“Godly Discipline,” Hebrews 12.4-17, Pentecost 14C Aug. ’16

1.             Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word today comes from Hebrews 12:4-17.  It’s entitled, “Godly Discipline,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ. 
2.             I remember like it was yesterday.  I was about 6 at the time and my mother had taken my brother Eric and I to my dad’s grocery store, Kent-Mark IGA in Grand Rapids, MN.  We had spent a considerable amount of time shopping with my mom when we finally came to the check-out counter.  Now you parents know that one of the worst places to be in a grocery store is at the check-out counter.  Why do I say this?  Because that’s where all the goodies are: the gum, the candy, the magazines and other cool stuff.  Well, to me as a 6 year old this was too much.  I noticed some gum that I really wanted so I reached out, grabbed it and put it in my pocket.  As we walked to the car to make our way home I pulled out a stick of that gum and began to start chewing it.  My mom noticed what I had done and she became very angry. She said to me, “Where did you get that from?”  I said, “I took it from the cash register.”  We’re taking that back young man and you’re going to have to say, ‘I’m sorry.”  Needless to say I learned a lot from that experience.  My mother knew that I should be disciplined for what I had done wrong.  And today I thank her for it.
3.             The author of Hebrews reminds us of the Godly discipline that each of us needs to receive from God.  Hebrews 12:4-6 says, ⁴In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?  “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
4.             For some of the Old Testament heroes that were mentioned earlier in Hebrews chapter 11 there had been a bloody end.  But, not so for the Hebrew Christians the author of Hebrews is writing to.  At this point they were locked in a struggle with sin as the opponents tried to terrorize them into abandoning their faith in Jesus.  Maybe in the future they would even demand their blood.  But, now was no time to be confused or unclear about the role of affliction, or as the author calls it, discipline. 
5.             First of all, the author of Hebrews reminds the readers of what God’s Word says about discipline.  Had they forgotten the words of encouragement recorded in Proverbs chapter 3?  Here God’s Word shows a close connection between being a child of God and discipline.  Discipline is the training necessary to lead a child to maturity.  A lot like what my mom did for me when she told me it was wrong to steal and that I should tell the cashier that I was sorry.  Discipline is instruction and correction.  It’s the leading and warning a father constantly gives his son so that character may be molded and maturity achieved.
6.             Hebrews 12:7-9 says, “⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live?”  Here the author reminds us more fully of God care involved in discipline.  Keep enduring hardship as discipline he urges his readers.  Their current troubles were actually for their training, and that training was a visible sign that they were God’s sons.  Aren’t fathers supposed to train their sons so they mature instead of remaining childish?
7.             Proverbs 13:24 expresses the same thought, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.”  Only the illegitimate remain untrained because they have no father to care for them.  Were the Hebrew readers wearying under and wishing away God’s discipline?  The lack of discipline may sound good, but in reality it shows a serious problem.  It reveals a lack of sonship and leads to tragic results.
8.             Hebrews 12:10-13 says, “¹⁰For [our fathers] disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. ¹¹For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  ¹²Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, ¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”  Here the author reminds us more fully of God’s purpose involved in discipline.  Earthly fathers can only discipline for a little while during the brief time their children are growing up.  Also, earthly fathers can only discipline as they think best and at times they may make mistakes.  But, with God’s discipline there is no error.  God works in ways that have profit for you.  The profit he had in mind is that we may share in his holiness.  Jesus says in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 
9.             The holy God who is removed from and reacts against all sin, wants his children to be like him.  He makes us holy by leading us to our Savior Jesus who suffered and died on the cross to save us from our sins and who rose again from the dead to show his victory over death itself for us.  Then he leads us to walk more and more in the holy footsteps of our Savior Jesus.  He uses His Word and Sacraments to do this for us.  Finally, in heaven he crowns us with perfect holiness.  How important his discipline becomes when we view it in light of his gracious purpose.
10.             And who of us hasn’t tasted God’s discipline?  Sometimes comes in sharp and swift doses, almost taking our breath away.  Other times it comes in slow and steady waves almost wearing us out.  When it comes, who of us hasn’t asked, Why?  Strangely enough, we can tell our children not to ask why when we discipline them, only to throw that same question at our heavenly Father.  Our children are to accept our wisdom as without error, while we feel free to question the ways of our Almighty God.
11.             Not “why” but “what” is the proper question to ask when discipline comes.  The “why “we have been told often enough and the author of Hebrews repeats it to us again.  It’s because God our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to mature us for heaven.  The “what” God will show us if we give him time as he strengthens our faith and uses us to strengthen others.  Nor will his discipline go on forever.  The day will come when Jesus, the one on whom we fix our eyes in faith will return.  And when he does, then we shall see face to face and know fully, even as we are fully known.           
12.             Take heart dear friends.  For if God is disciplining us now we know that He’s preparing us for the greater glory of heaven to come.  Martin Luther says of this passage, “If so many judgments, pains, deaths, martyrdoms, crosses, swords, fires and beasts, with which the saints are chastised, are fatherly rods and loving chastisements, what will be the wrath of the Judge over the ungodly?...  And if His judgment begins at the house of God, what will be the end of those who do not believe the Gospel?”
13.             So the author of Hebrews reminds you that God sees you as holy through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and he disciplines you to struggle against sin.  The unpleasant discipline shows that the Lord loves you as a true child.  Put your faith into practice by encouraging others and by doing works of service.  And remember, the Lord is ever serving you, granting repentance, taking away your sins and equipping you for a godly life through the power of His Holy Spirit.  Amen.