Hebrews 12:3-11- Discipline and perseverance are complementary

In a race, a lapse in concentration would be costly for a runner. The Hebrew believers seemed to be suffering from such a lapse. They had come this far, but with the hardship and trials they were facing, they had shifted their focus. So at this point, the author encouraged them to persevere by talking about the role of discipline in the Christian race. He called on them to consider Jesus and the hostility He endured at the hand of sinners. In seeing how the Lord Jesus endured, they would find strength to also go through their own hardship.

In verses 4-6, he called on them to face up to their hardship, referring to it as the Lord’s discipline. First, he called on them not to be melodramatic. He implied that they were being histrionic about what they were going through. He reasoned that in comparison with the sufferings that the Lord Jesus went through, theirs would pale in significance. They had not even reached a point where they had to shed blood, whereas the Lord had to shed His Blood at the hands of sinners. Secondly, he called on them to remember the exhortation where God addressed them as His sons. They were told to remember the Lord’s Word. Here, the author quoted from Proverbs 3:11-12. These two verses told them two things. Firstly, that they should not disdain discipline; and secondly, they should not despair over the discipline. 

Why? For discipline showed that God treasured their relationship with Him. God only chastises those He loves. Believers should not despise nor be in dismay by the Lord’s chastisement. It is needful to note that for believers, the Lord’s discipline is never a rod of wrath. It is a corrective, a preventive and even an educational process. When God is through with a believer, he or she would have a greater capacity to live a richer and fuller life. With that in mind, the author called on the Hebrew believers, as well as us, to endure hardship as the Lord’s discipline. He gave other reasons how one could be motivated to endure hardship.

The first is found in verses 7-8. Because of God’s paternity to believers, there’s a reason why He disciplined them. He argued that no father could ever love without disciplining his children. So since children would be disciplined, God's discipline of the Hebrew believers should assure them that they were His sons. In verse 8, the author also compared sons to illegitimate children. He was essentially talking about eligibility to the father’s inheritance.

In verse 9-10, the author gave the second reason by arguing from the lesser to the greater. He told the Hebrew Christians that if they respected the discipline of their earthly father and benefited from it, how much more they should accept the discipline of their Heavenly Father. He told them that His discipline would bring true life. All earthly fathers would discipline for the good of their children, whereas the Heavenly Father disciplines to perfect their character. He does it to sanctify them and build holiness in their lives.

Finally, in verse 11, we see the ultimate reason why they should endure the discipline. He assured them that they would be trained by it. The experience at the start of the process of discipline would be a painful and joyless one. However, the end result would be a pleasurable one. Through the discipline, the believers would attain a life of peace and righteousness. The word peace is the word “shalom” meaning wholeness; complete and lacking nothing. Let’s learn to see our hardships in life as God’s training processes. He is perfecting us for eternity.