In other words, exercising faith in the living Christ as He has gone before us and as He has made the way for us. And then tonight we'll consider the purpose of the Father in verses 3 to 11, but I'll read the section verses 1 to 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 our 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 profit, 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.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, again, we thank you for the written word. We know it's God-breathed. We know it's profitable for all things.
We ask now that you would guide us by the Holy Spirit, cause us to reflect upon this most essential component in our Christian lives, even fatherly discipline from a God who loves us, a God who cares for us, a God who is in the business of conforming us ever unto the image of His only begotten Son. Forgive us again for all sin and unrighteousness and those things which darken our understanding. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we come to this particular section in verses 3 to 11, we see that the apostle invokes or appeals to the book of Proverbs. And I think that underscores for us the divine inspiration of the book of Proverbs, but also the utility of the book of Proverbs for the children of God in this new covenant setting. Bridges says, we must not overlook the apostle's testimony to the divine inspiration of the book of Proverbs. showing the instruction throughout to be the teaching of our Heavenly Father to His beloved children. So in other words, we have both the New Covenant and the Old Covenant that instructs us and informs us concerning the nature of God and the relationship that we sustain to Him by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
So now as we come to this third incentive, remember the exhortation or the duty or the responsibility is to run with endurance the race that is set before us. We're to lay aside weight, we're to lay aside the sin which so easily entangles us, we're to have that consciousness of that amphitheater populated by the heroes of old where their consistent testimony is that God is faithful. Along the way, while we run, we're looking unto Jesus. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. our faith in the sense of subjective.
In other words, it's a gift of God that we believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he's the author and finisher of the faith with reference to the objective content of Christianity. It's his life, his death, his resurrection that is the sum and substance of our confession. And then we have this admonition to look to the purposes of our Father in terms of parental discipline.
So there are three things that I want to consider this evening in verses 3 to 11. First, the necessary consideration in verses 3 and 4. Secondly, the practice of divine discipline in verses 5 to 10a. And then finally, the purpose of divine discipline in verses 10b and 11.
Again, this jives with what we saw in John chapter 15 at verse 2. The vine dresser tends to the branches. It says that every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Sometimes that pruning is somewhat sublime.
It's gentle. It's the lady with the bonnet, with the snippers in the rose garden, snipping away some of the dead branches. Or it could be with a chainsaw. God at times comes to us in a way that does indicate His determination to sanctify us and conform us unto the image of His beloved Son.
The Necessary Consideration
So note first the necessary consideration. You see that in verses 3 and 4. For consider him who endured." Notice that same word. Run with endurance.
Christ endured the cross. Consider him who endured. Verse 7, if you endure. As I said this morning, the Christian life, or the Christian race, is not a hundred-yard dash.
It is rather a marathon. It's the long haul. We need to be engaged. We need to be steadfast.
It's all too common for persons to make a profession of faith, and then once things start getting a little bit difficult, say, well, you know, that's just not for me. Now that's obviously a false profession of faith, but the children of God at times are tempted by the various challenges in their lives to say, what's it all worth? I don't get anything out of this religion. I don't get anything quantifiably different than my pagan neighbor next door.
Again, I think that verses 3 to 11 are crucial in helping to sort of crush that mindset in the lives of God's people. So notice again, verse three, 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. So the believer must consider our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is consistent with what we see in verse two. We are looking on to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. So this idea of looking or considering simply means we are trusting, we are believing, we are looking unto him by God's grace through faith in him. So we need to consider the one who endured.
We must look to him and ask the question the Bible answers for us, how did he endure? And as well, we have particular reasons given for this duty. So, consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself. And then he gives reasons why we're supposed to consider.
In other words, we're to look unto Jesus for this reason. We're to consider him for these particular reasons.
Promoting Spiritual Stamina
In the first place, to promote spiritual stamina. to promote spiritual stamina. Note the end of verse 3, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. Turn back to chapter 2 and verse 1. I know that we rehearsed these last Sunday night, but it bears constant repetition.
Notice in chapter 2, specifically at verse 1. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. And the same language, or similar language, is here. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
It's almost as if the apostle envisages apostasy as not something that happens overnight. In other words, most professing Christians don't wake up on a Thursday morning and say, that's it, I'm done. It's all over, there's been no benefit, there's been no sort of asset involved in my life as a Christian in the here and now, so I'm done. Never again will I pick up a Bible, never again will I listen to sermon audio, never again will I go to church.
It seems to be that the Apostle envisages this discouragement, this drifting away, these steps, as it were, to apostasy. Now, I guess it is the case that some do apostatize overnight, but I would suggest that the overarching trajectory is one of, I'm not going to read my Bible anymore because I don't get anything out of it. I'm not going to attend both services on Sunday because I don't get anything out of it. We look at God as if it's somehow a formulaic relationship.
I will fulfill my obligation insofar as you give me 15 units of blessing. If you don't give me 15 units of blessing, well then I'm not going to come. And so we need to be on guard against that reality. It's unbelief.
It is a drifting away. It is a discouragement and a weariness that is oftentimes the precursor to full-blown apostasy. Notice as well in chapter 4, specifically at verse 1. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it." And then again in 5, 12 to 14, notice in chapter 5, verse 12, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God.
And you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes Only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Again, it's not full-blown apostasy at this particular point. It's leaving off Scripture.
It's not attending the corporate means. It's not putting yourself subject to the living word of God. It is this idea that, well, I've had enough and I don't really need much more because there hasn't been a lot of benefit with what I already possess. He says you should be teachers by this time.
You should be holding Sunday school classes. You should be proclaiming the truth. You should be well-skilled in the word of the living and the true God, but you're not. Notice in chapter 6, specifically at verses 11 and 12. chapter six, verses 11 and 12.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish. Again, I suggest that the greatest sort of advancement towards apostasy is usually not an overnight decision to utterly defect from the Christian faith. It is sluggishness. It is weariness of soul.
It is discouragement. It is a drifting away. Those are the precursors to full-on apostasy, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. So back to our verse, notice the reason why we are to consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Promoting Sober Assessment
But as well, notice it promotes sober assessment. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin. I think this particular section calls them to reflect on the past. They've already known some hardship.
They've already known some travail. They've already known some difficulty for their profession of faith. Turn back to chapter 10, specifically at verses 32 to 34. 10 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 an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven." So they had tasted, they had known, they had seen some deprivation as a result of faith in Jesus.
They had seen goods plundered. They had seen the effects of a godless world antagonistic to the Lord of Glory. But it's not only a reflection on the past, but our verse tells us there is to be a reflection on the future. He says in verse 4, you have not yet resisted the bloodshed.
So I think what he's saying is that it can get worse There can be more hardship, there can be more difficulty, there can be bloodshed for your association with our Lord Jesus Christ. Your confession of Christ as Lord and Savior can bring with it prison, can bring with it disenfranchisement, can bring with it job loss, can bring with it family separation, and can bring with it martyrdom. And so the Apostle says, you have not yet resisted the bloodshed. And then note, he says, striving against sin.
So this calls them to reflection on the primary enemy. It's not the unbelieving Jews that we're trying to crush, these believing Jews. It's not the Roman civil state that increasingly gets antagonistic to the Jewish believers. It is rather their own sin that is always the present enemy.
So when you drift away, when you are sluggish, when you are weary and become discouraged in your souls, what typically replaces that? Sin. And when that happens, you're in a bad place. As John Owen rightly points out, it was not their persecutors directly, but sin in them that they had to conflict with all.
So in other words, the Apostle says, consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself. Consider the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus. Consider that he came to his own, his own received him not. Consider that he had to debate constantly with the religious leaders of his time.
Consider the fact that he was arrested there in Gethsemane, that he was brought before the Sanhedrin, that he's slapped and spat upon by the religious leaders in Israel, that he's then shipped over to Pilate because the religious leaders of Israel didn't have the right, didn't have the power, didn't have the prerogative to execute him, so they ship him off to Pilate. He stands before this godless heathen, this godless pagan, who ultimately condemns him. He asks the question, you want Barabbas or do you want Jesus? And of course the crowd says, give us Barabbas, away with Jesus, let him be crucified.
So the author wants us to consider that. He wants us to understand that whatever hostility we face, Whatever difficulties we go through, whatever challenges that we see, these are not unique to us. We are not snowflakes when it comes to the hostility of sinners against the people of God. Not only our Lord Jesus Christ, but the history of martyrdom.
Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Read what the early church endured. Some have postulated there were more martyrs in the 20th century than there had been in all the previous centuries combined. Now, I realize there's a lot more people, but I think it is staggering when you consider that.
In our Sunday morning prayer meeting and in our Wednesday evening prayer meeting, what do we do? We read Voice of the Martyrs. And as we read Voice of the Martyrs, you know what we meet up with? We meet up with opposition from false religionists.
We meet up with opposition from government. We see the people of God persecuted. We see hostility targeted against the people of God. We have that promise to us by our Lord Jesus that if the world hated me, they're going to hate you.
So the apostle says, while you're running with endurance the race that is set before us, as you've got this amphitheater of faithful witnesses declaring that God is faithful, as you've got looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ, one of the particular aspects you should focus on is to understand the one who endured such hostility from sinners against himself. This functions in a twofold way. Lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls, and then by way of reminder, you have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin. So think consciously of that, look unto Him, and consider the suffering Savior and what He went through on our behalf.
And never forget that on the other side of that suffering was the joy that was set before Him, vis-Ã -vis the glory of God and the salvation of all those whom the Father had given Him.
The Practice of Divine Discipline
That brings us then to the practice of divine discipline in verses 5 to 10a. Notice verse 5, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons.
The Problem of Forgetfulness
There is a problem. Forgetfulness, amnesia, leads to apostasy. This is why so many times in the Bible we're told to remember. This is why they put up those stones when they cross the river in the book of Joshua.
Why? So that they could remember. Why are we called to the supper and observance of the supper so that we may remember? What do you think God is saying?
If we're not remembering, we're forgetting. And if we're forgetting, we're not running. And if we're not running, we were never in the race to begin with. Or if we are running, we're running not with full speed, not with a great stride, but we're just sort of hobbling along.
So the apostle addresses a particular problem. You have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. There's an assumption there that they knew that word of exhortation. And that's a great assumption when you're dealing with Jewish believers because they had the Old Testament.
They had the law and the prophets and the writings. They had the book of Proverbs. They had Solomon. They had David in the Psalter.
They had Moses in the Pentateuch. They had all that. So the problem isn't you need to learn brand new information. I've often thought that if we just acted on the knowledge that we currently possess, we'd probably be a whole lot better off.
But we do tend to forget. We do tend to let amnesia set in. And so the apostle addresses a particular problem. You have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons.
When I or other preachers say, you should read your Bible, it's not because we want to be your third grade teacher. It's not because we want to be your mommies. It's not because we want to harangue you into duty. It's because we know that the scriptures are there for your encouragement.
They're there for your admonishment. They're there for your instruction. They're there to urge you on in running with endurance the race that is set before you. 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.
Typically, when bad things happen, where does the mind go? Boy, God's using this for His glory and my good. If that's your reflex, good for you. I want to commend you and encourage you to keep it up.
But for a lot of us, when bad things happen, when difficulties ensue, when there's obstacles on the race course, we think, oh no, everything's falling apart. God is against me. God is doing this because he's angry with me. That's typically the way it goes.
He goes on to say, "...such hardship and affliction as they have had to endure in consequence of their Christian 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." So we're running with endurance the race that is set before us. There are obstacles now in the path, and we conclude that God doesn't care. There's no divine aid. There's no divine resources.
There's no help coming from heaven to us to help us along this way. But that's the wrong conclusion, and that's what the apostle is going to address. Now, the word of exhortation here, I believe, is the book of Proverbs, specifically, but the entirety of the Old Testament. One commentator says the writer regards Proverbs 3, 11 and 12 as God's personal word to those who enjoy sonship through the mediation of Jesus who inaugurated the new covenant.
So Proverbs 3, 11 and 12, in the hand of the Apostle Paul, is another incentive as to why we run with endurance the race that is set before us. God has his purposes. And I think that will help us as we run that race and we see those obstacles. There are still obstacles.
They're still hard to navigate, but they're not there to destroy us. They're there to further conform us to the image of His only begotten Son. Look back to chapter 5, specifically at verse 8, relative to the Savior in His earthly ministry. Hebrews chapter 5, specifically at verse 8.
Though he was a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered. So when Jesus is in his earthly ministry and Jesus is going to the cross, there's a lot of obstacles in his way. And he doesn't say, oh, these are things destined to destroy me. He understands it's the will and purpose of the Father.
He understands that this is the nature of his ministry. He understands that this hypostatic union, where he assumes to himself a human nature, is going to be riddled with sorrows, grief, difficulty, and hardship. So back to Hebrews chapter 12. Notice he appeals specifically to Proverbs 3.
So verse 5, you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chasing of the Lord. Have you ever wondered why so many times in the New Testament there's admonitions to give each one a holy kiss? probably because it was not as desirable an activity then as it would be now. And I'm not suggesting that the men give holy kisses to the ladies.
I remember Ashiel Blaze, before he died, he was a Reformed Baptist pastor in London, and he warned the men in the church, there'll be no holy kisses for the ladies in our church. But there's things that are repeated in scripture, and that repetition is necessary. Notice the specific emphasis. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord.
Remember where Paul is talking about wives and husbands and their relationships to one another? Husbands, love your wives, Colossians 3, and do not be bitter against them. Huh, he doesn't say don't backhand them, which I'm sure he would agree, don't backhand them. He doesn't say pack up all their goods and throw them out onto the front yard, which I would think he wouldn't want you to pack up all their goods and throw them onto the front yard.
He speaks to the issue that most often tempts us, bitterness. It's the same thing with parental discipline. My son, do not what? Despise the chastening of the Lord.
So the author appeals, Paul appeals to Solomon in the book of Proverbs. 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. Notice the apostle's assumption.
We bear a father-son relationship with God, son and daughter. I'm not going to keep saying son and daughter. There used to be a day son included daughter. So let's go back to that day.
But the bottom line is by God's grace, through faith in Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God. Christ is the only begotten son by nature, not by creation, not by adoption. We are sons of God by adoption. And so the apostle assumes the reality of that.
The Lord loves whom the Lord loves. He chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. Notice the reminder. In case you forgot, this is part of what you signed on for.
This is what you ought to expect. You shouldn't be surprised. You shouldn't lose your mind. You shouldn't say, oh, I can't believe I'm actually being disciplined by my heavenly Father.
The apostle wants you to forsake that mindset wherein you despise it or wherein you are discouraged. Again, take the parental analogy. Paul goes there later in this particular section, and we'll see that in a few minutes, but with reference to parenting. Do you discipline your children because you hate them?
Do you discipline your children so that they may despise it? Do you discipline your children so that they may be discouraged? Of course not. You discipline them because they need it.
You discipline them because that shapes them. You discipline them because that's beneficial for them. I mean, just look at the world today. There's a lot of people who should have got disciplined when they were under their father's and mother's care.
And we are reaping the rotten fruits of that kind of a mindset. O'Brien says, Hebrew citation of Proverbs 3 shows that divine discipline and sonship go hand in hand. And then note the specific exhortation here, do not despise the chastening of the Lord. Go back to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 8, Deuteronomy chapter 8, a couple other passages that illustrate this, not just Proverbs, but Deuteronomy and then 1 Peter.
Deuteronomy chapter eight, specifically at verse five. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. You should know this in your heart. This isn't up for grabs.
It's not up for debate. It's not a negotiable item. Well, you know, God, I want all the salvation benefits, but I don't want all that nasty discipline. I just want to soar through this race with my best stride ever.
I want no obstacles and I want no discipline along the way. You don't get to dictate the terms of sanctification. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 4. specifically at verse 12. Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you.
I can't believe this is happening. Really? You can't believe this is happening? What Bible are you reading?
What scriptures have you thought through? What experience in the parental-child relationship has gone right past you? You can't believe that at times we grow through adversity? You know, there's books today written, do hard things.
Go out and live in the forest in the snow with, you know, a pocket knife and a piece of wood. And if you can do that, then you can do anything. You can face those executives in the boardroom. Brethren, it is a given reality in our lives, the immune system.
I bet people that ate a lot of dirt when they were kids probably don't get as sick as much as the non-dirt eaters. Why? Because you've got to strengthen the immune system. You've got to give it something to do.
You've got to make it work. muscle building. You don't just build big muscles because you want them. You have to actually tear the fibers down and replace or rest in protein for repair. So back to verse 12.
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their party is blaspheme, but on your party is glorified.
None of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Now, if the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? Now note verse 19. All the other stuff, don't not note that. You basically have to expect persecution, exult or rejoice in it, evaluate its cause.
If you're suffering because you're a thief or you're a murderer, don't say, oh, I'm glorifying Jesus. No, you're getting your just desserts because you broke civil law. As well, you're to entrust yourself to God. Notice in verse 19, therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God.
We don't live in a haphazard universe. We're not governed by chance and fate. We're not dependent upon horseshoes or dice or any such things, horoscopes or whatever. God is the sovereign over the suffering that we endure.
Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God, commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. So you're supposed to survey the suffering that you're going through. You're supposed to recognize it's from the sovereign God. And in the midst of that, you're to entrust him because he's doing good for you.
So back to our particular text, don't despise the chastening of the Lord. Don't be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. And then specifically the rationale for whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. Hughes makes the observation, he says, five young students, imprisoned in Lyon in 1552 and shortly to suffer martyrdom, wrote to the church in Geneva, 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, quote, not only the theory of His word, but also the practice of it. Benjamin Palmer was a Southern Presbyterian and watched his daughters die. And he was a very skilled, very competent theologian, and he mused that I learned more theology watching my daughters die than I did in the university. Now that's not saying don't go to seminary, don't study at university, but the point is the practical emphasis in the Christian life is oftentimes a wonderful, wonderful teacher.
Discipline Demonstrates God's Fatherhood
And then note the demonstration of God's fatherhood in verses seven and eight. He says, if you endure, there's that word again, seems to be a theme with the Apostle in this particular section, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chase it? The presence of divine chastisement is a demonstration of God's fatherhood.
The Proverbs are filled with the necessity of a faithful father to discipline his son. The one who spares his rod hates his son. And if you don't get that, you need to get that. Parents don't discipline their children because they hate them.
Now, I'm not talking about abuse. I'm not talking about the ghouls and the monsters out there that are horrible people that should be in prison because of their viciousness toward their children. But with reference to parental discipline, it's born out of love. And it's an evidence that we have this particular bond.
It is evidence that we have this father-son relationship. So if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chase it? But then he goes on.
The presence of discipline is a given. If a person lacks discipline, he must not be God's son. Look at verse eight. But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, because that's essential, you enter into this filial relationship with the Father, and the Father disciplines you, He chastens you, He does what He does to conform you evermore to the image of His only begotten Son.
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. You see how this functions in the context. We're prone to judge or to survey or to see the various hardships in our lives and conclude this is an evidence that God is not with us. Or to conclude that the presence of these difficulties is the proof positive of God's abandonment of us.
And the apostle's argument is exactly opposite. The fact that you're going through this, the fact that you may strive to bloodshed, the fact that you have seen your goods plundered, the fact that you have all of this opposition is proof positive that the Father is for you, and that He is the one who is sovereign over these things, and that suffering, even suffering, is under the providence of God, wherein He governs all His creatures and all their actions. So don't think opposite to that, rather embrace it. And again, paradoxical, we've got to embrace the difficulty.
Yes, we've got to embrace the difficulty. Chrysostom 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. Oh, these difficulties are happening. God must have abandoned me.
Did you ever stop and think that the sovereign God of heaven and earth gave you these difficulties so that you'll draw closer to Him? So that He can further conform you unto the image of His only begotten Son? Has that ever entered into your mind? The opposite, the contrary, the reality?
Well, that's what the apostle is saying. While you're running with endurance the race that is set before you, you've got ecclesiastical tyrants, civil tyrants, you've got busybodies, you've got criminals, you've got lawlessness, you've got wickedness, you've got all kinds of evil in this present age, and yet you need to run and be faithful and understand that everything that befalls you is under the control of a sovereign God. So entrust yourself to him, knowing that he is working it out for your good.
Comparison to Earthly Fathers
And then from there, he makes a comparison to earthly fathers in verses 9 and 10a. Furthermore, Just to further solidify the analogy, to further bring home the point, you bear a filial relationship with your father by the grace of adoption. And then he looks to the earthly analogy. He looks around and he says, 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 profit, our human fathers, corrected us, and we respect them for it. Right? Right?
If you kids aren't thankful that your parents take the Bible seriously, perhaps tonight's a good time to thank them. Praise God Almighty, mom and dad, that you actually take the scripture seriously, because I don't want to end up like one of these people that should have been disciplined and was not. And now they're going to go to prison, or they're going to go to the death penalty, whatever. Not in Canada, of course, but you get the point. thanking the parents that looked out for us, not only in terms of provision of food and shelter and clothing, which by the way, not a bad thing to thank parents for that as well, but for the discipline and the love and the correction and the travail and the toil involved with that.
You know, kids, I'm gonna tell you a little secret, especially as you hit your teenage years. You probably will observe how to be a wonderful parent. And you'll probably say, well, I'm going to do things so much differently than they did. Maybe not.
If not, great. You're on the right path. But I have found that single people and young people are great parental advisors. They know it all.
Well, you should this. You should that. Yeah, maybe we should. But parenting ain't no joke.
It is one of the most serious responsibilities on the face of the earth. That's why our culture and its anti-family mentality is an attack at the very sum and substance of nature. God created the world. The basic fundamental unit in that world is family.
It ought not to surprise us that Satan and his earthly minions are about trying to destroy that institution. But with reference to parenthood, it's not easy. I'm not saying cut them slack and let them sin, but understand that perhaps you're not an expert yet when you don't have a brood that you have to watch over. So the apostle says, 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? Hughes explains, to be subject to the Father who is the source of all life is indeed to live. To turn away from Him is to turn away from life. So our human fathers corrected us and we respected them for it.
Notice our human fathers chastened us for a few days, from childhood to maturity. I guarantee you when you're 20, 25, you're living at home, you're raising your own kids, your parents aren't going to come over. Okay, it's time for some parental discipline. There is a cap.
There is an end game. So if you're despairing, don't despair. Just live a few more years and soldier on. But they do this for a few days.
God chastens us now and for eternity. And then notice, the apostle understands that the analogy does break down. See, whenever we look at God, the infinite, and then we make analogy in terms of the finite, there's always a breakdown because the finite is not infinite. The infinite is not finite.
So analogies are good, but at some point they typically break down. So notice in verse 10, for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them. What does that mean? They did it imperfectly and they did it inconsistently, as seemed best to them.
I guarantee if you ask parents who actually take the Bible seriously and try to correct and instruct and discipline their children, they will confess, I don't do it perfectly. They will confess, I don't do it consistently. They will confess, there's a lot of shortcomings in my parental reign over my children. But in the final analysis, I did do the best that I could.
I should have and could have and would have done better with the information I now have imposed back. All that notwithstanding, they did it as seemed best to them.
The Purpose of Divine Discipline
So having shown that the analogy breaks down, he then moves into the purpose, finally, of divine discipline in verses 10, B, and 11. So they indeed, verse 10, for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Now, 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.
So, of course, the purpose of discipline is that we profit, and that profit there isn't money, it isn't cars, it isn't wealth, it is rather holiness, to participate in His holiness. Notice, we recognize that divine discipline is painful. The argument has never been, it's going to be joyful as you're getting discipline. No.
Again, the human analogy, you don't tell your child that, oh, this is going to be great. You're going to love it. No, you know that that's not going to be great. They're not going to love it, at least initially.
But there's a purpose in view. It's for your profit. It's got a remedial end. It's got a purpose behind it.
So therefore, and so the apostle tells us that. And then we understand that divine discipline ultimately produces good fruit. We're back to John 15, 2. He prunes the branches. so that we bear more fruit.
That pruning of the branches can take on a whole host of contours and dimensions. It can be a small obstacle, a big obstacle, but we're to run with endurance the race that is set before us, understanding the purpose of the Father behind us.
Application
Finally, conclusion, application, the incentives to run the race, cloud of witnesses, looking unto Jesus, the discipline of the Father in terms of our conformity unto the Lord Jesus Christ.
Correction Is Necessary
I would say that the chastening of God that is necessary in running the race. Notice the words necessary. Correction is necessary in light of our remaining corruption. If you doubt remaining corruption, you don't understand remaining corruption.
If you're not loving God right now with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and you're not loving your neighbor as yourself, you've got remaining corruption. Paul deals with the remaining corruption in Romans 7, verses 13 to 25. He deals with it in Galatians 5, verse 17. The spirit lusts against the flesh, the flesh against the spirit.
These are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you want. There is a proneness to wander and a proneness to leave the God that we love. That's a reality. The hymn writer didn't make that up.
He is reflecting upon biblical revelation. So correction is necessary in light of our remaining corruption. Bridges asks a valuable question. He says, comparing our affliction with our sin is not the marvel that it's so light.
That's a perceptive observation. Comparing our affliction with our sin, the surprising thing isn't that there's discipline. The surprising thing is that it's not more overwhelming. And again, I don't think that Bridges is pulling this out of the hat.
In the book of Ezra, in chapter 9, specifically at verse 13, And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserve. Psalm 103.10, He has not dealt with us according to our sins nor punished us according to our iniquities. Lamentations 339, why should a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins? The NASB renders it, why should any living mortal or any man offer complaint in view of his sins?
So if we truly understand the nature of our sin, we might be inclined to ask with bridges, comparing our affliction to our sin, the big issue is, why isn't the affliction far greater than it is?
Correction Confirms Sonship
I would suggest, secondly, that correction confirms that we are indeed the children of God. Look at the argument, but if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate, not sons.
Correction Must Not Be Despised
Third, correction is a necessary part of being the children of God. Therefore, we must not despise it, and we must not be discouraged by it. Now, these are tough must-nots. I get that.
I'm not saying this is easy, brethren. Preaching to myself. Correction is painful now, but it yields good fruit. And correction's pain now is significantly less than glory's joy later.
Turn to 2 Corinthians. You see that emphasized in chapter four at verses 16 to 18. 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse 16. Therefore we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment and is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And then one final thought, turn to the book of Revelation chapter three, just to confirm what we see in this passage with a pretty unlikely group. While you're turning there, think about which was the worst church in the seven churches in Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3. It was Laodicea.
I'll go ahead and give you the answer. Laodicea had been threatened to be vomited out of the mouth of Christ. You're neither hot, you're not cold. You've got big problems.
You're lukewarm. You think that everything's great. You think that you're on the right path. You think that you are just doing everything.
But you're not. You're lukewarm. It's gross to have you in the mouth. Jesus, I think, is using that analogy from the Old Covenant.
What happened when Israel went into the land and they were unfaithful? The land would vomit out its inhabitants. So in the New Covenant, our Lord Jesus says, because you're lukewarm, I'm going to vomit you out of my mouth. But then notice, specifically at chapter 3 and verse 19, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.
Therefore, be zealous and repent. Brethren, be careful against the assumption that the discipline or the hardships or the afflictions or the trials or the sorrows of life come from a God who is angry with you and trying to destroy you. As well, be careful against the assumption that the presence of discipline means the absence of the Father. It's just the opposite.
The presence of those things argues, demonstrates, validates, and confirms that God is with you, God is in the business of conforming you under the image of His beloved Son. And if the Son learned obedience through suffering, then certainly the adopted sons are going to learn obedience through suffering. Well, let us pray.