Page 39 - Evidence of Things Unseen

Galatians 4:6-7
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying,
"Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son...

We are sons! Because we are sons our Father disciplines us. He does so because He
loves us.

Hebrews 12:6
For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He
receives.

When we are experiencing the chastening hand of God, Satan will come to us and say,
“God hates you. You offended Him now, and He has abandoned you completely.” What a
pack of lies! We should expect such deceit from the father of lies, but we should not believe
him. Certainly, if we do not respond with humble obedience to God’s chastening, He will
have to increase the severity of it, but He will never remove His love from us.
I love my son Josiah. He is now fourteen years old, and he is very precious in my sight.
At times Josiah does things that require that I correct him. Because I love him and desire
that he should fulfill God’s purpose that he should be conformed to the image of Christ, I
must discipline him. At times he has continued in sin after being corrected, and I have had
to discipline him further. The thought has never come into my mind that I should disown
him, nor have I ever desired to treat him with indifference, or cruelty. I would always be
delighted to see within him signs of repentance and sorrow over his sin, and my heart is to
respond toward him in a way that will result in his greatest good. This too is the heart of our
Heavenly Father.
Do not misunderstand me. There is a sin unto death, and Paul wrote to the Corinthian
believers about some who had died due to their continuing in sin. Yet even this is an act of
mercy on the part of God. To allow a son who is unrepentant in his sin, after many
chastisements and much discipline, to continue bringing reproach to God and
condemnation upon himself, would not be merciful or loving. Paul wrote of one such man
among the saints at Corinth.

I Corinthians 5:5
I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Yahshua.

Notice that Paul’s judgment is severe, but his goal is salvation. So too does God
discipline us and, if we respond with a humble and repentant heart, then He is able to relent
of the severity of the judgment against us. This was the case with this man, for Paul wrote
of him again in his next epistle to the church at Corinth.

II Corinthians 2:6-8
Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so
that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a
one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm
your love for him.