Last week we talked about honoring the Lord with our substance, which is something entirely different from tithing. Today we will focus on the Lord’s method of correcting us.
The atheists and secular humanists of the world rail at God – angry that the Sovereign would punish His creatures. Seeing themselves as virtuous, they become filled with anger at what they perceive to be a God Who is unjust, mercurial, and even cruel. Randomly selecting a verse from the Bible, they smirk and taunt Christians with this “contradiction,” or that “savage act.”
It’s just not so, says the Bible. In fact, He chastens because He loves us.
11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction:
Isn’t that just what the atheist does? Hate the chastening of the Lord first, and then progress to actually hating Him? How about Christians? Do we say – “Why me?” or “When am I going to get a break?” How about “But I haven’t done anything wrong!” or “Why would Jesus do this to me?” “I don’t think I deserve this.”
12 For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Proverbs 3: 11-12
The writer of Hebrews (Paul) expands further on this –
5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:
6 For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Hebrews 12: 5-8
I must stress that this only applies to those of the household of faith.
If nations have fallen into national idolatry, they have no protection. They are all born of Adam, with a sin nature, and must come to repentance to receive forgiveness.
God will use every means to bring the heathen to repentance. Please see here for a study on the heathen’s responsibility to God, whether they believe in Him or not.
Chastening is one of the means by which God perfects His saints.
This book by Harold S. Kushner feeds into the idea that people are inherently good. That is the mantra of Oprah Winfrey, Ekhart Tolle, Phil Donahue, James Cameron, and a host of other pagan talking heads. The reality is quite the opposite. People are anything but good. Only God is good.
How do we handle this chastening when it comes along? Get mad at God? Sink into self pity? Allow bitterness to consume us?
Ask yourself these questions:
- Is there unconfessed sin lurking somewhere deep inside? Even from years and years ago. . .? Bring it all out, and confess it to Him.
- Is there an area of life where the sinful, fallen world has taken hold, in the form of an addiction, pride, coveting, lust, laziness, greed, gossiping, or idolatry. . . Repent, repent, repent!!
- If none of the above seem to be the problem – then you must consider that the Lord is afflicting you for another purpose, one that may not be clear to you for a long time.
- Realize that the chastening is meant for your good, and that it is “but for a while.”
The Vine Vigil 