Does God punish us for our sins?

[LouisBooth]

"The punishment is not the baby! "

i think you misunderstand the context here. Punishement means consequences of actions and in that a baby changes your life. no more going out, not more frivous spending, no more video games, no more having a goodnight's sleep, etc... That's the context in which it is used. Then again it is also a reward, for a new life is made, its 2 sides to a coin and I don't think you clearly understood what was ment by the word, "punishment".

 

[caley]

I only read the first couple posts before I hit "reply", but I hope I can still valuably add to this discussion.

I do not believe that God necessarily "punishes" us for our sins (nor does he necessarily "reward" us for our good behavior).  Every action one takes has natural consequences.  Therefore, you had sex, you had a baby.  Punishment did not enter into it.  (It seems) you look at it as a positive consequence, which is good, but it could be a negative consequence if, for example, there were problems with the pregnancy, you were not able to take care of the baby properly, the baby was without a prominent father figure, etc.

I think that God is beyond the whole punishment/reward system, and as Christians, I think we should look past that too.  Avoid sin, not because "God will punish you," but because He asked you to avoid sin.  What better reason is there?  He's God.  Serve the Lord, not because "He will reward you," but because He's God, and for being God, He deserves it.

I know someone is going to respond to this with something about Heaven and Hell, so I'm going to outline my beliefs there as well right now to get a jump on the debate:

Heaven is not a reward, nor is Hell a punishment.  Heaven and Hell are natural consequences of decisions we make in this life.  Without Christ, the natural consequence for us all is Hell, but with Christ we have the opportunity to enter and be a part of His Kingdom, not as a reward for following Him, but as an invitation to participate in his eternal Glory.

 

[preston08]

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

Indeed...

an example is my cousin. He was a classic 16 year old.. high hopes of being famous, rich, and getting all the ladies.

He became a Christian when he was younger, hardly knew what was going on... and from then on he wasn't much into Christianity at all.

For those years of sins he WAS punished. He got a mental illness called 'Bi-polar'. It is very serious and life-altering... a bad thing to have. On top of that he got addicted to sleeping pills because his doctor gave him incorrect information. He feared for his life after he stopped these pills cold turkey. He had seisures and is still suffering from mild side effects over a year later.

but out of this punishment came the greatest thing of all... he began to focus on God again. He has now read the Bible twice (gone crazy with underlining and highlighting) and is really into this again. He is saved!

What a great thing to come from a mental illness!

Just have to have a posotive outlook on life.

 

[Katty]

Sins are forgiven, yes, but consequences are always to be faced. God is a God of love, but He's also a God of justice and of second chances. I don't know if He'd turn back the hands of time to change a decision that we've made that turned out to be a "bad choice." He has us live and learn and when we don't do things His way, that's our bad... not His. If we repent, are we forgiven? Of course. Are the consequences taken away because we repent? Not always. We tend to forget life lessons when they don't have drastic outcomes and consequences. Repentance isn't a tool that we use to eliminate consequences of wrong choices... it's a frame of mind and a change of heart because of wrong choices and motives.

~Katty~

 

[secretdawn]

I don't think God so much punishes as He teaches us lessons.

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

Has anyone read Hebrews 12 ????

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

if not displined watch out for God's wrath during the tribulation

 

[armothe]

To believe that God punishes us each time we sin- is to believe that Christ's sacrifice on the cross wasn't reward enough to make us free from sin.

If you believe Christ's blood atoned for, and covered our sins - God no longer views us (Christians) as sinners.

God isn't up in heaven keeping score. That's not the way He works now that His kingdom has been established on earth through the blood of Christ.

I tend to believe the bad things which happen to us are the result of everyday life, such as choices people make or nature running its due course.

-A

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

God is longsuffering since that is apart of his character

But he also does Hebrew 12? have you read it!!!

 

[john adelman]

what about when paul says "therefore there is no condemnation for those ho are in Christ Jesus" romans 8:1

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

that is they will not go to hell or thru the tribulation