[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

[Commissioned]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses?
No, according to these verses God punishes everyone he accepts as a son.

"And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
'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.'" (Heb. 12:5-6)

If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing?
The overall concept of discipline and child-rearing is to mould the child to become a matured adult. An adult that will be prepared for the responsibilities of life, a worker, a parent, etc.

What is the purpose of God's discipline?
God discipline and training are out of love. He is training us to be His children.

[Tabatha]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

God does punish at times, Through out the old testament there were times of punishment. But here in Hebrews the writer is refering to discpline . The persecutions and hardships we face are a form of punishment that we should view them as God's way of training us to be sons and daughters.

It is like when we spank a child when that child has been naughty or disibedient, it is to teach them that the thing they have done is not acceptable. Children must learn at an early age that the discipline is to teach them to grow in honesty and strong character. We must let them know we do it in love. Just as Pastor Ralph has put in the lesson that this particular passage does not indicate that God punishes us for our sins, there are many passages in the bible that indicate that God does punish--- sometimes by bringing the consequences of our actions. sometimes by bringing dificult circumstances.

Unless God reveals something to us specifically, we can't say with certainty: This circumstance is God's punishment. It may well be caused by nothing you've done But something God is using to train and purify you. Never forget that His displine and training are out of love, not anger.

God is not only a disciplining parent but also a demanding coach who pushes us to our limits and requires our lives to be disciplined. Although we may not feel strong enough to push on to victory, we will be able to accomplish it as we follow Christ and draw on His strength. Then we can use our growing strength to help those around us who are weak and struggling.

[sahala p.s.]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

No, "God never punishes anyone" is not true according to Hebrews 12:5-7.

The punishment is part of discipline and child-rearing, bringing the children of God to the right way and objective of life in God. Without punishment for our wrong actions, we become spoiled spiritual children and do not live in the quality of his children and finally we will get nothing at the end of our life.

The purpose of God's discipline is to train us so that we may share in his holiness, we may have a harvest of righteousness and peace. His discipline is for our good as a father does for his son, it is out of love. It is in order that we grow up to maturity in Him.

[Stan]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?


5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

I believe that according to verse 7 that God does punish, but like pastor says I think it is to teach us and help us to grow in the Spirit of Christ not to inflict pain or suffering. I believe that most pain and suffering on the earth today is from the sin in the beginning and from our own unwillingness to learn. As we sin we bring troubles apon ourselves and it is our own doing not from the Father. If we learn from our mistakes we and not likely to repeat them and thus save some suffering later.

Punishment in child rearing should be first out of love then out of a means of teaching so that something worse will be prevented.
I believe that God uses this sort of punishment and tries to teach us to use it also so that we will not face that final punishmnet at the end of time with the devil and his angles.

[PATJOE]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

God doesn't punish us for our sins. They have already been covered by Jesus' death and resurrection. Punishment in the over-all concept of proper child-rearing is done out of love rather than anger. Parents love their children and God loves us all even more - beyond our human understanding and the discipline from both God and human parents is done to teach responsibility and how to successfully co-exist in this world of materialism and one-upmanship. God's purpose also, for disciplining us is so we can learn to live and conduct ourselves as sons and daughters of the Living God. He wants all of us abiding with Him for ever. If we look at our hardships and trials of life as discipline and punishment, God does punish those He loves. As our earthly fathers punish sons and daughters, God also calls those he disciplines His sons and daughters. It's all based on His love for us.

[JustJeff]

Anyone who believes that God does not punish His children either has never read the bible or needs to take more of these bible studies. From Adam to Paul and now, God always disciplines those He loves, which is the whole world. His discipline is to bring us back in line when we stray from Him. His discipline is to correct us when we sin. All is for the greater good of bringing us to holiness in order to have complete oneness with Him.
God is the perfect Father. His example to fleshly dads illustrates that complete love requires loving discipline. Once in a while a child may need a wack on the tail end to get the message. Those who are paying attention should see that Our Father is giving the world a pretty good wacking right now.

[s8nfighter]

I am not sure what it was like to live in the Garden of Eden because all my life I have had to work for what I have eaten and there were days I have had little to eat. This was the original punishment for sin and we are still living under that punishment.

Gen. 3:17 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (KJV)

To say that God does not punish is to say that God has lied all these years. God hates sin, always has and still does. The big misunderstanding about Cain is that his offering was not good enough. It was not the offering but the sin that controlled Cains life which upset God. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 [b]If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." [/b]

The life we lead today is either under the watchful eye of the LORD or it is not. If it is under the eye of the LORD then he will guide us with corrective measures, call it punisment or guidance, but it is still out of love.

Darrell

[June]

God does punish but out of His love. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are.
When God punishes He is making us stronger. It is like " boot camp". We are in training all the days we are children living in this world. God wants us to be strong in our faith and to grow in Christian maturity so we will know what is of Him and what is of the world. That is why we have the B.I.B.L.E. (God's Word) Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. If we follow these instructions we will get our reward.

[Loisb]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

1) According to Hebrews, God is discipling us not punishing us, but in other parts of the Bible, they were definitely punished for disobedience. In any case, any punishment we receive is training us to live righteously.

2) The purpose for God's discipline is for our training to be his son or daughter, just like we do our own children. He wants us to be mature Christians.

[charisbarak]

No, the trials we go through are a discipline, a helping us grow in the right direction. Punishment is the result of wrong choices & suffering the effects of those choices. As parents we know that there needs to be forgiveness, but also logical consequences for wrong behavior. The purpose of God's discipline is to grow us more like Jesus & to be fruitful & prepared to be with Him forever!!

[Patricia A]

'Pastor Ralph' date='Apr 18 2007

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7)
5And 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.
6For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives." 7It 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?
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I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing?

Nowhere does it say that the persecutions and hardships we face are punishment, only that we should view them as God's way of training us to be his sons. Good parents train their children to live a holy and fruitful life and discipline is a necessary part of training.


What is the purpose of God's discipline?

God doesn't punish his children vindictively, but so they will learn and grow up to maturity. He loves you. Never forget that. His discipline and training are out of love, not anger

[masika]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?
When you read in Proverbs 3:11-12, It very clear that The Lord disciplines those He Loves, here we see Discipline meaning to Teach and Train. Discipline sounds very negative to many people because some disciplinarians are not good. God, however, is the source of all Love. He doesn't punish us because He enjoys inflicrting pain but because He is deeply concerned about our development. He knows that in order to become strong and good, we must learn the differnce between right and wrong. His Loving discipline enables us to do that.

[PCHRIS]

I beleive God punishes us through His chastening and rebuking. It's all part of His moulding and shaping our character into being more Christlike.

Just as a parent would discipline a child out of love for that child it is again to help mature that child for his/her adult years. It is the same for us in our spiritiual walk.

verse 11 I think holds an answer here - 'now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby'.
We might not enjoy being disciplined, just ask any child, but this is developing our character and also our fruit of righteousness.

[AngelOnLine]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses?
God does punish us because He loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him.

If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing?
Discipline serves to teach right from wrong so we will grow to be mature and responsible Christians.

What is the purpose of God's discipline?
To let us know that we are loved and to let us experience the consequences of our actions so we are trained to be His children.

[Craig]

Hebrews 12:5-7 states that the Lord disciplines those He loves and punishes everyone He accepts as a son. Punishment is not necessarily a bad thing. Punishment as a form of disciple helps develop character, endurance, behavior modification, etc. Nothing gets our attention like a little discipline and we need it to stay on track in our Christian walk. Most people, as well as Christians, don't practice much disciple in their lives. Discipline brings out the best in us. God, like any parent who loves their children, will discipline us and teach us discipline to bring the best out of us. God disciplines us to develop us into Christ-like people and to bring the best out of us because He loves us. In the process He is developing us for the assignments He has for us to do in building His kingdom in the now and in the future.

[Ms CJ]

Q3. (Hebrews 12:5-7) I've sometimes heard, "God never punishes anyone." Is that true according to these verses? If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing? What is the purpose of God's discipline?

Is that true according to these verses?

* Yes- in the Bible that indicate that God does indeed punish us

If so, how does punishment fit into the larger overall concept of discipline and child-rearing?

* Sometimes by bringing the consequences of our actions, sometimes by
bringing difficult circumstances.
* Unless God reveals something to me specifically, I can't say with any certainty:
This circumstance is God's punishment. It may well be caused by nothing Ive done,
but something God is using to train and purify me. So I shouldn't try to second-guess
all the circumstances of my life. If God is punishing me, he'll let me know, so that I
can learn by it. God doesn't punish his children vindictively,

What is the purpose of God's discipline?

* So I will learn and grow up to maturity. He loves me. I must never forget that.
His discipline and training are out of love, not anger.

[linda bass]

I don't think that God punishes us, but rather He discplines us. He does this in order that we might grow in our faith and mature in our Christian walk.

[Jewell]

I believe that God does punish, the Bible tells us that. As we learn from hardship and punishment, we learn first-hand about transferring that learning to our own children. The purpose of discipline is to teach.

[Don W]

These particular verses in Hebrews don’t speak of being punished by God but He does punish us when we sin against Him, sometimes by bringing the consequences of our actions to us, and sometimes by bringing difficult circumstances to us. But even in His punishment for our sins, because He is a thrice-holy and righteous God, He uses all of this punishment as well as discipline to bring us closer and more intimate with Him, and closer to that great day when we will be in His presence holy and acceptable to Him; which is the overall purpose of God’s discipline towards us as those whom He loves and disciplines. Amen!