For whom the LORD loves He chastens

I was talking last day about the verse that admonishes us not to quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). This, and some correspondence with my son, opened up the question in my mind about how the Lord deals with those of us who have given our hearts and our lives to the Him. In the context of this morning’s quote from Hebrews 12: 6, the writer has been admonishing us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us (verse 1), he is also reminding us of the hostility that Jesus endured from sinners, and saying that we have not yet resisted to bloodshed in following Him (verses 3, 4).

It is easy to get love and truth out of balance. Since there is now therefore no condemnation to those of us who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), it is all too easy to slide into thinking we can do exactly what we want, without consequences. But first of all we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), so that sinful choices have negative consequences. But there is more! In particular, when we grieve the Spirit, we lose His fullness. And it is the fullness that we lose, He does not withdraw completely, because at conversion we were sealed with the spirit (Ephesians 1:13). And as we read in this morning’s verse, there is still more!

In particular, there are times when He actively disciplined us, actively bringing circumstances that cause us to reconsider. And as this morning’s verse says clearly He does this because He loves us. In fact in extreme circumstances, the Lord might actually take you home. This happened to Ananias and Sapphire (Acts 5:1ff). My understanding of this, is that at the birth of the new church, the Lord needed to purge out this kind of leaven that would have defiled the work that He was doing. Paul tells us that if we judge ourselves we will not be judged with the world, and that in the carnal church in Corinth, the Lord had in fact also taken some of them home, likely for the same reason as above (1 Corinthians 11:30,31). And my understanding is that He did indeed take them home, not that He sent them to hell. It is easy to forget the holiness of the Lord when we are basking in His love. But Paul reminds us that he came to salvation through the terror of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:11)

Father, You admonish us to “consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward us, goodness, if we continue in His goodness. Otherwise we also will be cut off” (Romans 11:22). My understanding of this is very much along the lines of what I was saying in the last paragraph. Help us this morning Lord, help me, not to lose the fear of the Lord, but rather like Paul to allow it to motivate us to bring the gospel of reconciliation to this wicked and hurting world, in Jesus Name Amen