This sermon is similar in theme to the previous one, “Fire”; that is, it concerns trial and purification in life. Only this one is more squarely based on a particular passage, where it talks about the Lord’s discipline/punishment in Hebrews 12. This was also one of my early sermons in Ukraine, before I was capable of composing a text in Russian myself. This one and the “Fire” one were composed in English, but for translation, of course, so that their style is quite “basic”. By the way, I am indebted to C.S. Lewis for his reflections on the advantage of actually embracing the notion of “punishment” in one’s spiritual formation.
(Read Hebrews 12:4-11)
I always used to find verse 4 somewhat intimidating. The verse seems to rebuke, to say that we have not suffered sufficiently for our faith. Finally, though, I realized that I wasn’t getting the writer’s real point. Now I see that verse 4 is an encouragement, not a rebuke.
The verse says, “You have not yet resisted sin to the point of shedding your blood”. Does this mean that the readers are weak Christians? That they’re unspiritual? Not dedicated enough? And by the way: how does one resist sin to the point of shedding blood, anyway? Let’s be frank: this is not a daily reality in our lives. We don’t bleed when we resist temptation. The whole notion seems very distant from real life.
This only shows, though, how dangerous it is to interpret a verse of scripture in isolation from its context. If you read the verse all by itself, it sounds as if the reader is the center of attention, as if God is saying, “You haven’t resisted sin enough! When you resist sin so strongly that you bleed, then I’ll be happy with you.” But when we read the verse in its context we see that that’s not at all what it’s saying. In fact, the verse is an encouragement, not a rebuke.
The writer is comparing the readers – and that includes you and me – to those who kept their faith through terrible tribulations, who were even killed for their faith as they stood against the sin of a fallen world. The writer is talking about actual trials, testings and persecutions, and in this light we can easily understand what he means about “shedding blood”. He lists these people in chapter eleven, and of them the final and greatest is Jesus Christ. The writer points this out powerfully at the beginning of chapter twelve.
And it is then that the writer turns to you and me and says, “You see what those people suffered? Dear friends, maybe you are suffering the attacks of sin and temptation, but you can endure this and much more, just as they did.”
In America we have a saying, “A little sweat never killed anyone.” In other words, hard work isn’t bad for you; actually, it’s good for you. Likewise, the writer here is saying, “Learning to endure never hurt anyone.” Quite the opposite, in fact: learning to endure temptation and resist sin will make you perfect. So, continue to trust that every temptation and tribulation can be turned to God’s advantage. God’s discipline – yes, even His punishment! – will finally lead you to true spiritual success.
“Punishment” – that’s a heavy word. Especially when we use it in connection with God. Especially when we use it in connection with God. There are many people in the world who consider themselves very modern and enlightened and would say that this is a primitive, unenlightened concept. “How superstitious to think of a God who punishes! You are simply taking an idea from human experience and applying it to God. But if God really exists, He is surely much higher than all our concepts. We cannot talk about Him punishing, or even say that He has emotions, or desire, or will. Those are human traits. We certainly mustn’t imagine Him punishing, because that is an unpleasant, negative, human practice, which isn’t worthy of God! If God exists, He only loves. That’s an idea which we can accept.”
People who talk this way (and there are very many of them) become their own ultimate authority. They create a God to their own liking and then they congratulate themselves for their cleverness and creativity, calling it “inspiration”. Of course, we are all capable of the same error; maybe even we all do this to one extent or another. We must be very careful about that. We want to worship God as He is, as He knows Himself to be. We don’t want to worship some God whom we have simply formed in our imagination.
Here in Hebrews 12:6, the writer quotes from Proverbs (3:11,12), where it clearly says that God punishes. Whom does God punish? Everyone He accepts as His child. Therefore, this is a punishment that bears good fruit. It is a punishment which improves and even transforms, which frees the children of God. It serves to bring them into the fullness of true humanity.
It is guaranteed that in all our lives there will be difficult circumstances. We will all meet suffering. Every person will taste disappointment and grief. We will all be hurt by the foolishness of others, and by our own foolishness. This is inevitable.
But for believers there is an immeasurable advantage. We can see the hand of the heavenly Father behind every circumstance. This lifts our temptations and tribulations to a higher plane and gives them positive meaning. Even when God punishes us, there is a loving purpose in the punishment. That means there is hope for the future.
For those without faith, life’s trials are ultimately meaningless, fruitless. What a terrible emptiness! We trust in a perfect Father who is not capricious, not impulsive, but in everything wise and loving. Our common sense tells us that earthly fathers must punish their children. Why would the heavenly Father not need to do the same? And much more wisely! Because earthly fathers punish imperfectly, sometimes unfairly, sometimes only to vent their own anger, not really thinking about what their children truly need for their healthy development. But the heavenly Father never loses control of Himself. He never punishes impulsively. Everything God does is an act of holiness and truth, of supreme wisdom and grace.
So let’s take encouragement from these words. Accept the Lord’s discipline when it comes, even His punishment. Be grateful for the love of your heavenly Father. Allow His discipline to reach its goal – that is, your sanctification, both your joy and God’s joy. You have not yet resisted sin, or a sinful world, to the point of death, as many of God’s children have done and are still doing today. And even if it came to the point of standing up to sin at the cost of your life, what then? You have the promise of heaven, of the presence of Christ in all His glory, together with the heroes of the faith who went on before us. So take courage and press forward in faith, fixing your eyes upon Christ Jesus.
