TEXT: Hebrews 12:4-11

SUBJECT: Exposition of Hebrews #15: Divine Discipline

The life of faith is hard. In the first three verses of this chapter, it is compared to a long foot race demanding the utmost in self-discipline. In v.4, it is compared to a fight, a struggle in which many have shed blood. But the Hebrews hadn't. Neither have we. Hence, we mustn't wallow in self-pity. Our Christian lives have not been easy, but neither have we yet "resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin". At least, I haven't. The third comparison brings us to vv.5-11 and to today's subject: the discipline of God.

The writer begins by reminding us that we are objects of Divine discipline, vv.5-7: "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".

The word "chasten" appears twice. It is an old-fashioned word, often misunderstood by modern believers. What does it mean? It means "Child discipline". It properly takes two forms: formative and corrective. Formative discipline--as the word indicates--aims to form proper character in a child. Under the Hebrew system, he was trained in the Law of God and taught his father's trade. The meaning of corrective discipline is equally obvious: it aims to correct bad character. The child was "rebuked" (or reprimanded) for some offenses and "scourged" (or spanked) for others.

The One meting out the discipline is God, "...the chastening of the LORD..."He chastens..."He scourges..." His role--note carefully--is not that of a judge punishing a criminal, but a Father training a beloved son.

The extent of His discipline is universal. "...He scourges every son He receives". No one is fit for heaven without Divine discipline. A bit later, he adds, "...all have become partakers". No exceptions to the rule. Paul says that we are "appointed thereunto". James reminds us that the holiest of men had their problems: "My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience". From v.2 we recall that even our Lord's coronation was preceded by a cross and its shame. In short: "Man that is born of woman is few of days and full of trouble".

The cause of God's discipline is His love. "...whom the LORD loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives". Daniel was thrice called a "man greatly beloved". But God's love did not exempt him from the lion's den. But more: the love of God in Paul's life was directly responsible for his "infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses". Three times he prayed for physical relief, only to learn that God loved him too much to reduce his pain!

"Whom the LORD loves, He chastens..."

This goes a long way toward solving the so-called "problem of evil". It has been asked, "If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why do His people suffer? If He is powerful enough to prevent suffering--yet does not--He is not loving. Or, if He is loving enough to prevent suffering--but cannot--He is not powerful". The Bible puts it another way. Why do God's people suffer? Because God is all-powerful and all-loving!

This is the doctrine. In vv.7-10, an illustration is brought in to open a window to our imaginations. It describes family life as found in the Hebrew culture of the First Century, "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as 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."

Good fathers discipline their children. To neglect or coddle them is a sin. "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it". "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother". Good fathers discipline only their children--and not the children of strangers. Therefore, to be disciplined is to be a son. To be undisciplined is to be a child nobody cares about. The contrast could not be sharper: a son is disciplined, an orphan is left to himself. Which would you rather be?

If you are a child of God, you will be disciplined. If you're not disciplined, you're no child of God.

The result of fatherly discipline: respect. If a father is spineless, his children hold him in contempt. If he is firm and just, they learn to honor and obey him. By disciplining us, God commands our respect and obedience. "Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I have kept Your word" says David in Psalm 119:67.

The second result of His discipline: our good. In v.10, a slight contrast is introduced. Ordinary fathers are not infallible; they discipline "as seems best to them". But sometimes, they err. But not our Heavenly Father. His discipline is "... for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness". Discipline produces holiness.

Some virtues are hard to imagine without discipline. For example, how would you learn patience without a painful wait? How would you learn longsuffering without someone irking you day and night? How would you learn forgiveness without offense?

The best men have been made better through discipline. Take Job. He was the LORD's "servant, a man who feared God and eschewed evil". But deep down, he had traces of pride of impatience. What brought them to the surface? The loss of his fortune, the death of his children, the breaking of his health, the cruelty of his friends. Before, he was "pure in his own eyes". Later, he "abhorred himself sitting in sackcloth and ashes".

In short: discipline is a means of grace. It is as necessary for our holiness as the Bible and prayer. Would the believer rage against the Bible? Would he resent prayer? Neither should he think ill of discipline. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn your statutes" (Psalm 119:71).

To close: How should we think of God's discipline? V.11 makes it plain: "Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who have been trained by it".

It is not joy that fills our souls. It is "grievous" or painful. It is hope. Not that it is good "now"--but that it will one day yield a blessing. And so, we don't rejoice in discipline itself, but in what it will do for us. It will make us better people. It will conform us to the image of God's Son. How do we know this? Because "Even the Son learned obedience through the things that He suffered". If the sinless Man needed discipline, so do we.

Therefore, we must not "despise the chastening of the LORD". Ignore it or think ill of it. Nor must we "be discouraged when we are rebuked by Him". Lose hope or give up effort.

Love and discipline are inseparable. Are you being disciplined by God? If so, He is but proving His love. You ought to love Him for loving you.

"We love Him because

He first loved us".