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February 2015

Hebrews Pt 44: The Child Training of Our Loving Father

[Hebrews 12:3-11] After having dealt with the common misconceptions about Hebrews 12:3-11 in our last episode, in this lesson we focus on what these verses are really all about: the child training of our Loving Father. We look into:

  • The word “chasten” and “chastening” appear repeatedly throughout these verses. The Greek words translated “chasten” and “chastening” literally mean “child training”, as opposed to punishment.
  • This “child training” is meant to train us — the “just who live by faith” —  to walk by faith, not by sight, our own ability or our human understanding.
  • Why the commonly held notion that “God will never us more than we can handle” is in fact an unbiblical and harmful myth. God frequently uses circumstances far beyond our capability to handle in order to train us to rely on Him, not ourselves.
  • We look at similar passages in James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1: 6-8 to understand the tremendous value of the trying of our faith.

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Hebrews Pt 43: Dispelling Misconceptions on the Discipline of God

[Hebrews 12:3-6] Does God send terrible things like cancer, tragic accidents and the death of loved ones to make us more like Jesus? Does God punish His children, even with severe scourging? In this episode, we deal head-on and scripturally with common — and harmful — misconceptions about the discipline of God. We elaborate on the reasons why the claim that God does such things to punish His children is wrong:

  • Reason #1: it completely disregards all of Hebrews, plucking these verses from this vital context.
  • Reason #2: it completely ignores what these verses are talking about
  • Reason #3: a mistranslation of the word “scourge” in verse 6.

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