Verses five through fifteen: The Apostle Paul compares God’s chastening of those He loves (vs 5) to a father’s chastening of his son–both are necessary and both reveal true love on the part of both fathers. The thing a conscientious father fears most is that his children will not comport themselves in a good way. Spoiled–non-chastised children–tend to do exactly that. Show me a spoiled child and I will show you a future spoiled adult. For this reason we are told several times in the Book of Proverbs that to spare the rod is to spoil the child, and that the wayward child must receive the rod (10:13/13:24/21:14/ 23:13,14/26:3/ 26:15). Verse 6 tells us that no one is exempt from the Father’s “rod” of correction. Paul makes it clear in his 2nd letter to Timothy (3:16) that His Word is His first form of correction. If that does not work, punishment (chastisement) is soon to follow.

Verses 7,8 must be read carefully, for they tell us that everyone is chastened by the Lord for their sins. The expression “if you endure chastening” means “if you know that your chastening is just and for your own good, and if it has the desired effect” then God’s “rod” across your spiritual “back” will serve a positive purpose. But if His correction has no effect–if we continue to commit to sin–then we are spiritual bastards, meaning that Satan is our spiritual father. This is brought out in John 3:8 where we are told that “He who sins is of the devil.” This characterization includes both the churched and the unchurched. The word “He” in John 3:8 applies to every human being on earth at any time. It is the same as the “all” in Hebrews 12:8. In summary, all who sin receive God’s “rod” of punishment. The subject of this teaching does not concern the punishment itself, but rather one’s attitude toward and response to that punishment.

Verses 9-11 deal with that concern. Verse 9 tells us that in order to live (eternally) we must respond positively to God’s correction. Verse 10 tells us that the whole purpose of His chastening is to produce holiness in us so that we can be saved. As with verse 10, verse 11 must be studied carefully, for it points out that punishment for sin, though it is unpleasant, “nevertheless, afterward it produces … righteousness IN THOSE WHO ALLOW IT TO DO SO.” Notice that in order for the Lord’s chastisement to produce holiness and righteousness (without which one cannot be saved-vs 14), one must change what needs to be changed, thereby eliminating the sin/repent–sin/repent cycle put forth by the Institutional Church as standard operating procedure.

Verses 12-15 command that we allow God to remove sin from our lives through the use of His correctional “rod.” Then we can make our paths to Him straight and receive healing in those areas of our lives that need healing. We must be diligent in our self-evaluation lest we fall short of the holiness and righteousness necessary for salvation. We must not lose sight of the fact that Paul is writing to Christians in God’s church, telling them to allow God to “beat sin out of them” so that they can inherit eternal life.

In verses 16,17 Paul tells these Hebrew (Israelite) Christians not only to keep themselves free of sin, but to eliminate from the church those who refuse to do so. THE CHURCH JUDGES THOSE WITHIN IT; GOD JUDGES THOSE OUTSIDE OF IT (1 Cor. 5:12,13). The two billion strong Institutional Church is being judged by God on a moment-by-moment basis. Those within God’s tiny church are judged by their fellow parishioners. L.J.