Take your copy of the Scriptures and turn to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12. We, maybe, I'm not sure if Jeff was going to mention him, another brother was just reminding me of the absence of a, the presence of a dear brother who used to be able to be with us on a regular basis. In fact, he always ran a book table, Lloyd Sprinkle. And as some of you already know, he has gone to be home with the Lord this week. And here we are, as Jeff said, on the eve of the Keech Conference. And that brother has gone home. What, 52 or 53 years he pastored at Providence Baptist Church in Harrisonburg. So, we thank God for his work and labors. We want to remember the church and Andy Rice, the pastor there now, in our prayers, and Lloyd's wife, Jackie, during this time. This relates to my message. As I was, the brother was reminding me of Lloyd and what I'm speaking on, chastened yet never cast off. The language, when I was thinking about that there in Hebrews 12 and Lloyd and Jackie and experiences like that, that he has gone through and that we will all go through one day. We will all go through that one day. He suffered a a stroke and then was in a nursing home and passed away. The language of the Hatterberg Catechism in question and answer 27. What dost thou mean by the providence of God? Answer, the almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby as it were by his hand Now listen to this, He upholds and governs heaven and earth and all creatures, so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by his fatherly hand." And then the Catechism addresses, what's the advantage of knowing that? The sovereignty, the providence of God over such things, what's the advantage of that? And it answers, that we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and that in all things which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, and nothing shall separate us from His love, since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will, they cannot so much as move. Our text is Hebrews 12, verse 5 and 6. Turn your eyes there. The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12, verse 5, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. And then he's going to quote from the book of Proverbs, this exhortation, Proverbs 3. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him. For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. May the Lord bless this reading and proclamation of his word. As we have already seen this first half of the day, believers have become partakers of this wonderful grace of adoption. We are numbered among the children of God, and we now have this intimate fellowship with God our Father. In our fallenness and our sin, we were alienated, but now because of Christ, we have been reconciled. We were children of wrath, we were sons of disobedience, but now because of Christ, we are the children of God. Our confession says, quote, all those that are justified because of Christ God conferred in and for the sake of His Holy Son, Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption. Thomas Watson and his body divinity as he began to, and you'll find it's rather odd how little adoption is addressed at times in evangelical and reformed writings. In our time, it's I believe what Van said, there's much confusion about what is a child of God. A child of God is those that are born of God, right? But there's much confusion about that, but even if you notice, you notice even in our confession, it's just a paragraph. And yet it is a rich and wonderful doctrine. Thomas Watson commenting on this doctrine says, quote, extol and magnify God's mercy who has adopted you into his family, who of slaves has made you sons, of heirs of hell, now you are heirs of the promise. Adoption is a free gift, he says. He gave them power, dignity to become the sons of God. And then he says, as a thread of silver runs through the whole piece of work, so free grace runs through the whole privilege of adoption. Listen to this. Adoption, he says, is greater mercy than Adam had in paradise. He was a son by creation. Here is further sonship by adoption. To make us thankful, consider in civil adoption there is some worth and excellence in a person to be adopted. But there was no worth in us, neither beauty, nor parentage, nor virtue, nothing in us to move God, to bestow this prerogative of sonship upon us. We have enough, he says, in us to move God to correct us, but nothing to move Him to adopt us. Therefore, therefore, Watson says, therefore exalt, exalt free grace. That was Ryan's message this morning. Exalt. free grace, begin the work of angels here, he says. Bless him with your praises who has blessed you in making you his sons and daughters. And it's this wonderful teaching, this wonderful doctrine that we find here in our confession. Again, my assignment was the section of the confession. Towards the end, Jeff's gonna cover that last two sections, but I have, beginning with receive, here in paragraph one of chapter 12 of the confession, receive the spirit of adoption, it says. have access to the throne of grace with boldness," and he says, "... and enabled to cry, Abba, Father." Our pity. Now watch this. He begins to string together now, since we have received the Spirit of adoption, since God now, we've come into this intimate relationship with Him, no longer as judge, that's under justification. You come before God as judge in His tribunal. Now, And in this grace of adoption, we come to God as Father. We come to the Father, in an intimate way, we're enabled to cry, Abba, Father, in those most personal and intimate terms. And then he begins to, the confession begins to string together these parental concerns, you might say. Abba, Father. He says, those who are adopted by our Father are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him as by a father, yet never cast off. Isn't it wonderful how the Confessions and the Catechisms. And if you're not familiar with them, you should grow to be familiar with them. But it is wonderful how the Confessions and the Catechisms of the Reformation, there's a progression, they build on one another. They echo previous generations of theological development. the echo, the creeds of the ancient church. For example, the 1689, under the person of Christ, in Article 8, paragraph 2, uses this language concerning the person of Jesus Christ. So that two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person. Without conversion, a composition, confusion, which person is, listen to this, is very God and very man. Yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. Now some of you immediately heard the language there, very God, very man, or truly God, truly man. That's from the 4th century. That's the Nicene Creed. Not only the ancient creeds, But even more so, how these Reformation documents are grounded in the Scriptures. How they help us. And by the way, I agree with Earl Blackburn, our brother Earl Blackburn, that the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 is the apex of the Reformed confessions. Our passage, this section here, received the spirit of adoption, have received or have the access of the throne of grace with boldness, are enabled to cry, Abba, Father. The framers of the Confession lifted that language straight from Romans 8. I was going to speak from Romans 8, but I thought Van was going to cover that more. That's what you said in the phone conversation, so I diverted from there. But let me mention Romans 8 just quickly. Listen to what we just read in the confession, and now listen to the final authority, God's Word. In Romans 8 verse 14, and what's interesting is something that's said here that we easily read over and miss. He says in verse 14 of Romans 8, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit. We are the children of God. And if children then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him. Did you catch that language? If indeed we suffer with Him. Evangelicals have been very poor in developing a doctrine, a biblical doctrine of suffering. Other Christian traditions have fared much better in that. But the great theologian of suffering is Paul, you will find in the New Testament. It was Martin Luther who said that the preacher, the theologian, is made by much prayer, study, and suffering. And this theme of suffering will run through Paul's writings. Here, as he speaks of adoption, the indwelling spirit, he says, we are children of God, joint heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him. As the people of God, we are united to Christ. By faith, the indwelling Spirit, this doctrine of union with Christ. We are in Christ. Christ is in us. And as we identify with Him, the same world that has rejected Him will reject us. And we bring upon ourselves the afflictions of Christ as we identify with Him. In verse 18, Paul continues with this thought. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. The earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, because creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Verse 22, we see by the effects of the fall, the first Adam plunges the entire creation as the federal head into sin. And as he says in verse 22, for we know the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains until now. The plants die, our pets die, we die. Not only that, we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, within ourselves, eagerly wait. And notice, here is a change from what I think we've heard so far this morning. We eagerly wait for the adoption, the redemption of our body. So we've heard of this redemptive adoption so far, but now there's something here about an eschatological adoption that is to come. There's an already-not-yet at play here, that we shall enter into as joint heirs with Christ. The meek shall inherit the earth, a new heavens, a new earth, and we shall have new bodies. We, and all that are in Christ, like our brother Lloyd, shall have new bodies. Now, he spoke of suffering there that takes place in this present age. We often think of it as sickness and those barren years, those difficult times as we read in the Catechism at the beginning. But there's more to it than just that. Again, the suffering of the Apostle Paul, he knew of physical ailments, he suffered those. And in Hebrews 12, we have language in the context of the book of Hebrews of suffering for the cause of Christ. Suffering by the hands of wicked men. And yet, the writer of Hebrews connects this to a work of God for our chastisement. Adding to what I said earlier about Reformed confessions and catechisms, especially those that are here that are pastors, you'll notice that as you read the Old Divines and their sermons and writings, how they took advantage of the confessions and the catechisms that were available. You'll read a sermon and start to recognize the language and the progress of thought as something familiar. And then you realize, hey, That's coming from the Heidelberg Catechism. Hey, that's coming from our confession, the Westminster, some reformed confession. And you read some of the writings or sermons and certain aspects of the confession are often clarified, at least in older thought. And this helps us to avoid the danger of what I often call a theology of first glance. Now, in Hebrews 12, 6, the writer of Hebrews is quoting Proverbs 3, verses 11 and 12. Now listen to this, Charles Bridges, pastor from 1794 to 1869, in his exposition of the book of Proverbs, he says this, concerning those verses, now listen closely, listen to what he says here. He says, prosperity and adversity in their wise, listen to this, mixture and proportion form the present condition of man. So there can be times like the catechism I read earlier. I just happened to think about reading that, thinking about Lloyd, and yet it's right in with this. There's times of riches. There's times of great wealth and riches, and then there's times of poverty. There's times of great strength. in times of weakness and sickness. And then Bridges goes on to say, each is equally fruitful an opportunity of honoring the Lord. He's saying both of these are of the providence of God. God has governed these things to give much and to give little. Seasons of much, seasons of little. Seasons of health, seasons of sickness. And yet both of them, he says, serve as opportunities to honor God. He says, in adversity, by a humble and cheerful submission to his dispensations, to his timing. And prosperity, it's well to expect the rod, and suppose it to be his pleasure. Let it not dissatisfy thee, nor make thee either doubt his gracious providence, or out of impatience take any lawful course to remove it from thee. Bridges reminds us that the Apostle says, he speaks to us as children, as children. And indeed, under no character, he says, does he approach so near to us and endear himself so closely to us as that as father. Here we begin to understand Abba Father. He's the language in the confession, the language of Paul is not saying that we should go around calling God daddy is often you hear people say that's not what he's saying. He's speaking of intimacy and the fatherly care of God. Who's watching over and caring for us. So we'll see here again in a moment. But then he goes on to say, most precious of all times, especially under correction, is the privilege of adoption. Here he's commenting out of Proverbs, but it's this care of the father and this correction of the father, which he says is this privilege of adoption, my son. And then he says, we need it as much as our daily bread. Let me move on from bridges there. What we see in our text and what we are beginning to notice in the passage that we're in, that is the section in the confession, is that God deals with us as sons. And the way of justification, again, it's It's as a judge, but here it's adoption as father. And there are these string of these fatherly and parental concerns in this passage. The first one, notice, he says that we are, he shows us, it's pity, he's pitied. Or in other words, it's a fatherly compassion that he has towards us as his children. Psalm 103 verse 13, as the father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him. So there's this fatherly compassion towards us, is what the confession is saying. And it says not only does He pity us, but He protects us. We're protected in Proverbs 14, 26. In the fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. He provides for us, it says. They are pitied, protected, provided for. Give us this day our daily bread. Now remember the backdrop. Seasons of plenty, seasons of little, seasons of strength, seasons of weakness. Along with this, we see 1 Peter 5-7, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. By the way, that also by Peter is in the context of persecution and pressure from the world. Casting your care upon Him, for He cares. And then the confession adds this last one, and chastened by him as by a father. And the text that's given is Hebrews 12, 6, for whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives. He chastens, he disciplines, he corrects, in other words. I'm reminded of what the writer of Hebrews says again when he lifts this. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. And then the last one there is, he says, yet never cast off. The Lord will not cast off His people. Now, what we see here and then looking back at Hebrews 12, considering this in light of him chastening, disciplining, correcting his children. Again, this falls into place in the book of Hebrews where much pressure and persecution is spoken of. And verse, for instance, verse 2, He tells them to look or to consider Jesus. Notice verse 2 of chapter 12. looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, for who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Verse 3, for consider him who endured such hostility, he says, from sinners against him, lest you become weary and discouraged in your soul. And so, as we have identified with the Lord, with the Son of God as His people, the same persecution of the world begins to come upon His people, His church. Here He says also concerning them, though the Son of God had laid down His life, given it on the cross, He tells these Hebrew Christians, for consider him who endured such hostility, verse 4, you have not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin. They had not yet been martyred or laid down their life as the Son of God had. Not yet. And yet again, when you start going through this section, the pressure that's upon them, again, just notice what is being said here. For instance, at the end of chapter 11, notice verse 36. Verse 36, still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wondered about in sheepskins, goatskins, being destitute and afflicted and tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in the deserts, in the mountains, in dens, in caves, in earth. And all these have obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. He speaks of running this race and not growing weary, but looking to Jesus. So there are these trials. that are under the providence in the hand of God, where He is chastening and correcting. And you see there's a sanctifying end to this, where it leads and where He's going with this, whether it is through a sickness, or in this case, through the hands of sinful men who are persecuting these saints. He says, this is of the hand of God. Do not despise the chastening of the Lord. So why does sinful men who are carrying out these things, the hands of sinners? Verse three, he's saying that this is the hand of God who's over this ultimately. He tells them not to become weary, not to become discouraged. Again, this is terms describing often like in the ancient world of running a marathon. And again, verse 3 and 4, it is from sinners, and they had not resisted to bloodshed striving against this sin. Jesus is the great model and example for us to follow after here. The great example of our suffering by the hands of sinners. In the second chapter of Acts and Peter's sermon there, in Acts chapter 2 verse 23, Peter even speaks of this as being of the hand of God concerning the death of the Son, where he says, being delivered by the predetermined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. You see, Jesus, our Master, our Lord, He has suffered for us, but even this was of the hand of God. As we read the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53, it says that the Lord was pleased to crush Him. That we look to Him, we consider, we are to grasp with our minds that He is the one that we are to turn to. He is the one that we are to draw strength that we might persevere. And yet, we should realize He is the one that we have chosen to follow. He is the one that we have been adopted into the family with. And we are to remember, as our Lord Himself told us, that a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecute me, they will also persecute you. You see, we read the list that is found in the confession, and we go, oh, the heavenly, fatherly care of God, He's providing for us, He's caring for us. And unfortunately, we think, someone dented my car today in the parking lot. God's watching over me and caring for me. And yet we find here there is something much more than that. We need to realize that as we pray for God's people, as we pray for the church around us, that God's people are always going through, again, times of what we would consider, at least from our eyes, times of blessing, and yet there are many saints that set week after week in the life of the church who are going through times of great trial and struggle. We've had the great privilege, we have not shed our blood, at least not now, Many of you are starting to feel pressure. It was interesting hearing a brother earlier today, he was a Gideon, speaking of the attitude of people, how he would pass out Bibles 46, 47 years ago, and how they respond today to passing out Bibles, to hostility. Pressure may even come from our own households, the workplace, but as we live to Christ, as we share the Gospel, as we live as adopted children, we are identified with our Lord, the persecution rises, the pressure rises. And yet, we see here that we are not to despise the chastening of the Lord of those times when they come, the pressures that they come, the correction, because it leads to a sanctifying in. We're not to be discouraged when we are rebuked by the Lord. We died when we came to Christ, and yet it is a slow death, isn't it? Just read the next article, chapter 13 in our confession about sanctification. There's this ongoing war, it says, still taking place in us. Back to Hebrews again, when he speaks of this chastening, this disciplining of the Lord that's taking place. Notice some of the language when he says that this is leading to verse 11, or actually verse 10. Notice verse 10. For they indeed for a few days chastened us, and seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Verse 11, now no, chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful nevertheless. Afterward it yields, notice this, it yields peaceable fruit, he says, of righteousness of those who have been trained by it. And then notice the context of verse 14, that we often will think about holiness and perseverance. He goes on to say in verse 12, therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. And then notice this, pursue peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. You see, the end of this is holiness, which apart no one would see the Lord. The end of this is the fruit of righteousness. But all of this, all of these difficulties, even as we see in the book of Hebrews, or whether it is something that we will go through in this life as a sickness, it is of the fatherly hand of God. For whom the Lord loves, our text says in verse 6, He chastens. And He scourges every son whom He sees. The Father loves and chastens, that is, He disciplines, He corrects His children. And that's His fatherly purpose here. The chastening of the Lord. Let me close with some thoughts here. The primary thought here is that in the chastening of the Lord, that this leads into the next chapter concerning sanctification for our maturity and growth and holiness in Christ. And the primary thought here in this text, in Hebrews 12, is that this work of God perfecting us This persecution, these difficulties are clearly that of the sovereign hand of God in all things, in His providences over our life, ordained for the glory of His name and for the growth and the good of His people. We are to think of these things rightly. We are to think of these things biblically. Again, we are to, as He says, do not be discouraged. We are not to cast off these things or neglect them, but to see them for what they are. Our minds are to be renewed that as we begin to see God as our loving Heavenly Father, who's sovereign over these details, is working in our lives. That we may learn that all the difficulties and persecutions and providences of all sorts are ordained by God for our growth in Christ. And that the preservation of these fallen bodies is very low on the list of priorities for God. Yes, He will redeem our bodies on that day. But for now, consider Jesus. There is a last quote from Stephen Karnak. I found this a few weeks ago. Stephen Karnak says, he finds out a way to glorify his mercy when he might only have glorified his justice. He takes rebels into his arms who had merited the thunders of anger. And by an incomparable and unimagined kindness, gives his son to save his enemies. And then he says, and adopts them as his children. and that by a free act of His own, not being persuaded by any other, He gave His only begotten Son. Let us pray. Father, we are thankful that You gave Your Son. and that in him and through him we have been adopted into your family. We thank you that you are our father. You know our weaknesses. You've ordained the path that is before us in all of its trials and difficulties. And you've set them in such a way, Father, that they are for our good. You correct us. You chasten us along the way through many ways. And yet, Father, it is to that end that we might become more like Your Son. You've brought us into Your fold. You have given us Your name. We praise You for it. We thank You for it. Father, we ask that that which we have heard here today we would receive, we would recognize Your hand in these things all around us and in us. We ask this, Father, in the great name of Christ Your Son, our Lord.