonder if God 
loves me. I better sprinkle some ashes 
in my seat. Don't do that. I mean, there's seasons. There's 
ebb and flow in the Christian life. It's not every single day 
God heaps this trial and affliction upon you. God's good, right? 
God's kind. As parents, not 5 AM, you're 
shouting in your son's ear, get up, get out of bed, make your 
bed, clean your room. No, you let him sleep till 5 
30. You're kind. You're gracious. You're good. 
I'm just kidding on that. You're probably thinking, man, 
the parenting skills of Jim Butler are pretty nasty. You know, interestingly 
enough, we spanked our children. I've asked my children, are you 
emotionally scarred? Are you damaged? Have you been 
hurt? Do you need the psychiatrist's 
bed? Do you need therapy to undo the wretched parenting that your 
father and your mother inflicted? No. They're not delicate little 
sensitive geniuses. They're sinners who have foolishness 
bound up in their heart and God has said, hey, this is a way 
to drive it from them. You do that and God blesses nine 
times out of ten. So notice, what we find here 
is this analogy, and by nine times out of ten, I mean at times, 
unfortunately, there are Esau's and there are Ishmael's in this 
world, in God's sovereignty, in his decree, in his election, 
in his plan, all of those sorts of things. But if you endure 
chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is 
there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without 
chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are 
illegitimate and not sons." Now don't go home and say, wow, things 
are going pretty well, I mustn't be a Christian. Things are going 
swimmingly. I just got a promotion, my wife 
made my favorite meal. What's happening here? I must 
be in a boss state. Don't do that. We can thank the 
Lord for a good stake and a promotion and rejoice and all that sort 
of thing. Don't, you know, go to the other 
extremes. I mean, there's people out there 
that say if your church is big or if it's not big, then you've 
got a problem. Others say if your church isn't 
small, you've got a problem. Live the way God calls you to 
live, be faithful, and the Lord will take care of the rest. Chrysostom, 
that silver-tongued preacher, in 347 to 407 says, See, it is 
those very things in which they suppose they have been deserted 
by God that should make them confident that they have not 
been deserted. The trials, the afflictions, 
the sufferings, and the persecutions are proofs of God's presence. Now, don't be one of those guys 
that say, wow, I must have the presence of God because I'm so 
terribly afflicted. You don't know what my life... 
I mean, there's those people too. Oh, I've been pressed. I've 
been vexed. I've been pushed. I've suffered. 
That's a form of boasting. That's not good either. That's 
just not godly, brethren. Whenever we boast in anything, 
save the cross of our Lord Jesus, we've got problems. The point 
is, you are to run with endurance the race that is set before you, 
all the while enduring the chastening hand of God, which is calculated 
to keep us on track and to partake of His holiness. You see, that 
running race, that chastening comes because if it didn't, we 
would run off the track. Right? Have you ever prayed, 
God give me this and I'm sure I'll use it for your glory? And 
you never got it? God knew you wouldn't use it 
for his glory. If you found a sack of money, 
you might think that you'd write checks for all the missionaries 
in China. But God knows better, right? 
So we need to understand the Lord deals with us in this manner 
as a father deals with his son. And then there is that analogy 
drawn out specifically by the apostle in verses 9 and 10a. Furthermore, we have had human 
fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. But when 
your father disciplines you, you ought to thank God that he 
loves you. You ought to thank God that your 
father cares for you, that your father cares enough not to let 
you run off the track, that he cares enough for you not to let 
you run into crack cocaine usage or pornography or whatever it 
is. You're thankful that your father 
had the wherewithal or your mother to administer the rod and reproof 
to keep you from these paths of lawlessness. And notice what 
he says. We have had human fathers who 
corrected us and we paid them respect. You don't hate your 
father because he wants to do good things for you. You don't 
despise your father because he has restrained you from engaging 
in evil. Notice the implication. Shall 
we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits 
and live? To be subject to the Father who 
is the source of life is indeed to live. To turn away from Him 
is to turn away from life. If we are subject to an earthly 
Father who disciplines us, then certainly we ought to be subject 
to our heavenly Father who disciplines us. What's the point? Not only 
should you not be weary, not only should you not be discouraged, 
not only should you not despise these things, but you should 
subject yourself to His good and gracious rule and governance 
over your life. Don't try to tell Him how it's 
best for you. Be subject to the Father. Has 
that ever happened? You know, Lord, I think that 
if I found a bag of money, I'd be more holy. You know, Lord, 
I think that if you work things this way, it would prove better 
for my sanctification. You know, Lord, if you would 
just open up to this recommendation. That's not saying we can't pray. 
Lay your petitions before the Lord God Almighty. But praying 
is not manipulation. Prayer is not technique. Prayer 
is not a holy horseshoe. You don't come to prayer to try 
to get God to do the things that you want him to do. No, you pray 
to worship, to cast yourself wholly upon him, and to be submissive 
to his rule in your life. Isn't that amazing? You ever 
been pulled over by the police or seen someone pulled over by 
the police? Everybody wants to tell the policeman 
how to do his job, doesn't he? Have you ever done? No, I don't 
want you to go like this. Why aren't you catching bad guys? I've got to say, that rises up 
in me. When I come down an off-ramp, and there's a policeman there 
seeing if we have seat belts on. I'm thinking, aren't there 
crack dealers and pedophiles you can go after? The point is, 
I want to tell that man how to do his job. I was in the military 
police, and they used to like to tell me how to do my job. 
You don't do that with your doctor. You don't do that with your nurse. 
You don't say, well, you know, I think this may... No, no, they 
just stick you. We do that with God. Lord, I 
just don't think the way you're doing things is right. Unbelievers 
do this all the time. Unfortunately, believers fall 
into this as well. You know, God, if you just did 
it this way. Our human fathers corrected us, 
and we respect them for it. When our heavenly father corrects 
us, we ought to respect him for it, subject ourselves to him, 
and realize that He has predestined us to be conformed to the image 
of His Son. Romans chapter 8, 28 to 30. Those whom He foreknew, He predestined. He predestined in order to be 
conformed to the image of His Son. The ones He predestined, 
He calls, He justifies, He glorifies. But just seeing justification 
and glorification there and missing the conforming to his son, we 
miss something. How does he conform us to his 
son? Through adversity, through trial, through difficulty, through 
chastening. Our fathers, our human fathers, 
chastened us for a few days. Notice in verse 10, for they 
indeed for a few days chastened us. I doubt any of our fathers 
are coming over to our home and spanking us because we didn't 
pick up our socks. Usually that's just a small time 
in the life of a human being, right? When you're a child, a 
toddler, and then you're, you know, whatever that phase is 
there, that's when your father does his thing. But there comes 
a point when your father no longer does that. We need to understand, 
with your heavenly father, we're his project for as long as we're 
alive. It's not like, OK, I'm 18 now, 
Lord, you're going to just let me alone. No, they, indeed, for 
a few days, chastened us. Notice, as seemed best to them, 
there were instances where our earthly fathers imperfectly disciplined 
us. There might have been a time 
when it really was your brother, but your father spanked you. Give them a break. That's the 
point. I love this. This is realism. 
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to 
them. Your earthly fathers tried. There's 
going to be inconsistency. There's going to be times of 
neglect. There's going to be times of 
overemphasis, all those things. You hear a sermon about discipline. You run home and you spank your 
kid. And then that sort of wears off, and you hear another sermon, 
or you listen to a certain audio, or you read a book, or whatever. 
Yeah, honey, we need to tighten down. There's an inconsistency. 
There's an imperfection about the way our earthly fathers dealt 
with us. They meant well, but they didn't 
always successfully carry it out. What's the implication? And what's the statement following? 
But he, for our profit, there's no imperfection in his discipline. There's no inconsistency in his 
discipline. There's no lack. There's no over. It is absolutely perfect and 
wise, according to his plan, what he puts upon his children 
in order to conform them to his son. So this discipline that 
we receive is, in fact, applied by God for our profit. And then that brings us to the 
second broad category, the purpose of paternal discipline, verses 
10b to 11. Notice that we may be partakers 
of His holiness. that we may be partakers of His 
holiness. Why does He apply this discipline? 
Why is there trial? Why is there affliction? Sometimes 
people say, wow, I really need a lot from the Lord, or He's 
given me a lot. I must be a tough nut to crack. 
Sometimes that's the case. I'm sure that if you've reared 
several children, there's been a tough nut to crack in the midst 
of those several. You might have one child who, 
at the thought of getting a spanking, falls to pieces. You have the 
other child that after several spankings doesn't fall to pieces. Some of us are tough nuts to 
crack, but it's for our profit so that we may be partakers of 
his holiness. There is a purpose. There is 
a result. God doesn't just heap affliction 
upon his people as sort of a game. Oh, let's see how much this guy 
can take before he breaks, before he cracks. No, God applies this 
in order to conform us to his son so that we might be partakers 
of his holiness. That's the end game with God's 
discipline and chastening over his people. Now, notice in verse 
11 some real practical observations with reference to the purpose 
of paternal discipline. Now, no chastening seems to be 
joyful for the present, but painful. Please don't miss that. It's painful, isn't it? Does this mean that Christian 
life is health, wealth, and prosperity 24-7? No. This means that the Christian 
life, at times, is painful. It's difficult. It's full of 
affliction and full of trials and full of hardship. And it 
hurts. It's not wrong to take that hurt 
to the Lord your God and say, Lord, I'm hurting. Please relieve 
some of this. Or grant me the grace so that 
I may sustain this. I remember years and years ago 
when we were reading one of the prayer letters concerning the 
persecuted church. I think it was in China. The 
brother said, don't pray that we won't be persecuted, pray 
that we'll be able to stand up under persecution. Don't pray 
for its removal necessarily, pray that we will be able to 
persevere in the midst of the trial and the travail. In other 
words, don't take the burden off my shoulders, Lord. Strengthen 
my shoulders so that I may carry this burden and partake of your 
holiness. But we need to understand that. 
It hurts, it stings, it causes pain, discomfort, and agony. You've had children and you've 
spanked them. Usually they don't sing zippity-doo-dah in the midst 
of getting corrected. They don't say, thank you. That 
was awesome. It felt so wonderful. Please 
administer more. For the present, it is not joyful, 
but rather it is painful. And notice where he wants to 
come. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained 
by it. We are to partake in His holiness, 
we are to be conformed to the image of His beloved Son, and 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness is going to be yielded, notice, 
to those who have been trained by it. This isn't just a one-time 
seminar. This isn't just one class. This 
isn't a two-hour web chat. This is a lifelong training mission 
where God the Lord comes to us and conforms us to the image 
of his Son. Pain is involved. At the time, 
it will not seem to be joyful, but we need to realize that afterward, 
it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who 
have been trained by this discipline. So brethren, that is the third 
incentive to running with endurance the race that is set before us. 
When you're running that race, and trials come, and afflictions 
come, and hardships come, do not conclude that God is absent. but rather conclude that God 
is present and that he's using these things as I run this race 
to make me more like his beloved son, to make me a partaker of 
his holiness, to make sure that the peaceable fruit of righteousness 
is being yielded. in this particular process that 
we call sanctification. He then moves into this specifically 
in terms of the people that he's writing to. Verse 14, pursue 
peace with all men and holiness without which no one will see 
the Lord. God uses discipline to bring 
this about in the lives of His people. So brethren, do not despise, 
do not be discouraged. Realize that whom the Lord loves, 
He chastens and He scourges every son whom He receives. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word and we thank you for your fatherly care and we thank 
you for your wisdom and your kindness and your mercy. And 
God, even as we consider these things, as we undergo these things, 
may you cause us to do so in a spirit of joy, to take James' 
admonition to heart, to count it all joy when we fall into 
various trials, knowing that you are working good in our lives, 
knowing that you are causing us to be partakers of your holiness 
and to promote or produce righteousness in our lives. Help us, God, to 
take these lessons to heart and to remember the scripture, to 
listen to the word of exhortation that comes to us as sons. And 
we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.