What Do You Mean Chastening?

Well, good morning, everyone. Good to see you this morning. We are the brave, the strong, the ones who got through the snow. It was so terrible this morning, wasn't it? No, not so bad. It's good to be together. It's good to see all of you. Thank you for the beautiful music. Really appreciated that. We had live guitar two weeks in a row. That's pretty neat. So appreciate the music and especially the message. What a beautiful message in that as well.

It does kind of fit with what I had planned for the sermon today. I have a key passage that I wanted to begin with. It's found in Hebrews 12 verse 5. And the sermon is kind of based around this particular passage. It's one that you're probably familiar with and is kind of based around the theme of the song, I Am Yours a Little Bit. Hebrews 12 verse 5.

We'll come back here a few times. So if you have a little ribbon or something in your Bible, you might put a little mark on it. But it's this familiar passage in Hebrews 12.5 that says, And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord. So what comes to your mind when you consider this particular passage? Perhaps you've felt a connection to this in some of your thinking in the circumstances that you face in your life.

Have you ever felt, God's punishing me so that I can learn a lesson? Have you ever felt that God's given me this trial because I'm being corrected? Or maybe you felt, we've got this blizzard and we're not as bad as those people in New York because they deserve it. They must have done something and God's getting even with them. Have you ever felt things like that? Well, if I'm not living right, I might get run over by a bus today because God wants to get my attention.

Or maybe when I'm walking down the street, He might unleash a rabid dog and it would come and bite me just so I'd learn that I ought to wear thicker boots. Does God work like that? Have you ever felt that God's punishment is evidence that He loves me?

Or perhaps, maybe a little bit differently, does God correct us with sickness? Does God correct us with disease? Does God correct us with calamity or loss or tragedy, illness, death? I wonder if it's possible sometimes that we accuse God of doing the devil's work. Do we ever find ourselves feeling that way? What did Christ say about Himself?

It's a powerful passage over in John 10, verse 10. You know it. Christ tells us Himself what His perspective is and really what ours needs to be as well. John 10, verse 10, He said, the thief doesn't come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. Wow, that sounds like all of those things we just rehearsed. I've felt those things before. Was God punishing me because I need to learn a lesson? Well, He says that's the thief that comes to steal and kill and destroy.

But on the other hand, Christ says that I have come. Christ came, He says, that they have life and that they may have it more abundantly. He wants us to have a superabundant life. That's why He came, not for all of those difficulties that we feel sometimes. In fact, the passage that's connected to this is over in Acts 10. Acts 10, verse 38, describes these two perspectives.

Notice how they fit together. Acts 10, in verse 38, we have kind of a summary statement that kind of revolves around our key passage for today. Acts 10, verse 38, we just have a little summary here. It says, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. It also says that He went about doing good and healing. So did He oppress people with sickness and disease? Did He bring that upon them to correct them and punish them? Well, here it says just the opposite. He went about doing good and healing all.

In fact, those who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And I think it puts it that way very specifically because sometimes we get things turned around a little bit. You see, Jesus healed. He healed when He walked the earth. Has He changed now? Is He somehow different? Does He have a different perspective on this? Does He want to punish us because we need to learn a lesson? Is that His purpose? I think sometimes there are situations in our life that it looks like, wow, maybe God is behind this.

Is God punishing us? Everything seems to point that way. But wait a second. Who's the great deceiver? Who's the one that can fool us? Who's the one that wants us to think evil about God? Wants us to think negatively toward our Creator, thinking that He can take advantage of us. You see, that's not God. That's not God. And so is it a fair statement to say that God chastises His own people with sickness and disease and tragedy?

And Scripture tells us that very thing. I mean, does God really teach us that in His Word He punishes us that way? I don't believe He does. God does not send tornadoes to punish us. God does not send blizzards to punish us. God does not send cancer to punish us. That is the wrong interpretation of Scripture.

Did the Father ever tell Jesus, by the way, Jesus, don't pray for them because I'm trying to teach them a lesson. Don't heal them. I want them to learn something from this sickness that they have. See, I don't think Scripture backs that up. God doesn't use that method. Now can we learn things from sickness? Absolutely. But does God punish us in that way? Can we learn lessons because we go through trial? Absolutely. But can we blame God for punishing us in that way? And I think that's where we get into some problems.

James 1, verse 13, points it out pretty clearly. Let's see what it says. James 1, verse 13. You know this passage as well. It's not an unfamiliar one. James 1, 13, it reminds us, let no one say when he's tempted, I'm tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. Now we're not really talking about temptation here. We're talking about how does God correct us. What exactly do you mean chastising? What do you mean by chastening? You see, in this particular passage, it says God cannot be tempted by evil.

This word for evil is the Greek word kaiikos, K-A-K-O-S, kaiikos. And it literally means that which would cause injury. God is not going to bring about something to you that would cause injury. God doesn't work that way. It's a way that evil, that word for evil there, is a way of thinking. It's not just talking about an evil action. It's a way of thinking, a way of feeling, a way of acting.

God does not act in evil ways. He's not even tempted to bring evil on us that would cause us injury. He doesn't work that way. It also fits with, he doesn't cause sickness. He doesn't cause disease. In fact, Christ was all about the opposite, wasn't He? He was all about the opposite. Turn over to Mark 1, verse 32. Mark 1, verse 32. We'll look at just a couple of quick examples of this very thing. Was God or Christ Himself ever tempted to do things that would cause injury to others, that would do evil to others?

Bring about sickness or disease in order to teach a lesson, in order to show them what was right, in order to straighten them up? I don't think so. Mark 1, verse 32. Here Christ, it says, "...at evening when the Son had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed." And guess what He did?

He healed them. Now the interesting thing here, in this particular verse, you see the word sick? That's kakos. That's evil in James 1.13. You see, He doesn't have an intent to injure. He doesn't have an intent to cause sickness. In fact, they brought the ones that were sick, that were experiencing evil and injury. And what did He do? He healed them. You see, He stands opposed to this whole idea of He would think or act to cause injury or harm to any one of us.

That's not God's character. And yet how often do we put that upon God, that God caused this or made me go through this because He must be punishing me? He must be correcting me. See, He doesn't seem to work that way at all. Luke 5, verse 31, another example. Another familiar passage as well. But we miss the meaning because it's in English.

We don't see the meaning because I'm not a Greek scholar. But when you see what the words really are, it gives us that more insight into the nature and character of God. Luke 5, verse 31, here Christ is defending the fact that He healed people, and even those that weren't the top quality human beings, they were adulterers.

They were liars. They were sinners. And in response to that, Luke 5, verse 31, Jesus answered and said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Guess what word sick is there? Those that are, could have translated evil, but it's not evil. Those that have been suffering. Those that have been caused injury. And He came to what? Doctor them. To nurse them. Not to put it upon them, but to correct that evil.

Not to cause them further injury. He didn't do that. You see, and sometimes we have a tendency to think that's what God's chastening is. That He's punishing me so that I can learn this lesson. But Scripture doesn't seem to bear that out. Go over to Matthew 15, verse 22. One more example for us here. Pointing out so clearly through Scripture that God is not tempted by evil.

He is not tempted to cause us injury or bring that injury, sickness, even thinking about acting that way. God doesn't even think about that. Matthew 15, 22 bears out that idea of James 1.13. Another example. It says, Behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region, cried out to Him, cried out to Jesus, and said, Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. Is Christ going to help? Or did Christ bring that upon her? No, this grievously vexed is once again, Caecos.

Once again, evil. Yes, she was being caused injury. She was being caused sickness. She was inflicted with a demon. Tormented, sometimes that word is translated. Suffering very much. Cruelly afflicted, some translations say. Was that brought on by God? Did Jesus bring that upon her? No, He was going to heal that. He's not tempted to act that way. He doesn't force correction by bringing things that would cause injury to us. So, no wonder James said, He does not tempt anyone.

He doesn't think to cause us injury just to prove a point. Now, sometimes we act that way, but God doesn't act that way. There's an amazing proverb that kind of sets that tone for the way that God acts. Proverbs 17, verse 10. Here in the New King James Version, Proverbs 17, verse 10, draws a difference between a punishment and a correction. Does God bring these difficult things just to punish me? So, I'll learn a lesson. Or does He have a whole different way to correct us, to guide us?

Would He do things that bring injury to us, just to teach us a lesson? Or does He want us to learn a lesson in different ways? I think Proverbs 17 draws that difference. It says, Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. So, if God beats the tar out of us, we're supposed to learn something from that? No, He says it's a little bit different. Amplified Version here in verse 10, Proverbs 17, it says, A reproof enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.

You see, yeah, God wants us to learn. God does correct us, but does He correct us by sending devilish things like sickness and disease or poverty? Is that what chastens us? Does He scourge us in that way? Or does He do something different? Does He guide us and correct us and lead us in other ways?

You see, I think all too often we have a tendency to think the worst of God. I mean, just think about it as an earthly father. I was very blessed. I had a wonderful dad.

He never wanted me to get sick. He never wanted me to get hurt. He never beat me up just to teach me a lesson, to punish me. Now, you can't tell me my dad lied to me, or he stole from me, or he beat me up. He made our babies sick. My dad wouldn't do that. He didn't lie to me. He worked very hard his whole life to bring his family the best things that he could. He wouldn't hurt us. He loved us. Well, that's an earthly father. Well, what would our heavenly father be like? We need to give him a little bit more credit, don't we? We need to give our Father, our heavenly Father, because if our earthly father would never hurt us, why would I believe my heavenly Father would punish me in that way?

I don't think he would. Now, he does rebuke. He does chasten. He does correct. But he does it, hopefully, by using his word. Using his word. Do you believe that? Here's an example over in 2 Corinthians 7. I think it's an example of what God does, how he works, how he corrects.

Rather than thinking that chastening is a punishment, that word for chastening doesn't really carry that connotation. We see an example of this in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 8. Here the Apostle Paul is writing to God's church in Corinth. This is his second letter that we have record of, second letter in the Bible here. He wrote a very harsh letter previously, sometimes called the harshest letter in all the Bible. Very corrective. Very correct. He told them, here's what you need to do.

You're not acting properly. You're not worshipping properly. You're not treating one another properly. All kinds of different things he went over. Well, here in the second letter, he rehearses that story a little bit. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 8. Paul says, if I made you sorry with my letter, my first letter, he says I don't regret it, though I did regret it. Okay, I felt bad about it for a little bit. But, he said, for I perceived the same epistle.

That first letter made you sorry, though only for a while, because sorry wasn't the goal. Punishment wasn't Paul's goal. Correction was the goal. So even though they felt sorry at first, there needed to be more. So verse 9, he says, Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance.

For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. So what is Paul saying here? The word, Paul's letter, under the inspiration of God, and we know it was because it's in the Bible now, we know these are God's words. This is God's thought. This is His direction. This is His word. And what happened through that word? They were corrected. They became repentant.

They were chastened. And what was it that chastened them? Cancer? A broken arm? Getting hit by a bus?

No, they got hit by the word of God. That's what hit them straight in the face. And they reacted, not just with sorrow, but in repentance. In fact, he hurt them so badly, you could say, that they changed. That they repented. They would have known how to handle sickness and disease, but you see, God reprimanded them with His word, and it cut them, but not in a physical way. It cut them to the heart, and they were repented. Much like Acts 2, verse 38, when they heard the word in Acts 2 on that first day of Pentecost, what did it do? Cut them to the heart, and that's what's happening here. So we see, yes, were they corrected? Yeah, absolutely they were corrected. But it wasn't done through things that would bring injury. It wasn't done by cacos. It wasn't done by evil. It wasn't done by cancer. It wasn't done by sickness. It wasn't done by death, calamity, things like that. God doesn't tempt anyone or bring things that would cause injury. Christ came that we would have life abundantly. But they were corrected by His word, by the word of God. So should we listen when someone says, God put that on you. Should we listen when somebody says, God made that happen, to wake you up, when they're talking about something that's bad?

No, oftentimes we made some bad decisions, and we were suffering the consequences of those bad decisions. Doesn't mean God brought it on you. Yeah, do bad things happen? Absolutely. Can we learn things from bad choices and difficult? Yes, of course. We should. We don't make those here.

But then to blame God for bringing it upon us is where we go off course.

If we think God does this to me, because something's gone wrong, I don't think it matches with what Hebrews 12 is talking about. I don't think it matches what James 1.13 talks about. I don't think it matches with what the mission of Christ was as He came to heal. Not just heal physically, but heal spiritually. It doesn't seem that God is out to get us in that way and is going to try to teach us by punishing us. Let's see if we can find out a little bit more about it by going back to Hebrews 12. Let's see if this method of correction holds up. We said His method of correction is through His Word, through Scripture, by teaching and directing and correcting. Yeah, we could even say scourging and chastening, but how does that fit? What does that mean? Too often times we'll think of chastening and scourging as a beat down. You know, that God's given us this bad thing to punish us because we're sinners? Well, what if God did that? If God punished us because we're sinners, we'd all be dead, wouldn't we? If we got what we deserved? I think so. Back in Hebrews 12, verse 5, it says, "'You've forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as sons. My son, don't despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you're rebuked by Him.'" So there's a couple of words that we've got to check those out. Chasing and rebuked. It says, verse 6, "'For whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.'" So is that talking about punishing us with bad things so we straighten up?

That didn't fit with those other passages. Is this a stand-alone by itself?

Well, if you really looked into this word for chastening, don't despise the chastening of the Lord, whom the Lord loves, He chastens.

The depth of the meaning really has the aspect of training and teaching and correcting and instructing. It really doesn't carry this sense of punishment with an intent to punish. Yes, it carries the meaning of disciplining, but you discipline a child not just to punish them, not at all. Why do you discipline children? To teach them, to correct them, to guide them. Why?

Because you love them. You want the best for them. And so God loves those who He teaches and corrects and guides and instructs. That's the chastening that we're looking at here. God chastens those He loves. He trains us. He teaches us not punishing us with evil things in order to get our attention. It doesn't seem to be that way at all. In fact, going on there, verse 7, if you endure chastening, you endure training, you endure teaching, God deals with you as sons.

Because good children listen to their parents, right? He says, all of which we have become partakers, then if you're illegitimate and not sons, yeah, not your kids, they're not going to listen to you, but you're going to be trained by your father, by your parents. Verse 9, furthermore, we've had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live?

In subjection to his guidance, in subjection to his instruction, his training, his teaching.

Verse 10, our physical parents, indeed, for a few days chastened us, it seems best to them, but he, God, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of his holiness. If we can better understand his purpose by being trained by God. Yeah, no correction. Sometimes training, instruction doesn't bring a lot of fun sometimes. No, 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. Now, is that talking about getting a whippen because it's painful? Or how is it painful?

Were the Corinthians in pain when they received that first letter?

Paul didn't get out the whippen and just beat on them, did he? Did he want to cause them injury?

Or was he correcting them, training them, teaching them, instructing them so that the pain they felt was not the pain on their backside. It was a different kind of pain, wasn't it?

Let's think about that for just a moment. 2 Timothy 2.25. Let's notice another example that ties in with Hebrews 12. 2 Timothy 2.25. We'll see this same word for chastening pop up here in Paul's instructions to Timothy.

So as Paul is instructing Timothy to be a good minister, one of the things he says is to chasten. Let's see how he deals with this. 2 Timothy 2.25. He says, Timothy, in humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them a beat down. So they'll know... Oh, it doesn't say that, does it? No.

In humility, correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they will know the truth. God is not intending harm. He's intending good.

This word for correcting is the word chastening. Same word. Same word for training. Other translations, if you read 2 Timothy 2.25 and other translations, in humility, instructing them, in humility, refuting them, in humility, admonishing them, greatly teaching them, gently teaching them, giving guidance. Any of those translations sounds like socket to them, punish them. No. It doesn't flow that way because God intends just the opposite, that they may know the truth. They may know the truth. Now, we know we live in a world that Satan is in charge of. Bad things happen? Absolutely. But God's allowing Satan to be on the throne of this earth right now. So many times what he does in the consequences of actions are oftentimes what play out. And sometimes we attribute those bad things to God when oftentimes, I think according to the Scripture, it says, that's not God's way. That's not God's way. He says in humility, we're chastened, we're taught, we're guided, we're instructed. In fact, there's another example over in the book of Acts. We'll just give you two examples. Acts 22, verse 3. Here the apostle Paul is describing his background. He's describing his heritage, how he came to this point in his life, how God called him, what the history of his upbringing was. He's going through all these little details here in Acts 22. And in verse 3, he talks about his background when I was young. He said, I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cecelia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our Father's law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. Guess which word is chastened or chastening? I was taught. I was taught. He says he was at the feet of Gamaliel chastened or taught according to the strictness of our Father's law.

So he was guided. He was instructed. Does that mean he was punished at Gamaliel's feet?

Well, that doesn't fit. No, not at all. So we begin to see God doesn't punish people with birth defects, does he? Is that God's fault? Does he punish us with disease?

Or does he correct us, guide us, teach us by his word? Should his word be our correcting principle in our life? I think so. You go back to 2 Timothy. You probably should have had to hold your finger there. It's not the same passage, but another really familiar one. 2 Timothy 3.16.

Let's look at the function of God's word for just a moment. See if this bears out or not.

Does God correct us, guide us, chasten us, train us by his word, by the Bible, by Scripture?

Is that the purpose of his word? 2 Timothy 3.16. You know this one. It talks about the inspiration of Scripture. All Scripture is God breathed. God spoke this word. The word was logos. He spoke it. It is. It's given by inspiration of God. All Scripture.

And what does it say about Scripture? What does it say about the word? It says it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

And so it gives us several things that Scripture should be a powerful force in our lives. Yes, he says it's for correction. But that's not the word chasten. Do you know which one is the word chasten in this whole list? Is it the profitable, the reproof, the correction?

No, it's the word instruction. Chasing is instruction in righteousness.

The Amplified Bible puts it in an interesting way. Look at verse 16 again. Every Scripture is God breathed, given by his inspiration, and profitable for instruction, for reproof, and conviction of sin, for correction of error, and discipline, and obedience, and for training in righteousness. That is holy living in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action. To conform to God's will, his thought, his action. Well, if God is thinking, I'm going to punish you and bring evil things upon you, what kind of thinking are we putting upon God? You see, he says that's not what he's doing here. It's for all of these good things. It's for all of these good things that he did this, that he continues to work, that he gives us his word. So Scripture is for correction.

His word reproves us and corrects us. In fact, this word for reproof here means to convict.

It convicts us. Scripture, the word of God, brings correction. It brings reproof. Reproof can also mean to admonish. To admonish someone. In other words, give a little warning. Yeah, do good parents warn their kids? Absolutely. So we see Scripture first convicts us, right, so that we understand what sin is. We see it in our lives. It admonishes us. It warns us about, well, what is the result of sin? If we continue to sin, where is that going to take us? Well, we know what the word of God says. But that implication is not, look out or I'm going to get you and strike you down with lightning. No, the admonition is for our good. It's for our good, so that we will change our thinking. So we'll draw closer to God, so it convicts us and admonishes us, so God's doing it out of love and concern. In fact, this word for correction means just that, to bring us back to a right state, a right way of thinking, to improve our life. That's what this correction means right here, that Scripture is good for correction, for straightening us up to improve our life, to improve our character. You see, that's the opposite of the evil that we talked about in that temptation in James 1.13, isn't it? That God doesn't tempt us with even the thought of injury or hurt, but the correction that He's talking about here brings us to a better state, a better condition, a better attitude, a different mindset.

See, that's God's way of thinking. And so God's Word, Scripture, brings correction and reproof because of the power that is found in that Word. Now, there's one thing in this list that you could kind of go, oh, hmm, Timothy talks about inspiration of God is in His Word. There is instruction. There it is reproving. But what about that scourging that Hebrews 12 talked about? You're kind of skipping over that one, aren't you? Okay, let's think about that one. That word to scourge, He scourges every sun? Yeah, it does mean to beat on Him. That's definitely what it means. Can't get around that. But here's the question then. With all of this meaning behind the words that He gives, is God most interested in beating us up physically?

Or is He more concerned about the spiritual side of things? You see, when He beats us up, when He cracks the whip, yeah, Hebrews 12, 6 says He scourges every sun He receives. Well, maybe we should turn back there for just a second, because He says something even more there. Hebrews 12, verse 6, maybe go back there. Yeah, He beats on. Some translations could say He whips. That's like He gets out the little whip and gives it. All right, well, in what sense would this be talking about? Hebrews 12, 6, He scourges every sun whom He receives.

Now, if we look down to verse 9, furthermore, we've had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of the flesh? Oh, wait, it doesn't say that. Be more readily in subjection to the Father of spirits and live. Is God more concerned about the spiritual aspect of our thinking than the physical side of things? Did Jesus come to show how evil we are and punish us with horrible diseases and sickness and injury? Or did He come to show the spiritual intent of the law? Did He show its full meaning? Did He talk about the spiritual aspects?

Is God talking about a physical scourging here, or is He talking about a spiritual scourging?

See, I think it only makes sense that He scourges us. He scourges the inner man, just like Acts 2, when the people heard the truth about Jesus Christ. They were scourged. They were beaten up on the inside, and it says, cut to the heart. So that real change, real spiritual change, could take place. The word of God scourges the inner man. It should change our thinking. His word should do the training and the teaching to bring about the correction that we do need in our life. It's not that we don't need correction. We do. But to put upon God that He's bringing evil upon us to help us do good is all out of sorts.

Christ said, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.

Right? By His word. John 17, 17. You know that passage? His word is consecrating truth. It sets us apart. His word sets us apart. His word can make us pure when we respond to that word. It can make us holy. Right? We can be holy if we allow Christ to live in us and through us, and we're taught by His words. Is that possible? Can we dedicate ourselves to God by means of His truth because His word is truth? You know, are we set apart because of the truth of His word? Are we separated because of that? You see, I think, yeah, that is what His word does. It does correct us. It does guide us. It does train us. Now, if you go over to John 5, we see Jesus expressing God's intent.

He expresses that intent of correction and guidance and training quite separately from the concept of punishing us.

Now, of course, you've got to understand, yeah, are we punished sometimes? Well, sure.

There are consequences to sin, aren't there? So, if you want to say, well, God's punishing us, well, God set it up this way. That's the way it is. But it's our sin. It's our choices.

You know, the old saying, if you could kick the person who is most responsible for your problems, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. Right? We bring those things on ourselves, but yet sometimes we blame God for those things. You see, Christ lays it out here, John 15, right at the very beginning of the chapter. He says, I'm the true vine, my father's the vine dresser, every branch in me that does not bear fruit. He takes away. Was that a punishment?

Well, no. He's causing this vine to produce even more, for it's good. It says, every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Then he says, you're already clean because of the word which I've spoken to you. You see, through his word, we can be cleaned up. It's not just the word, it's its application in our life. It's our thinking that changes. We repent, we draw closer to God, we're forgiven, we're justified and declared righteous, all through his word. And so when we see what Christ talked about here, it fits perfectly with John 10.10. He came that we had a life and have it abundantly. And so I think what we begin to see here is the fact that we really need to have a love and a respect for the Word of God. How important is the Bible to us? Are we seeking its instruction for righteousness in our life? Are we seeking its reproof and correction, its training in our life? Or do we just say, I don't have time to read the Bible?

You see, that really shows that how much more fully should we allow God's Word to correct and train us and guide us. There was an interesting article that was in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia under the title of chastening. It kind of gives an interesting summary to this whole thought of how God corrects us. In that International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, it says, "'Chasing is a distinction often drawn between punishment and chastisement. Punishment is an act of justice, revealing wrath. Will there be those that will be punished at the conclusion of the whole thing?'" Yeah, absolutely. Are they punished because God can't wait to lay it on them? Why are they punished? The ultimate punishment is an act of mercy. It's an act of grace. These people are so hard-hearted that they will not choose what's right and what's good and what's best. We get to the end of the lake of fire. It is an act of mercy, so God is going to take those people and put them out of their misery. It's an act of love.

That's what it's all about. So there is punishment. Yes, no doubt, but that's justice.

That's justice. The chastening, though, on the other hand, the chastening that God gives us through His Word, the ISBE, says this, it is an act of mercy and love. It goes on to say, "'Since to them that are in Christ Jesus," that's us, "'to us that are in Christ Jesus, there's no condemnation," that's Romans 8.1. "'They can suffer no punishment, only chastisement.'" Is that right? You read that at first, and you go, wait a second. Well, if we understand chastisement is correction, it is guidance, it is training, but why not punishment? Because we've repented.

Right? We're not going to get the penalty. We're not going to be under the penalty of the law.

Why? Because we're forgiven. We're repentant. We've changed our thinking. We're aligning ourselves with the Word of God because we love God. We care about Him. And so, yeah, there's guilt, but like the Corinthians, that guilt, that godly sorrow moves us to change.

And so, yes, chastisement, correction. But the punishment? Well, who took the punishment that we deserve? Yeah, he took that punishment. So, it concludes this little article by saying, there being no degrees of justification, in other words, either you're justified or not, either you're declared righteous because you're repentant and forgiven or you're not, he says no one can be forgiven in part because if you truly repent, you're forgiven. So, he says, with a partial guilt still set for his account, which he must give a reckoning. No, if you're repentant, you're repentant. God forgives you, and that's that. And so, we are corrected and guided and trained by His Word. We are chastened by His Word, and the punishment was on our Savior.

There's a powerful psalm that puts the whole concept into context. Psalm 94, verse 12.

Psalm 94, verse 12.

It is interesting, Psalm 94 starts out talking about justice and vengeance that belongs to God.

There will be punishment to the proud. Why? Because they will not be corrected. They won't be chastised by Scripture. And so, punishment, they won't accept Christ as their Savior. Yeah, that certainly puts you in that category. But, when you look down to verse 12, it says, The word for instruct is the Hebrew equivalent to chastise. In fact, King James' translation says that very thing. Blessed is the man whom you chastise, O Lord. Chastise with your word and teach out of your law. Teach where? Out of the Bible. Out of your law. Your law chastises, teaches, instructs. Amplified says this in verse 13.

So, God gives us that through His Word, so we're corrected and guided and trained by His Word and taught that way, so that we can align our own thinking with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 55 verse 12 is another powerful example of that very same concept. Isaiah 55 verse 11.

You're familiar with this one as well. Isaiah 55 verse 11.

So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. What will God's word be like?

As His word, as this word that we hold in our hands today, the Bible, Scripture. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

In other words, it brings us all the way back to Hebrews 12, that God doesn't beat up His children with pain and sickness and disease and hurt.

When God corrects us, He shows us our errors through His holy word, and it brings things back to Him. It doesn't come back void, right? It doesn't come back void. In fact, Hebrews lays it out so clearly. Just before that section of Hebrews 12, you remember what it says in chapter 5? Or no, it's chapter 4. Chapter 4 in Hebrews. You'll have to check me out. Chapter 4, verse 12, where it talks about the Word. The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, because it divides right down to soul and spirit.

That's what the Word of God, right down to joints and to marrow, it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That's what we've got to do. We've got to allow God's Word to teach us, to learn from that Word, to be dedicated to God by listening to His instruction in the Word of God. Not accusing God of the devil's work.

We need to allow God to reprimand us with His Word. Let it cut deep into our hearts and our minds and be truly repentant. That's what it's all about. We do that, then we truly will be chastened, will truly be trained and corrected and instructed and will be taught. And it'll happen through the Word of God.