Exhortation and Discipline

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And 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. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

Those who are resistant to correction and angry at admonishment are very likely unsaved.

Revelation 3:19 "Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent."

Job 5:17 "Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty."

1 John 3::8-19 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed: to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

We live in confusing days when the wheat resembles tares, making it difficult to discern who is saved and who is unsaved. What do we do with this when interacting with both?

God said not to pull out the tares because we might be pulling up wheat. We must address sin in the body; we do not need to know if they are authentic or not, only that they claim to be Christians but live as if they have never been transformed by God.

God made it clear to me that I cannot always clearly discern who has been born again and who is not, but I can challenge someone who is living against God's principles to ask God if they have ever been transformed by God. If they become angry and refuse to ask God, that may be the answer, that they never trusted Christ.

Matthew 18:15-20 "15 "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

Those who live sinful lifestyles and say they are Christians may be unsaved, and we treat them as outsiders because of their rebellion. Whether or not they are true Christians is up to God. As long as they claim Christianity, they are under discipline.