CHASTENING

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”  (I Peter 4:17,18)

 

In the above verses, St. Peter writes of a time of judgment that was to start with the house of God, and, ultimately, extend to the ungodly and sinners.  This begs the question: is judgment on the house of God still going on today, and, if so, of what does it consist? 

 

Judgment seems like a harsh word to use in terms of those who know and love the Lord, but Paul sheds some light on the concept in I Corinthians 11:31, 32.  He tells us, “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”  So, this “judgment” that the apostles are describing is also referred to as “chastening.”

 

The word “chasten” means, “to correct and instruct, or, cause one to learn,” and, “to mold the character of others by reproof and admonition.”  The perfect illustration is the training and correction of children by their parents.  The writer of Proverbs tells us to, “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying,” and, in another place, “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”  We understand that a child must be carefully trained, consistently corrected, and, on occasion, even persuaded to choose the higher ground.  Good values are not imparted by chance, or by environment, or by genetics.  They are molded over time by purpose and persistence.  Some of the lessons our children must learn are very unpleasant for them; but as good parents, we do not spare them the opportunities that will teach them these lessons.  We may even engineer events to see that they do. 

 

Some years ago, when our children were young, my wife, Terry, was having trouble getting one of them out of bed to get ready for school on time.  It was a battle every morning for her to get him moving so that he wouldn't be tardy.  When she complained to me about the situation, I told her to call him once the next morning and then let him sleep till he decided to get up on his own.  Once he was dressed and fed, I told her to make him go to school late.  This was difficult for my wife.  She didn't want him to suffer humiliation, or be thought to be a bad parent because she didn't teach her son to be punctual, but she didn't want to keep fighting with him either.  I told her that it was important that we teach him to be responsible for his own actions.  After facing the consequences of his choices that next morning, our son began getting up when he was called, and getting to school on time.

 

Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.”  God, being the ideal Father, chastens us in order to perfect us.  Just as children naturally exhibit some selfish behaviors, so also do young Christians.  They must be guided into the way of righteousness by a patient and loving Father.  The instrument that God often employs to correct us is affliction. 

 

Affliction is like the threshing floor of our souls, and like the refiner’s fire of our character.  It will separate the chaff from the wheat, and bring the dross to the surface.  As surely as when the Israelites threw the ripened grain onto the threshing floor and began to beat it to separate the hulls from the grain, so does God allow affliction to loose the things in our lives that are not like Him.  Also, just as surely as the refiner places the precious metal in the furnace and turns up the heat until the metal becomes molten and releases the impurities that are trapped inside it, allowing them to float to the top and be skimmed off; so does God allow the fire to be turned up in our lives so that our dross will “float to the top.”  It isn’t until we feel pressure that the ugly stuff appears.  It is the afflictions of life that bring out what is in our hearts.  Our anger, our selfishness, our impatience, our bigotries, our harshness, and so much more; all these things are revealed by affliction.  Be assured though, beloved, that the Master will never, ever, turn away His eyes from us while we pass through the fire.  He is always mindful of the fire, lest it become too hot and damage the precious metal.  In fact, the Lord Himself will be with us as we pass through the fire, even as He was with the Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they were cast in the flames and came out unscathed by the heat.  The Psalmist wrote, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”  When, however, we can pass through trials and exhibit love, joy, and peace; then we know that we have put on much of Christ. 

 

God’s expectation is that we learn to chasten, or judge, ourselves.  We do this by beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  As we seek to enter into the presence of the Lord, He reveals His own nature to us.  If our hearts are sensitive to what we see of Him, we are transformed.  If we truly love the Lord, we will be willing to do whatever it is that He may ask of us.  In fact, just as a child emulates what they see their father do because of the love and pride that they have in him, so, also, will our love for our heavenly Father cause us to want to become like Him.

 

Psalm 32, verses 8 and 9, present a beautiful picture of what it is that the Lord wants of us.  It reads, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.  Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”  God wants to guide us with His eye.  You know you have accomplished a great deal in the training of your children when you can “give them the eye” and they know instantly what you mean, and they obey.  Oh, to be that sensitive to the Holy Spirit of God!  Many Christians have to be bridled up, and yanked this way and that in order for them to respond to the Lord.  They are headstrong and stubborn – wanting their own way.  Where do you see yourself?

 

"I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me."  (Psalm 119:75)

 

"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: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?  For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."  (Hebrews 12:5-11)