Discipline Proves Love – Hebrews 12:4-8
Dec 10, 2025 6648
[4] In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. [5] And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. [6] For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
[7] It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? [8] If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. (ESV)
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No Blood Yet
In your struggle – your struggle against the opposition and persecution from unbelievers – you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood (v. 4). Jesus endured to the point of death. Some in Hebrews 11 were martyred. But these believers? Not yet.
And so the question is: how do you keep going when it’s hard?
Have You Forgotten?
Verse 5: “Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?”
Then comes the quote from Proverbs 3:11-12: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
The difficult situations we find ourselves in – persecution, yes, but also sickness, loss, disappointment, suffering of all kinds – these are discipline from a good God who does things for our good.
We don’t often think of the hard things in our lives as loving discipline from our great and loving Heavenly Father. When something difficult happens, we’re more likely to ask, “Where is God?” But the text says the Lord disciplines the one he loves. Not the one he’s abandoned. The one he loves.
Sometimes discipline may be the result of sin, but that isn’t what this passage says. It’s not punishment for wrongdoing. It’s training. It’s fathering. It’s God at work in the lives of his children.
Legitimate Children
Verse 7: “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
The need to endure difficulties in the Christian life is one of the things that shows that God is with you. That might sound strange. But every son is disciplined by his father. It’s normal. It’s expected.
Verse 8: “If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
Hardship, trials, discipline in the Christian life – these show the legitimacy that we are the children of God. That we are sons of God. That we are heirs. That we belong to our Father.
Looking Back
Here’s my guess. Anyone who’s been a Christian for a little while can look back at specific difficult situations that were horrendous. And as you think about that circumstance, you may recall that thinking at the time that there was no way out of the situation. And yet, as you look back, you can see the hand of God. You can see his grace. You can see, perhaps, in your lowest moment, in your darkest season, how God sustained you by his grace, how God carried you through the valley of the shadow of death, how God has sustained you and enabled you to endure.
The Good News Is…
The good news is that because of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, we’ve been brought into God’s family as beloved sons and daughters. We’re not outsiders earning our way in. We belong. And because we belong to the Father, he disciplines us – not in wrath (Jesus bore that on the cross), but in love. He trains us. He shapes us. He makes us holy. The presence of difficulties is evidence that God is at work in you. The hard things aren’t evidence he’s abandoned you – they’re proof you’re his child.
Reflection
How does this teaching help you to reframe past or current difficult experiences in your life?
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