Heb # 43 Hardship as God's discipline

1. The believer is exempt from condemnation because of their sins, but they are NOT exempt from hardship, trials and suffering.--2. There are many things that entangle and cause us to not run faithfully in the race that has been set before us and sometimes God brings trials to help us to loose weight and make us better runners.. Runners not to cause our own salvation, but to continue in the salvation that He accomplished.--3. But in doing so, the believer has to set their eyes on Christ Jesus or else they will faint. They will faint because they may not see themselves overcoming anything. They may see themselves overtaken by many things-even sin itself. But there is only one way to keep running-looking to Christ and what He accomplished. This alone will help those who are dejected and have become lame to keep running again. And the Law is not the place to look for help if one is to finish the race.--4. God chastens all those that He receives as sons-because all His children have been in the far-away country where they dined with pigs. But chastening is NOT PUNISHMENT for sin, because their sins were already paid for by Christ. No one can pay for their sins by being punished by God.--5. By chastening-God is disciplining-as to correct His children-especially to remain looking to Christ. Because if they will wonder-they will go into unbelief and veer away from the gospel.--6. And this chastening or correction is not fun. It is painful, but only for a moment-it is for training for us to look heaven ward and divest ourselves of our investment in the world.--7. The trials and suffering that come to believers are not the work of the Devil, but come by the hand of God.