The Christian and Chastisement, 1

THE CHRISTIAN AND CHASTISEMENT.
TEXT: Hebrews 12:5-11.

SUMMARY: In these verses, Paul draws on an illustration from the necessary use of discipline in the home to teach the Hebrew Christians that their trials were not an indication that God had forsaken them for their belief in Jesus, but rather, that their trials were to be expected and faithfully endured as a part of God's work in fitting His children to be partakers of His holiness.

I. THE PRINCIPLE OF CHASTISEMENT.
A. The Necessity of Nurture.
B. Defining "Chastening."

1. By etymology.
2. By analogy.
3. By comparison & contrast.

II. THE PAIN OF CHASTISEMENT.
A. The Pain of Natural Discipline.

1. Pain, perfectly administered.
2. Pain, imperfectly administered.

B. The Pain of Spiritual Discipline.

1. Who inflicts pain on God's children?
2. Effects of the curse, or divine chastisement?