Discipline Through Sickness

1 Corinthians 11:27-32
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

God does not want the children he adopts to suffer the same condemnation of judgement that the world will suffer. Christians sin. Non-Christians sin. God let's (for the most part) the non-Christian reap what they sow. He also let's them continue in patterns of sin; after all, unbelief is sin, and every moment of every day the non-Christian neglects to walk by faith.

But what happens when one of his children begin to live in a pattern of sin? Like a loving father, God corrects them back to the path of faith and obedience. But how does he accomplish this you ask, by using the wooden spoon of suffering.

It is striking, but take another look at the text above us. God disciplines his children that are in sin by inflicting weakness, illness, and even death upon them. Weakness is being sick enough to have very little strength left. Illness is being incapacitated by some chronic sickness. The same word is used of many of the people Jesus healed during his earthly 3 year ministry. And death is...well we can all figure that one out.

The Disciples at one point saw a blind man and asked Jesus which one sinned, he or his parents. Jesus said neither, but he was sick that God would be glorified through his healing. Do I think every sickness has a direct link to a pattern of sin in an individual, no. Do I think God is sovereign over all things, even sickness, yes. Do I think that suffering of any kind ought to cause us to examine ourselves to see if there is any wicked way in us, absolutely, because that is what our text says we should do.

Remember that God’s purpose for causing some to be weak, ill, and even to die, is so they would not be condemned along with the world. This seems to be a very loving purpose.