I can think back on my life and see God’s goodness in protecting me from so many things by the discipline of my parents. They kept their eyes on me and restrained my natural waywardness. They had their hands full to be sure and many things escaped their notice but they were vigilant in their effort. And though many times it didn’t seem pleasant their discipline allowed me to see the cause and effect of life. It let me view that there were consequences to life and if I would not discipline myself I would be disciplined by others.
As believers in Christ we should too be able to look back over our Christian life and see how God, likewise, diligently took us from where we were to where we are. Perhaps you are new in the Christian life and you have not yet had much experience in the discipline of God but be assured as His child His watchful eye and diligent hand shall lead you all the way. The times may not always be pleasant but it will be worth it when you have opportunity to look back and marvel at God’s goodness through His consistent discipline.
The key idea in this passage is that discipline, in its many forms, is God’s means to create deep Christian character and holiness without which our lives will never produce fruit.
I. The Prelude to God’s Discipline (vv. 4-5)
The first item the author discusses in looking at discipline is the prelude to God’s discipline. In verses 4-5 the author begins to look into the matter of discipline. He introduces us to the concept. He alludes again to the prospect of further persecution in the midst of the church to which he was writing. He describes the shedding of their blood for the sake of the cross. He notes that they have not YET resisted to the point of shedding blood. In this prelude to God’s discipline, he describes three introductory issues regarding God’s discipline of His children.
A. It requires struggle
The first introductory issue the author of Hebrews expresses in these verses is that God’s discipline requires struggle. Look at verse 4 with me. “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.” Two words the author uses in this verse speak of the struggle that takes place within every one of us who is seeking to put off our sin. The first word the author uses, “resist” is employed in some places to describe the setting up of a people in rebellion. It has the idea of an army set to oppose an oncoming force. There is a need for us to oppose the natural inclination of our old nature to bend toward sin. A struggle is not a sign of defeat. Struggle for the Christian is a sign of life. We just have to learn to handle this struggle in the proper way. We need to learn to live by faith in Christ’s power alone.
The next word he uses is “striving.” He tells his readers that a striving against sin should encompass their walk with Christ. “Striving” is an athletic word. It is used of the agony that the training or competing athlete endures. If you have ever worked out in a team weight room there is some real striving going on. I can remember the workouts we endured when I was on the crew team in college (though today there is little evidence that I was ever there, except for perhaps a few old pictures). The atmosphere was almost like being in a different world. There were the tortured grunts and groans of young men pressing weights, the shouts of their lifting partners pushing them to do one more rep. From all around you could hear the names of opposing teams being used derogatorily, “Coast Guard is going down! Penn State stinks!” You could also hear the philosophers echoing the reason we were in there, “No pain, no gain!” We did everything to remind ourselves that we were going through this torture for a reason, maybe not a very good one but a reason nonetheless.
My question would be that if we are to understand that no gain could come without physical struggle in a physical contest why should we be surprised if there needs to be a spiritual struggle in our striving against sin. I think we have too genteel a view of the opponents we are up against. We think that the world, the flesh and the devil are gentlemen and if we leave them alone they will leave us alone. If we ask them to stay on their side of the fence we think they will. Fighting sin with kid gloves is like trying to fight terrorists in a politically correct fashion. Let’s leave them alone and they won’t bother us. We cannot overcome sin like this. The discipline that God brings into our lives is going to result in a struggle for us. And it is going to make want to struggle and strive against sin. We cannot forget it. And this brings us to the second introductory issue.
B. It requires the correct mindset
The second introductory issue the author of Hebrews expresses in these verses is that God’s discipline requires the correct mindset. In verse 5 he notes this. “You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons (now the author could be posing a question phrased in this way, “Have you forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons” he continues), my son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him.” The word he uses here “regard lightly” means to not despise or think little of. We are not to despise the correcting hand of the Lord in our lives.
Now we are not talking about P.M.A. (positive mental attitude) or anything like that. But we must have the correct mindset when it comes to the struggle of God’s discipline. When we find ourselves in duress, experiencing illness, receiving persecution in our stand for Christ or we come under some spiritual attack we must prepare our minds for them. We might very appropriately ask, “Why?” But this should not be a why proclaimed in the skeptics voice but in the voice of the learner. The question is not the demanding why of the critic but the why that really asks, “What is the reason you have me here, Lord?” We will see the general reason for God’s discipline later in the passage but suffice it for now that our minds must be submissive to the will of the Lord in this matter. And we should seek to discern the specific reason why God is placing us through some particular discipline.
Our spiritual growth is not dependent simply on reading the Word of God and prayer. Our response to God’s discipline also plays a part in this picture. If our mind is not set to receive God’s discipline then we will not grow in it. We cannot think lightly of or despise God’s disciplining hand in our life. If we begin to have the mindset that I am comfortable where I am or I no longer need to change to become more like Christ then we have put aside the proper mindset for spiritual growth and receiving God’s discipline. In the later verses of this chapter the author is going to warn us about the danger of such a lackadaisical attitude. For not only do we set ourselves up for spiritual stagnation but we set ourselves up to be removed from this life. God has only one final recourse for recalcitrant and unmanageable children. He takes them home. Now we must all die but shall we die “early” because we refuse to heed the Lord’s discipline?
The biggest answer to the “Why?” question is simply this; you and I are not yet where we ought to be in our Christian life. It’s true. As much as we would like to think of ourselves as having arrived, we are not yet there. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Philippi, details this perspective for us. Here is the man, Paul the apostle, the one who has been lifted into heaven and been shown things unlawful to utter here on earth. Here is the great planter of churches throughout a great portion of the Gentile world and what does he say? In Philippians 3:13-14 he tells us, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
You are going to have the wrong mindset when discipline comes if you don’t see that God’s goal in working in your life is Christlikeness. For you will have an uppity attitude that you don’t deserve what is taking place when all along God is allowing what is taking place to purge the wrong thoughts and attitudes of your heart. Stop going around feeling sorry for yourself and start seeing this as God’s opportunity to work out His grace in your life.
I think there is a tendency for all of us when these seemingly (SEEMINGLY) meaningless yet devastating hardships befall us to seek escape, become bitter or resent them. But the author says that when you come across difficulty and trial seek the Lord’s face in the matter. Call out to God to help you discover His reason in allowing it into your life. Have the right mindset. For God’s wants to use it to make you more like Christ. Stop saying, “Why am I here in this situation?” with the voice of defiance and ask, “Lord, what is it your are trying to teach me while I am here?”
C. It requires endurance
The third introductory issue the author of Hebrews expresses in these verses is that God’s discipline requires endurance. The end of verse five says, “nor faint when you are reproved by Him.” The author calls for endurance in this verse. He reminds us that these times of discipline are difficult times and call for endurance. However, endurance is not found in simply bracing ourselves for what is coming but seeking God’s strength in the midst of it. For as the discipline comes exposes our weakness and sin for what it is, it should cause us to begin to rely on the strength of the only one who has the store of resources to equip us to carry on.
This storehouse is called grace. As we falter under the weight of difficulty and the loving hand of God’s discipline we need to understand that the endurance we need, CAN be found in God. The authors of Scripture make it clear again and again that God is our rock. In Psalm 73 Asaph tells us that he had started to become envious of the wicked and bemoaned his difficulties. He then declared that his feet almost slipped until he went into the house of the LORD. At that point He understood how the Lord was working in His life.
As you see God allow these difficulties into your life you may begin to lose heart. Your feet may begin to slip. But understand that He does not allow His children to go through the fire without being present. Discipline is a time for endurance. And we must stand firm through it.
II. The Promise of God’s Discipline (vv. 6-8)
The second item the author discusses in looking at discipline is the promise of God’s discipline. We find this in verses 6-8. He notes here that as children of God there is a promise that He will discipline us. Look at what he says. “‘For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.’ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” In these verses the author outlines for us three characteristics of God’s discipline.
A. Discipline shows love
The first characteristic of God’s discipline is that discipline shows love. We note this in verse 6. “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” God’s discipline of his children shows that He loves them. If He was not concerned for them He would allow them to go their own way and be destroyed by their own desires. The Scripture says this holds true for any parental discipline. In Proverbs 13:24 the author says, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Those who do not love their children won’t raise the paddle to correct them. Why? Discipline takes a great deal of effort. Many times when my children act inappropriately I don’t feel like disciplining them. I may be tired or busy or whatever the reason (for we can usually find some reason to neglect discipline). Right discipline takes diligence because in order for it to be effective it must be consistent. An inconsistent discipline provokes children to anger instead of producing a right spirit (And this means both over and under discipline). When children do not know what it is that brings discipline because of inconsistency they will understand that you really don’t care or they may become angry because there is no structure girding their life.
Now why do people have a bad image of discipline today? Why isn’t it seen as loving when God says it is a demonstration of His love? Why do many people have a problem with it? Probably because what is often portrayed as discipline today is simply uncontrolled anger vented at those unable to retaliate. But if people do not biblically discipline their children what happens? The parents become frustrated and then they lash out. They do the very thing they think they ought not do because they wait to do something until they reach a breaking point. And that is dangerous. When parents discipline their children biblically, however, it should not be in an outburst of anger or frustration but simply be the laying down of loving correction in a manner that includes the consequence, repentance, prayer and a whole lot of hugs and holding afterward. And it should hurt you as a parent. I never understood that when people told me that it hurt them to discipline their child until I had to discipline my children. There is a knot in my heart as I carry it out. But I do this to be obedient to God’s instruction in raising my children and to deliver my children from death. For if they do not learn to obey authority now they will not learn when they are older. And it will bring about their demise. This brings us to the next reason why God’s discipline shows love. God’s discipline also shows love because it delivers from an early death. Proverbs 19:18 says, “Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death (or literally do not desire to cause him to die). It is while a child is young that he must be disciplined or he will bring trouble upon himself that will eventually destroy his life. But the fact that God disciplines us shows us that He loves us and wants us to have long life. “Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines.” God brings discipline into our lives because we need it. You may not recognize you need but you need it. And so God’s discipline of us shows that He loves us.
B. Discipline has consequences
The second characteristic of God’s discipline is that discipline has consequences. The second part of verse 6 says, “He scourges every son He receives.” This describes the fact that there are consequences associated with discipline. We shouldn’t be surprised that consequences follow disobedience. Some of the best teachers in life are the consequences we receive for our actions if we will but listen to the rebuke applied. Why should we be surprised that God brings consequences to us directly related to an area in which He is attempting to teach us? The key is that we listen. In verse 7 the author says that it is for discipline that we endure. We should expect that if we don’t pay attention carefully enough to the written Word to seek God’s instruction in some area that He would bring discipline to cause us to listen to what we have been missing.
Let me tell you what I do when circumstances fall into my life that are not so pleasant or desirable. Now I give this by way of experience not that the Scripture says, “do this in this way” but I have found it helpful in my own life. When pain or trouble grips my life, first, I find some time alone with the Lord. Now when it is sickness that has befallen me I usually have little trouble finding that time because it is usually taken while I lie stricken in bed. I will call out to the Lord and begin to ask Him to reveal to me if this difficulty is for some particular reason. “God is there some thing in my life that you need to work out in me.” I will take such time to praise Him for His goodness in the midst of my difficulty though I may not see an end to it. But I use this as a searching time. I use it as an opportunity to confess my own sinfulness before the Lord and seek His grace to go on from here in victory. Think of these events, whether they be long or short in duration, as opportunities to find some spiritual profit in it. It may not make it any less pleasant (although often I have found these times as times of comfort – like the time of holding and hugging I have with my children after the administering of discipline in our family). But if we will not reflect on our spiritual life during these times we miss the purpose for which the consequences have come.
There are believers today who simply want to be rescued from the consequences of the discipline without desiring change and repentance. This cannot be. There are consequences and you may attempt to run away from them but you will only be trying to run away from God. He will find you. You may run from one situation but you will run smack dab into another. It is imperative that you listen the Lord’s voice and change. Sometimes what the Lord is trying to work into us is not a matter of sin but it may be a matter of character involving the fruit of the Spirit. He may want us to be gentler, kinder, more peace-filled, increasingly faithful, or self-controlled. Let’s look for God’s direction in these matters and desire change as He guides us.
C. Discipline shows relationship
The third characteristic of God’s discipline is that discipline shows relationship. In verses 7 & 8 the author says, “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
You can be sure that if you are God’s child you will receive discipline. This is the promise of God’s discipline at its fullest. What is a good indicator of our adoption as God’s children? What helps us to see we have been translated from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son? What reveals the truth that we have left the devil’s family and been born into the family of God? It is discipline. What real father leaves his children without discipline?
Discipline is a sign of relationship. Listen, don’t you touch my children. I will take care of the problem, thank you. Sometimes my wife and I may delegate such responsibility to others as when they sleep over their grandmother’s house but this is not lightly given knowing that the responsibility falls upon the shoulders of my wife and me and ultimately from the Scriptural perspective it falls upon me as father. The fact that I discipline Paul, Richard and Timothy is a sign that they are MY children. In the same way I don’t go around providing correction for your children. They are not mine. This is a direct indicator showing relationship.
If God is your true father (not just in name as some people call God their father but they don’t have a clue of knowing what they mean by it), if God is your true father you will have the privilege of being disciplined by Him.
We ought to understand that this discipline should be something that is ongoing and consistent. We consistently discipline our children but all of it is not necessarily corporal in nature. When my children don’t respond correctly at the dinner table, if they leave out a please or forget a thank you they don’t get a spanking. And yet the gentle reminder to say thank you or please is a form of discipline whereby they see their need for correction and respond appropriately. So when God reveals to you some omission in your conduct or thought life through His Word and His Spirit, you are, in this sense, being disciplined. It is discipline, though it may not be as painful as other discipline, it is discipline nonetheless.
Now if you are a believer and say, “I know I am not where I should be in my Christian life. I know I need to grow in various areas. I feel the sting of my conscience to tell me how far short I fall of God’s glory. God often brings me to repentance over things in my life that I must turn over to His control.” If you say these things then rejoice because it is an evident token of the work His Spirit is doing in your life to conform you to His image. He is placing His discipline upon you.
But perhaps you are here today and you say, “Well I’m living in sin but I am not experiencing difficulty because of it. My conscience is not plagued by it. I am enjoying it.” Then friend, you are in sorry place. For if you think that you are a believer but have no discipline occurring in your life, the Scripture says right here, you are mistaken. For a believer cannot live in joyful disregard of God’s commands. Do not deceive yourself. If you think you are a believer it would be good for you to test yourself, as the apostle Paul says, to see if you are truly in the faith. How are you to test yourself? You must test yourself according to the Word of God, of course.
But if you are here and know you are not a believer in Christ this is too a precarious position in which to be. For the Scripture tells you that the wrath of God rests upon you. If you were to pass into eternity today you would experience the just wrath of God forever without any hope of escape. So don’t put off your need to repent of your sin and trust Christ as Savior. Today, now, is your only promised time to respond if you understand your need to escape the wrath upon you and receive the gift of eternal life provided through Jesus’ death on the cross.