BASTARD CHILDREN (NOT WHO YOU THINK)

 

  I was nineteen when my first son was born as was his mother. We were both Christians but we had not been subdued ourselves. We did not study the Word and were as lost as could be on how to raise our son. Any times I declared that a operation manual did not come with his birth. Ironically, though, we had the manual on the table, but like most people, we were too proud to read the “Manual” let alone follow its instructions. I am referring to the Holy Bible. As such, we recognized early that we were raising a stallion, so to speak. What were we to do? We tried discipline and only provoked him further because disciple without a demonstration of love is provocation.

  We remained unstable ourselves, and as for me, I was a “bastard son” of God because I had never been subdued. I appeared to be, and I fooled others, but not God. Perhaps I handed down my genes to further generation according to scripture (Exod 20:5). Our children are often like the parents, and most prefer the child be better than we are.

  The people have become “bastard” sons and daughters. “Bastards” are children whose father is illegitimate. They are children born outside Holy Matrimony. As such, they are children of the Devil, according to scripture: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44). Lost is the “son of perdition” (John 17:12). That must be Judas who fulfilled prophecy. “Perdition” is Hell, or eternal damnation.

  Lusts are desires. Sons of the Devil do whatever they desire to do without the fear of the Lord. Fear comes from respect. God died for us; why not revere Him? That is the grateful thing to do, but what do people do? They sin in rebellion to God. They are “bastard” sons. They may obey their biological parents (Heb 12:9), or not, but do not obey their heavenly Father.  As such, even Christians are chastened by the Lord.

  Chastening is “discipline” to “subdue” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) the bastard child — the son who acts as if God is not his Father. Guaranteed — if God does not discipline and subdue the rebellious son (and daughter) the Devil will because he is the true father. Now examine the scripture for today:

KEY VERSES: ⁵ My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him: ⁶ For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. ⁷ If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? ⁸ But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. (Heb 12:5-8)

  “My son” is a son of the Father. That “son” claims to be Godly, but without chastening, he abandons that relationship; hence, “bastard son.” Scripture is referring to Christians who need correction. Christians have been washed clean of sin by the blood of Jesus for “sins that are past” (Rom 3:25). Afterward, they will sin again. If they say they do not, they are liars (1 John 1:10).

  Because even Christians will continue in sin, they require chastening. Yes, even “good” sons are imperfect. God calls His children to perfection, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecc 7:20) and “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mat 5:48).

  Therefore, everyone still sins, even Christians, and to be perfect sons, they require chastening. No one likes chastening. Just as a wild stallion fights the trainer who attempts to subdue it, sons of God fight their Master! If the wild stallion is not subdued, then the trainer is no longer the master; the stallion is! Stallions have a wild nature and an inclination to be free from authority. Sons not fully subdued fight to the finish much like the untrained and untamed stallion.

  “Faint” is archaic for becoming discouraged. When God chastens, good sons will not become discouraged. Sons who do not obey must not be set free to roam the world, but tamed by chastening, less the good son becomes totally feral and return to their father the Devil.

  Ironically, Christians are free when subdued to God, but many feel enslaved. On the other hand, they feel free in the world, but are mastered by Satan, the Prince of the Power of the Air. The truth will make one free (John 8:32). Rebellious sons feel free when they are deceived, but indeed, they are enslaved. Do you think not? What person is not a slave to sin? What son would rather be free from their stronghold then absorbed in it? We all have our strongholds and long to be set free, but sin is habitual. Satan gives sons of God the habits of sin so that they will never be subdued.

  How is a wild horse trained? By discipline. That is how its wild nature is subdued and the wild beast tamed. Sinners are wild beasts, and the master of them is the Beast. Sinners do what their master desires, thinking it is of their own volition, but all the while, their master holds the reins.

  God holds the reins on His sons. He keeps them loose until the son goes the wrong way, then God tightens the slack to steer His sons on the right path to the Way of the Tree of Life. Without that chastening, sons will head toward the other tree — the one that seems the more appealing. Now let is apply that.

  I am a son of God and if you are a Christian in heart, then you are too. Even though a good son, you and I (women too) are inclined toward straying away from good pastures toward unknown places in the wilderness. Or perhaps, we look back as Lot’s wife did, and have fond memories of roaming in the world without a care about tomorrow.

  We should care about tomorrow as the “eighth day” is eternal. God wants that none should perish out there, and to help us control ourselves, he “tightens the reins” so to speak, to discipline us to go the Way and only Way to Glory. How would rebellious sons know the Way? Parents, that guidance does not belong to the preacher nor the teacher, and certainly not the entertainment industry; it belongs to you. You are the trainer of the “beast” to make him docile, and your house is his “corral.” You are the master of the house until that son or daughter matures. What shall you do with that responsibility? Call the teacher” Call the psychologist? “(You) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Prov 22:6).

  Only you can train the child up the way you would have them go. Others will train them up the way they would have them go! How do you want that son to go? To eternal life and to never perish. How would the world have them go? They would rather they go the way of the world than the way of God. By default, they would rather your sons and daughters perish in Hell than be subdued on Earth!

  I finished my graduate studies in family counseling. The best thing they taught is that they cannot fix anything. With psychological counseling you are on your own. They can guide a person toward normality (lead the horse to water) but only the “stallion” can drink or not. Some may be so wild that they will not drink at all or drink where they are steered to drink. But if God has the reins, He will lead them to Living Water, and they may freely drink or not. The world will guide toward stagnant water, but God, and hopefully Christian parents, toward the Water provided by God — the Holy Spirit.

  Christian parents may not know the Way. They know not on Whom to depend. I made the mistake of depending on a psychologist rather than God. He had good intentions, but my son was not subdued. He became highly disciplined outside, but inside he was never subdued.

  I thought he was no longer a danger to himself, but danger was his lifestyle. He preferred the things of the world, because he was taught that God is “as you understand Him.” That is not God; God is One who you have vanity, reject and misunderstand! Rather than exalt God and diminish yourself, the unsubdued exalt themselves and diminish God.

  God is good! However, out of goodness He, “scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” “Scourge” sounds like cruel punishment! Indeed, that does mean to “flog.” He will do that because He would rather have you feel a little pain here than torment in Hell. He does not flog hard. With reins in Hand, just as with a horse, He whips the reins to let it know that he is not in obedience. The horse hardly notices it but obeys because it knows the Master loves him.

  If parents do not train up and whip when need be, what can they expect? A wild horse in the household doing what untamed horses do. They buck and neigh and fight to the finish. Either the horse or the trainer will eventually win out, and the same goes for raising children.

  What do sons of the Devil prefer? Pleasure and independence. They reject authority and display it by hostility toward their parents and others in authority. Ironically, they are more subdued in the presence of “scourging” than with laxity. Something inside, perhaps God, instills a desire to be tamed. Why would that be? Good parents who discipline demonstrate love, just as God is with His mild “scourging.” That is not to “provoke the child” (Ephes 6:7) but to train up to subdue their wild nature.

  Why would parents not train up their child to docility? Although God never fears His children, parents do. God wants that none should perish, but He knows they will, and accepts that. On the other hand, parents often fear their children. They fear that they may rebel and dread that. Their recourse is to free the immature stallion into the outer “pastures” where they will not see his ferocity. There they can buck and kick all they want, and the parents go on as if they are tame. They fear going where the child is because they are afraid of what they see. The home becomes a ranch house with “stalls.” The parents take care of their stalls and feel secure inside, all the while, the stallion can be heard kicking in the other stall. That is not a home; that is a barn.

  Parents fail to discipline because they fear that their children will hate them. Just as a stallion seems to hate the trainer, a tamed stallion will grow to love their master because he not only trains but nourishes and loves. That is what God does for His sons, and what Christian parents are to do with their children.

  “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons.” That passage is for all of us —the parents chastening by God and our children’s chastening by us… “for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?”

  The assumption there is that good parents discipline and domesticate their children, and as such, a Good God can be depended on to do the same! You may not understand that because nowadays, parents fail to chasten. It is like in the days of Noah where the “sons of Seth” failed to heed their father, Jared, and perished in the flood. They were so undomesticated that they preferred drowning than submission. They preferred death to Noah’s authority. Children today are the same way and parents know not what to do! Perhaps they should get on the “ark” in hopes the beasts will follow them through the door before God shuts it forever.

  Untamed sons are described in the key verses: “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Refusal to be reined in by God makes the unsubdued bastards and sons of the Devil. Those sons go the way of their liar and murderous “father” who stole them with original sin.

  At one time, bastard children were ashamed of their heritage. Now fornicating parents flaunt their sin and exalt their bastard children. Then why would they be surprised when their children fornicate against God? What would you expect them to do? You should train them up, and the best training is by demonstration.

  Sin is inherited from the father the Devil and is passed down from the father who raises them. Original sin is genetic and practicing sin is by training (behavioral). If you are satisfied with your own life, then you may not care about the life of the ones who you love most.

  Discipline is hard work. For the stallion to be subdued requires tenacity and patience. Only one attempt is an admission of failure. Christian parents never give up on their children. They demonstrate their love for the wild child by chastening them. Unsubdued children go their own way because it seems parents do not really care. They question whether they are even loved or not.

  When I was young, it seemed the preacher was preaching at me alone. Years later, he corrected me;  that it was not for me personally, but the people in general. Why did I feel that way? Because I had sins that were not confessed. We all did but I took it as a personal attack.

  What I write here, I applied to myself, but it also pertains to you. “You” is whomever reads this commentary. You may get angry because chastening is not pleasurable; it is quite painful to be truthful, but the pain is worth it! When I write commentary, I have read scripture chronologically. It is not timed for you by me, but by God.

  Why did I write this commentary today? Because it was next in line to be read. I am sorry if it offends anyone’s parenting skills, but the truth is that we are all unskilled. Like the good doctor who “practices” medicine, as it is imperfect, parents also “practice” parenting. That means that we too learn as we go.

With that said, have a great day on the ranch!

  (picture credit: depositpictures; "Stallion Horses")

With that said, have a great day on the ranch!