Responding to Correction
“It's the child He loves that He disciplines;
the child He embraces, He also corrects.”
Hebrews 12:6 (MSG)
Yesterday we discovered a glorious truth about our position in Christ as faultless – “without a single fault!” according to Jude 24 and Colossians 1:22. Nothing could be more freeing than to realize that my position in Christ is an acceptance based on grace through faith and not on my performance. If it were left up to me to produce righteousness, I would be in trouble. My standing before God would be measured by what I do and not on what Christ did. Where is the security in that? The Bible says that God considers us right with Him, without a single fault, by faith in all that Jesus did in our behalf when He died for all our faults. While this is a reality that sets us at ease and allows us to relax in God’s presence with full assurance in our relationship to Him, it is never a license to continue in sin presuming on His grace. On the surface it would seem like a free pass to do just that. In fact, the Bible raises that very question in Romans 6:1-2 (NLT) “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?”
Apparently, others who heard the liberating truth of God’s acceptance by grace thought the same thing. So, what happens when we do sin, especially if we habitually sin? What happens when our condition doesn’t match our position in Christ? Although it would never change our position in Christ as one without fault, when our condition is one of willful sin we presume upon His grace and invite God’s loving discipline. God’s discipline is always designed for correction and never for condemnation to the child of God. If you’re part of His family by grace through faith, He will treat you as a son or daughter who misbehaves. You still have the family name, yet out of love, knowing that your sin separates you from God and others, He disciplines those He loves. Hebrews 12:6 (MSG) says “It’s the child He loves that He disciplines; the child He embraces, He also corrects.”
How do you respond when you experience God’s discipline? Here’s some wise counsel from God’s Word to keep in mind when God corrects you:
“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said, ‘My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.’ As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as His own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as He does all of His children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really His children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in His holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” Hebrews 12:5-11 (NLT)