======================================================================== HIS SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION by Thomas Brooks ======================================================================== Summary: God's affliction is a school of instruction, designed to make us sensible of our folly and vanity, and to teach us valuable lessons about ourselves and our relationship with Him. Topics: "God's Discipline", "Spiritual Growth" Scripture References: Proverbs 10:13, Hebrews 12:5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas Brooks emphasizes that God's discipline serves as a means of instruction, akin to a rod that reveals folly and vanity in His people. He explains that God's corrections are not merely punitive but are intended to lead believers to self-reflection and spiritual growth. Afflictions act as mirrors, helping Christians to identify and rectify flaws in their lives. Brooks highlights that both chastening and teaching are intertwined, as the ultimate purpose of God's discipline is to educate and guide His children towards righteousness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "The rod is for the back of the one who lacks sense." Proverbs 10:13 The rod is to make the child sensible of his folly and vanity. So it is here: God takes up the rod, but it is to make His people sensible of their folly and vanity; it is to make them look up to Him, and to look into conscience, and to look out to their lives. God's house of correction is His school of instruction: His lashes are our lessons, His scourges are our schoolmasters, His chastisements are our corrections. Hence both the Hebrews and Greeks express chastening and teaching by one and the same word, because teaching is the true end of chastening. Afflictions are a Christian's looking-glass, by which he may see how to dress his own soul, and to mend whatever is amiss. ======================================================================== Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/thomas-brooks/his-school-of-instruction/ ========================================================================