The secret to godliness—the blessed scourging

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37).

Oh, how we love that promise! But, what does it really mean? If the real meaning of the first half were known, many would reject the whole package.

What is involved in the Father giving someone to Jesus? More than most know or want to know. It is the straight gate and narrow path that Jesus spoke of, and few there be that find it.

“Coming to Jesus” can seem so nebulous that many give up without ever learning how to do it. Yet, all over the world little children have learned how. Even some big baby Hueys have learned how. Let’s look at what is involved in coming to Jesus.

What do Acts 5:31, Isaiah 6:5-7, Genesis 32:25,26, Galatians 3:23,24, Proverbs 28:9, Jeremiah 31:2,3, Hebrews 12:6-8, Romans 3:19, Psalm 106:44, Judges 10:6-16, Isaiah 30:15-19, Psalm 106:42-45, John 6:37 have in common? When all the puzzle pieces are put together, what picture comes into view? A very beautiful picture, a wonderful mystery, indeed, the secret to godliness and happiness.

“But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the Law was our Schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” (Gal. 3:23,24).

The people of every church that says the Law of God was done away with at the cross cannot rightly understand Galatians 3:23,24. But, Matthew 5:17, Romans 3:31, and Romans 8:7 clearly indicate that the Law of God is eternal. God’s Law is in full force today, and perfectly cooperates with God’s Spirit. However, the Christian church today rejects the Law’s condemnation and therefore they see Galatians 3:23,24 as nothing except a lesson in history. They say that the Jews were under the Law for 1,500 years, and that during that time Jesus gave them horrible, dead works to live all their long lives. But, they say that when He came here He gave the Holy Ghost and grace to the church, and so we get to be free from Law, dead to the Law of God. Too bad for the Old Testament Jews. That is the Papal and Evangelical interpretation of Galatians 3:23,24. It is antinomianism, and pure anti-Semitism.

However, being under the Law God has demanded of “all the world” (Rom. 3:19). That is, being under “the curse of the Law” (Gal. 3:13, cf Gal. 4:5) is His first step in giving “the gift of God” (John 4:10).

“Now we know that what things soever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” (Rom. 3:19). This verse was Paul’s crescendo in the introduction of his treatise on the gospel of our salvation. He opened the good news of Christ with the bad news of God. Paul opened the good news of Mt. Calvary with the bad news of Mr. Sinai. There is no justification of sin with condemnation of sin. There can be no infinite repentance in the soul without infinite conviction from on high.

“For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” (Heb. 12:6).

When we have endured His infinite scourging God dealeth with us as children. This was seen again and again by Old Testament Israel.

“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not Him.

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.

Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.

and the children of israel cried unto the lord, saying, we have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our god, and also served baalim.

And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?

The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to Me, and I delivered you out of their hand.

Yet ye have forsaken Me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.

Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.

And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, We have sinned: do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee; deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day.

And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord: and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” (Judg. 10:6-16).

“Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Many times did He deliver them; but they provoked Him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.

Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry:

And He remembered for them His covenant, and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.” (Ps. 106:42-45).

This is a recurring theme throughout sacred history. Israel chose to close their hearts to God’s condemning Law and to deliberately force Jehovah to leave them. Therefore, the Lord punished them by raising up unbeatable enemies to work repentance into Israel’s previously unwilling hearts. In the end they would return to Him with sorrow for sin, confession, humility; and He would return to them with forgiveness and complete restoration to His heart.

“This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the Law of the LORD:

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us….

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: He will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when He shall hear it, He will answer thee.” (Isa. 30:9-11,15-19).

The sword of the Lord leads to the grace of the Lord.

“For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it…. Therefore fear thou not, O My servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.” (Jer. 30:5-7,10).

“Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.

The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until He have done it, and until He have performed the intents of His heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.

Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 30:23-31:3).

We love to quote Jeremiah 31:3, but without its context we turn God’s love into love-sick sentimentalism, into a vain fantasy. Without its context, we have lost its true meaning. What prepared the people to be drawn by God’s loving-kindness, to find justification and grace, and be led to peace and rest? It was the sword of justice and punishment. The fear of God, humiliation, and shame before Him led them to see His goodness. And that led them to repentance.

“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” (Heb. 12:11).

But, on the other hand, many refuse the humbling correction of God. They will not surrender to the humbling.

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” (Heb. 12:7,8).

All who will not submit to God’s right to punish are none of His. All who will not admit that they deserve punishment cannot be His Son’s disciples. They are not of Elohim, but of Baalim. They are not born of God, but are of their father the devil. Their sins cannot be reproved; their idols must not be broken. “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” (Prov. 28:9). Their thoughts are in constant warfare against Jehovah. Satan’s voice speaks in their prayers. Devils sing through their songs of worship. To God, their every action is abominable blasphemy. He doesn’t know them, despite all their abundant morality and religiosity. To Him their worship is whorship. And if they never surrender, which grows more difficult with every opportunity presented by His Spirit, then they end their probationary life unprepared for Judgment Day. They die lost for eternity. If only they once chose to feel the pain of being in God’s presence, His angels would be there instantly by their side as they were to Jesus in Gethsemane.

“And when [Jacob] saw that he prevailed not against [Jesus], He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with [Jesus].” (Gen. 32:25).

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jer. 30:7).

“For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.” (Jer. 29:10).

 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jer. 31:31-33).

When a soul has suffered God’s scourging, surrendered to its claims; when he has resolved the humbling, and in hope has cried out for mercy, then the Father gives Christ to him for His provision of mercy. “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me.” (John 6:37).

All who have surrendered to the Law’s claims, they will naturally come to Jesus. Even though it can take time, sometimes years, to get through the humbling authority of the God of love; even though it may take time to see the goodness of God in His rebuke and spanking—time for Jesus to open their eyes to His Father’s goodness—they get through it all. Then they hear His promise, “And him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” (Ibid.). They realize, “God, the Almighty, the final authority on justice, is offering His provision to help me!”

Then nothing and nobody can stop the determination of the empowered soul to come to Jesus as his sin-pardoning Saviour. The soul happily overcomes the humbling in Judge and by the authoritative, gracious words he hears from the Spirit of Christ, his hope turns into faith and his faith receives Jesus’ promises of justification and he revels in his gift of the reconciled “Spirit of the Father”. He comes out the other side happy with the Father, settled in His Law, like he could never be before the humbling, and very tightly bound to the Son.

“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6:5-7).

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Vs.8).

Otherwise, without admitting the need for God’s humbling scourging we have no help from above; we ever remain under the loveless, dogmatic domain of the devil. There is no salvation without the Schoolmaster’s punishment from above, His strong conviction of sin. Without God’s infinite conviction of sin there can be no infinite repentance of sin. Without His sword that cuts both ways as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, we remain ever wretched, miserable, blind, poor, blind and naked. Our repentance is abomination; our good works are dead works. We have no rest day and night, and the smoke of our torment ascendeth forever and ever. We can never be sealed by God because we crave the lawless, mark of the beast, which gives no love.

“Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:31).

Acknowledging the Father’s justice in His infinite conviction of sin we receive an infinite need for an infinite Saviour from sin. We receive the bold faith to cry for His mercy. And in that faith we can hear and believe His mercy when He endows it. The new heart and His ever-present Spirit are witnesses to us that we are accepted in the Beloved.

All who haven’t surrendered their blunders to God’s lightning and thunderous condemnation of sin, will not come to Jesus. All who will not surrender to the humbling of the infinite God don’t get far enough into the process of redemption to need an infinite Jesus. Only the ones who have surrendered to God’s authority come to Jesus, and happily.

All who the Father gives to His Son are they who have submitted to His scourging, crying out for Jesus to accept them and love them. They come out of the scourging rebuke of God recognizing the goodness of God in its rightful humbling shame and guilt. They look back at the fearful but glorious experience, and they realize that all their suffering needed to happen in order for their sky-high self-will and rebellion to be reined in. They see that Jesus suffered the same in Gethsemane. They see that by His help have entered into His suffering and they are worthy to be called His brethren and His friends. In their deep joy, they see His deeper joy, His deepest joy. “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” (Ps. 45:7). They are at peace with God and with His strong ways. His cloud sits on their mercy seat and they reverently guard their new temple. They are at home in His constant presence and dwell in the house of the Lord forever. By His infinite power they are sealed in justification through “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21).

By God’s infinite scourging they have become the powerful, happy sons of God. The blessed scourging is the secret of salvation, the mystery of godliness.