Jeremiah 5:3 - Homiletics

Fruitless chastisement.

I. THE PURPOSE OF CHASTISEMENT IS CORRECTION .

1. It is to lead men by outward suffering to inward grief ("they have not grieved"). No more hopeless condition can be found than pleasure or indifference in sin. The tears of penitence are the first preparations for reformation.

2. It is to lead men, through outward suffering and inward grief, to a genuine Conversion of character (God looks for a restoration of "good faith"), and to bring them back to God ("they have refused to return"). It is no end in itself, no good except as leading to a further good. It is not given in vindictive rage nor to satisfy the claims of abstract justice. Though it springs directly from the wrath of God, that wrath is based on his eternal love. Because God loves his children he must be angry when they sin. Because he desires their good he must not spare his rod ( Proverbs 3:11 , Proverbs 3:12 ). The purpose of chastisement is not so mysterious as is commonly supposed. People often exclaim vaguely, "These troubles must be sent for some good purpose." The purpose is not all hidden. It is mainly that we may be brought nearer to God.

II. THE CORRECTION AIMED AT IN CHASTISEMENT IS NOT ALWAYS ATTAINED . A terrible delusion possesses multitudes of suffering people. They have faith enough to believe that trouble is sent for their good, but not spirituality enough to see how to use it for that end. Such people assume that it must benefit them, however they behave under it. Some suppose that if they suffer in this world they will certainly receive compensation in the next. Such ideas imply that chastisement cannot be deserved, or that the mere endurance of it is meritorious, or that, if not exactly punishment for sin, it must be a necessity to be borne now or hereafter for its own sake or to satisfy some strange will of God. But chastisement is a "means of grace," and, like other "means of grace," may be frustrated. We may receive this grace in vain ( 2 Corinthians 6:1 ). Consider the causes of the fruitlessness of chastisement.

1. Stoical hardness . We may be stricken, but not grieve.

2. Thoughtlessness . We may feel inward grief, but not reflect on our condition and need.

3. Pride , which suffers pangs of grief but no contrition for sin.

4. Impenitence . We may "refuse to receive correction," harden our wills against submission, and rebel in impatience and complaining against God, instead of returning to him.

III. FRUITLESS CHASTISEMENT IS WHOLLY AN EVIL THING . Like every other grace, if abused it works injury. Sent to bless, it is converted into a curse.

1. It is wasted suffering . As such it must be reckoned as an evil. Pain in itself is not a good thing. If it works no good, natural instinct is right in regarding it as bad.

2. It leads to an aggravation of wickedness . The very abuse of it is a sin. The wrong temper in which it is received is so much more wickedness added to the long catalogue of unrepented sin. One more call from the Father is spurned by his children.

3. It leaves the heart harder than it finds it. Sorrow, if it does not soften the sufferer, will harden him, as friction, which abrades the tender skin, renders the tough skin more thick and horny.