A Trip To God's Woodshed

HEBREWS 12: 5-11 “A TRIP TO GOD’S WOODSHED”

A) I heard about a young boy that went off to one of these extremely expensive universities.

* The bills were coming in monthly to these parents, & they were struggling to keep their head

above water. * One day his mother received a letter from him that read like this:

* Dear Mom: I’m writing to inform you that I have flunked all of my courses.

* I had an accident and totally wrecked my car, I owe the clothing store in town $2000,

* And I have been suspended for the next semester because of misconduct.

* I am coming home, prepare Dad! * His mother wrote a one line letter back to him that just said

this: Dear son: Dad is prepared, prepare yourself.

B) God is prepared to deal with his children when they sin!

* God has a woodshed, and if you are one of his children, before you get through this life you will

make more than one trip to it.

* You see, there are three ways God could deal with us when we sin.

C) First of all, God could condemn us.

* Even after a person is saved, the first time they sin God could just go ahead and send them to

hell. * But God wont do that, for the Bible says in Rom.8:1 "There is therefore now no ......."

D) Then again God could condone us!

* God could just stick his head in the sand and ignore our sin and overlook it.

* But God cannot and will not do that because He is a holy, a righteous, and a just God that lets

no sin go unpunished! * God always has to deal with sin because of His character!

* But the third way that God could deal with us, and the way he does deal with us is,

E) He can correct us! * You see, if God condemned us after we sinned,

* Then that would be pure legalism; that is, if you sin you go to hell!

* If God condoned our sin, that would be liberalism, where God would just simply say that sin is

no big deal and let it go. * But the third way, God’s way is love!

* The Lord Himself said in Rev. 3:19 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous ......."

F) Here in this passage before us we have described for us a trip to God’s woodshed!

* We find here the doctrine of divine discipline.

G) The powerful reasons for discipline!

* We need to understand immediately that the purpose of discipline is not to discourage us, it is to

encourage us. The word "exhortation" in v.5 literally means "encouragement."

* Now how could the discipline of God possibly encourage His children?

* It confirms our identity - v.6-7 "For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth ......."

* One of the marks that you are a child of God, is the discipline of God on your life when you sin!

H) Now God whips His children, but God whips only His children!

* If your kids are playing in the yard with the neighbors’ kids, and they begin to misbehave and

get into a fight, whose kids do you discipline? * Well, you certainly not the neighbor’s kids!

* At least if you’re smart, you discipline your own.

* I know some parents are like the mother who brought her little boy to school one time, & she

said to the teacher: "Now Johnny is a little bit nervous and slightly hyperactive,

* If he misbehaves, you just slap the boy next to him and he’ll straighten up."

I) Well, God does not whip the devil’s children, he only whips His!

* But He does whip His, and He does so because they are His children.

* Now you may be sitting there thinking, "Well, I’m a Christian, God never whips me.

* I’m living just like I want to and it doesn’t bother me one bit.

* I don’t believe I’ve ever been to God’s woodshed. How do you explain that?"

* There’s a very simply explanation ... You’re not a Christian!

J) If you have never been to God’s woodshed, you are not a child of God!

* I can tell you right now with complete confidence, if there is unrevealed, unrecognized,

unrepented sin in your life that has caused you neither guilt nor grief,

* You are lost and you need to be saved!

* v.8 "But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye ......."

* The word "bastards" there literally means illegitimate.

* You know there are some people who claim to be saved, who think they are saved, but it is