The Lord Disciplines (vs. 4 – 11)

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

And do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

Because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

And he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Observations:

They had struggled against sin, but they had not, “as yet, resisted unto blood, or to the shedding of their blood, as some of the Old Testament saints had done; as some in the times of the Maccabees, and as James the apostle of Christ, and as Christ himself” – taken from John Gill

They have forgotten the word of encouragement (which calls them sons)

Do not take God’s discipline lightly

Do not lose heart when He “sharply criticizes” you (Merriam-Webster)

The Lord disciplines the ones He loves

He punishes all He accepts as a son

Discipline – A disciple is a student; training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character; “Child Instruction” – training, discipline

Endure hardships as discipline

If you are not disciplined, then you are not legitimate children & not true sons

We respect our father on earth in his discipline, how much more should we respect and submit to our heavenly Father

God disciplines us for our good, that we might share His holiness

Discipline is not pleasant, but painful

Painful – In the interlinear it is translated to “seems painful”; “Grief” – sorrow, pain, reluctantly (emotional rather than physical)

Later on, the discipline produces the fruit of righteousness and peace!

Interpretations:

To interpret verse four you could say, “If you think it’s bad now, look at what those before you went through!” They had struggled against sin, but not to the point of bloodshed as those in the Old Testament and to the point of Christ on the cross.This is a word of encouragement that those before them had to suffer bloodshed in order to resist sin. I think of how older siblings tell their younger siblings about all they went through to “break” their parents in. In a way, the Old Testament saints paved the way for an easier life for those who came after them.

It is very interesting to research the meanings behind some of those key words on discipline in these verses.For example, many believe that discipline is to be harsh and physical.After researching the interlinear, I’m seeing that discipline is teaching or training.It seems painful because it is not pleasant.This does not point to physical punishment. It means that it causes grief or sorrow. Sin does cause grief and sorrow and allowing a child to experience the aftermath of their sin is training and teaching them so that later on their lives will produce fruit of righteousness and peace…in other words, their lives will glorify God.

Applications:

General – The biggest lesson I see in these verses, and maybe it is because this is where I am in my life, is that God did not instruct us to inflict pain on our children. I believe this is a misinterpretation. Taking the time to instruct our children and allow them to experience the effects of their sin is what God is teaching here. Taking it beyond the child/parent relationship to the us/God relationship, many believe that they must experience physical pain in order to justify God’s grace. They fail to realize that grace is a gift and cannot be earned in any way, shape, or form.

Personal – These verses are important to me as I raise my children.If I cannot model grace to my children, then how will they be able to fully embrace and understand the grace of their heavenly Father.Being beside my children to guide them and instruct them in living a life that will glorify God is how I discipline them. Allowing them to experience the effect of sin allows them to see that sin is painful, not that the arms of mama or daddy are painful. Having them learn to take responsibility for their sins and making what they have done wrong, right is discipline.