Chastisement
"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." (Hebrews 12:5-8)
GOD CHASTENS HIS DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN
Hebrews chapter 12 teaches that God chastens his disobedient children, and that ALL of them are partakers of this scourging. This principle is so readily evident to the disciple of Christ that it is impossible to credibly oppose it. We have ALL experienced it in one form or another during our walk of faith. ALL of God's children disobey at times and we ALL receive chastisement from God, at a minimum in the form of a guilty conscience, at other times, in the form of the awful consequences of our actions, above and beyond mere conscience, as the fruit of seeds sewn in rebellion.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FALL: MAN OR GOD?
Who is responsible for our sin? Where does the bible place the blame? Is it our fault for failing to utilize the capacities granted to us? Or is it God's fault as a result of an immutable decree that forces us to commit sin? We should all recognize that the bible attributes the entry of sin into the domain of humanity to an act of human disobedience:
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:12)
Man’s disobedience is responsible for the fall of humanity, plain and simple. Man’s rebellion tainted the fountainhead of all mankind and we are the downstream recipients of a fallen nature as a result.
WHAT ABOUT OUR SINS?
But what about our acts of sin? It has been well said that, "Adam sinned to BECOME a sinner; we sin because we ARE sinners." But what do we make of our acts of sin? Are we to blame for our transgressions? Or should we blame God, citing “immutable decrees” that forced us to sin? Whatever one makes of divine decrees, I submit we should answer that question as the bible answers it, and assign the blame for the commission of sin where the bible assigns it. To this end, James is most helpful:
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” (James 1:12-16)
Without controversy, this passage lays the blame for succumbing to temptation squarely on man, and his failure to properly manage his lustful desires to do evil. There is no mention of divine decrees in this passage at all, much less any suggestion that any blame might be found there. James’s words are an exhortation that we “brethren” should not err in the matter. James is instructing us regarding the enemy within, what Paul calls the “old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” (Ephesians 4:22)
GOD DOES NOT SO MUCH AS TEMPT US TO SIN, LET ALONE CAUSE US TO SIN
Moreover, James exonerates God in the matter of sin by underscoring that God does not so much as tempt a man to sin. This observation has incredible utility with respect to how one handles divine decrees. Simply put: Pointing out that God does not so much as TEMPT men to sin is worthless if God actually CAUSES men to sin. If I FORCED you to eat a piece of cake, then declaring that I did not TEMPT you to eat it does nothing to exonerate me from direct, causative involvement. It’s silly to force someone to do something and then say, “Hey, look man, that’s all on you. I didn’t so much as tempt you to do it.” The fact that James points out that God is does not tempt us to sin, likewise affirms that God does not force us to sin, else James’s argument collapses. Once again, the blame for the commission of sin is laid squarely on us, not on God.
GOD’S PROMISE OF HELP IS EVER-AVAILABLE TO US
That is because God’s regenerate people have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. With the enabling Spirit comes the promised provision that we can overcome temptation, provided we avail ourselves of God’s help. Paul puts it this way:
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13)
This passage makes it clear that the enabling power of God to help us defeat the temptations we face is ever-available to us and that it is ever-sufficient to supply what we need - a way to escape.
So, why do we sin? It is not for want of God’s provision, because it is an ironclad promise of God that he supplies the help we need at all times. Indeed, God will not allow us to be tempted above our ability to resist. We sin, not because there’s no way to escape, but because we choose not to take the promised way of escape that God has made available to us. Once again, that’s on us, not on God.
THE PURPOSE OF EXHORTATION TO OBEDIENCE
This is why there are so many exhortations in the bible. We make willing and active choices in our walk of discipleship. We are held accountable for the temporal consequences of those choices in this lifetime. It seems that many Christians accept this in manifold ways but refuse to accept it where matters of sin are concerned. To some degree, we all choose things like how much education we will pursue or what type of work we would like to do. We choose the sort of food we eat and the amount of activity we engage in. Few will deny that if a child of God eats ice cream and sits on the couch all day they’ll suffer the consequences of weight gain. We know this from simple observation. Yet when it comes to spiritual matters, it seems that some believe that the atonement of Christ removes not only the eternal punishment for sin, but also the temporal consequences for sin in this lifetime. What’s more, some insist that the bible’s promise of “chastisement” is not a punishment for sin but merely a correction intended to conform you to Christ. That is a false dichotomy because chastisement is both a temporal punishment for sin and a means of practical sanctification and conformity to Christ in our walk. Indeed the word of God refers to this chastisement as a “scourging” and speaks of the grievous nature of it (Hebrews 12:11). I submit that it is manifestly evident to any reasonable observer of scripture and discipleship, that God does, in fact, punish us for our sinful actions in this lifetime in the form of conscience, consequences, and the withdrawal of the fellowship and providence that would have been ours through obedience. The Lord Jesus Christ removed the eternal punishment for his covenant people, but he did not remove the temporal consequences for our actions here below. This is precisely what Hebrews 12 teaches us, so that we might make better choices and enter into the abundant life that is set before us as a promise of obedient discipleship.
FINALLY
The following principles are absolutely unavoidable affirmations of scripture:
God chastens his children who persist in sinful disobedience (Hebrews 12:5-9).
Man is to blame when he chooses to commit sin (James 1:12-16).
Jesus Christ has paid our eternal sin debt and we are set free from eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Those three, irrefutable bible precepts establish beyond any dispute that God’s people experience behavioral chastisement here in time for their sin. Every Christian should heartily affirm that fact. What’s more, this concept of chastisement for bad behavior in this life is precisely what is meant when sound Primitive Baptists elders teach Conditional Time Salvation. Simply put, disciples can be saved from scourging and consequence in this life the extent that they exercise faith to the obedience of God.
- Elder Daniel Samons