Though the Lord disciplines you

Before I go on to chapter 12, there is one last point I wanted to touch on. Paul writes in verse 32,

When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32)

Sometimes we sin, and God brings his discipline into our lives. And because it’s painful, we start to think that God must hate us now. That he’s given up on us.

But Paul says here that is not the case at all. He tells us that when the Lord disciplines us, he does it so that we will not be condemned with the world.

In other words, he does it to lead us away from the path of destruction the world is going down.

We saw an example of this earlier in chapter 5 where Paul told the Corinthians concerning the unrepentant brother,

Hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:5)

Again, the point of discipline was not to destroy the man, but to save him.

So remember that when God brings discipline in your life, it’s not because he hates you. It’s not because he sees you as his enemy.

When you actually were his enemy, he sent his Son to die for you. And if he reconciled you to himself when you were his enemy, how much more will he work to reconcile you to himself now that you are his child? (Romans 5:6-11)

Are you going through God’s discipline now because of your sin? Take heart. God still loves you. He hasn’t given up on you.

So though you may feel the sting of his discipline, remember the words of the writer of Hebrews.

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”…

We have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:5-11)