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Why Does Sin Have to be Punished?

Alithis

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This thread is remarkably free of Scripture. I'd like to see some indication that God actually does punish every sin no matter how minor, before discussing the reasons why.

The Bible shows punishments of various kinds: in the OT we have what is in effect the municipal code of Israel. The prophets talk about Israel as a whole being punished for widespread, unrepentant sin.

In the NT most talk of punishment is from Jesus, but his account of punishment represent the results of a whole life that's either useless (no fruit) or in serious opposition to God. For Paul's letters, judgement is for those who persecute Christians, or who reject Christ.

But I'm not seeing where God sends someone to hell for imperfection. Indeed Jesus teaches that this is not the case.
Isiah 53 5.
 
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Anguspure

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This thread is remarkably free of Scripture. I'd like to see some indication that God actually does punish every sin no matter how minor, before discussing the reasons why.

The Bible shows punishments of various kinds: in the OT we have what is in effect the municipal code of Israel. The prophets talk about Israel as a whole being punished for widespread, unrepentant sin.

In the NT most talk of punishment is from Jesus, but his account of punishment represent the results of a whole life that's either useless (no fruit) or in serious opposition to God. For Paul's letters, judgement is for those who persecute Christians, or who reject Christ.

But I'm not seeing where God sends someone to hell for imperfection. Indeed Jesus teaches that this is not the case.
...for the wages of sin is death....(Romans 6).
This tells us that if an act falls into the category of being a sin, the consequence is death. Notably, to address your concern, there is no sub-category of lesser or greater sin. Paul does not write: for the wages of little sins is a rap over the knuckles and a good telling off, where as for really naughty sins the wages will be death...
Rather there is just sin and the wages is death.
So in contrast the good news is truly good news...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
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jimmyjimmy

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This thread is remarkably free of Scripture. I'd like to see some indication that God actually does punish every sin no matter how minor, before discussing the reasons why.

The Bible shows punishments of various kinds: in the OT we have what is in effect the municipal code of Israel. The prophets talk about Israel as a whole being punished for widespread, unrepentant sin.

In the NT most talk of punishment is from Jesus, but his account of punishment represent the results of a whole life that's either useless (no fruit) or in serious opposition to God. For Paul's letters, judgement is for those who persecute Christians, or who reject Christ.

But I'm not seeing where God sends someone to hell for imperfection. Indeed Jesus teaches that this is not the case.

If I did demonstrate what you question, from the pages of holy scripture, would you not just find some alternate "interpretation"?
 
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jimmyjimmy

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Reading some of your other posts I think you know the answer, but I'll bite.

God has a nature that is holy.

He does not tolerate anything but holiness in heaven.

Since man is inherently unholy since the fall, God must provide a way to convert unholy people to holy ones.

The cross fulfills that goal as well as demonstrating God's great love and willingness to sacrifice himself for his creation.

As to the why question there is a near-infinite number of choices God could have chosen to accomplish his goals but certain solutions such as suspending his creations ability to have free will are not feasible given his alternative goals, namely agents that are free to love him or reject his love.

I still don't like or accept the notion that God had to allow for sin in order to have love. Firstly, the Godhead have loved each other for all time. Secondly, angels have loved God and worshiped Him prior to sin entering the world.
 
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Uber Genius

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I still don't like or accept the notion that God had to allow for sin in order to have love. Firstly, the Godhead have loved each other for all time. Secondly, angels have loved God and worshiped Him prior to sin entering the world.
Both those premises are certainly true, but some heavenly beings rebelled didn't they?

So freedom both in heaven and on earth seems to necessitate the possibility of sin. And new bodies will seem to facilitate being perfected in the twinkling of an eye, but agency demands free will. God has created us to be agents so it is not feasible for him have a sinless heaven or earth.

So examples of individuals in heaven or on earth that are sinless does nothing to alleviate the possibility that a being will freely choose to sin in the future.

Alvin Plantinga builds this view out in his free will defense in the 1970s.
 
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Instrument150

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OK. I have no idea what you are talking about, but, Okay.

Forgive my love for parables. To speak plainly, In this metaphor darkness is not a punishment for the room, it is simply the absence of light. When you sin the very first time, you get up and bust the light bulb an unwittingly doom yourself to live in darkness. God did not turn the lights off. And in this universe... Jesus is the only electrician. The Bible explains it a lot better than me...
 
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jimmyjimmy

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Forgive my love for parables. To speak plainly, In this metaphor darkness is not a punishment for the room, it is simply the absence of light. When you sin the very first time, you get up and bust the light bulb an unwittingly doom yourself to live in darkness. God did not turn the lights off. And in this universe... Jesus is the only electrician. The Bible explains it a lot better than me...

It seems that you are saying that the darkness is *only* a natural consequence of sin; however, there is far too much talk of punishment in the NT to ignore.
 
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jimmyjimmy

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John 3:17 says it all, in my opinion

We have much more than a verse to guide us, however. Christ will judge the world, and in fact in His coming, He judge Israel. That's what His parables were all regarding.
 
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Instrument150

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We have much more than a verse to guide us, however. Christ will judge the world, and in fact in His coming, He judge Israel. That's what His parables were all regarding.

Well, that's true. I don't mean in any way to take light away from Jesus's right to judge on the Father's behalf. Maybe I'm not the right guy for this question.
 
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AnticipateHisComing

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Why Does Sin Have to be Punished?
Can't God grade on a curve? Must He be so stringent, when it comes to sin?
Your thread question challenges God's design. In our nature, how we were made, this rule will answer why there must be punishment for sin.

If there is no consequence of living, there is no purpose in living.

One can not be rewarded for their life without this concept of consequences. One can not be punished without this concept of consequences. If all are saved, all end up with the same consequences in the next age, there is no purpose to this age.
 
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LittleLambofJesus

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Proverbs 3:
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Hebrews 12:
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
or lose heart when He rebukes you.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves,
and He chastises everyone He receives as a son.”a
7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?
 
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Apex

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What that means is Sin causes death.
Sin results in death.
God is the Creator and separation from Him is death.

1. What is death? Before sin entered the world, did nothing "biologically" die? Just think about how many fruit flies or rabbits there would be today without this type of death.
2. Is it our individual sin that causes this death or just Adam's? Jesus died and was sinless.
3. Spacial separation or relational separation? God is omnipresent, you can never be spatially "distant" from Him.
 
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Anguspure

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God's punishment for sin is more than just natural consequences.
True.
However it is also a natural consequence.
If God was simply an impersonal force (which He is not), then the consequence for sin would remain because it is a natural consequence of cutting off a connection with life to die.
 
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Hammster

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True.
However it is also a natural consequence.
If God was simply an impersonal force (which He is not), then the consequence for sin would remain because it is a natural consequence of cutting off a connection with life to die.
If God were an impersonal force, there'd be no sin.
 
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Anguspure

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If God were an impersonal force, there'd be no sin.
Maybe it wouldn't be named as such, and to an extent I agree with you.
Nevertheless working against the thing that gives the world life, to bring death, would be missing the mark of the observed laws of the universe and the wages of this would be death.
 
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