Open your Bibles, please, if you would, to Hebrews 12, verses 3-17. Hebrews 12, verses 3-17. This is part of a series I've been doing through Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 12, as you're going there, this comes after that magnificent chapter on the hallway of faith, showcasing so many saints and how they have endured, and then culminating in the expression that we ought to consider Jesus as we see tonight in chapter 12. This is chapter 12, verses three through 17. Hear the word of the Lord. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. That no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. Let's ask for his blessing. Heavenly Father, God most high, we ask tonight that you would show us your countenance in the face and in the person of Jesus Christ. Lord Christ, you have done more than we could ever have imagined, and so we ask tonight that you would again do the unimaginable. Conform us into the image and likeness of yourself. as we strive as children in your house to live in this world. Send your Holy Spirit, apply this text to us, we pray, in your Holy Spirit's power. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, the beloved Son, amen. Well, in Hebrews 12, three through 17, the subject of divine discipline is treated here with much more intensity than anywhere else in the New Testament. There are three questions we should ask of this text, then, which form the points of tonight's sermon. Who is disciplined, first? And second, how are they disciplined? Third, why are they disciplined, or to what end? The author holds up two men, by way of example to make his point about divine discipline, Jesus and Esau. This is not a typical comparison. We might expect Jacob and Esau, but the author sets these two side by side to contrast the son God receives, verse six, with the illegitimate child, verse eight. Jesus and Esau serve to bracket this section, Jesus at the start and Esau at the end. This is intentional. They're not unrelated, but they are different. So what's the difference? Divine discipline. On the one hand, Jesus, the son of God, is the model son who receives divine discipline, shows us the kind of discipline we're to expect, and his endurance vindicates God's purpose in divine discipline, to produce holiness in his sons. On the other hand, Esau's place in the text is less clear. By way of contrast, we can guess he's set up here to be the model of the illegitimate son. But how? Scripture doesn't really emphasize discipline in the life of Esau, or even a lack of discipline for that matter. But if we look closely, we find evidence that he is an illegitimate son. Legitimate according to the flesh, yes. But where you're born, what family you're born into, what church you grew up in is not necessarily an indication of your citizenship in the city with foundations, is it? Esau is part of the covenant family. But those who begin well don't necessarily end well as Hebrews 3 shows us. So let's consider these three questions. Who is disciplined? How are they disciplined? And why are they disciplined? First, who is disciplined? Our text tells us plainly, verse six. The Lord disciplines every son whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. Easy enough. Who is disciplined? True sons. That's step one, but let's apply the test of Hebrews 12, six to Jesus. The Lord disciplines every son whom he receives. The Lord disciplines every son whom he receives. He loves them, he receives them, and therefore he must discipline them. Is discipline painful? Yes. Is it pleasant? No. But if you don't participate in divine discipline, Hebrews says, you're illegitimate children. And Hebrews gives us these two contrasting examples. Esau, the illegitimate son, and Jesus, the true son. First, Esau. Esau was Isaac's firstborn son, heir to the promises given to Abraham by God. He ought to have been a true son, but turned out to be an apostate. meaning simply he abandoned the God that he professed to believe. So the story goes. After the death of Abraham, he sold his birthright for a single meal, and by this we understand Esau wasn't a true son, since he despised not only his birthright, but the promises of God with it. The prophet Malachi calls him the man God hates. Strong language. Maybe that offends us. Some people like to soften that language. It's not comfortable to think about God hating anyone, but if there's one thing hate definitely isn't, it's love. Now just a chapter ago, the author of Hebrews said, by faith Isaac, Esau's father, invoke future blessings on Jacob and Esau. That's true, it just wasn't the blessing Esau thought it would be. In fact, the blessing that Isaac invokes on him details his exclusion from the goodness of God, exclusion from the goodness of the earth, doomed to die and live by the sword, a slave, a rebel. Esau didn't receive the promises. He failed, our text would say, to obtain the grace of God. He wasn't a true son. We'll return to Esau again, but for now it's plain enough that the man God hates cannot be his true son and therefore does not receive discipline. Jesus, on the other hand, is the true son of God. We haven't yet defined how true sons are disciplined, but if we accept anything scripture says as true, we must first believe that Jesus is the son of God. But let's then apply the test of Hebrews 12, six to Jesus. The Lord disciplines, verse six, every son whom he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. So what's the obvious question? Does the father love Jesus? Yes, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. We could give many more such examples of this kind of affirmation. Does the father receive Jesus? Yes. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And the father received Jesus after he accomplished all his redemptive work, after he had suffered in the flesh. Jesus is clearly a true son and therefore he was disciplined. Hebrews 5.8, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. So we must consider the divine discipline he endured, what it looked like, what it was for. We must because if we would be loved and received by God, we're in for it too. The same discipline. If the sinless Savior was disciplined, how much more will the sinners he saves be disciplined? He's the model of the disciplined son, but he's more than a model. Hebrews has spent 11 chapters demonstrating Jesus is not first our model, but our savior, second our model, but he is not less than our model. And we must follow the lamb wherever he goes. So let me ask you some pointed questions. Are you a true son? Are you spiritually casual? Does the life of the Christian seem a bit too easy to you? Do you feel the sting of the Holy Spirit rebuking you for sin and then brush it off? Does anyone in the church ever begin the sentence with, you know I love you brother, but never heard that, and you get defensive and bristle a little bit. I think we've all had that experience, I certainly have. Then ask yourself, am I failing to obtain the grace of God? Am I living like an illegitimate son, like Esau? These are serious questions, don't ignore them. The worst thing is to never feel the Spirit's rebuke, but it's also possible to never be open and honest enough with one another, avoiding exposure to one another's correction, always good. Always deflecting to easier subject, rarely facing the reality that you and I are still sinners, and as long as we are in the flesh, we need discipline. Are you a true son of God? Are you fully assured of his saving grace in your life? Then praise God. It's a gift, a gift to be thankful for, but don't regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. Verse five, suffering is a gift too, just as much as faith. Consider Jesus, was he a true son? The father loved him, yet he gave his back to those who strike, and his cheeks to those who pull out the beard. He hid not his face from disgrace and spitting, and so should we. Does your brother have something against you? Does the spirit of Christ have something against you? Don't wait until you're good enough to go to them, go to them. risk being exposed as a sullen, angry man, or a bitter, griping woman, or a selfish, foolish child. Maybe you don't think you are, but there's an angry man, a bitter woman, a selfish child in every one of us. God knows it. And if God already knows, then we should go to Him. If He spares us the rod, it's not because He loves us, If God gives us the rod, it's not because He hates you. God gives you the rod so that He will give you His heart. God disciplines all true sons. Well, secondly then, tonight, how are true sons disciplined? The text is less explicit here. It requires a little bit of digging. The answer to this question, how are true sons disciplined, is simply this. True sons are disciplined by struggle and hostility. Struggle against sin, hostility from sinners, verses three and four. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. He's the example. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Struggling against sin, hostility with the world. If Christ is the model of true sonship, then struggle and hostility will be the instruments of our discipline as they were for him. He struggled against temptations to sin, he endured the world's hostility, so must we. Notice the tenor of this section of Hebrews, hostility, weariness, struggle, blood, pain, drooping hands, weak knees, striving. This is the tenor of divine discipline. For this purpose, the curse was pronounced against the serpent, promising enmity between its seed and the seed of the woman, struggle and hostility. The author of Hebrews illustrates this as a father disciplining his children. Young people or kids, what happens when you dishonor your parents? When you hit your brother or sister or steal something that belongs to them or tell lies? Discipline happens. It takes different forms, but it's never pleasant, and our impulse is to run away from it, to hide our sin like Adam in the garden. But a true son learns to struggle against sin, even if it hurts. This is part of divine discipline. It's a tool in God's project to perfect us. His other tool is the hostility we receive from sinners. Why? Because being a true son means sharing the hardships of your father's house. If they hated him, they'll hate you as well. The good news, though, is that both our struggle against sin and the hostility of sinners are tools in God's hands with which he disciplines us. We'll consider that under our third point, but for now, let's examine struggle and hostility through Hebrew's examples. Esau, the undisciplined son, and Jesus, the disciplined son. Again, Esau is not a true son of God. But not only was Esau not a true son, we read in Genesis that he deepened his sin by marrying Canaanite women, wives who made life bitter for his parents. It's likely this is why the author of Hebrews charges Esau with being sexually immoral. But what does this have to do with discipline? When Esau takes Canaanite wives, women from whom the sons of Abraham were banned in the deepest theological sense of the word, when he does this, scripture reserves not a word for Isaac's fatherly rebuke of Esau. Isn't that strange? Isaac lived his life under the assumption that Esau, his firstborn, would inherit the promise given to Abraham. Remember, Abraham forbade Isaac to marry a Canaanite. Marrying Canaanites led Solomon astray into out-of-control idolatry. And now, when the promise of Abraham is at stake, silence. It's a telling silence, no discipline. Instead of struggling against sin, Esau marries it. Instead of hostility from sinners, Esau receives sons. His sin gives birth to sin because whatever does not proceed from faith is sin, Romans 14, 23. And his sons, the Edomites, later join in persecuting the sons of Israel, refusing them safe passage, betraying God's anointing, gloating over Jerusalem's destruction, and cutting off the survivors. The prophet Obadiah, speaking about Edom, warns of what happens to all who marry sin and join in hostilities against God's sons. They shall be as though they have never been. Startling. That's the end of all undisciplined sons. Jesus, however, if anyone ever received the world's slings and arrows, it was him. Verse three, consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted. Again, we can give many examples, but the hostility of the world was never more fully displayed than during Jesus' trial and crucifixion. Here Israel, the Pharisees, the leaders of Israel take a page out of Edom's playbook and join the world in condemning the true son of God. And the reason is because they saw in him the example they must follow, dying to self. Jesus knew divine discipline was essential to save his people from the power of darkness. He had to die. He endured every evil to do us good. He strove for peace between man and God and paid in his blood. At his trial, we also meet Herod, a kind of puppet king under the Roman governor. Herod himself was half Edomite. What does Jesus say to him? Nothing. Not a word. The king of glory is summoned before this pretender to be mocked. The spotless lamb of God hears his baseless interrogation and says nothing by way of self-indication. Jesus doesn't chasten Herod once. Pilate he chastened. The Pharisees he chastened. But Herod, son of Esau, nothing. Consider him. Consider what anger Jesus might have vented. Consider how many times He might have violated His Father's will to save sinners in order to vindicate His righteous name. We can only imagine what insults and blasphemy they hurled to His face. to his face, the face that made Moses shine with radiance, the face before which Elijah veiled his face, the face before which Isaiah said, woe is me, I am undone, the face before which John, the apostle who lay in the bosom of Christ, fell at his feet as though dead, that face. His silence should have terrified Herod and all who were with him. Maybe it did, but the point to see here is that Jesus endured all this, not only as a son, but as the son, the beloved son. He would rather die. He would rather die than sell his inheritance for a loaf of bread, if only to obtain grace, not for himself, but for you and for me. Are you a disciplined son? Ask yourself, am I struggling against sin or am I running from its consequences? Am I willing to bleed for holiness? Would I die to obtain grace? Let's not be like those who bless themselves and their hearts saying, I'll be safe. Christ died so I could be forgiven. God understands. How different is this from the heart of Christ? Would we abuse his grace? Hear the Spirit's exhortation. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Don't kid yourself. Struggling against sin is a mark of sonship, like a pulse is a sign of life. Struggle, bleed if you must. Let cost you, bleed time, money, and blood for the sake of your soul, for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the lost, and for the sake of the gospel. Sell your worldly birthright. Sell your worldly birthright, every good thing you think you're owed in this world for a single gospel meal, one chance to pray, one chance to worship, one chance to alleviate a brother's burden. Isn't it worth it? Or do you still fear the hostility of the world? But what can man do to you? You're a son of God. Will you really restrain your lips from speaking the life-giving gospel? Consider the words of him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself. Jesus says, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have nothing more they can do. Don't fear the hatred of the world. It's a tool in God's hands. Their hatred and hostility is a tool in God's loving fatherly hand for our good, just like our struggle against sin. That's divine discipline. God is treating you as sons. Third, finally this evening, why are true sons disciplined? This is the heart of our text. The answer is, again, simply stated. Verse nine, he disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness. The holiness, verse 15, without which no one will see God. Are you getting this? This is the reason for discipline. It's for holiness so that we may see God. He disciplines us for holiness to see God. This isn't stoic philosophy. This isn't pull yourself up by your bootstraps theology. This isn't about the saint walking alone in unthanked silence. This isn't about growth mindsets, daily grindsets, better self-betterment or worldly success. Divine discipline sets us apart as holy unto the Lord, makes us fit to be God's temple in Christ, the place where righteousness dwells. Again, discipline isn't pleasant or easy, but consider who it is who disciplines you. The author of Hebrews reminds us in verse nine that even when our fathers disciplined us, we respected them, and no one will argue that earthly fathers are perfect. Scripture agrees on that score. Ideally, though, as a true son grows, he discovers something. Once, when he was immature, he feared punishment. but he begins to understand that his father's discipline is not vindictive but loving for his good because he loves him, is actively there for him, wants the best for him and so isn't content to let him continue in the sin that will starve and maim and ruin and kill him. That's love, he loves his son and the son learns he can bring even his sin to his loving father. He knows he'll be disciplined, he knows it'll hurt, but he also knows his Father loves him. That's the confidence a true son has. How much more should we have confidence when our Heavenly Father disciplines us? God discipline is never mere punishment. It is the key to obtaining grace, the path of righteousness, the way of holiness in Jesus Christ. So with this in mind, let's look at the two examples once more. Esau, the unholy son, and Jesus, the holy son. What of Esau? His story ends here. This is the last time in scripture we hear anything about Esau and Edom. It's over. He completes the model of the illegitimate child in that scripture here calls him unholy, verse 16. There are so many little details about Esau that ought to interest us, because they reveal the character of an apostate. But let's focus just on this one, verse 16. Esau is called unholy. There are several words for unholy in the New Testament, and it matters. It actually matters because the word we're dealing with here doesn't mean contrary to holiness, but simply profane or worldly. Think in terms of separation rather than opposition. That's the unholiness that Esau has. He's not characterized as being opposed to holiness. Piety might not be his strong suit, but he has his moments. He honors his father. He shows warmth toward his defrauding, scoundrel of a brother, and even demonstrates willingness to forgive him. Esau's commendable traits may not be many, but they exist. That's not his problem. His problem is he exists outside of that holiness without which no one will see God. He's categorically unholy. And isn't this just the state of most people, of apostates, of so-called good people? They're unholy. They don't participate in divine discipline. They're not sons, but illegitimate children, and discipline is abhorrent and revolting to illegitimate children. Unfair! Cruel! They would rather die than hear the least correction from God. They fail to obtain the grace of God, and that's where we leave Esau. Rejected, verse 17. He repents, but no sooner does he discover it's too late for him than he plots to murder his brother. He sheds tears, not because he's contrite over sin, but because he suffers the consequences for sin. So weeping the damn no, or too well, what Calvin called a gateway to hell. For Christ, however, and for all true sons, divine discipline is the only way to obtain grace. Again, Jesus obtained this grace not for himself, but for you. This was the only way. He's our model. But in obtaining grace, he was unique. Humiliating himself as one born under the curse, exposing himself to relentless spiritual attacks from men and demons alike, taking on the cosmic weight of his people's sin, dying a criminal's death, hanging on a cross, allowing his corpse to be lain in a tomb of stone and continuing under the power of death. This was the only way to obtain grace for his people. And he does it by being disciplined as one of them. It's like this. If Jesus doesn't endure divine discipline, die from it, rise again to tell the tale, there's no righteousness one for you or me. And without righteousness, you and I can't stand before a righteous God. If you and I can't stand before a righteous God, we're unholy like Esau. categorically apart. And if we're unholy, we can't see God. Divine discipline is essential for our holiness. And God's design for holiness is to build up his sons in preparation for the world to come, of which we are speaking Hebrews 2, verse 5. Divine discipline builds God's holy house and we are his house, Hebrews 3 verse 6, if indeed we hold fast to our confidence and our boasting and hope. The tools he uses to build his holy house are struggle against sin, hostility from sinners, that's how he disciplines true sons so that, so that we might be holy as he is holy. Are you getting this? It's all for our good to see him. As Jesus said was his desire that they might see my glory to enjoy him and glorify him forever. And so we can be confident that if God disciplines us, if God is disciplining you, the end result is sure to be glorious. We get to see him, him whom our heart loves. His purpose in your bitterest trial is not to destroy you, but to transform you into the image of his beloved son. And in the face of divine discipline, we are exhorted, verse 12, to lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees. This exhortation comes from the call to worship we had this night. Isaiah 35, verse 3, and is meant to assure the returning exiles of Israel that despite their bitter trials, God has prepared salvation for them. And in Isaiah 35, 4 through 10, immediately after that, we see what this salvation is. Your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Waters break forth in the wilderness, streams in the desert. A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The redeemed shall walk there. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. This is the reason that God disciplines you. Divine discipline is for our holiness, preparing us in this life to see, glorify, and enjoy the triune God in Jesus forever in the life to come. Do you desire divine discipline? You should. You really should. Just like someone desires to get a cancer ripped out of them. Pleasant? No. Good? Yes. Do you regard his discipline lightly? You shouldn't. He loves you, wants you to be with him and see him. Suffering, struggle, hostility, all of this is light momentary affliction that in the end produces the fruit of righteousness, the eternal weight of glory beyond comparison. So strive for it, be trained by it, rush, rush away from the bedchambers of the house of sin. If only once to be stricken by the rod of the Holy Spirit, give your back to it like Jesus did. It's for your good, for your father who strikes you will then embrace you in Christ. The father himself loves you, says Jesus in John 16. Perhaps you're afraid of discipline, the consequences of your sin. Well, those are real, and they're not pleasant. If you are running from God, don't be self-confident, though. Do you think of yourself as a good person? Hell has swallowed billions, billions of good people. Turn back one page from Isaiah 35, we read a moment ago, and we read these sober words in Isaiah 34. The Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion, and the streams of Edom, descendants of Esau, shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into sulfur. Her land shall become burning pitch, night and day. It shall not be quenched, its smoke shall go up forever. And doesn't that just sound like hell? Dreadful thought. This is the end of all who refuse God's discipline, who say God will forgive to excuse their sin. Jesus died so you could be forgiven, yes, but he also died so you would sin no more. This is the whole point of discipline, the whole point of what we're saying tonight. Jesus died so you could be forgiven, yes, but he also died so that you may sin no more. Rip it out. That's why he died. Strive then for holiness. Bleed if you must because Christ bled for you. Embrace divine discipline. It's less than we deserve. Embrace it like Christ embraced the punishment that we deserve. Confess your sin, scripture says. Endure divine discipline as a true son of your heavenly father who loves you. As a true follower of Christ and be healed. If you are a true son, you will receive discipline. You will struggle hard against sin and suffer constant hostility from sinners. It's nothing less than what the Savior endured for us to make us holy. So endure until you obtain the latter grace of perfection and you come at last to the city with foundations, to Mount Zion and to God. when you are finally made holy as Jesus is holy. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we extol you. What words can return praise for so great a salvation we have in Christ? And so we ask tonight that you would keep us from temptation, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil, but not from disaster if it would chasten us and rid us of unholiness. Lord, let us be godly like Jesus. Help us to follow in the footsteps of the master. Let us hear the voice of the good shepherd of the sheep. Lay down his life for us that we might be holy as he is. And so come at last to that city where you are. to the scepter of uprightness. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.