Hebrews 12:3-11 - Discipleship and Discipline
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
There was an area that was known for incredible amounts of snow. A traveler hired a local trail guide to lead him safely through the area.
The trail guide continued reminding the traveler that he was to only step in the footprints that he had made throughout the journey. He knew the trail well, and there were places where the traveler could sink and get stuck and even die.
As they continued along, the traveler grew frustrated and asked why he couldn’t just walk beside the guide.
The guide replied, “Because I know where the ground is firm - and where it isn’t. My steps aren’t just direction; their your safety.”
Brothers and sisters, discipleship is a lifelong process of being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus involves repenting of your sins, following Him, studying and obeying His Word, and being transformed by the Holy Spirit working in and through you. It involves undergoing discipline as a son or daughter of the Most High.
Discipleship also involves following in Jesus’s footsteps. Unfortunately, many of us naturally want to go our own way instead of follow. However, if we want to be a disciple of Jesus, we must be willing to follow Him wherever He leads us. Following in His footsteps as He leads us doesn’t change the fact that the journey will be difficult and perhaps even dangerous at times, but it does mean that we will be walking in His will and protection.
Listen to our Scripture today that teaches us about the importance of discipline in discipleship.
Read Full Scripture:
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
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?
If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
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?
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.
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.
Prayer
Today we are going to see four important ways that we are to grow in discipleship. The first is…
I. As Children of God, Emulate Christ’s Example (3-4)
I. As Children of God, Emulate Christ’s Example (3-4)
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
We covered verses 1-2 on Resurrection Sunday and discussed the beauty and wonder of looking to and knowing Jesus Christ. We discussed His perfect life, His crucifixion on the cross in our place for our sins, and His resurrection proving His victory of sin and death.
Now are to told to consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself.
This particular Greek word for consider only occurs here in the New Testament. It means to seriously weigh something using the utmost of care and focused reflection.
This is not just a passing glance but, instead, something we need to meditate on and seriously consider.
Can you imagine the amount of hostility that Christ endured while on earth?
The religious leaders were jealous and hated Him. They sought to trap Him almost constantly. Demon-possessed people abounded and showed up time and time again in His ministry. He lived in a time of Roman rule and the Jews were viewed as a trouble-making group of people which affected how He was treated as well.
Frankly, listen to one of his future disciples speak ill of His upbringing...
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Jesus suffered trial after trial during His ministry. And He tells us that we will suffer trials as well (John 16:33).
Will all of that in mind, the author wants to encourage his readers to stand strong like Christ did. He wants us to not grow weary or faint-hearted.
He wants us to look to Christ and emulate His example as we suffer hostility. Jesus didn’t give up. He didn’t lose heart. He refused to allow the hostility and suffering that He experienced and endured to keep Him from being obedient to His Heavenly Father.
Our first step in being a disciple of Jesus involves looking to Christ and emulating His example.
The great reformer Martin Luther underwent many severe persecutions during his life. He was excommunicated, declared a legal outlaw, and suffered many threats of execution. He was deemed a heretic, had many of his works burned up, and was forced to live in Wartburg Castle for safety.
Yet, he made the following statement…
“When I think of what Christ suffered, I am ashamed to call anything that I have endured suffering for his sake.”
Martin Luther
Luther understood that his persecutions paled in comparison to what Jesus went through. It was not even in the same ballpark.
Friends, we can endure because Christ endured. He proved His victory, and He promises to walk with us through our persecutions. He will preserve those who are His (John 10:28-29).
However, we see the author ramp up his talk regarding persecution in the next verse…
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
This is one of the most difficult verses in this book. The author charges his readers to understand that although they have had to endure hostility - although they have had hardships and given up much in order to follow Christ - they had yet to shed their blood. Persecution was going to ramp up. Blood was going to be shed. And they needed to be sure that they anchored their faith to Christ in order to prepare for the persecution to come.
This is one of the verses that leads many scholars to believe that this book was likely written in the early to mid-60’s AD. At this time, persecution was heating up in Rome, but had not quite yet moved to frequent martyrdom. We know historically that persecution under Nero picked up after he burned Rome down in AD 64 and blamed it on the Christians.
This young church of Rome was about to see persecution ramp up quickly.
Many theologians state that the author changed metaphors here from referring to a marathon as we saw in verses 1-2 now to a boxing match. Whereas the first required great endurance, the second faces much more of a direct assault resulting in hostility and overt persecution.
This vivid verse seems to parallel Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke 22:44 tells us:
And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
I did an apologetics podcast on this that you can listen to on our website (Session 11 specifically). Jesus literally sweat drops of blood - something called hematohidrosis.
He was under so much stress that his stress hormones led to his blood capillaries rupturing within His sweat glands.
Talk about resisting sin to the point of the shedding of your blood! Jesus knew that His blood would literally be shed. But even more than that, He knew that all of the sin of the world would be placed upon Him. He knew that the wrath of God would be upon Him. And His blood poured out drop by drop as He resisted the testing coming His way.
May we emulate the example of Jesus. Although no one else will never experience the extreme difficulties that Jesus experienced, we know that we are called to walk in His obedient footsteps. We are to follow where He leads and remain faithful.
How are you doing in emulating Jesus? How are you doing in walking in His footsteps?
Do you struggle with wanting to go your own way?
May you repent of that and turn and follow in the footsteps of your Savior.
Next we see our second important aspect of discipleship…
Scripture References: John 1:46, John 16:33, John 10:28-29, Luke 22:44
II. As Children of God, Accept His Loving Correction (5-6)
II. As Children of God, Accept His Loving Correction (5-6)
And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
The author now goes from encouraging us to emulate Christ to accepting discipline from the Lord. He quotes Proverbs 3:11-12 in these verses.
What exactly is discipline? Discipline from the Lord involves chastening, correction, and rebuking as well as instructing and training. We must always remember that God does no evil as we see in James 1:13. He does not tempt us - though He allows us to be tested.
Most of us consider discipline in the negative sense. And that can be true. Discipline can be negative consequences for our actions.
However, discipline also refers to training and instruction.
Runners exercise discipline as they train day after day to increase their endurance and abilities.
There is a blessing in discipline. Discipline helps us grow stronger.
And God disciples those He loves. This can be in a corrective way or a positive way. He disciplines us through His Word as we read and learn it. He convicts us of our sins and calls us to repentance.
When we refuse to respond to His discipline, he will chastise us - or give us negative consequences for our actions. These are wonderful blessings from the Lord. He does this because He loves us.
It is important to note that we are not punished for sin now. This quote has the word chastisement in it. This often refers to punitive discipline. However, we know that Christ has taken our punishment on the cross (1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Although we undergo corrective discipline, we who are believers do not receive punitive discipline in Christ.
This is actually an important parenting lesson. As we discipline our children, we need to be sure that we continue to teach them the Gospel. We do not punish our children - Christ took their punishment on the cross. We discipline them. We give them positive and negative consequences. They need to know that the punishment that they deserved was eternity in hell apart of Jesus. However, He died on the cross so that they could avoid eternal punishment. And if they place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins - they can have this peace with God in heaven for all eternity.
Because Jesus loves them and because you love them - you are there to discipline them and help them grow to be more like Jesus.
We need to understand the importance of accepting the loving discipline of the Lord as well. Obviously the right response is to repent if we have sinned and to obey whatever the Lord calls us to do.
However, there are a couple of wrong ways to respond to the discipline of the Lord that we see mentioned in these two verses as well.
First…
1 - We Must Never Despise the Lord’s Discipline
We must avoid having a hard heart toward the Lord. When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, undergoing negative consequences for our actions, or being called to a difficult task - we must never despise the Lord’s discipline.
Believers must avoid getting calloused or hard-hearted toward the Lord. We must not take His discipline lightly and ignore what He is doing in and through us.
And second…
2. We Must Never Despair Because of the Lord’s Discipline
Whereas some blatantly despise the discipline of the Lord, others may despair because of it. Others may grow weary and become overwhelmed by the discipline they are undergoing. Instead of obeying, they may shut down. They may struggle with hopelessness. Some believers seem to buckle and lose heart when undergoing discipline from the Lord.
Many believers struggle with one of these two pitfalls when responding to the discipline of the Lord. Some even vacillate between the two depending on the day!
Which one of these do you struggle with? Do you catch yourself resenting the situation you are in? Do you catch yourself despising the discipline of the Lord. Or do you catch yourself being overwhelmed and ineffective because of the situations you are facing?
Instead of despising and despairing - we must be determined to accept the gracious discipline that the Lord brings to us.
How can we do this? When things get difficult, how do we accept the discipline of the Lord without despising or despairing?
One way we can do this is to always remember Romans 8:28…
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
He is doing everything for our good! Are you in a hard season? It is for your good! Is your job difficult? It is for your good! Is your marriage difficult, your children difficult, a certain family relationship difficult, your friendship difficult? It is for your good.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t struggle through these problems and hardships. This doesn’t mean that we are happy to have these hard seasons. But it does mean that we trust the Lord whether we are in the middle of a storm or in the middle of a calm sea.
Unfortunately, it is easy to forget the truth in the midst of suffering and pain.
When we find ourselves struggling, we can quickly forget the goodness of God and that He is for us and not against us (Romans 8:31). We can forget the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father. We can forget the Word of God that reminds us of Who God truly is.
This is why it is so important to be a part of the local church. We are to continue to remind one another to keep trusting and obeying the Lord. We are to remind one another that God is there throughout all of the suffering and pain and hardship.
No matter what our circumstances, may we look to Christ and accept His gracious discipline.
In further clarifying the discipline of the Lord we come to our third point…
Scripture References: Proverbs 3:11-12, James 1:13, 1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:31
III. As Children of God, Embrace His Parental Care (7-9)
III. As Children of God, Embrace His Parental Care (7-9)
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? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.
I think it is pretty clear that it is up to us to discipline our own children. When I am out, I don’t go around disciplining other people’s children - though I’m sure the temptation might be there for some of us! If they act up in public, it isn’t my job to discipline them - it is their parents. However, I might sadly confess that many parents out there show their rejection of their children by not stepping in and discipling their children. Parents - love your children by lovingly discipling them regularly.
The Scriptures actually assert that parents who don’t discipline their children actually hate them (A few Proverbs on Discipline: Proverbs 13:24, Proverbs 23:13-14, Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 29:15).
When our children were small, we would often teach teach these Scriptures regarding the fact that we disciplined them because we loved them. In fact, I vividly remember a couple of our children coming home one day and talking about the fact that they were bothered that some of their friend’s parents didn’t love them enough to discipline them! And they were very young telling me this! Even children see the truth of these Scriptures.
In a much more important way though, God disciplines those who are His legitimate children.
Why does God discipline us? Because He is treating us as sons.
We actually see the word sons 6 times between verses 5-8 with the word children used once as well. This concept of sonship reminds us that we are adopted by the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Ephesians 1:5 tells us:
he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
Romans 8:15 states:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
And Galatians 4:4-7 and 1 John 3:1 also refer to our adoption as sons and daughters of God.
Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ - if you have repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus and trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross - you are a son or daughter of the Most High God! You are a child of royal blood. You have an imperishable inheritance coming your way - eternal life in heaven with Jesus (1 Peter 1:4-5). There is a lot to be excited about!
However, we must also look at the other side of this.
If you aren’t ever experiencing the Lord’s discipline, then it may very well be that you are not one of His children. If you can sin without any conviction, you need to take a step back and evaluate whether you are truly in the faith.
Because God will continue to discipline His children. You are not a legitimate child of God if you are not being disciplined.
Church, don’t despise the discipline of the Lord. Don’t disregard it or ignore it. Respond to it in obedience and faith and allow Him to grow you in holiness and righteousness.
Let His loving discipline remind you that you have a Heavenly Father Who cares. He is for you and not against you.
In these verses, the author has again used an argument from lesser to greater - namely earthly fathers compared to our Heavenly Father.
This comparison is not specifically directed at your earthly father. I know many who struggle with Scriptures that mention fathers because their father wasn’t a good father. Maybe it was because he wasn’t there. Maybe it was because he was there but wasn’t involved. Maybe it was because he was terrible to you.
However, this analogy is referring not to your particular earthly father - but it is comparing a good earthly father to the Great Heavenly Father.
Even when looking to those that we would call good fathers on earth - their ability to parent is far below that of God!
God wants us to know that His discipline is always for our good. Unlike earthly fathers who might have ulterior motives - even in the best of situations - God always disciplines us perfectly - for our good.
As we are disciplined by the Lord throughout our lives, we must embrace His parental care. Even in the midst of suffering, we must reach out to Him - knowing that He is allowing this trial for our good. As we see in Genesis 50:20 which completes the account of Joseph, God takes even evil things and uses them for good.
Theologian Leon Morris said…
“Scripture links suffering with sonship.”
Leon Morris
Suffering either leads one toward the Lord or away from Him. True believers - true sons and daughters of the Lord - should run toward their Heavenly Father. Those who know the grace and mercy of God should be seeking to run toward His comfort and protection. The book of Psalms - which we have been going through on Wednesday nights - speaks of God as a refuge over 40 times. A refuge is somewhere you go during times of trouble.
When life gets difficult, run to Christ. Embrace His parental care.
And finally, we see that…
Scripture References: Verses on Adoption as Children of God (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:4-7, 1 John 3:1), 1 Peter 1:4-5, Genesis 50:20
IV. As Children of God, Enjoy the Benefits of Righteousness (9b-11)
IV. As Children of God, Enjoy the Benefits of Righteousness (9b-11)
Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 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. 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.
These final two and a half verses tell us three of the amazing benefits that children of God are able to enjoy because of the discipline of the Lord.
The Benefits of Righteousness:
1 - Life
We are first given a rhetorical question by the writer of Hebrews. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
The phrase Father of spirits is debated in its interpretation, but likely refers to the fact that God is the Creator of all the living - including us - both the physical and the spiritual. He has created our souls and thus is in charge of them!
And if we wish to truly live, we must submit and subject our lives to Him.
Does this mean that if you disregard or despair of the Lord’s discipline then God will take your life?
That is a difficult question. The Scriptures teach us that…
God has determined a birth day and a death day for all people (Psalm 139:16, Job 14:5, Ecclesiastes 3:2, Acts 17:6, Hebrews 9:27).
Disobedience to God can lead to one’s life being taken. There are many Old Testament accounts of God striking down disobedient and unrepentant Israelites. Think of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-2 where they were struck down for offering strange fire. Or Korah, Dathan and Abiram who were swallowed up by the earth due to rebelling against Moses and Aaron in Numbers 16:31-35. But even the New Testament gives us a couple of examples of disobedience leading to death. Consider Ananias and Sapphira who are struck down after lying to the Holy Spirit about a gift of money in Acts 5:1-10. Or consider those who took the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner and some died as seen in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29.
However, we don’t JUST willingly accept the discipline of the Lord out of reverent fear. We accept the discipline of the Lord because we love Him, and because we believe Him when He reminds us that obeying Him brings a truly abundant life.
Those who walk in obedience to God’s Word will actually see that walking with Christ gives us purpose, fulfillment, and an abundant life. Even in the midst of suffering, the believer has more joy than the unbeliever - because the Holy Spirit indwells him or her.
Those who follow Christ are given the beautiful blessings of the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.
Next we see that believers who accept the discipline of the Lord are able to enjoy the benefit of…
2 - Holiness
God disciplines us to conform us into the image of Christ. God is holy, and so He desires to make us holy like Him.
since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
All of God’s discipline has a purpose. And that purpose is to prepare you for eternity. None of your discipline is wasted. None of the suffering or struggles that you endure are pointless. God will use it all to grow you in holiness.
And lastly, God promises that we can enjoy the benefit of…
3 - Peace
Peace seems so elusive in today’s world.
Our world often feels like an airport with everyone moving back and forth, checking their tickets, checking their baggage, going through security, only to never actually see any planes take off. The movement never stops. The noise never ends. Progress never happens. Anxiety and stress abounds.
People are constantly moving, but never arriving. Constantly searching, but never finding.
No matter how fast people try to run in life, no matter what kind of efforts people put in - they never find peace.
Why? It’s because they are seeking to board a plane that doesn’t exist to get to a destination that doesn’t exist. Like all of these fake flights in this picture that say cancelled, there really is no other destination providing peace other than Jesus.
Peace apart from Christ is impossible. He is the only Way to eternal life, and the only Way to have everlasting peace with God.
So how do we find peace? First, we must come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as we have mentioned already. We must place our faith and trust in Him and repent of our sins.
And then we must rest in His peace by being obedient to Him through accepting the training of the Lord. When we are in Christ and following hard after Him, He promises peace to us.
Listen to Jesus promise this peace in John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Undergoing the discipline of the Lord by willingly following Christ isn’t always enjoyable or pleasant. But it gives you an abundant life. It provides the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who are trained by it.
Jesus doesn’t give temporary peace like this world. He gives lasting peace.
Note this conditional statement. Undergoing discipline doesn’t provide these benefits without you willingly submitting to the training that it provides.
There are children that are raised in wonderful homes who still refuse to accept their parents consistent and loving discipline.
Church, we must humble ourselves before the Lord’s loving discipline and allow our minds and hearts to be changed by His Word. And if we do, the Lord will grow us in righteousness.
Scripture References: Leviticus 10:1-2, Numbers 16:31-35, Acts 5:1-10, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Peter 1:16, John 14:27
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, we have seen the blessings that come from the discipline of the Lord.
May we emulate Christ’s example, accept His loving correction, embrace His parental care, and enjoy the benefits of righteousness that He provides to those who are trained by His discipline.
As God takes us like metal being refined in a furnace, may we endure the discipline He provides and allow the impurities to rise to the surface and be removed by His gracious hand.
Despite the discomfort we might experience due to heat of our fiery trails, may we always remember that He is purifying us.
We might think that we are good enough. We might feel like we are pretty pure. However, once the fire is turned up, these sins quickly rise to the surface, and we are reminded of just how far we still have left to go!
Keep persevering. Keep obeying. Keep enjoying the peace the Lord provides even in the difficult times.
And always remember…
His loving discipline is for your good.
