Anthony Pritchard
Active Member
Bastards And Not Sons
(Hebrews 12:8)
(Hebrews 12:8)
The Scriptures teach that God keeps His children not only by grace but also by chastisement. This is not a threat to the believer’s security. It is one of the means by which that security is maintained. The Father who gives life also guards that life, and when His children wander, He corrects them. If they harden themselves, He chastens them. If they persist, He may even take them home early. In every case the purpose is preservation, not destruction. The doctrine of chastisement is not the enemy of eternal security. It is one of its strongest proofs.
Paul wrote of the man in Corinth, “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” 1 Corinthians 5:5. The apostle does not speak of a man in danger of losing salvation. He speaks of a man whose flesh is to be destroyed so that his spirit may be saved. The judgment is severe, but the purpose is merciful. God will remove the offender from the realm of temptation rather than allow him to perish in it. The destruction of the flesh is not the loss of the soul. It is the preservation of the soul by the removal of the flesh.
John speaks of the same truth when he writes, “There is a sin unto death” 1 John 5:16. He does not say that the sin unto death is the loss of eternal life. He says it is the loss of physical life. “All unrighteousness is sin,” he continues, “and there is a sin not unto death” 1 John 5:17. The distinction is not between saved and lost, but between sins that provoke the Father’s severe discipline and sins that do not. The believer who persists in rebellion may be taken home. The believer who repents is restored. In both cases the eternal life remains. The Father chastens His children, not His enemies.
The writer of Hebrews makes this plain. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” Hebrews 12:6. Chastisement is not a mark of rejection. It is the mark of sonship. “If ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” Hebrews 12:8. The absence of chastisement would be the true danger, for it would mean the absence of relationship. The presence of chastisement is the Father’s testimony that the child is His. He corrects because He loves. He scourges because He receives. He disciplines because He refuses to let His children destroy themselves.
Paul speaks again of this severe mercy when he writes of Hymenaeus and Alexander, “Whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme” 1 Timothy 1:20. The purpose is instruction, not damnation. The discipline is sharp, but the goal is restoration. The apostle does not consign them to perdition. He places them under the hand of affliction so that they may learn. The chastisement is remedial. It is the Father’s rod, not the Judge’s sentence.
Even the risen Christ speaks in these terms. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten” Revelation 3:19. His chastening is the expression of His love. His rebuke is the evidence of His care. He does not abandon His own. He corrects them. He calls them to repentance. He restores them to fellowship. His chastisement is not the shadow of condemnation. It is the light of His continuing affection.
The doctrine is clear. God keeps His children by chastisement. He preserves them by correction. He guards them by discipline. He will not allow His own to perish. If they wander, He calls. If they resist, He chastens. If they persist, He may take them home. But in every case the spirit is saved. The Father’s hand may be heavy, but it is never hostile. His discipline may be severe, but it is never destructive. His chastisement is the proof that He will not lose His own.
Castigatio servat - Chastisement preserves.
~Tony
© A.K. Pritchard 1979 -
Free to use with proper attribution.