“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Heb. 12:6)
Now let’s compare this verse to that one.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9)
I do not ever recall being punished, chastised and scourged if you like, unless I did something wrong, or said something I should not have said. I believe, though I could be incorrect, that there is a form of correlation in the following verse with the two previous ones.
“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” (John 19:1)
Pilate found no fault in our Savior, and he knew they had delivered the Lord to him for jealousy’s sake, yet he still scourged the Lord of glory.
Few are ever punished simply for the sake of punishment, and so, although many have offered various reasons as to why Pilate would do that, I do not believe anyone really knows why. Innocent people are not punished for no reason.
And so, if we sin, or better said, when we sin and then confess those sins and are then forgiven, are we still scourged because of those sins? Why would the Almighty chastise us if we have committed no intentional sin against Him? Why would He scourge us if we are with sincerity of heart following our Savior, and doing all we are led to do for the glory of our Father in heaven?
A small child does not know that he should not run out into the street, and so in patience and love we correct them by teaching them the dangers of the road. If they do so again willfully, with the full knowledge that what they have done is wrong, in direct disobedience to the commandment we gave them, then punishment must be inflicted. But if they do so unintentionally, chasing the ball into the street because their mind is on the game at hand, should there be punishment?
Is chastisement and scourging a step beyond, or the next necessary item, after correcting?
“For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.” (Heb. 12:10)
The question then must be this, does the Most High scourge us even when we have done nothing wrong?
And at least in my mind, at this time, the answer is found somewhere in the reason why Pilate would scourge a man who he thought was innocent.
If you believe that the only time that our Father in heaven chastises us is after we have committed a sin, even after we have confessed it, then you would by default need to spend your life in the service of the Almighty afraid of Him, believing that even when your thoughts are not in line with His will and Word, it would require Him to scourge you.
If He scourges us, chastises us when we have done no sin, simply at a time of His choosing and for His pleasure, then I could understand why people would be fearful of Him, for we would never know when He was going to punish us, or for what reason.
For correction’s sake I can understand, but would simple correction require chastisement?
I have to repeat that because it is heavy on my mind, why did Pilate scourge a man that he believed to be innocent?
Punishment is due when disobedience is deliberate, and to a degree I can understand the need for punishment even after we have confessed our sins, and He has been faithful and just to forgive us.
Are we never innocent enough to never require scourging?
