The Cost of Discipleship - "Coming to Grips" - Part 2

Erwin Lutzer - Part 2 Often we look at someone who has deliberately disobeyed God and we wonder why he or she is so healthy and perhaps wealthy. Those who follow God often face greater trials than those who disobey Him. Is God consistent? Why is He not more severe in punishing the disobedient and quicker to reward the righteous? Unfortunately, we usually think of discipline only as God’s response to specific sins. But the Bible teaches that our Heavenly Father has a more comprehensive curriculum in His school of life. Discipline is not always God’s way of correcting us for our sins. It has other purposes as well. First, there is educative discipline. This is the kind of discipline that deepens our relationship with God. This kind of discipline has no direct relationship to specific sins. (Hopefully these studies will be educative discipline.) One example is Job, who experienced tragedy, not because he was a great sinner, but because he was righteous. The Lord taunted Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Job was put on trial before Satan, angels and God to see what He would do when faith in God no longer seemed to be profitable. Satan said that Job was righteous only because of the blessings that were coming to him because of his piety. God had given him a fine family, wealth, and health. But if all of these things were removed, said the devil, Job would curse God to His face. The rest of the book of Job shows that, although Job was considered righteous, he was not perfect. The trial brought needed refinements, along with a new appreciation for God’s sovereignty. He was disciplined to be educated, exhorted and refined. Job’s three friends made the mistake of thinking that there was always a direct relationship between a man’s circumstances and his piety. If Job were righteous, they argued, the tragedies he experienced would not have happened. But they were wrong. In other words, we cannot tell the righteous from the wicked by checking the size of their ban accounts or their medical records. An even clearer example was Christ Himself who was disciplined, not because of sin, but because He needed to prove His obedience to the will of the Father. Christ was sinless, yet we read that He learned obedience by the things that He suffered, “And having made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9). The discipline was not that His person might be made perfect, but that He might become perfected in His work; that is the assignment of the cross. Thus “He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” The result was that He became the author of eternal salvation to all who believe. Usually we think of discipline only as the response of a parent to disobedience. We must broaden our understanding to include the “disciplines” that are needed for all of us to develop in spiritual maturity. James wrote, “And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4). When tragedy strikes we cannot always assume that we can trace it to some specific sins or failures. God puts some of His most obedient children through the severest trials. A Second kind of discipline is called preventative discipline. This kind of hardship is brought into lives to keep us from impending sin. Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. The reason for this trial was that he had been given many special revelations from God and therefore faced the temptation of exalting himself. He writes, “And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me to keep me from exalting himself!” (2 Corinthians 12:7). If we object to this kind of discipline on the grounds that we are being spanked for something we haven’t done yet, we overlook the fact that our Heavenly Father knows all things and therefore does not have to wait to see how we will react in a specific situation. An earthly father might not have the right to give us preventative discipline, but pour Heavenly Father sees us from an omniscient perspective. This kind of discipline fulfills the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We should ask God to bring roadblocks into our lives that will keep us from sin. The pain of a trial is much better than the wreckage of a ruined life or ministry. Billy Graham was asked how he remained humble in the face of so much favorable publicity. He replied by enumerating all of the physical ailments he has experienced, from broken ribs to the pain of phlebitis. Like Paul, he was given a thorn in the flesh, preventative discipline, to keep him from exalting himself. We will probably never know how many sins we have been kept from because of the preventive discipline of God. Consider a lack of funds, the pressure of a busy schedule, and ill health; these and other trials may be used of God to keep us from temptations that would be too hard for us to resist. Our heavenly Father knows what is best for us. A third kind of discipline is retributive, that means that it comes as a result of specific sins. Though David confessed his sin of murder and adultery, the Lord said, “Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (II Samuel 12:9-12). Then follows addition judgments: first, his wives would be publicly humiliated and second, the child that Bathsheba would bear would die. All of this happened, even though David confessed his sin and was forgiven by God. There are consequences that precede confession and there are others that follow. Here we have a direct cause-effect relationship between sin and punishment. (This is the “law of unintended consequences,” just as in the case of Lot and Sodom and the following examples). The Israelites were also forgiven by God, but condemned to wander in the desert because of their unbelief at Kadesh- barnea. Jonah ended up in the bell of a fish because he rebelled against God’s instructions. He was given a plant to shade him from the blistering sun, then it was taken away to test his priorities. All of this, because of his disobedience. Identifying the relationship between our sin and the discipline that follows is often difficult, though in some instances it is quite clear. In a future segment I shall give some suggestions on how we can try to discern the intention of the Almighty. What purpose does God have in discipline? Think back to when you were a child. When you received discipline, what was its purpose? The author of the book of Hebrews continues his discourse by saying, “Furthermore we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good that we may share His holiness. (Hebrews 12:10). Our earthly father disciplined us according to his best judgment (there are exceptions, of course), and we responded with respect and obedience. But God disciplines us with unerring discernment and knowledge. He not only has greater wisdom, but also a greater purpose. The specific purpose of the discipline is the motivate us to pursue a deeper relationship with God. There is no doubt that God’s hand is often painful, but hurting produces holiness. Indeed, we “share His holiness.” 2. What are the requirements for holiness? The first is submission. We are to be “subject to the Father of spirits.” Perhaps this means simply, “Our spiritual Father.” But when we submit to Him, we “live.” The implication is that if we don’t submit we might die (as we shall see later, there is a sin unto death), or perhaps the author means that we enter into a new quality of life here on earth. Either way we benefit. The discipline either softens us or makes us more rebellious. Thus God frequently increases the doses, intending to bring us to a state of complete yieldedness. Second, discipline requires our loyalty. It is said that when there is a storm at sea the sailors either turn to God or to drink. Every person, at some time, comes to the crunch and must choose where he will turn. I’ve just spoken to a man who works in a firm where there is not only much bickering, but each of the employees undercut one another in an attempt to jockey for power and position. This Christian man is trying to learn how to fulfill the admonition of Scripture, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). The test of his loyalty is this: can he entrust his complaints to God or must he take matters into his own hands? Virtually every trial of life forces us to choose between loyalty to ourselves, or loyalty and submission to God. THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP “Coming To Grips With God’s Discipline Of The Believer” Erwin Lutzer Part 2 Often we look at someone who has deliberately disobeyed God and we wonder why he or she is so healthy and perhaps wealthy. Those who follow God often face greater trials than those who disobey Him. Is God consistent? Why is He not more severe in punishing the disobedient and quicker to reward the righteous? Unfortunately, we usually think of discipline only as God’s response to specific sins. But the Bible teaches that our Heavenly Father has a more comprehensive curriculum in His school of life. Discipline is not always God’s way of correcting us for our sins. It has other purposes as well. First, there is educative discipline. This is the kind of discipline that deepens our relationship with God. This kind of discipline has no direct relationship to specific sins. (Hopefully these studies will be educative discipline.) One example is Job, who experienced tragedy, not because he was a great sinner, but because he was righteous. The Lord taunted Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8). Job was put on trial before Satan, angels and God to see what He would do when faith in God no longer seemed to be profitable. Satan said that Job was righteous only because of the blessings that were coming to him because of his piety. God had given him a fine family, wealth, and health. But if all of these things were removed, said the devil, Job would curse God to His face. The rest of the book of Job shows that, although Job was considered righteous, he was not perfect. The trial brought needed refinements, along with a new appreciation for God’s sovereignty. He was disciplined to be educated, exhorted and refined. Job’s three friends made the mistake of thinking that there was always a direct relationship between a man’s circumstances and his piety. If Job were righteous, they argued, the tragedies he experienced would not have happened. But they were wrong. In other words, we cannot tell the righteous from the wicked by checking the size of their ban accounts or their medical records. An even clearer example was Christ Himself who was disciplined, not because of sin, but because He needed to prove His obedience to the will of the Father. Christ was sinless, yet we read that He learned obedience by the things that He suffered, “And having made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9). The discipline was not that His person might be made perfect, but that He might become perfected in His work; that is the assignment of the cross. Thus “He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” The result was that He became the author of eternal salvation to all who believe. Usually we think of discipline only as the response of a parent to disobedience. We must broaden our understanding to include the “disciplines” that are needed for all of us to develop in spiritual maturity. James wrote, “And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:4). When tragedy strikes we cannot always assume that we can trace it to some specific sins or failures. God puts some of His most obedient children through the severest trials. A Second kind of discipline is called preventative discipline. This kind of hardship is brought into lives to keep us from impending sin. Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. The reason for this trial was that he had been given many special revelations from God and therefore faced the temptation of exalting himself. He writes, “And because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me to keep me from exalting himself!” (2 Corinthians 12:7). If we object to this kind of discipline on the grounds that we are being spanked for something we haven’t done yet, we overlook the fact that our Heavenly Father knows all things and therefore does not have to wait to see how we will react in a specific situation. An earthly father might not have the right to give us preventative discipline, but pour Heavenly Father sees us from an omniscient perspective. This kind of discipline fulfills the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We should ask God to bring roadblocks into our lives that will keep us from sin. The pain of a trial is much better than the wreckage of a ruined life or ministry. Billy Graham was asked how he remained humble in the face of so much favorable publicity. He replied by enumerating all of the physical ailments he has experienced, from broken ribs to the pain of phlebitis. Like Paul, he was given a thorn in the flesh, preventative discipline, to keep him from exalting himself. We will probably never know how many sins we have been kept from because of the preventive discipline of God. Consider a lack of funds, the pressure of a busy schedule, and ill health; these and other trials may be used of God to keep us from temptations that would be too hard for us to resist. Our heavenly Father knows what is best for us. A third kind of discipline is retributive, that means that it comes as a result of specific sins. Though David confessed his sin of murder and adultery, the Lord said, “Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife” (II Samuel 12:9-12). Then follows addition judgments: first, his wives would be publicly humiliated and second, the child that Bathsheba would bear would die. All of this happened, even though David confessed his sin and was forgiven by God. There are consequences that precede confession and there are others that follow. Here we have a direct cause-effect relationship between sin and punishment. (This is the “law of unintended consequences,” just as in the case of Lot and Sodom and the following examples). The Israelites were also forgiven by God, but condemned to wander in the desert because of their unbelief at Kadesh- barnea. Jonah ended up in the bell of a fish because he rebelled against God’s instructions. He was given a plant to shade him from the blistering sun, then it was taken away to test his priorities. All of this, because of his disobedience. Identifying the relationship between our sin and the discipline that follows is often difficult, though in some instances it is quite clear. In a future segment I shall give some suggestions on how we can try to discern the intention of the Almighty. What purpose does God have in discipline? Think back to when you were a child. When you received discipline, what was its purpose? The author of the book of Hebrews continues his discourse by saying, “Furthermore we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good that we may share His holiness. (Hebrews 12:10). Our earthly father disciplined us according to his best judgment (there are exceptions, of course), and we responded with respect and obedience. But God disciplines us with unerring discernment and knowledge. He not only has greater wisdom, but also a greater purpose. The specific purpose of the discipline is the motivate us to pursue a deeper relationship with God. There is no doubt that God’s hand is often painful, but hurting produces holiness. Indeed, we “share His holiness.” 2. What are the requirements for holiness? The first is submission. We are to be “subject to the Father of spirits.” Perhaps this means simply, “Our spiritual Father.” But when we submit to Him, we “live.” The implication is that if we don’t submit we might die (as we shall see later, there is a sin unto death), or perhaps the author means that we enter into a new quality of life here on earth. Either way we benefit. The discipline either softens us or makes us more rebellious. Thus God frequently increases the doses, intending to bring us to a state of complete yieldedness. Second, discipline requires our loyalty. It is said that when there is a storm at sea the sailors either turn to God or to drink. Every person, at some time, comes to the crunch and must choose where he will turn. I’ve just spoken to a man who works in a firm where there is not only much bickering, but each of the employees undercut one another in an attempt to jockey for power and position. This Christian man is trying to learn how to fulfill the admonition of Scripture, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). The test of his loyalty is this: can he entrust his complaints to God or must he take matters into his own hands? Virtually every trial of life forces us to choose between loyalty to ourselves, or loyalty and submission to God. 3. 3.