God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [67]
So there is both historical and literary evidence that the epistle (or just the altered Old Testament quote) may have been written in Hebrew and later mistranslated using the expression “scourge” (Greek: mastigoo) in verse 6. Coincidentally, the Hebrew word biqqoret stems from baqar, meaning “to plow.” And the writer of Hebrews goes on to say that God’s discipline “produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (v. 11). Essentially, Hebrews 12 may be conveying this: God deeply inquires into our lives as he disciplines us, so that we can experience a harvest of righteousness and peace.
God cares about our behavior. He cares about our future. So he deeply inquires into our lives and lovingly disciplines us toward maturity. But it’s equally important to remember that Jesus was scourged two thousand years ago.
And “by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5 NKJV).
Hardship as Discipline
A common misconception is that God disciplines us only when we sin. This is not the picture painted here in Hebrews 12:
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? (v. 7)
We’re always under the discipline of the Lord as he uses our good times and our hardships to show us his ways. It’s not that the Hebrew believers were sinning and then God reacted. No, they were being persecuted for their faith, enduring incredible hardship. This passage was written to comfort them, encourage them, and tell them they were on the right road. God’s discipline gave them a sense of purpose in the midst of all the turmoil. They learned that God’s discipline is training for the future, not punishment for the past.
Trials and hardships are the means by which we grow in Christ. During the most difficult circumstances imaginable, we are privileged to have God’s active participation in our lives:
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb. 12:11)
God tells human fathers to “not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Apparently, our Father’s form of training and instruction does not exasperate us. Think of the most loving human father you can imagine, and then ask yourself: How much more loving is my heavenly Dad? Apparently, that’s what this writer would have us do!
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. (Heb. 12:9–10)
30
The security guard bolted out of his office and stood in the middle of my lane, signaling for me to stop. And the police officer was catching up to me from behind. What could I do? Nothing. I was busted, and I’d had it coming for months.
I was seventeen years old, and it was my first year away from home at university. I’d been out with friends that night, entertaining a prospective student. She was attractive, and I was all about showing off. So I invited her to ride back to campus with me after a group of us had been out at the International House of Pancakes. (That’s the Christian version of college partying.)
I was going about eight or ten miles per hour over the speed limit when I saw the blue lights flashing in my rearview mirror. My desire to show off and to avoid a speeding ticket gave way to a moment of severe indiscretion.
I stomped on the gas pedal and took off.
We exceeded speeds of 140 miles per hour for over three miles before I reached the university campus. As I screeched around the exit ramp toward the university entrance, the security guard heard me