Read Hebrews 12:5-13. What’s the message to us here, and how does it fit in with what we have been studying this quarter?
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In Hebrews 12:5-13, Paul describes trials in the context of discipline. In the NIV Bible translation of this passage, various forms of the word discipline appear ten times. In the Greek world, this word was the most basic word for “education.” So to understand “discipline” is to understand how God educates us in the school of faith that Paul has been describing before in Hebrews 11:1-40.
Throughout Hebrews 11:1-40, Paul has been painting pictures of men and women of faith. Their faith was what kept them going when they were faced with all sorts of trying situations. As we enter chapter 12, Paul turns to us, the readers, and says that since so many people before us have persevered against incredible odds, we also can run and finish the life of faith. The key is to fix our eyes upon Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), that He may be an example when times are difficult (Hebrews 12:3). Reading chapter 12 is like being given a set of reading glasses. Without these glasses our vision or understanding of hardship will always be fuzzy. But looking through these glasses will correct the blurred explanation of suffering that our culture presses upon us. Then we will be able to understand clearly and be able to respond to trials intelligently.
Read through the “glasses” of Hebrews 12:1-13. Now concentrate on verses 5-13 and answer these questions:
What is the source of discipline?
What is our response to discipline?
What is the goal of discipline?
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Read through Hebrews 12:1-13 again. Make a list of all the reasons you can identify with as grounds for hope. How have you experienced this hope in your own times of spiritual “education”? |
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