GOD DOES NOT JUST SWEEP LIFE AWAY

“All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. BUT GOD DOES NOT JUST SWEEP LIFE AWAY; INSTEAD, HE DEVISES WAYS TO BRING US BACK WHEN WE HAVE BEEN SEPARATED FROM HIM.”
2 Samuel 14:14 (NLT)

• God does not just take away a life, but He devises means to bring back His banished ones, those who have been separated from Him—He does not sweep away the lives of those He cares about.

• The major means, and the only ONE through which those who are separated from God could get back to Him is Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 John 2:1,2).

1. “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. AND IF ANYONE SINS, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS.
2. AND HE HIMSELF IS THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
   1 John 2:1,2 (NKJV)

• That said, if God truly loves you, He will not spare you when you go astray, but He will not totally sweep you away (Hebrews 12:5-8,11).

• God may be severe, strict or stern, on His beloved son or daughter, but not without mercy to bring such back to Himself after the discipline.
• God will not leave you without discipline, if you disobeyed Him, live contrary to His Word—rebel against the instructions given to you.

• God is a Father

• He is a God, the Creator, to every human being, but a Father to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour (John 1:11,12; Galatians 3:26).

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:26 (NKJV)

• A true father will not spoil his children rotten. Thus, God being a loving Father would not allow you to spoil and be rotten.
• Chastisement is part of God’s ways of raising His children (Proverbs 13:24; 23:13,14).

“He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV)

• I have heard it said by some people who believe that God does not punish or discipline the believers, those who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, that Jesus Christ has taken their punishment and chastisement: that their past sins, present sins, and future sins have been taken care of by Jesus’ punishment, thus they can do whatever they want whenever they want to.
• There is no such teaching in the Bible: whereby a believer is permitted to live a carefree life, under the pretext that Jesus has paid for the past sins, present sins, and future sins, thus believers are free to live as they want (Read 1 Peter 1:13-19; 2:11,12; 4:1-3; Colossians 3:5-10; Ephesians 5:3-11; 4:17-24; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 6:1-16).

• When a believer erred, made a mistake or committed a sin, and God is dealing with him or her, such should allow the dealings to be thorough.

• If God is dealing, correcting, or chastising you, but you proved stubborn or heady, He may be severer with you; and the discipline may not stop until His anger or fury is spent (Isaiah 9:12; Ezekiel 15:12,13).
• If you patiently wait and receive the correction or discipline, it will turn to your blessing and promotion (Hebrews 12:10,11; James 4:7-10).

1. For they [human fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He [God, the Father of spirits] for our profit, THAT WE MAY BE PARTAKERS OF HIS HOLINESS.
2. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, AFTERWARDS IT YIELDS THE PEACEABLE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY IT.”
   Hebrews 12:10,11 (NKJV)

• When a mature believer misses it, and he or she repented, ask for forgiveness, God will forgive him or her, but not without discipline.

• The discipline would serve as a deterrent or reminder to him or her, that they may not repeat that same mistake (Luke 12:47,48).

1. “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, SHALL BE BEATEN WITH MANY STRIPES.
2. “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, SHALL BE BEATEN WITH FEW. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
   Luke 12:47,48 (NKJV)

• God will forgive any sin committed by a believer, but the scars or consequences of the sin might linger, be there for a period of time; thus it is better not to commit the sin at all (1 John 1:9).
• When David committed a sin and he repented, God did forgive him, but the consequences of what He did was there for a long time (2 Samuel 12:7-15,24,25; and Chapters 13-19).
• A believer’s level of maturity or growth determines the severity of the punishment he or she receives when such did wrong—committed a sin: "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).

• Some would want to dodge or evade the discipline or chastisement of the Lord when they rebelled, but that is not possible—because He is a thorough God, a disciplinarian, and He is not partial (Romans 2:11).

• You should not be angry with God if He handles your case thus, you should rather rejoice, He does so because He loves you: “For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6).
• The much God loves you, the severer the discipline or chastisement, when you go astray—rebel against His instructions.

• One of the signs of God’s love is the severity of His discipline when you disobeyed and went astray (Hebrews 12:5-8).

• If you committed a sin or live in habitual sins, and God hardly corrected you, it could suggest that you are still far from Him; you are not endeared to Him yet—the affection, liking or loving, is not strong yet; or it is not there at all.
  IF the affection is not strong nor there at all, He will permit you to do whatever you like, you may even commit blatant sins, and He would not talk or discipline you for it.
  ALTHOUGH this state or condition is not good, and it is not the best; if you do not move up in your relationship with Him, if you stay long at this level, when He shows up, it is always severe, and mostly with judgements.

• If God actually has great affections for you, care about you, He will not leave you without discipline whenever you missed it.

• If you constantly received cane, discipline, or flogging for every mistake you made, I want you to rejoice, it means He is affectionate towards you—He cares for you.
  GOD is affectionate towards His children whom He loves and likes.
  YOUR obedience to His Word, being submissive unquestioningly, and living your life to please Him, endear you to Him (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Peter 4:2).

"IF GOD DOESN'T DISCIPLINE YOU AS HE DOES ALL OF HIS CHILDREN, IT MEANS THAT YOU ARE ILLEGITIMATE AND ARE NOT REALLY HIS CHILDREN AT ALL."
Hebrews 12:8 (NLT)

• You will not fail in Jesus’ name.
Peace!