In Your Struggle Against Sin

Hebrews 12:4-11 BSB

 

“4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

 

“’My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord,

and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

6For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,

and He chastises every son He receives.’

 

“7Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?

 

“10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. 11No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.”

 

God’s Discipline

 

Jesus Christ shed his blood for us on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins so we would have eternal life with God, but so we would now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. For our salvation is not about a free ride to heaven based off a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Our salvation is about being delivered out of our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin so we will now live for the Lord in moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, and obedience to God.

 

So, for us who believe in Jesus Christ, in truth, and in righteousness, he offers many instructions in the Scriptures to us on how we are now to live as followers of Christ, and of the consequences if we should choose our sin over God. And he takes us through trials and tribulations to test our faith, to strengthen us in our walks of faith, and to get us to remain on the straight path and to not sway from where our Lord is leading us. Discipline is necessary to keep us focused on the Lord, and following him in his ways.

 

Hebrews 12:12-13 BSB

 

12Therefore strengthen your limp hands and weak knees. 13Make straight paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

 

The Adulterous Church

 

So many people today are teaching a very diluted “gospel” message which gives sinners who profess faith in Jesus Christ full freedom to continue in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience and without true remorse. Many are teaching that once you “pray the prayer” to receive Christ that now all your sins are forgiven and God doesn’t even see when you sin anymore. That is a lie from hell! And they tell them they are now “in Christ,” and if they feel guilty for sinning they should just claim “who you are in Christ.”

 

Many “church” gatherings and preachers/pastors have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive to the world and more acceptable to the ungodly who they are trying to attract to their gatherings. And many do this, as well, to appease themselves, for many preachers are not living according to the will of God, but they are still living according to the will of the flesh. And they are running “the churches” more like businesses to be marketed to the world rather than gatherings of the body of Christ for mutual edification.

 

God’s Word

 

So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate biblical context so we are getting the truth of what they teach and not the lies which are spreading so rapidly and which are being embraced it seems by the majority of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in the USA. For Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow him in obedience to his commands in holy living.

 

And that is basically the message here in verses 12-13. For our hands have to do with our deeds, and our knees have to do with submission and surrender, and our feet have to do with our walks, how we live, in practice. So, either we bow to sin and do what is sinful, in practice, and surrender to sinful practices, or instead we bow to God and submit to him and do what he commands. We can’t do both. For straight paths are the ways of God and of his righteousness and holiness in walks of obedience to his commands.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

Your Servant 

 

An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Lord, I love to have You near me

As I go throughout my day,

Walking daily in Your footsteps,

As I humbly pray.

List’ning to You, hear You teaching

Me to live and work for You,

Lord, I pray You lead and guide me

Daily in Your truth.

 

Lord, I want to be Your witness,

Telling others of Your grace;

Telling how they can be set free

Of their sins today;

Share with them the love of Jesus,

He died on a cruel tree,

So that we’d be forgiven

For all eternity.

 

Lord, I want to serve You only,

As I bow on bended knee,

Making You my Lord and master,

And Your servant be.

Humbly walking in obedience,

Doing what You say to me,

Lord, may I be an example

Of one who’s set free.

 

https://vimeo.com/126318100

 

In Your Struggle Against Sin

An Original Work / July 9, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love