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"Chastened by the Lord..."

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:32

THE LORD’S HAND

The first century church saw the hand of the Lord directly and immediately involved. Sometimes this involves strong action from the Lord.

1. The judgment of God against Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)

a) They were struck dead by the Lord.

b) They had lied against the Holy Spirit.

2. The judgment of the Corinthians

a) Some became weak and sickly.

b) Some died (1 Corinthians 11:30).

THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

There were obvious lessons that must be learned. These were painful lessons.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord,
that we may not be condemned with the world.”
1 Corinthians 11:31-32

1. “If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged”

a) Self-judgment would be best.

b) Paul knew however, that we would not judge ourselves objectively.

c) We will never judge ourselves too harshly, even if we are wrong.

d) We would always find some way to justify ourselves.

2. “But when we are judged”

a) Paul now refers to judgment from the Lord.

b) He will judge according to truth and righteousness.

3. “We are chastened by the Lord”

a) The Lord’s judgment for His people involves chastening.

b) This is perfectly consistent with what we read elsewhere in the Scriptures
(Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-11).

i) Chastening is for the good of our soul.

ii) It is to correct that which is wrong.

iii) To dishonour the Lord by carelessly partaking of the Lord’s Supper must be corrected.

4. “That we may not be condemned with the world”

The world would never accept God’s chastening. In rejection of the Lord, the world brings judgment to itself. Chastening prevents us from being condemned with the world.