The importance of Godly Discipline. Today the writer of Hebrews (Apollos, my point of view) is talking about discipline. We have all faced discipline in our lives. Perhaps you were a runner for your college or played football for your local team. Discipline is important because it helps us to be the best that we can be. Sometimes it may look like discipline, but it may be punishment. Perhaps a person has an alcoholic parent who comes home and ‘beats the day lights out of their child’ or uses ‘psychological abuse’. This latter one is not discipline and the person who inflicts such a thing on a loved one needs psychological help or even a prison sentence. The goal and end result of discipline should be love. As Jesus said:
” 9 Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?” Matthew 7:9
This verses context is prayer and the golden rule. The intention of any parent ought to be for the good of their children. So, our Lord Jesus shows us the importance and intent of the heart in relationships. So, let us not abuse those in our care but rather show love through our actions by the grace of God. If one who is reading this is punishing rather than discipling, then there is a place for true repentance and to stop doing these things. We now turn to the passage that we are going to look at in Hebrews 12. 4-17:
A Father’s Discipline
4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birth right for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Hebrews 12:4-17
Commentary
Verse 4
“You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;”
It is true that they haven’t yet lost their lives for Christ, but they are certainly suffering economically and even prison sentences. We have seen some of this at the end of chapter 10. On the other hand, One did strive against sin and he died in this godly endeavour but he took his life back up in the resurrection. This is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:
Did Apollos just mean their striving against sin or was he thinking about what Christ did?
I’m not entirely sure but we do know that Jesus is our great example, and the previous verse did say:
“For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3”
The Lord Jesus is our great example. When Christ set his eyes on going to Jerusalem nothing was going to take him away from his goal of death on a cross and the resurrection. His discipline of prayer and walking the path of faith knowing that he was going to die. Christ also knew this would open the gates of heaven that those who believe in his name would walk through the pearly gates too.
So how does our faith line up to Christ in fighting against sin?
Only you can answer that question for yourself.
Verses 5-6
and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM;
6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
This seems quite harsh but as we said earlier the goal is love and to make us more like Christ. It is worth quoting longer passages from the Book of Job and the book of Proverbs from which these references were taken from in the first place:
17 “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
19 “From six troubles He will deliver you,
Even in seven evil will not touch you.
20 “In famine He will redeem you from death,
And in war from the power of the sword.
21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22 “You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
23 “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 “You will know that your tent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss. Job 5:17-24
And then Proverbs:
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD
Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
And the man who gains understanding. Proverbs 3:11-13
This is very interesting. The reason it is very interesting is that in a way they remind us of the beautiful attitudes of the Happy sayings of Christ (in the beginning of the book of Matthew). Both these quotations have the saying Happy is the man! Happy is the person!
When reading these verses, I think it sounds rather harsh to the ear. However, with the background reading we can see that Apollos is giving his own beatific attitude lessons from two Happy sayings from the Old Testament. Job is the oldest book in the Bible, so his Wisdom takes us to real ancient texts. We need to remember that God is Creator, and we were created as humans to be in relationship with him. How do I know this? You know this too. God was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. They walked and talked to each other and before the Fall God and Adam were in perfect relationship. Everything God created was referred to was ‘good’. In Christ by faith and his work on the cross and the resurrection we are realigned with the Triune God.
Verses 11 -13
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
As you can see because you are in the Church, in the family of God that we are disciplined. In any good family there is always discipline. It may be that a person has about three siblings and they all have to go to their hobbies. Mum and dad are driving crazily from place to place; preparing food; washing the laundry. God in verse 11 is referred to as the ‘Father of spirits.’ This is a very personal touch because God cares for our souls in a very intimate way. Discipline never seems joyful at the time, but the end result is that we are citizens of heaven and the Holy City, New Jerusalem. Verse 11 finishes of with the saying ‘afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.’
Reflection
Apollos gives the Jewish believers a lesson about discipline from two of the Happy Sayings in the Old Testament. He has taken us back to real old, ancient, holy, godly wisdom! If we truly love to be children of Christ let us also walk by faith. Living by faith means living inside the discipline of God. We are disciplined by God by pure love because God is Love
The style in Hebrews 12 has changed from dogma to pastoral. Here we see Apollos taking his theology and making it useful for the local church. At the same time though we need to remember that throughout the book of Hebrews we see exhortations in piece meal. This is no accident, Apollos has a pastors, teachers heart and he wants his congregation to be more like Christ. His theology at places is also influenced by Saint Paul.
Although the style has changed let us continue to live by faith and godly living.
Bibliography All references were from the NASB
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