Joy in Chastening (Hebrews 12:11)

Today’s scripture: Hebrews 12:11

It’s really hard to equate joy with pain. We just aren’t wired that way.

In human minds, joy equals happiness, but as we talked about a few days ago, that’s not always true. Sometimes, we have to find joy in the pain … joy through the pain.

God sometimes uses the pain in our lives to chasten us. Chasten is synonymous with discipline, and indeed, we all have times when He needs to discipline us for wrong behavior. We need to be reminded that we’re heading the wrong direction.

And that discipline isn’t fun. Discipline rarely is.

So the writer of Hebrews is absolutely right when he says that “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present …”

So where does the joy come in? When we realize that God will use that chastening, that discipline, to “yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness …”

We become more like Christ when we rid ourselves of sin, and often, that comes through God’s discipline.

Are you feeling “chastened” right now? Ask the Lord to reveal areas of sin that need to be confessed and find joy in becoming more like Christ.

Growing Spiritually (Ephesians 1:15-17)

Today's scripture: Ephesians 1:15-17

Without proper nutrition, we cannot grow well physically. Malnourishment affects every part of the body.

It’s the same with our spiritual growth. If we’re not properly nourished in God’s word, we remain stagnant … and sometimes even decline.

Paul prayed that the Christians in Ephesus would have a “spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

Proverbs 2 outlines the importance of godly wisdom. It should be a “hidden treasure” that we search for diligently, and when we find it, we will “understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God” (v. 5). Moreover:

… knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
To deliver you from the way of evil … (vv. 10b-12)

And where do we gain knowledge? Through God’s word. Daily study and meditation is imperative.

Think of it this way: If you’re planning to be a doctor, you will be diligent in your study. You may even have to curtail other activities in order to have the time and energy to devote to learning. Right?

It’s the same as a follower of Christ. If you want to grow in Christ, if you want to have godly wisdom, if you want to truly know God, you need to spend time in the Bible. It shouldn’t be an afterthought. Rather, it should be the first priority of your day.

What are you doing that would be better spent gaining wisdom and knowledge of your Lord? Nourish yourself daily so that you will be spiritually healthy.

Loving Discipline (1 Cor. 5:3-5)

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
(1 Corinthians 5:3-5, NASB)

Many people say the Bible is full of contradictions, and this very well may be one of those passages that causes issues. Elsewhere, the Bible says “Do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Yet here, Paul writes that he judged the one who had sinned with his father’s wife.

First, we need to look at Matthew 7:1 in context. It’s really talking about hypocrisy. We shouldn’t be judging others in arrogance. Verse 3 of that same chapter asks the question, “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

The Bible does allow for discipline of our Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus Himself talked about this very thing in Matthew 17.

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (vv. 15-17).

However, it’s important to remember that the goal here is reconciliation, not excommunication. Just as we’d share truth with a nonbeliever, we should continue to share truth with a wayward brother.

Now this idea of “delivering such a one to Satan” also causes a bit of controversy. Was Paul really turning this man over to Satan? A commentary responds: Paul “put forth an act of extraordinary power, and gave him up to Satan, nor for his destruction, but for his deliverance, at least for the destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved … that [his] spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (Matthew Henry Complete Commentary of the Entire Bible).

We should not arrogantly judge our brothers and sisters, ignoring our own sin. However, we should lovingly, compassionately, and mercifully guide those who are willfully sinning back to God’s truth.

Admonishing a Brother (2 Thess. 3:14-15)

If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
(2 Thessalonians 3:14-15, NASB)

Paul makes a great distinction in these verses. If a brother—a fellow Christ-follower—doesn’t follow the Bible’s commandments, then we need to not associate with him. There’s a risk we take when we are intimate friends with a backslidden or disobedient Christian, and Paul exhorts us to avoid that intimacy.

However, we’re not to shun him or “regard him as an enemy.” We certainly shouldn’t gossip or point fingers. Again, we’re not to judge him (Matthew 7:1-3). Instead, we should “admonish him as a brother.”

Jesus Himself gave instructions with how to deal with a brother (or sister) who has strayed:

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17, NKJV)

We need to do everything we can to bring a prodigal brother (or sister) back to the fold while making certain we ourselves aren’t pulled away.