“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons: for what son is he whom the father chastens not?” (
vs. 7). Welcome to Christianity if you’re feeling chastening. “But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers…[One way or another, God has to get us ready. The faster and the better you learn, the stronger your conviction, then good. But if you don’t]…then are you bastards, and not sons” (
vs. 8).
We don’t have to call anybody bastards; but there are bastards in the Church. At some point, they’ll reveal themselves, and in the sense of what God says, you’ll literally say, “You’re a bastard.” Now today, people say, “You bastard!” or whatever they say. You know what I mean. A bastard is just somebody illegitimate. But…you’re illegitimate, you came in here as My son, and I chastened you and you wouldn’t take it. And I’ll say this, for the first phase of the fire…here’s what God will say to him—“You bastard. Get out.” And then it won’t be cursing.
“If you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons…” and then it talks about, our fathers did it when we were kids: “For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure [and so forth]” (
vs. 9).
Now,
verse 11: “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto to them which are exercised thereby.” There are going to be some people who can’t take it and it’s going to feel unfair—“This is incredibly hard!”—when this monster comes at them personally. And maybe they watch their wife killed. WOW! Or their husband killed, or however it goes. “This isn’t right!” There are people…The clay starts, you know, talking to the Potter about how He should have done it differently. Be careful…
