Hard Truth Five: God Disciplines Those He Loves

Hard Truth Five: God Disciplines Those He Loves

God expects the people of Israel to be holy, and no less so, He expects the Christian to be holy. This holiness means to be separated from the fleshly sin of the world and instead to be pure and clean as God Himself is holy

For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:45)

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

We don't receive this holiness unless we ask for it, and Jesus promises that if we ask, we will receive.

Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Matthew 7:6-8)

We cannot be holy unless we accept the discipline that our sin forces on us. We noted that, in the kingdom of God, it is God that both gives the Law and enforces it. The punishment we receive results in either eternal separation or a personal acknowledgement that we must repent and accept the punishment as discipline. In the book of Hebrews, quoting Proverbs 3:11-12, we are taught why this discipline in necessary

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. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

The hardest part about discipline is that we have to ask for it. We cannot be disciplined for our transgressions unless we clearly know the sins that we need to repent of.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)

We are not going to get into how God disciplines us. For each Christian and for each sin the discipline varies based on the transgression and God's just response. Every Christian has known times when the presence of God is clearly not felt, when our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears, when we seem to fall back over and over again into the same sin, and times when we truly question if God love us at all. It is in these times that we must remain the most faithful and accept this separation for what it is, God's discipline. For sure though, we must believe that it is out of love and God's desire that we be holy as He is holy that we are being disciplined.

This discipline is part of the Truth that Jesus referred to when He answered Pilate’s questions about His kingdom. Jesus has more to say about this truth

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John:14-6)

Read on... Hard Truth Six: No Jesus, No Kingdom