PROOF OF SONSHIP

HEBREWS 12:5–11

Because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son

(Hebrews 12:6).

The author of Hebrews now points out that the tribulations being experienced by the Jewish Christians are proofs that God loves them. He quotes from Proverbs 3 to show that God chastises all of His children.

When we go through hardship and suffering, we are often tempted to give up. We want to throw in the towel. And indeed, God may be telling us to change course, to quit doing something we have been doing. But we are never to quit the course of pursuing holiness and hoping in God’s promised future. We must not “lose heart” and think that God is against us. Rather, we must view the suffering as proof that God cares for us (Heb. 12:5–6).

Hardship is proof that we are sons. God put Jesus through hardship. He “learned obedience through suffering” and became able to “sympathize with those who are tempted” (Heb. 2:10, 18; 4:15; 5:7–8). If we are united to Jesus, and thus are sons of God, one of the signs of our sonship is hardship. Those who don’t experience God’s discipline are not sons but bastards (vv. 7–8).

Verse 9 says that such discipline does not lead to death but to life. Even persecution and martyrdom are ways God brings us to life. The reason for this is that chastisement is designed to get rid of the death-nature that besets us, that causes us to prefer death and sin to life and God. The author says that earthly parents discipline us in order to cause us to grow into responsible adulthood; God’s discipline is the same, only perfect (vv. 9–10).

What do we look forward to when we are disciplined? The author does not point us to the world to come, but tells us that in this life we will acquire “a harvest of righteousness and peace” as a result of God’s program of trial and tribulation. In other words, returning to his theme of entering sabbath rest, we shall enter much more fully into our sabbath rest (peace) as a result of hardship. Like Jesus, more and more we will find ourselves enthroned in places of influence, where we can reach back and help younger believers who are going through the hardship and trial we have emerged from. Our lives, like those of the Old Testament saints, will become witnesses of God’s faithfulness.

CORAM DEO

Psalms 88–89

Look back over your life whether you are young or older. Consider how the times of hardship have lead to times of peace and influence. If this has not happened, be confident that any present or future hardship is designed for just that purpose. Use what you have learned to encourage others.

For further study: Rom. 8:18–25 • 2 Cor. 1:3–11 • 1 Peter 4:12–19

wednesday

september