Does God punish us for our sins?

[soulsisterclaire]

It seems like a really simple and maybe stupid question. I know.

But I am just wondering... If I sin, realize it is sin, and then am sorry, ask for forgiveness from God, and repent...will God still punish me, here on earth, in this body?

Don't I still "reap what I sow"??? Even thought Christ covers all my sins???

My situation and one reason I am asking(there are others):

I got saved as a teen. I have backslid a few times since then. Most recently(about two yrs ago)I was in active sin, backslid and was having premarital sex and wound up pregnant. The pregnancy really made me stop and think about my life and God again. After I had my baby(Zoe)I came back to the Lord and He has taken me back lovingly(Thank you God).

Now the reason I ask this is because I have always heard, "You reap what you sow", "God punishes/chastises His children, those that He loves". And I do believe that.

Here is my quandry. It is also said that "Children are a blessing from God" Okay so...I was in sin. I got pregnant and had a wonderful, healthy baby girl that I love. She is only 8 months old and she is a blessing. How can this be? I am blessed with a child. Didn't God punish me? I mean I am a single parent and that is hard, is that my punishment? I am just confused about this sometimes.

If you know my history, then you also know I have a 12 year old daughter as well and she too was born out-of-wedlock. Yes, I tend to make the same mistakes , I realize my downfall, and am working on it.

Just curious as to some other Christian's opinions or Bible verses on the "children are a blessing" vs. "God punishes His children" thing. Is there a connection?

Sorry if I am not making sense.

Any help is welcome.

 

[ZiSunka]

There are natural and immutable consequences to sin that one has to deal with, whether or not they are covered by Christ.

For instance, a man who does drugs and gets AIDS will have to live with the disease. The debt owed to God for the sin may be paid, but his body is still infected. That doesn't change.

But, further, God reproves and corrects those He loves when they sin. If you sin and don't repent, even as a believer, then God will often send pain your way, to encourage you to admit your sin and repent and change your ways. This has happened to me, and though it hurt, it was a huge blessing in the end, because it kept me from wandering further away from Him.

 

[soulsisterclaire]

So, lambslove, are you saying that God will punish us but a blessing can come out of that?

 

[ZiSunka]

Yep.

 

[ZiSunka]

Acutally, it is the sole reason for God to punish us, to bring us into submission again. By allowing great pain to come to us out of our sin, he is showing us that he loves us and doesn't want us to be alienated from him. He is inviting us to repent and be restored.

 

[mammasan777]

Amen, lambslove!!

 

[soulsisterclaire]

That is what I don't get, lambslove. What was my punishment? He gave me a beautiful daughter! Where is the punishment? Or do you think it is yet to come? Or do you think that He had mercy on me? I am not begging for punishment, I am just curious. I want to know Him, understand Him.

 

[Dave Ulchers]

Originally posted by lambslove
The debt owed to God for the sin may be paid, but his body is still infected. That doesn't change.

That's not necessarily true. Jesus on Earth never healed a soul without healing a body, and this is still often the case.

I hope you don't think the Lord can only cure leprosy!

 

[ZiSunka]

I'm not going to try to guess what God is doing or going to do in your life, claire. You've got to ask God that.

And, God doesn't punish every sin or every sinner. Just the ones who would derive some good out of it. God can't trust everyone with pain or suffering.

 

[Debbie]

I agree with lambslove except that: ALL SINS ARE COVERED BY CHRIST.
ONce you repent, God isnt going to make you pay on earth for a forgiven sin.
When God punishes us for unrepented sin, I agree that it is a blessing to be brought closer to God by our finally repenting. But, in some instances I see no further blessing come from how we have been punished, in that the punishment may have been so severe that there is no other recovery except closeness to God.

 

[soulsisterclaire]

Originally posted by lambslove
I'm not going to try to guess what God is doing or going to do in your life, claire. You've got to ask God that.

And, God doesn't punish every sin or every sinner. Just the ones who would derive some good out of it. God can't trust everyone with pain or suffering.

Sorry, lambslove. You sound impatient with my questions. Maybe I am just reading into it.

My point is this, some would say that getting pregnant was the punishment or the way in which God got me to notice my errors and repent and come back to Him. I say okay, maybe so. But then He blesses me with this child? Is that how He works? If so, He is very merciful, even more so than I thought!

Praise God!

 

[soulsisterclaire]

Originally posted by Debbie
I agree with lambslove except that: ALL SINS ARE COVERED BY CHRIST.
ONce you repent, God isnt going to make you pay on earth for a forgiven sin.
When God punishes us for unrepented sin, I agree that it is a blessing to be brought closer to God by our finally repenting. But, in some instances I see no further blessing come from how we have been punished, in that the punishment may have been so severe that there is no other recovery except closeness to God.

Makes sense. Never thought of it in quite that way. Do you have any Bible verses to back up the part where you say,

"ONce you repent, God isnt going to make you pay on earth for a forgiven sin."

Believe it or not this DOES help me.

 

[ZiSunka]

Jesus on Earth never healed a soul without healing a body,

Really? Show me evidence of that.

I hope you don't think the Lord can only cure leprosy!

Boy that's a leap. How can you figure that I don't believe in healing today from a single sentence that I posted. The truth is, physical healing and salvation don't always go hand in hand. Ask anyone who's loved one got saved on their deathbed.

All sins are covered by Christ's blood when you get saved, but God proves and corrects those he loves. It's a fact. If it hasn't happened to you, yeah for you!

Sorry, lambslove. You sound impatient with my questions. Maybe I am just reading into it.

My point is this, some would say that getting pregnant was the punishment or the way in which God got me to notice my errors and repent and come back to Him. I say okay, maybe so. But then He blesses me with this child? Is that how He works? If so, He is very merciful, even more so than I thought!

Your lovely baby IS a wonderful gift from God. Children are a blessing from God. Pregnancy is a natural process, the outcome of sex. It is neither punishment or reward, necessarily. And maybe the fact that you repented so quickly made reproof unnecessary in your case. As I said, not every sin or every sinner is punished.

I'm not being impatient with your questions at all. I am trying to answer them in a way that will be helpful and make sense.

 

[2002 Christian]

Galatians 6.7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
6.8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Romans 6.23 For the wages of sin is death;

The punishment comes from sin itself, not necessarily from God.

Revelation 3.19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

 

[ZiSunka]

Makes sense. Never thought of it in quite that way. Do you have any Bible verses to back up the part where you say,

"ONce you repent, God isnt going to make you pay on earth for a forgiven sin."

Payment for sin and consequnces of sin are two different concepts. Christ PAID for your sins if you repented, so you need never worry about that. And it sounds like you quickly understood where you need to repent, so I doubt if any punishment will come your way. Reproof is for those who are slow to repent.

Your baby is the consequence of your sin, but like the Bible says, God can make everything turn out for the good, according to his purposes, for those who love him, for those who are The Called. This seems to be the case with you.

I wouldn't give another thought to punishment if I were you!

 

[Dave Ulchers]

Originally posted by lambslove
Really? Show me evidence of that.

I can't think of any counter examples in the Gospels.

Boy that's a leap. How can you figure that I don't believe in healing today from a single sentence that I posted.

Boy that's a leap. How can you figure that I figure that you don't believe in healing today from a single sentence I posted?

The truth is, physical healing and salvation don't always go hand in hand.

I didn't say always, I said often.

Ask anyone who's loved one got saved on their deathbed.

Well, if you wait until the very last minute, you might be in trouble. And people are still mortal. Still, I wouldn't completely blow-off God's healing power is all -- not that I'm saying that's what you are doing!

 

[patriarch]

Originally posted by soulsisterclaire


Sorry, lambslove. You sound impatient with my questions. Maybe I am just reading into it.

My point is this, some would say that getting pregnant was the punishment or the way in which God got me to notice my errors and repent and come back to Him. I say okay, maybe so. But then He blesses me with this child? Is that how He works? If so, He is very merciful, even more so than I thought!

Praise God!

Well, isn't being a single mother punishment enough in itself? Sometimes the punishment is simply God letting things take their natural course. You are going to have a lot of struggles raising these children, blessings though they may be, struggles that you would not have had otherwise, if you had done things in God's way.

And you are going to have the distress of seeing the lack of a father's touch on their lives, and the poverty of not having a husband to give you sound advice or another opinion in your raising of them. Certainly you have chosen a very difficult path.

Lee

 

[soulsisterclaire]

Maybe so patriarch...maybe so...

 

[ZiSunka]

Oh Dave, please don't ever respond to another one of my posts.

 

[Fallen]

Originally posted by soulsisterclaire
It seems like a really simple and maybe stupid question. I know.

But I am just wondering... If I sin, realize it is sin, and then am sorry, ask for forgiveness from God, and repent...will God still punish me, here on earth, in this body?

Don't I still "reap what I sow"??? Even thought Christ covers all my sins???

My situation and one reason I am asking(there are others):

I got saved as a teen. I have backslid a few times since then. Most recently(about two yrs ago)I was in active sin, backslid and was having premarital sex and wound up pregnant. The pregnancy really made me stop and think about my life and God again. After I had my baby(Zoe)I came back to the Lord and He has taken me back lovingly(Thank you God).

Now the reason I ask this is because I have always heard, "You reap what you sow", "God punishes/chastises His children, those that He loves". And I do believe that.

Here is my quandry. It is also said that "Children are a blessing from God" Okay so...I was in sin. I got pregnant and had a wonderful, healthy baby girl that I love. She is only 8 months old and she is a blessing. How can this be? I am blessed with a child. Didn't God punish me? I mean I am a single parent and that is hard, is that my punishment? I am just confused about this sometimes.

If you know my history, then you also know I have a 12 year old daughter as well and she too was born out-of-wedlock. Yes, I tend to make the same mistakes , I realize my downfall, and am working on it.

Just curious as to some other Christian's opinions or Bible verses on the "children are a blessing" vs. "God punishes His children" thing. Is there a connection?

Sorry if I am not making sense.

Any help is welcome.

Maybe you should have just used a condom