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?” (1 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!
Jesus
said, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever
shall not receive the
Affliction
is like the threshing floor of our souls, and like the refiner’s fire of for
the shaping of our character. It will
separate the chaff from the wheat, and bring the dross to the surface. Like when the Israelites threw the ripened
grain onto the threshing floor and began to beat it to separate the hulls from
the grain, God allows affliction to loose the things in our lives that are useless,
and not like Him. Also, just like 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, God also allows 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 heat, 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.” (Psalm 119:67). When we can pass through
trials and exhibit love, joy, and peace; then we know that we have put on more
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 the 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 straighten up. 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).
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