CHASTISEMENT—THE WAY THE LORD CORRECTS AND REINVESTS IN HIS CHILDREN

Text: Heb. 12:5-11, Prov. 3:11-12, Prov: 23:13-14, Rev. 13:19

Chastisement simply means correction, discipline, punishment. To chastise is to correct or discipline or punish or reprimand. The Bible says in Heb.12:6 “For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes”. Heb.12:8 says “Now, if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all of God’s children share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true son”. Prov.13:11-12 says “ My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent His rebuke because the Lord disciplines those He loves as a father, the son He delights in”. Rev.3:19 says “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten be zealous therefore and repent”.

God chastises you so as to prevent you from perishing with the world. His uses it as a refining process to bring out the best in you, and at the same time controls the heat so that you won’t be consumed. God’s goal for chastising is not to destroy but to develop you and get the best out of you. It is to drive you to repentance and get you to rely on Him for His grace. It is one of the ways God demonstrates that He loves you and that you are special to Him because He has invested so much in you. He has a lot of stake in you. So any time you are not on the path of righteousness, He chastises you.

The Bible encourages parents to correct and rebuke so as to deliver children form destruction. Prov.23:13-14 says “Do not with hold discipline from a child, if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with rod and save his soul from death”. Prov. 29:17 says “Discipline your son and he will give you peace, He will bring delight to your soul”. Spoiling a child with wealth is pampering, it is not love. It is better to bring a child up in the way of righteousness and if a child errs, correct him or him in love with spiritual word.

Prov.22:15 says “Foolishness bound up in the heart of a child, the rod of correction will drive it far from him”. Teach your child the way he should go and teach him or her kingdom values. In 2^nd Tim.4:2 teachers of the world are admonished to preach the word and use it to reprove, rebuke and extort. At times the truth may be bitter to you, it is to make you change for better and restitute your ways and be in the right standby with God. It may be difficult to accept correction, but no matter how the truth hurts, you must be willing to listen and make amends. Truth may be bitter to you, it is for your own good and it is profitable for your body, soul and spirit.

What Leads to Chastisement?

• If one is not on the path of righteousness
• If one is not spiritually productive
• If one falls below God’s expectation. God has His own standard and anybody that falls below the standard will be chastised.
• If one is living in sins
• If one is unfaithful to His word.

Advantages of Chastisement

• It drives out foolishness from the heart. Prov.22:15
• So that you might be partakers of His Holiness. Heb.12:10
• You learn from others who had been chastised. Act 5:5-10
• You are treated as son by God. Heb.12:17
• You are purified and the best is made of you
• It prevents you from destruction and Hell fire. Prov.23;17
• Brethren, when you are being chastised count it all joy. It is out of love. It is for you own good.

How does God Chastise?

Let us consider some examples of those whom God has chastised in the scriptures; David, Jonah, Nebuchadnezzar and Paul.

In 2^nd Samuel 11:1-17, 12:16, King David was chastised for committing adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. He realized God was not pleased with him, later he wrote many Psalms to appease God, sought His face and to praise Him. David would not have known he could be a great psalmist and a good praise singer. His chastisement led to this discovery.

In Jonah chapters 1-4, God chastised Jonah by allowing the fish to swallow him for three days and three nights when he was running away from God and did not want to deliver the message of salvation to the people of Nineveh. But after being chastised, he cried to God and God allowed him to be vomited and he went to deliver the message. He became a carrier of good message.

In David 4:31-34, King Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishment made him become proud and since God detests the proud, he was chastised by God. God withdrew his royal authority and made him to live with wild animals and ate grass like cattle for seven years. After humbling himself God restored him, and made him greater than what he was. He became more refined and greater after chastisement.

In 1^st Cor.9:16-23, Saul the persecutor of early Christians was chastised for persecuting the Christians. He lost his sight. God later changed his name to Paul, restored his sight and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He became an apostle, a soul winner and wrote many letters of encouragement to Christians to hold on to their faith. If Paul was not chastised perhaps he would have died as Saul the persecutor and not as Apostle Paul the soul winner.

In Rev.3:16, God warned the church in Laodicea that He would spit them out of His mouth if they are lukewarm to His service and work. He wanted them to be hot for Him. The message is for you and I too.

When you are being chastised, do not be unrepentant, count it all joy, it is to bring the best out of you. Chastisement really brought out the best in David, Jonah, Nebuchadnezzar and Paul.

Prayer

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to live up to your standard and expectation. However any time I am due for chastisement, grant me the grace to endure it and come out refined and renewed .in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN.