(f): Our Heavenly Father's Loving Discipline

The point: Ask yourself, 'Whose child are you?' and recognize there is no shared spiritual parentage.

Martin uses John's distinction between children of God and children of the devil to challenge listeners to consider their spiritual parentage, setting the stage for the sermon's focus on adoption.

Amen. The Apostle John wrote these words, In this the children of God are manifested, and the children of the devil. In this the children of God are manifested, and the children of the devil. In John's reckoning, all men, all women, all boys, all girls, are either children of God or children of the devil. And I want to ask you a very simple question. Sitting in this place this morning, whose child are you? Sitting in this place.

4:26 - 5:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So what is the origin then of God's paternal discipline? It is nothing other than His infinite, eternal, unchangeable love for His own.

Martin explains the difference in wording between Proverbs 3 and Hebrews 12 regarding 'delights' vs. 'receives' by noting the New Testament writers often quoted from the Septuagint, assuring listeners of the Bible's inspiration.

Well, the answer is very simple. The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures done by 70 men 200 years before Christ, in the Septuagint, the rendering is exactly as we have it here in Hebrews chapter 12. And often you will find the New Testament writers, since the Septuagint was their working Bible, they will quote from the Septuagint. And believing that the Holy Spirit is superintending in the inspiration of the Scriptures, we have every confidence that this is the Word of God, though it is not word for word, parallel with the passage in Proverbs chapter 3. S...

16:16 - 17:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Totally dispossess your mind of the patterns of your own earthly fathers and get your concepts of God's fatherly dealings out of the Bible, not from the shadows of your experience.

Martin uses the example of an earthly father's righteous anger towards a disobedient child to illustrate that God's anger towards His children is holy and righteous, not carnal, and stems from love.

You will not keep your anger forever. Rebuke me not in your anger and your hot displeasure, the psalmist prays. When as an earthly father a child does something that is off the wall in disobedience, blatant, plain, open-faced, cleansed-faced disobedience, for a parent not to feel anger, there is something sick with that parent. Now there is a carnal anger that goes beyond that which is righteous, but our loving, heavenly Father has as the origin of all His paternal discipline, it is His eternal love to His people. One writer has captured this beautifully when he wrote, but still, the displeasu...

20:31 - 21:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Totally dispossess your mind of the patterns of your own earthly fathers and get your concepts of God's fatherly dealings out of the Bible, not from the shadows of your experience.

Martin quotes an unnamed writer who beautifully captures the essence of God's discipline as 'the displeasure of love,' 'the frown of love,' and 'the correction of love,' reinforcing the loving origin of discipline.

You will not keep your anger forever. Rebuke me not in your anger and your hot displeasure, the psalmist prays. When as an earthly father a child does something that is off the wall in disobedience, blatant, plain, open-faced, cleansed-faced disobedience, for a parent not to feel anger, there is something sick with that parent. Now there is a carnal anger that goes beyond that which is righteous, but our loving, heavenly Father has as the origin of all His paternal discipline, it is His eternal love to His people. One writer has captured this beautifully when he wrote, but still, the displeasu...

20:31 - 21:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God has no undisciplined, unchastened spoiled brats in His family. Mark it down. No undisciplined, unchastened, unreproved brats in His family.

Martin quotes two unnamed authors who state that corrections are 'pledges of our adoption and badges of our sonship' and that 'God punishes His enemies, but He chastens His children,' distinguishing God's judicial wrath from parental love.

He has no such children. As one man put it, corrections are pledges of our adoption and badges of our sonship. Corrections are the badges of our sonship. Another has written, God punishes His enemies, but He chastens His children.

24:19 - 24:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: God had one Son without corruption, but no Son without correction.

Martin quotes an unnamed source stating, 'God had one Son without corruption, but no Son without correction,' emphasizing the universality of discipline for all God's children.

For if they did not suffer, they would not be God's sons. Saints, says God, think not that I hate you, because I thus chide you. He that escapes reprehension may suspect his adoption. God had one Son without corruption, but no Son without correction.

25:39 - 26:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third dimension is the nature of discipline, involving 'chastening,' 'reproof,' and 'scourging.' Martin explains these terms, noting that in the context of Hebrews, the…

Martin explains the severity of the word 'scourges' by noting its use in the Gospels to describe Jesus' scourging, conveying that God's discipline can involve very severe measures.

But now in verse 6 and he scourges. This word is found only seven times in the New Testament. Six of them are in the gospels and without exception they refer to Jesus being scourged. So when the writer to the Hebrews picks it up he says I'm not giving you a good whipping your momma gonna whip you or whoop you.

30:38 - 31:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third dimension is the nature of discipline, involving 'chastening,' 'reproof,' and 'scourging.' Martin explains these terms, noting that in the context of Hebrews, the…

Martin uses the colloquial phrase 'Momma gonna whoop you' to vividly illustrate the severity and intent of God's 'scourging' as a means to get His children's attention.

But now in verse 6 and he scourges. This word is found only seven times in the New Testament. Six of them are in the gospels and without exception they refer to Jesus being scourged. So when the writer to the Hebrews picks it up he says I'm not giving you a good whipping your momma gonna whip you or whoop you.

30:38 - 31:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third dimension is the nature of discipline, involving 'chastening,' 'reproof,' and 'scourging.' Martin explains these terms, noting that in the context of Hebrews, the…

Martin shares his personal excitement and breakthrough in understanding the passage, conveying the profound insight he gained about the nature of God's discipline.

She gonna where you out. She gonna whoop you. That's what the word very severe measures to get our attention about issues that he believes are important in our lives. So what's the nature of this matter of God's discipline? It is God's dealings with us that become his paideia, his chastening, his training of us, but training with discipline, his verbal rebukes, his bringing his strokes upon us. Now, follow me closely. This is what broke the passage open for me, and I was ready to dance a little jig in my study. I didn't, but I did in my heart.

31:25 - 32:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Mark it down that God will discipline, train, reprove, and 'whoop' you by one means or another, and all of it in His love to you as His adopted child.

Martin quotes William Arno's commentary on Proverbs 3, defining chastening as 'any affliction, whatever its form or measure may be,' to broaden the understanding of God's discipline beyond specific persecutions.

Turning now to the matter of this text, understand by chastening in the meantime, any affliction, whatever its form or measure may be. Any affliction. Whatever its form or measure may be. The stroke may fall upon your own persons, your body, your ears, your body, your spirit. When I hear that there were some who sat in the previous hour and dug their heels in, no way I'm going to buy that stuff I'll dress the way I want. When that comes back to me, it'll be like a knife right here.

35:36 - 36:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Next to our participation of Christ by the imputation of his righteousness unto us, that's justification, this is the greatest privilege, honor, glory, and benefit that in this world we can be partakers of, so we have no…

Martin quotes John Owen's commentary on Hebrews 12, explaining that being 'partakers of his holiness' is the greatest privilege next to justification, emphasizing the profound goal of God's discipline.

They, our earthly fathers, indeed for a few days chastened us, as seemed good to them. But he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. Verse 11, all chastening seems for the present not to be joyous but grievous, yet afterward it yields peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness. Here are the two purposes of God, and they are really one, that we might be partakers of his holiness. I can't improve upon the words of John Owen, who commenting on this writes, Our prophet, is that we might be partakers of his holiness, that is, the h...

38:53 - 40:15 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Next to our participation of Christ by the imputation of his righteousness unto us, that's justification, this is the greatest privilege, honor, glory, and benefit that in this world we can be partakers of, so we have no…

Martin uses the analogy of God looking at Christ, the elder brother, and then at His children, seeing 'a little more like my son' through affliction, to illustrate God's goal of conforming believers to Christ's image.

Next to our participation of Christ by the imputation of his righteousness unto us, that's justification, this is the greatest privilege, honor, glory, and benefit that in this world we can be partakers of, so we have no reason to grow weary of his chastisement. Do you hear what Owen is saying? Next to having the righteousness of Christ, we can be partakers of his holiness, that righteousness of Christ imputed to us, there is no greater privilege, honor, glory, and benefit than to be a partaker of God's holiness. Do you regard that to be true? No greater privilege than that God in His love wou...

40:15 - 41:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Embrace God's purposes from the heart, asking, 'Lord Jesus, what are the sins you are going after in this difficult circumstance? What grace do you want to cultivate in me?'

Martin uses the story of a man stuck in a hotel due to weather problems to illustrate how believers should respond to unexpected afflictions: not with anger or indifference, but by asking God what sin He is addressing or what grace He wants to cultivate.

And I couldn't help but think of him when I was preparing the sermon. And he said, what's he need to do in a situation like that? Well, he can get mad and get angry and cuss the weather and do everything. On the other hand, he can say, Lord Jesus, I don't have a clue while I'm out here, but You know what You're doing.

52:21 - 52:38 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The fifth dimension is the proper response: expect it, understand it, and submit to God in the midst of it. Martin warns against both insensibility (regarding it lightly) and…

Martin quotes John Brown, explaining that affliction itself doesn't produce spiritual fruit; it's affliction understood and treated as the Lord's chastisement that promotes well-being, highlighting the importance of proper response.

And here, let it be distinctly understood, writes John Brown, that it is not affliction taken by itself that is represented as producing this effect. It's affliction, affliction understood to be and treated as the chastisement of the Lord. The natural effect of affliction on an unsanctified mind is either to irritate or depress. In either case, instead of promoting, it hinders spiritual improvement.

53:45 - 54:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The fifth dimension is the proper response: expect it, understand it, and submit to God in the midst of it. Martin warns against both insensibility (regarding it lightly) and…

Martin uses the metaphor of a 'spiritual gymnasium' for believers who are 'exercised' by affliction, where they strengthen spiritual muscles and grow in likeness to Jesus.

That, however, arises from the ignorance and unbelief and obstinacy of the person afflicted. And even with regard to Christians, it's just as true that in the proportion as they regard and improve affliction as the chastisement of the Lord, that affliction will promote their spiritual well-being. So, my dear fellow child of God, God's going to beat up on you. And this is why, there's a lovely little touch in here when it says, those that are exercised thereby, in verse 11, it's a five-syllable Greek word, transliterated, we get our word gymnasium. He uses the military, I'm sorry, the athletic ...

54:15 - 55:43 Read in full sermon

The point: Face your 'latter end'; if God is insulating you from afflictions, His goodness is intended to lead you to repentance, and rejecting it will only make hell hotter.

Martin references Psalm 73 to illustrate how God's kindness and lack of trouble for the wicked can lead them to hell, contrasting it with the discipline experienced by His children.

the discipline, the reproving, the scourging of our Heavenly Father. Remember its origin, whom He loves. He chastens the subjects, all of His children, the nature, all of our afflicted circumstances, its goal, partaker of His holiness, fruits of righteousness, the proper response, expect it, understand it, submit to God in it. Now then, coming all the way back to where I started, John said in this, children of God are manifested, children of the devil, this is stuff for the children of God. You who are the children of the devil, one of two things will happen with you. God may surround you with...

55:43 - 56:49 Read in full sermon