“Whom the Lord loveth He Chasteneth”

Hebrews 12:5-11

 

When we understand that the, afflictions, trials, and heartaches we endure in this world are not accidents or the result of blind fate, but rather the works of our heavenly Father, when we understand that they are brought to pass for the specific purpose of making us grow in faith, in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ, our hearts are comforted and our souls strengthened. Those things that might otherwise cause us to faint in the way become, instead, the very things that inspire faithfulness, devotion, and perseverance. Therefore, we read in verses 5 and 6, ― “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

 

Divine Rebuke

 

These chastisements are divine rebukes, and should be received as such. Let us not faint when we are rebuked of him.” Our heavenly Father has many ways of rebuking, reproving, and convincing us. He does this by his Word, his Spirit, the preaching of the gospel, and by his wise, unerring, good providence. He rebukes us for our sins, convinces us of them, and graciously forces us to acknowledge them and confess them, not because he is angry with us, but because he loves us. Afflictions are the black dogs by which God chases the evil he hates from the people he loves.

 

Tokens of Love

 

Paul tells us not to faint under the stroke of our Father’s rod and tells us why we shouldn’t. ― "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (v. 6). Our Father’s chastisements are tokens of his love for us. This statement is both a declaration of distinguishing love and an assurance of divine care. And it is a promise of divine acceptance. The fact that he will not leave us to ourselves, the fact that he disciplines us in an indication that he has received us in Christ as his own children.

 

Humble Submission

 

In verses 7-8 the Holy Spirit tells us that the difference between believers and those who merely profess to be believers is this: ― While religious hypocrites rebel against God’s providence, believers humbly submit themselves to the will of God. I do not mean that there is no rebellion in the believer. Every child of God knows better than that. But the Scriptures do clearly teach that the man or woman who trusts Christ will, by the grace of God, bow to Christ. ― "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons" (vv. 7-8). When our Father lays his rod upon our backs our only and our wisest course is to bow to him. Snuggle up as close as you can. The closer you snuggle up to him the lighter will be the strokes of his rod. One of Luther’s friends who was terribly sick, covered with sores, and bed-ridden, was asked how he felt. Pointing to the ulcers that covered his body, he said, “These are God’s gems and jewels wherewith he decks his best friends. To me they are more precious than all the silver and gold in the world.” God’s corrections are pledges of our adoption. We should always look upon them as distinct tokens of his distinct love and favor. God deals with us as with sons, when he refuses to leave us alone (1 Cor. 11:32). Those who are without chastisement are not sons. The word “bastard” refers to one born of an unfaithful, adulterous wife, or child of fornication. Here it refers to one who wears God’s name by profession, but without right. Not all who suffer are sons; but all sons do suffer. The wicked suffer because of their impenitence, the righteous for God’s glory and their good.

 

God’s Purpose

 

In verses 9-10 the Lord shows us his wise and gracious purpose in chastening us with his rod. Thank God, he is not like us! He never chastens his children when there is no need, without a purpose, or because he is angry! His rod is a rod of love, not of anger and wrath. Did he not say, “Fury is not in me” (Isa. 27:4)? Our Father’s object in our afflictions is that we might grow in faith and in love, that we might grow in grace. He never strikes without purpose. His rod is the rod of instruction. The fact is, we read God’s Word most clearly when our eyes are wet (Ps. 94:12; 119:65-72). God’s purpose in all things, and distinctly in the exercise of his rod, is “that we might live, that we might be partakers of his holiness” (Pro. 6:23; 15:31). But how do our trials make us partakers of God’s holiness? Our holiness before God is altogether his work of grace. We have no holiness except that which he has given us and made us in Christ. Our only righteousness before God is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). God’s holiness spoken of here does not refer to his moral character or to that holiness which he gives, which we have in Christ by grace. Here the word simply and only means “separation.” — By the loving exercise of his rod, our Heavenly Father separates our hearts from the world, the wheat from chaff, the precious from the vile.

 

The End

 

Read verse 11 and learn what our Father’s ultimate end is in all our temporary adversities, trials, heartaches, and afflictions. ― "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." The more you beat a walnut tree, the more fruit it gives The more God chastens his children, the more fruitful they are. His vine is most productive when it bleeds. He prunes it to make it fruitful (Gal. 5:22-23). If our chastisements didn’t hurt, they wouldn’t be chastisements (1 Pet. 1:3-9). Yet, with the blessed assurance of our Father’s immutable faithfulness and love, we can, even with broken hearts and weeping eyes, live in peace (2 Cor. 4:17-5:1; Phil. 4:4-7). Soon, very soon, our Father will use his rod no more, because it will never be needed (Rom. 8:16-18; Rev. 7:14-17). When we are tempted to despair, and complain, let us remember God’s faithfulness (Lam. 3:21-23; Isa. 63:9; 1 Cor. 10:13). Let us ever remember, look to, and trust him who was afflicted as no man ever was. May God give us grace to both trust him and emulate him (Lam. 1:12; Phil. 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:22-24).

 

Don Fortner