Hebrews Chapter Twelve,The Pain Of Chastisement

 

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

It would benefit us to remember that the writer is still addressing the same issue he began laying out in verse 1. Christians are to run the race without unneeded weight or the snare of sin that causes us to fall. We are to look to our Lord, whose life was an example of godliness in the face of persecution. Christ our Lord learned obedience by suffering; the notion here is that God’s saints, His children, will learn and learn best the same way our Master did, John 13:16, 15:18, Matthew 10:24, 25.

The author leaves the topic of dealing with the hostility of living in a Christ rejecting world, or rather, gets back of it to reveal that behind the motivation and contempt of men, there is the chastening hand of God at work. Notice the transition in verses 3 through 5. Jesus endured the hatred of sinful, unrepentant men; we may view this and take comfort, knowing that our Lord did likewise. Moreover, He dwells in our hearts through faith and sent His Spirit to abide in us, that we may endure the trials men force on us. Verse 4 reminds the Hebrew Christians (and many of us today) that we have not struggled against sin to the point of shedding our blood.

 

Then verse 5 turns the narrative in a different direction, suggesting that God permits suffering in His sons to mold us through discipline. Consider the word discipline. When someone calls another person disciplined, it is generally a compliment. It means they possess ability, and the self-control to employ at need with reserve. But how does one become disciplined? By being disciplined. The pressure of persecution is a powerful tool that spread the gospel rapidly for the first two centuries the church existed. The first genuine and general persecution for the faith began with the death of Stephen, Acts 8:1. While men killed Stephen and sought to kill other Christians out of religious intolerance, God permitted this assault to spread His gospel far and wide, beyond the borders of Jerusalem and Israel, where the Jewish Christians were formerly contented to remain.

 

The writer weaves a difficult but honest message about the nature of suffering in a Christian’s life that is a bitter pill. There are Christians, entire denominations, in fact, that believe suffering can be avoided entirely, or suffering is all of the Devil. That may be one cause; but Scripture is not remiss regaling us with the truth that suffering is permitted by God Himself for our improvement, to discipline us. Jesus Christ our Lord was not exempt during His earthly ministry. Why should His servants be? The American church too often sells the lie that Christianity costs nothing and can be added to our lifestyle with little to no impact in who or what we are before Christ entered. But Jesus warned that anyone looking back on what he left behind, rather than forward, on what God’s purpose is for him, is unfit for the kingdom of God, Luke 9:62.

 

As we are chastened by these trials, it is painful, the writer warns. He speaks from experience, Hebrews 10:34. Peter, likewise writing on the same subject, says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you,” 1 Peter 4:12-14.

 

It is not unusual to think the worst when trouble comes. It is doubly so when it rears its head for the sake of the faith we confess. Peter conjoined such struggles with the public confession of one’s faith. Such trouble comes when Christians live as we should: putting the kingdom of Heaven first, preaching the gospel and living chaste lives. When someone observes our conduct and knows that we serve Christ, they know the source of our faith, and it arouses animosity. Persecution may ensue, and said persecution may take many forms. It can be course jesting, comments or derogatory remarks. It can be blunt challenges to our faith, condemnation about the Bible’s validity, or disputing the reality of Jesus Himself. In some countries it can be jail time or death for seeking first the kingdom of God and its glory. The apostles suffered arrests and beatings before Stephen’s martyrdom, and counted it as a blessing, not that they were beaten, but that despite fear of force they were faithful, Acts 5:41.

 

The outcome of such discipline, when the painful learning lesson is past, is what the writer refers to as the peaceable fruit of righteousness. In verse 9 the Hebrew Christians are urged to be found, “readily in subjection to the Father of spirits.” This is the position the apostles, Peter included, took when they challenged the Sanhedrin and suffered shame for proclaiming Jesus Christ as the only Savior. They, like their Lord, humbled themselves and submitted to God, and God led them through the valley of death, or the furnace of affliction. We cannot go around or over these trials; faith untested is a worthless commodity. Faith sorely tested but unblemished by persecution and trial is more priceless than gold, Scripture attests. But the fruit the Holy Spirit longs to produce in us, one that we may only produce by abiding in Christ (see John 15:5) comes from maturation, which involves parental discipline. In the parable of the sower, we read of the disciple that, “has no root in himself,” Matthew 13:21. When persecution for the word of God comes, they fall away, demonstrating the absence of faith. But I believe we fail to consider that he who received seed on good ground did not bear fruit in the absence of persecution; it was because he was a genuine believer whose faith upheld him in the face of chastening persecution, producing the fruit the writer of Hebrews here refers to, Matthew 13:23.

 

God promised that He would finish what He began in us, Philippians 1:6. Let us trust, as the Scripture teaches, that God is a good Father, and the thorny trials we endure will prove to strengthen our faith and glorify our Father in Heaven, while showing those outside the church that there is a better way, which is humble obedience to the Father of spirits.