In 2016 I preached on this passage in a series on the Book of Hebrews. I was looking over it again, and I thought it might be helpful to summarize it as a blog post.
A background note: The KJV and NKJV use the word, chastening. That has led many to think that this passage is just about punishment. Or that what the author is talking about is something punitive for specific disobedience. However, itâs really the word, discipline. And discipline is whatever God uses to bring us to maturity, to correct us. Remember that we are not condemned (Rom 8:1). We wonât ever pay the price for our sins. Jesus did that on the cross. However, we are Godâs children and we will be disciplined. He wants to make us like Christ in any way that weâre not.
God disciplines His childrenâŚand itâs good. Hebrews 12:4-9 tells us how to reinterpret suffering. How to recast hardships. By reinterpreting I mean that we come to a true understanding of them. We come to Godâs understanding of them.
There are four reinterpretations we need.
Donât Overstate Your SufferingâItâs Not As Bad As You Believe (12:4-5)
â˘Hebrews 12:4 (ESV) In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
The audience of this epistle had suffered. We know that from Hebrews 10:32-34. They have suffered public abuse, loss of property, and even imprisonment. Those are substantial losses. This is not light suffering theyâve experienced.
But they hadnât experienced loss of life of anyone in the community yet. Why mention this obvious fact to them? Surely they know they havenât resisted to death yet. Why say it? Because our temptation is to overstate our hardships. And itâs not as bad as you believe. Itâs really not.
You see our tendency is to think that we are the center of the worldâcertainly the center of our worlds. And that makes us look at our hardships as more difficult than they really are because they are happening to us.
But Scripture wants us to get perspective. We need to look around us and sympathize with the suffering of others. We need to bear one anotherâs burdens. When Iâm suffering, I find it hard to think about the hardships of others. I can only see my own pain.
If we donât understand Godâs discipline it leads to two sinful responses found in verse 5âŚ
â˘Hebrews 12:5 (ESV) And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? âMy son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
You Disregard Godâs Discipline
If we get focused on our pain we can assume it has no purpose. Itâs just the random stuff of life happening to us now. God has a purpose for your hardships. He never wastes pain, so donât treat it lightly.
You Become Discouraged
This is probably the more likely sinful response. You get tired of Godâs chastening. It seems so oppressive that you actually lose heart.
I think one of the difficult lessons that Christians learn over and over again is that God is not interested in making our lives pain free. Salvation doesnât mean that your life suddenly becomes wonderful and prosperous and your car never has expensive mechanical problems.
God is not concerned with that vision of life. He has bigger plans for you. He actually wants you to be like His Son, Jesus. And He will discipline you and me to get us to that objective.
Donât Think God Has Abandoned YouâHe Only Disciplines Those in the Family (12:6-8)
â˘Hebrews 12:6â8 (ESV) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.â 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Hereâs where our understanding really needs to change. We really need to reinterpret our hard times. Discipline means that God loves us. Itâs actually the assurance that God loves us. A lack of chastisement is a bad sign. God disciplines those that He loves.
A father that doesnât discipline, doesnât love his child. You can say you do, but if a father doesnât discipline his children, then he doesnât care how they turn out. Thatâs a sign of indifference, but not a sign of love. So the father that loves his children will discipline them.
And itâs the same with God. Itâs a sure sign of sonship to be chastened by God. Adversity, suffering, and hardships are the tools that God uses to sanctify His children. Suffering is not a sign of abandonment by God. No, itâs a sign of His love. Hardships donât indicate Godâs rejection. They are clear evidence of Godâs fatherly care.
This is radical reinterpretation of suffering. Rather than being an indication of Godâs indifference, it is a mark of His love for His children. Suffering should assure us of Godâs care, not make us question it.
Donât Resist Godâs DisciplineâYou Can Submit to God (12:9-10)
â˘Hebrews 12:9â10 (ESV) Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
This passage makes an argument from the lesser human relationship to the greater. Our fathers might have poorly disciplined, but we still submitted to them. Canât we also submit to our heavenly Father? With our human fathers it was their duty to discipline us and our duty to submit. Your father might not have disciplined well, or you might not have submitted well, but those were the responsibilities. Therefore, submit to the God that does discipline well.
Donât resist Godâs discipline. Why? BecauseâŚ
God is Wiser Than Your Father
Your dad may have been mistaken in his discipline, but your heavenly Father will never impose any discipline that isnât for your good. God doesnât make arbitrary judgments.
Godâs Purpose Is Better Than Your Fatherâs
Your dad was a sinner. So he made decisions about discipline that were often at least tainted by sin. That means that sometimes he disciplined you for his own convenience. Sometimes it wasnât about your character, it was about what was best for him.
But God has no such limitation. God disciplines so we may grow in holiness. We are to become like Him. Your trouble is used by God to make you grow into holiness.
Donât Focus on the Painâthe Result of Discipline Is Worth the Trouble (12:11)
â˘Hebrews 12:11 (ESV) For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
In the moment, nobody enjoys discipline. When weâre in the midst of Godâs discipline, itâs easy to focus only on the pain. Sometimes it does hurt so much. We lose something that we really value. God uses the pain to conform us to Christâs image, but at the time, it doesnât seem worth it to us.
But it bears good fruit. The outcome of suffering is substantial and pleasant. The period of discipline is followed by one of joy. We grow in righteousness through discipline. When reinterpreting our suffering this way, we can actually submit to it in the present. âPeacefulâ reflects that the man that believes Godâs discipline is designed for his good will cease to feel resentful and rebellious.
Pain wakes us up. God doesnât waste pain, but He also doesnât avoid it either. Itâs a tool to make us grow. You and I wouldnât have near the desire to grow if it werenât for Godâs discipline in our lives.
Donât focus on your pain; instead think about the good fruit that God is growing in your life. Listen, God disciplines His childrenâŚand itâs good.