What are the goals of God’s chastening?

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
 Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ! Welcome to the column of our „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! We have been discussing how God having accepted us as His children disciplines and chastises us in order for us to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ. God’s chastisement is not a sign of His displeasure; rather, it is the sign of His acceptance. What are the goals of God’s chastening? 
  • To provide for us assurance and safety. Through discipline God desires to give His children exhortation:
 
 «And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons…» (Hebrews, 12:5).
 When God sets boundaries and standards for us, it allows us to have assurance and feeling of safety. 
  • To express His love for us:
 
 «For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives» (Hebrews, 12:6а).
 God chastises us because He loves us. And He cares for what happens in our lives and what we become. 
  • To show us His acceptance:
 
 «… and scourges every son whom He receives» (Hebrews, 12:6).
 Sometimes people have an impression that punishment is a sign of God’s rejection. Yet the Bible tells us the opposite. When God accepts us He builds and corrects us, and if necessary chastises us. 
  • To help us walk in His holiness:
 
 «…but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness» (Hebrews, 12:10).
 It is God’s will for every one of us to walk in God’s holiness. And one of the ways how God persuades us is through discipline and chastisement. 
  • To teach us how we should and shouldn’t live:
 
 «… afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it» (Hebrews, 12:11).
 There are many ways God teaches us things. In particular, pain and suffering are some of the instruments through which God teaches us how we should live. As we already said before, God’s Word is profitable for instruction, and the Scripture is the main method of God’s instruction. But even that also is not without pain, since abiding in God’s Word and walking in accordance with it requires a person to deny himself or to suffer in his flesh. That is why Peter said that whoever suffers ceases from sinning: 
 «Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin» (1 Peter, 4:1).
 If we are willing to suffer in order to understand and follow biblical instructions, then we will learn those important lessons God wants to teach us. Yes, as we all know, we do not always follow the instructions and for that we are chastised. There is a saying that people learn from their mistakes. You know why? Mistakes are usually costly. Mistakes are painful, and pain helps us ‘to get it’ a lot faster. Imagine a situation when a mother tells her son not to touch the stove, because he can get hurt. Do you think all children listen to the instructions and requests of their parents? Of course, not! But after the boy does what was forbidden and burns his hand, he won’t have to be reminded not to touch the stove. Pain is a great instructor! So we are taught through pain and suffering. Different trials come into our lives because of God’s Word that we have heard and accepted or because of our disobedience to this word. Trials because of the Word come into believers’ lives in order to let them make a choice whether to live the old way or to learn living according to the revelation of the Holy Spirit: 
 «…when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake…» (Mark, 4:17).
 Did you notice that tribulation or persecution arises for the sake of the word? And this tribulation is what God allows in our lives to teach us the right lifestyle. Tomorrow we will discuss some more why God uses trials and sufferings in the lives of His children. God bless you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Support us so we can do more

We’ll get right to the point: we’re asking you to help us support our Church online minisry. We’re a nonprofit that relies on support from people like you. If everyone reading this gives €12 monthly, Spirit and Truth city Church can continue to thrive for years.

Similar Posts

  • God doesn’t want us to give up!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 6 minutes
    Nowadays many people give up as soon as something does not go like they expected or some problems start to choke them. I will tell you honestly that it is not hard to go through different problems with dignity, – you must learn it. It does not happen automatically; you must prepare yourself for it. If we won’t prepare ourselves ahead of time, then at difficult times we will fail and give up. Lack of discipline and preparation will create instability in our lives and will hinder our progress.

  • It is essential what we believe more – what we say or what God says!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Let us look at some expressions that we often use, ad let us see what God says about the same things in His Word.*YOU SAY, “It is not possible!”*GOD SAYS, “All things are possible for God!”*Bible verse: Luke 18:27“Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

  • You are the epistle of Christ through which His salvation can spread through the whole world!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 6 minutes
    Paul is saying that many people hear the Gospel but still are not enlightened by that. These people had made their choice to continue living in sin, therefore, satan, the god of this world had blinded their minds so that the light of Gospel remains unveiled to them, regardless of how hard somebody tries to share the gospel with them. Nevertheless, Paul and his partners presented to others the brightest light of the Gospel, – that is Christ Himself, who is the image of God. Paul was convinced that people should be able to see God in Christ, so he preached Christ and instead of preaching about himself.

  • Value God’s Word! II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these saying of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it fell. And great was its fall» (Mathew, 7:24-27)

  • What are the grounds or foundations of favour?

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «For You, O Lord, will bless the RIGHTEOUS; with favour You will surround him (the RIGHTEOUS) as with a shield» (Psalm 5: 12).From the above Scriptures, we can establish that it is righteousness that qualifies a person for receiving blessings and God’s favour.The foundation for favour is righteousness.

  • Changes always come from praying! II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    If you desire to see and experience a miracle from God in your life, then you must forget about what other people think of your prayer style. At the period of seeking God, you must be concerned about one thing only, – how sincere your heart is during praying and how big your desire is to experience His intervention. Keep trusting and crying out to God even when everybody else have grown weak and lost faith in any possibilities for your life to change. God loves consistent and faithful people. He always has a reward for that type of people.