The Father’s Discipline
Hebrews 12:3-11
March 13, 2016
Max Lucado wrote:
“God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you there. He wants you to be just like Jesus. Isn’t that good news? You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You aren’t condemned to grumpy-dom. You are changeable. You are tweakable. Even if you’ve worried each day of your life, you needn’t worry the rest of your life. So what if you were born with a sour outlook, you don’t have to die with one. God will change you. And He will change you to be just like Jesus. Can you think of a better offer? Jesus felt no guilt; God wants you to feel no guilt. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to do away with yours. Jesus had no fears; God wants the same for you. Jesus had no anxiety about death; you needn’t either. God’s desire, His plan, His ultimate goal is to make you into the image of Christ…God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you there. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” (Lucado, Max; Just Like Jesus; [Word Publishing, Nashville, TN 1998], inside front cover)
There is a reality that every believer must wrap their minds around.
THERE IS A GOAL FOR YOUR LIFE
Paul wrote:
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”
This has always been the goal.
Understand for a second what we are talking about here.
When I tell you that God is a Savior certainly you agree.
But when I ask you what God desires to save you from,
That is where many go off the reservation.
If I ask, “What does God desire to save you from?”
Many today will answer, “Hell”.
It’s the common understanding that there was this loving God up in heaven
That saw people falling into hell that He had to do everything possible
To save them from that horrible fate.
Do you want to know the problem with that?
• God created hell.
• It is God who casts those people into the hell that He created.
If the only purpose was to save men from hell; that was easy;
Just abolish hell, do away with it; stop sending people there.
And indeed many today have tried to adopt that very theology stating that:
“A loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.”
Others have mocked the notion saying,
“How can God claim to love people if in the end He throws them in hell?”
Well could it be that main goal of God was not to save you from hell?
The main objective of God is not to save you from hell,
But to save you from sin.
Now granted a benefit of being saved from sin is that you don’t go to hell,
But sin is the problem, sin is the issue.
WHY?
• Because God is holy, and He has declared that you must be holy.
• And every person who isn’t holy is an offense to Him.
• In fact, those who are not holy, He casts them into hell.
So God’s objective has been to send His Son to save people from sin.
Don’t believe me?
Matthew 1:20-21 “But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Listen to John the Baptist:
John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Listen to Peter:
Acts 5:30-31 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
Listen to Paul:
Acts 13:38-39 “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.”
Or
Colossians 1:19-22 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach”
The main problem of humanity is not hell.
The main problem of humanity is sin.
• It is sin that is offensive to God.
• It is sin that ruins lives.
• It is sin that cursed this world.
• It is sin that brings eternal judgment.
And so the objective of God has been to save people from sin.
God’s objective is to MAKE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUS.
Somewhere along the line we have forgotten this.
Somewhere along the line we assumed that God’s greatest desire was to make me happy or comfortable or healed or “blessed” or prosperous.
Somewhere we began to believe that God is fine with me just like I am,
I simply need to receive God’s acceptance and learn to accept myself,
And then force you to accept me like I am.
NO
God’s desire has not changed.
Leviticus 11:44a “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.”
Well wasn’t that Old Testament?
Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Well wasn’t that before the cross?
1 Peter 1:14-19 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.” If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Holiness has always been the goal.
So the question is how does God go about making us holy?
And the first answer is a big one: THE CROSS
• It was Jesus’ death on the cross that satisfied the wrath of God.
• It was this same Jesus who then imparted His righteousness to us.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The cross became the means of our justification before God.
Those who believe in Jesus are now declared righteous
Because of what He did on the cross.
But let’s be honest, I know how I live.
• Could I really say that I lived perfectly righteous this past week?
• Could I really say that I spoke perfectly righteous this past week?
No, and none of you would.
So what did the cross actually do?
And is God ok with the final result?
Here it is: The cross made you POSITIONALLY righteous before God.
The cross declared you righteous even though you weren’t,
And welcomed you into the family of God.
I am positionally righteous.
I am NOT PRACTICALLY righteous.
I blow it and so do you.
The next question is:
ARE WE TO ASSUME THAT GOD IS OK WITH THIS?
God took such issue with sin that
He actually crushed His only begotten Son to deal with it.
So are we to assume that all of a sudden God is no longer concerned about our sin?
And of course the answer is NO.
God still cares very much that you be righteous (practically righteous).
• That is why Paul said God is working to conform you into the image of His Son.
• That is why Paul told the Philippians the work God started in you, He would still complete.
So, one more question.
HOW DOES GOD DO THE WORK OF MAKING ME RIGHTEOUS?
Well, the cost of making you positionally righteous was the suffering of His Son.
What do you suppose the cost of making you practically righteous will be?
…now you’re getting it. (our suffering)
God uses suffering to make us practically righteous.
God uses pain to conform us into the image of Christ.
God uses discipline to cause us to share in His holiness.
And when you understand the necessity of holiness
And the way that holiness is achieved, then you will begin to understand statements like the one Paul made to the Philippians:
Philippians 3:10-11 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
You say, how could anyone desire suffering?
They couldn’t unless they understood that suffering was the means of holiness and they desired holiness more than comfort.
How badly do you want to be holy?
How badly do you want to please God?
That was the question last week wasn’t it?
Is there anything more important than living a life that is pleasing to God?
• We talked about the race, we talked about the things that hinder,
• We talked about the sin that entangles, and about throwing it off
• So that we could run this race God has ordained for us.
And for the ultimate example the writer took us to Jesus who “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
So again we ask the question.
Is there anything more important than being pleasing to God?
• Are you willing to be pleasing?
• Do you want to be pleasing?
Let me rephrase it:
DO YOU WANT TO BE COMPLETELY SAVED FROM SIN?
Because if you only want to be saved from hell,
Then you are missing the whole point of salvation.
But if you want to be saved from sin,
Then you are tapping into the heart of God,
And you are ready to understand
The important role of suffering in your life.
That was something these Hebrews had failed to understand.
When Jesus was preached, and forgiveness was offered,
They jumped right on the bandwagon.
But then something strange happened; they began to suffer.
And each of them was faced with the decision of whether they wanted Jesus or comfort?
The writer spent the first 9 ½ chapters telling them to pick Jesus,
Because only in Jesus can you be pleasing to the Father.
And the writer is now telling them to embrace the suffering
Because that is God’s method of making them like Jesus.
And that is the theme he carries on with this morning.
So, if you’ve ever been confused about suffering…
• If you’ve ever been confused about God’s role in suffering…
• If you’ve ever been confused as to why God allows suffering…
• If you’ve ever been confused as to whether God causes suffering…
Pay attention here because the writer lays it out for us beautifully.
So let’s pick up where we were last week.
• We had a runner who walked through the hall of fame and who saw all those
displays that reminded him of the faith of the saints of old.
• The runner then approached the track and was asked to take off anything that
would keep him from running to the best of his ability.
• And then the gun sounded and the runner was asked to run, and to run with
endurance, and to fix his eyes on Jesus while he ran.
Well about now the runner is far enough into the race that:
• His side has started to cramp.
• And his throat is starting to hurt.
• And his legs are starting to ache.
• And something in his knee feels funny.
• And there is no end in sight.
And all of a sudden the runner is contemplating quitting
Because it’s just too hard.
And so the writer comes up beside the runner to explain to him
Why the race is so hard, and why he should embrace the pain
And move forward anyway.
His instruction is PRECISELY WHAT YOU AND I NEED TO DO
Every time we suffer.
There are 4 things the writer asks our tired runner to do.
#1 CONSIDER THE CROSS
Hebrews 12:3-4
(3) “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
The writer just told us in verse 2 how Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
And the writer emphatically told us to “fix our eyes on [Him]”
Here we understand what he meant.
• When the struggles in your life get difficult…
• When the pain is real…
• When the persecution is intense…
• When the suffering seems too much…
The writers wants you to answer a simple question.
Would you say that your suffering is harder or easier than the cross?
(obviously my suffering doesn’t compare)
And yet, despite the hardship of the cross Jesus endured it.
On the cross “sinners” were brutally attacking Jesus.
• Should we read about how they beat Him?
• Should we read about how they spit on Him?
• Should we read about how they nailed Him to a cross?
• Should we read about how they plucked out His beard?
• Should we read about how they mocked Him while He was dying?
And Jesus endured.
And incidentally, this was not because He had no other choice.
We remember the incident when He was arrested when Peter tried to save Jesus
By attacking the Roman cohort that was arresting Him.
To Peter Jesus said:
Matthew 26:52-54 “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword. “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? “How then will the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?”
The point is that Jesus could have quit…but He didn’t.
And His trial was far more difficult than ours.
So when you grow “weary” and when you are tired and think of giving up, then “consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
And just in case you need a little PERSPECTIVE the writer adds:
(4) “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;”
In other words, your suffering doesn’t compare.
So the first thing we need in the midst of our suffering is a little perspective.
• Yes, it’s bad…
• It may be far worse than anything you’ve known…
• It may be worse than anything anyone around you has known…
But it’s not worse than what Jesus faced,
And if He didn’t quit then you shouldn’t either.
So Consider the Cross
#2 REMEMBER THE SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 12:5-6
Notice the soft rebuke that the writer gives to these people.
“and you have forgotten…”
These people were beside themselves in the midst of their pain
Because they had forgotten what the Bible says about suffering.
And so the writer quotes it for them (Proverbs 3:11-12)
(5-6) “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
That passage gives tremendous insight to those who suffer.
If you’ll notice it gives two negative commands.
(That is: two things you shouldn’t do)
1. “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord”
2. “Nor faint when you are reproved by Him”
TWO THINGS THAT WE ARE ALL PRONE TO DO ANY TIME WE SUFFER.
He says “Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord”
What does this mean?
“regard lightly” is the exact same word rendered “despising” in verse 2.
KATAPHRONEO, it means “to think down”.
Remember we talked about how Jesus didn’t hate His suffering,
Rather He didn’t think much of it.
In a sense He just disregarded it, He let it go, He let it roll off His back.
He just didn’t think it was any big deal.
Well the word is used here as something we should not do.
We should not “regard lightly” the Lord’s discipline.
AND SOMETIMES WE DO THIS.
Please understand that God is sovereign.
• Nothing happens outside of His control.
• Not even your pain.
The danger is that when the Lord brings suffering in your life
That you don’t give any thought to what God might be using it for.
Many times we suffer and all we can think is, “When will this be over?”
And we don’t give any thought to the reality that
God just might be using this to accomplish His purposes in my life.
Hence, we think little of what God might be doing.
Many of you have been with us as we are studying Job on Sunday nights.
• You are all familiar with the fact that Job suffered immensely.
• You should also know that in this suffering Job grew a little bitter and actually
began to demand that God explain why He was doing this.
One of Job’s friends (a young man named Elihu) explained it to Job.
Job 33:19-22, 29-30 “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed, And with unceasing complaint in his bones; So that his life loathes bread, And his soul favorite food. “His flesh wastes away from sight, And his bones which were not seen stick out. “Then his soul draws near to the pit, And his life to those who bring death…Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of life.”
Elihu told Job that God specifically brought that pain into Job’s life
To accomplish a spiritual purpose.
In Job’s case it was to crush his pride.
THAT IS THE POINT.
God doesn’t just randomly afflict people for no reason.
There is always a reason.
He doesn’t just delight in hardship.
The writer says you should be careful not to overlook this reality.
You should be careful not to “regard lightly” what God might be doing.
The SECOND THING you shouldn’t do is “faint when you are reproved by Him.”
You’ve seen that word “faint” before too.
In verse 3 it was translated “lose”
It is EKLUO in the Greek and it means “to loose” or “to enfeeble”
It carries the idea of letting your body go limp, or go weak.
(Hence: “faint”)
It would be a person who, in the midst of their pain,
Just decided to throw in the towel and give up.
The Bible says here DON’T
• Don’t overlook what God is doing
• Don’t quit while He is doing it
Now this would be a good time for someone to say,
“SHOW ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN’T?”
(6) “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.”
Because the pain you are dealing with is evidence that God loves you.
Now many people have forgotten that, and so when suffering hits
They sort of lose their mind and feel abandoned by God.
You should never feel abandoned by God in the midst of your pain. In fact, according to the Bible, you should know God loves you.
So Consider the Cross Remember the Scripture
#3 RECOGNIZE THE PURPOSE
Hebrews 12:7-10
Now I realize that saying your pain is evidence that God loves you
IS A BIT DIFFICULT TO SWALLOW.
The writer knows that too,
So he gives an earthly illustration to help you grasp what he means.
(7) “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?”
Well, first let’s answer that question.
“what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
Well, this kind:
(8) “But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
The only sons God doesn’t discipline are those who aren’t His.
God disciplines His sons.
And the writer wants you to understand that.
The pain you are in is not evidence that God is angry at you.
Your pain is evidence that God loves you.
In fact, He loves you like a father loves his son.
He is concerned about how you turn out, so He disciplines you.
Proverbs 19:18 “Discipline your son while there is hope, And do not desire his death.”
Proverbs 23:13 “Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.”
Proverbs 22:15 “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.”
Proverbs 13:24 “He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.”
His purpose is to mold you.
His purpose is to save you from death.
His purpose is to release you from foolishness.
SEE, DISCIPLINE IS NATURAL
(9a) “Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them;”
Certainly we didn’t like it, but as we’ve grown,
We’ve begun to see how important it was that our fathers disciplined us.
(9b) “shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.”
When we grow up we realize that our father was not trying to harm us when he used to spank our rears. He cared enough about us to make sure that we turned out the way we were supposed to.
And we are grateful.
But even then, the truth was, that all our fathers could do was discipline us “as seemed best to them”.
IN SHORT, IT WASN’T PERFECT.
• We might all be able to think of times when the discipline was timely and
effective and exactly what we needed.
• We can probably also think of times when maybe it wasn’t quite deserved, but
dad was just having a bad day.
His discipline wasn’t perfect,
But all in all it was needed and we respect him.
The question is, Can we not then “be subject” to God whose discipline is always perfect?
Your father was trying to
Mold you into the person he thought you should be.
But God is molding you into the person He knows you must be.
God disciplines us “so that we may share His holiness.”
DO YOU GET IT?
God was so concerned that you be POSITIONALLY righteous that He sent His Son to suffer on the cross.
He is so concerned that you be PRACTICALLY righteous that He sends suffering into your life as well.
It is that suffering, that pain, that discipline that He uses to make you holy.
Philippians 1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
He began making you righteous at the cross,
And He is not about to stop short of completion.
In fact, let me read the passage we started off with one more time.
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
God is not about to let a single child of His fall short of glory.
That is why He is doing this.
RECOGNIZE HIS PURPOSE.
Consider the Cross Remember the Scripture Recognize the Purpose
#4 SUBMIT TO THE PROCESS
Hebrews 12:11
I realize this is hard (at least it is for me)
But the writer sums up his point in beautiful fashion here.
(11) “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;”
We all agree…It’s hard
(11b) “yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”
Sorrowful now…Fruitful Later
This is your training, submit to it.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
• God is at work to make you holy.
• God is at work to make you just like Jesus.
• And the means by which God does this is discipline.
God is simply finishing what He started.
SO, HERE IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD
• The writer can explain to all these suffering Hebrews about how God loves
them and is making them holy.
• I can explain to you that in your suffering God loves you and is making you
holy.
BUT HERE IS THE KICKER:
You are only going to accept that if
You can wrap your mind around the importance of being holy.
If being holy is not important to you,
Then you are never going to embrace your suffering.
So let me show you real quick why being holy is so important.
Look down the page a little to verse 14
Hebrews 12:14 “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
“sanctification” is the process by which God makes us holy.
The writer is talking about the same thing.
And he reminds us that if we don’t receive this “sanctification”
We will not “see the Lord.”
i.e. will not be saved.
Because God’s desire is to save us from SIN
In short…HOLINESS MATTERS
And God loves you so much that
He’s not about to let you face eternity without it.
If I can finish the quote we started with:
“Where did we get this idea that we can’t change? From whence come statements such as, ‘It’s just my nature to worry.’ ‘I’ll always be pessimistic. I’m just that way.’ ‘I can’t help the way I react. I have a bad temper.’ Such thoughts are not from God. He can no more leave a life unchanged than a mother can leave a tear untouched. His plan for you is nothing short of a new heart. If you were a car, God would want control of your engine. If you were a computer, God would claim the software and the hard drive. If you were an airplane, he’d take his seat in the cockpit. But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart. God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you there. He wants you to have a heart like His. He wants you to be just like Jesus.” (ibid)
Suffering seems strange when you assume that
God’s purpose is to save you from hell.
This causes us to think God must not want us to suffer.
But when you realize that God’s plan is to save you from sin,
Then suffering begins to make sense.
1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.”
Through the process of discipline He is accomplishing that goal.
• So consider Jesus and what He went through.
• Remember what the Bible says about why God is doing this.
• Don’t take this process lightly.
• Don’t give up in the middle of it.
• Endure, and submit yourself to God’s purpose because He loves you and is only saving you from sin and making you holy.
