“With the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.” vs26

The gospel warns us that God chastens whom He loves and instructs us to fear Him.

This is wisdom. Let us grasp the warning. God wants to be feared. We must have the grace of God’s elect, which is unto the fear of God in godliness, which means “reverent worship.”

Don’t be misled with, “I’m saved by grace, eternally secure, and God forgives… so I can continue in sin.” Fear this trap.

The gospel, rightly understood, draws us to trust God for good works, relying upon a reconciled Father to graciously bestow obedience by the Spirit. The gospel teaches us to grow in the fear of the Lord.

Paul told the Phillipians,

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” [Phil 1:9-11]

He wants us filled with the fruits of righteousness, growing in love, and able to discern between what pleases Christ and what does not.