Hebrews 12:9-11 “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? (10) For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. (11) Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
When we walk in God’s perfect will for our lives then as we have already seen, we can expect God’s perfect provision and perfect protection. However, when we walk in God’s permissible will for our lives, then we can no longer expect His perfect provision and protection. In other words, there is a price to pay in this life for walking in God’s permissive will. The reason for that, is because to the degree that we walk outside of God’s perfect will for our lives, that is ultimately the degree of disobedience that we are walking in. And so just as any loving parent would, the Lord corrects our disobedience, for although the Lord allows us to walk in His permissible will, He doesn’t just leave us there. He does what is necessary to bring us into His perfect will. For example, it is God’s perfect will that His children walk in holiness, for He is Holy (1 Peter 1:16). For those of us who choose not to walk in His holiness however, the above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that there is a price to pay, i.e. they eventually start to experience the chastening of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:30-32 “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (31) For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. (32) But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
More than a few believers can testify to the fact that the chastening of the Lord is painful, and that it is painful in this life. It is not only as a result of our not walking in the Lord’s holiness that we can expect to be chastened however, but also as a result of our not walking in all of the Lord’s perfect will for our lives, of which holiness is just one part. So just what type of chastening can the believer expect to receive from the Lord, for those who choose not to walk in His perfect will? In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit reveals to us some of the forms of chastening that we can expect when we walk in disobedience. The context of this passage deals with judgement incurred by believers that partake of the Lord’s Table in an unworthy manner. Nevertheless the same principle can be applied to every area of the believers’ life, where they are walking in disobedience. The scripture says that many walking in disobedience are weak. In other words those believers can expect difficulties to come into their lives which will seem to overwhelm them, for the scripture says that if we faint in the day of adversity our strength is small (Proverbs 24:10). The believer can also expect sickness to attack their physical bodies. And then finally, depending on the degree of disobedience, some believers can also expect not to live out their full lives on the earth.
Luke 12:47-48 “And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (48) But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
The degree of chastening that each of us can expect to receive from the Lord however, is always based on the light that we have received. So what do I mean by that statement? Many believers do not do the Father’s perfect will purely out of ignorance and not out of deliberate disobedience. And so because God is not unjust, He will only hold the individual to account for that which they know. Nevertheless even ignorance of God’s will is ultimately still an act of disobedience, for God has made it possible for all His saints to find out what His will is, both through His written word and by His Holy Spirit. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord reveals to us that both of His servants were chastened for their disobedience. The only difference between the two was the degree of chastening incurred. The servant, who knew His will and disobeyed, received a more severe chastisement than the servant who did not know His will, and yet still did those things that were contrary to His will.
Michael E.B. Maher
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