When Christians Sin, Does God Forgive And Punish, Or Only Forgive?
Question: When Christians Sin, Does God Forgive And Punish, Or Only Forgive?
Answer : Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! We humans are all sinners by birth and not just because we sin, all of us have fallen short of the glory of God (Psa 51:5, NLT; Rom 3:23). In other words, we as humans after our forefather Adam have fallen in to voluntary transgression against God, God's requirement of righteousness none of us have been able to fulfill it for a worthy friendship with Him who is perfectly holy, perfect and pure (Rom 5:12). None of us have been able to deliver others or ourselves from our sin nature which deserves death at every turn in the eyes of God (Rom 6:23). So we were all enemies to God by our very nature that always rebels against God and never will obey Him (Rom 5:17).
But thank God for His everlasting mercies (Psa 100:5; 103:17), He sent Jesus Christ His Son at the appointed time to redeem us from the curse of the law which cannot save us from our sins (Gal 4:4; 10, 13). So Jesus has already taken the sins and curses for disobedience that we deserve upon Himself, so that by faith we could live within the blessing of Abraham by receiving the promise of the Spirit who has been given to us personally as a comforter who is just like Jesus (Gal 3:13-14; John 14:26; 15:26). Here is what has happened when Jesus chose to die for us individually because of His unconditional love towards us, "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God [forever in spite of our sin nature that makes us enemies of God naturally if God had not reached out to us legally to make us His children in His kindness] through Christ." (2 Cor 5:21, NLT). Christ dying for our sins even before we were born is a personal demonstration of God's love towards us to embrace it and let ourselves be transformed by this amazing love (Rom 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24-25).
Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the Cross, fulfilling the just requirement of God which was death for our sins (John 19:30), now God is no more angry with us all who have believed in His Holy Sacrifice but rather have become a friend and a Father to us through Him (John 20:17). Here is what God had promised of what had happened to us when we believed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, "13 When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God [before you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior]. [But when you believed God's only begotten Son Jesus the Christ], God brought you alive--right along with Christ [spiritually acknowledging that you are no more in your sins anymore but have become God's child forever]! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14 the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant [that says if we sin we will die has been] canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. 15 He stripped all the [demonic] spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets [bringing the evil control of all of them over us to an end forever in his flesh]." (Col 2:13-14, MSG, Paraphrased For Emphasis).
1) Praise God We Have Been Forgiven Of All Our Past, Present and Even Future Sins
The Apostle Paul reveals this everlasting forgiveness of God by saying that like Christ forgave us, we must also do towards others (Col 3:13). He speaks about this forgiveness as something that has happened in the time past and not something to be done someday or everyday. This forgiveness is called as union-forgiveness, in other words, when we became God's child once and forever he has forgiven all our sins in advance (Eph 4:32). But because we have the sin nature still which will be shed by us only when we die physically, we might be coerced by it to sin and grieve God at such times (Rom 7:17, 19; Eph 4:30). In such times, God expects us to confess those sin and look towards Him for victory (1 John 1:9). This forgiveness of God is for His children to continue in fellowship with Him who is holy and sinless and is called as fellowship-forgiveness. In other words, a Father might have already known the weakness of his child, but when the child does wrong he corrects and expects the child to learn the good thing that he wants to teach and become like him in his/her character (1 John 2:1-2).
2) God Corrects Us Through Trials When We Run Away And Will Draw Us Near
So once God has forgiven all our sins, he never remembers it to punish us because Jesus has already been punished on our behalf, but rather pities us when we do sin and wrong thing that He dislikes (Psa 103:12-14). When ever God chastises his children, only out of His love He will do it for our eternal good, and He does not do the same to the unbeliever who does not have faith in Jesus Christ and who are still by their own choice living as rebels again God (Heb 12:7-8). So God through his apostolic messengers have always encouraged His children to rejoice when trials and temptations come to them, because it shows that God is in control of their lives, shaping it for a glorious future that He has pre-planned for them (James 1:2; Gal 6:9; 1 Peter 1:6-7). The bottom line is, God does not punish us because Jesus has already been punished for all our sin on our behalf, there are no more sins in us to be punished as it has already been forgiven (1 Cor 15:17). So when we go through time of trials, by faith we should never allow ourselves to think that we are punished by God, but rather God is correcting us to make us a better person for the praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ at His Coming (1 Peter 1:7; 1 John 3:2). We should voluntarily accept such loving correction of God and submit to His ways, so that we might be purified from the impurities that stick on to our flesh and become a useful vessel for God our Master to do His good work on earth which will position us to receive great future reward in exchange (1 John 3:3; Heb 12:9; 2 Tim 2:21).
3) God Forgives, Corrects And Allows Earthly Consequences For Heavenly Gain
We know that the Lord because of His unconditional Love has already forgiven all our sins, and then because of that same love towards us He corrects us so that we have become better and better in our Character to be more and more like Him for eternity ahead which carries great eternal reward. But at the same time if we ask the question, does God protect us from the consequence of sin when we do sin. The answer is a no and a yes at the same time. Why? Say, after a person chooses to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and still gives in to sin willingly because of its enticement, God will not rescue that person from the consequence of it but rather will allow him to receive it to make him understand how much price He has paid personally by giving His own only begotten Son to rescue them from the eternal consequence of their sins which deserves death in hell fire and then will expect them to turn to Him in repentance and faith so that He could intervene in their life to turn the curse in to a blessing (Rom 8:31-32; Gen 50:20; Deut 23:5; Num 13:12). So because of the love of God towards us, when the Devils and the deceitful or evil people who work hand in hand by the fleshly impulses try their best to bring curses in to our blessed lives, God will allow it to make us purified, better and strong in our Character, but will turn it supernaturally in to a blessing for us temporally, spiritually and eternally at the end of it all. Praise the Lord! We will never be the same through the trials like before it. Through it all our Heavenly Father wants us to become mature sons and throw away our childish behaviors, so that we who suffer now will reign with Jesus Christ for eternity ahead like He reigns over the Universe now for the Glory of our Abba Father in heaven (2 Tim 2:11-12; Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 5:10; 21:24, 26).
Much Blessings....
Answer : Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! We humans are all sinners by birth and not just because we sin, all of us have fallen short of the glory of God (Psa 51:5, NLT; Rom 3:23). In other words, we as humans after our forefather Adam have fallen in to voluntary transgression against God, God's requirement of righteousness none of us have been able to fulfill it for a worthy friendship with Him who is perfectly holy, perfect and pure (Rom 5:12). None of us have been able to deliver others or ourselves from our sin nature which deserves death at every turn in the eyes of God (Rom 6:23). So we were all enemies to God by our very nature that always rebels against God and never will obey Him (Rom 5:17).
But thank God for His everlasting mercies (Psa 100:5; 103:17), He sent Jesus Christ His Son at the appointed time to redeem us from the curse of the law which cannot save us from our sins (Gal 4:4; 10, 13). So Jesus has already taken the sins and curses for disobedience that we deserve upon Himself, so that by faith we could live within the blessing of Abraham by receiving the promise of the Spirit who has been given to us personally as a comforter who is just like Jesus (Gal 3:13-14; John 14:26; 15:26). Here is what has happened when Jesus chose to die for us individually because of His unconditional love towards us, "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God [forever in spite of our sin nature that makes us enemies of God naturally if God had not reached out to us legally to make us His children in His kindness] through Christ." (2 Cor 5:21, NLT). Christ dying for our sins even before we were born is a personal demonstration of God's love towards us to embrace it and let ourselves be transformed by this amazing love (Rom 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24-25).
Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the Cross, fulfilling the just requirement of God which was death for our sins (John 19:30), now God is no more angry with us all who have believed in His Holy Sacrifice but rather have become a friend and a Father to us through Him (John 20:17). Here is what God had promised of what had happened to us when we believed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, "13 When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God [before you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior]. [But when you believed God's only begotten Son Jesus the Christ], God brought you alive--right along with Christ [spiritually acknowledging that you are no more in your sins anymore but have become God's child forever]! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14 the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant [that says if we sin we will die has been] canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross. 15 He stripped all the [demonic] spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets [bringing the evil control of all of them over us to an end forever in his flesh]." (Col 2:13-14, MSG, Paraphrased For Emphasis).
1) Praise God We Have Been Forgiven Of All Our Past, Present and Even Future Sins
The Apostle Paul reveals this everlasting forgiveness of God by saying that like Christ forgave us, we must also do towards others (Col 3:13). He speaks about this forgiveness as something that has happened in the time past and not something to be done someday or everyday. This forgiveness is called as union-forgiveness, in other words, when we became God's child once and forever he has forgiven all our sins in advance (Eph 4:32). But because we have the sin nature still which will be shed by us only when we die physically, we might be coerced by it to sin and grieve God at such times (Rom 7:17, 19; Eph 4:30). In such times, God expects us to confess those sin and look towards Him for victory (1 John 1:9). This forgiveness of God is for His children to continue in fellowship with Him who is holy and sinless and is called as fellowship-forgiveness. In other words, a Father might have already known the weakness of his child, but when the child does wrong he corrects and expects the child to learn the good thing that he wants to teach and become like him in his/her character (1 John 2:1-2).
2) God Corrects Us Through Trials When We Run Away And Will Draw Us Near
So once God has forgiven all our sins, he never remembers it to punish us because Jesus has already been punished on our behalf, but rather pities us when we do sin and wrong thing that He dislikes (Psa 103:12-14). When ever God chastises his children, only out of His love He will do it for our eternal good, and He does not do the same to the unbeliever who does not have faith in Jesus Christ and who are still by their own choice living as rebels again God (Heb 12:7-8). So God through his apostolic messengers have always encouraged His children to rejoice when trials and temptations come to them, because it shows that God is in control of their lives, shaping it for a glorious future that He has pre-planned for them (James 1:2; Gal 6:9; 1 Peter 1:6-7). The bottom line is, God does not punish us because Jesus has already been punished for all our sin on our behalf, there are no more sins in us to be punished as it has already been forgiven (1 Cor 15:17). So when we go through time of trials, by faith we should never allow ourselves to think that we are punished by God, but rather God is correcting us to make us a better person for the praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ at His Coming (1 Peter 1:7; 1 John 3:2). We should voluntarily accept such loving correction of God and submit to His ways, so that we might be purified from the impurities that stick on to our flesh and become a useful vessel for God our Master to do His good work on earth which will position us to receive great future reward in exchange (1 John 3:3; Heb 12:9; 2 Tim 2:21).
3) God Forgives, Corrects And Allows Earthly Consequences For Heavenly Gain
We know that the Lord because of His unconditional Love has already forgiven all our sins, and then because of that same love towards us He corrects us so that we have become better and better in our Character to be more and more like Him for eternity ahead which carries great eternal reward. But at the same time if we ask the question, does God protect us from the consequence of sin when we do sin. The answer is a no and a yes at the same time. Why? Say, after a person chooses to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and still gives in to sin willingly because of its enticement, God will not rescue that person from the consequence of it but rather will allow him to receive it to make him understand how much price He has paid personally by giving His own only begotten Son to rescue them from the eternal consequence of their sins which deserves death in hell fire and then will expect them to turn to Him in repentance and faith so that He could intervene in their life to turn the curse in to a blessing (Rom 8:31-32; Gen 50:20; Deut 23:5; Num 13:12). So because of the love of God towards us, when the Devils and the deceitful or evil people who work hand in hand by the fleshly impulses try their best to bring curses in to our blessed lives, God will allow it to make us purified, better and strong in our Character, but will turn it supernaturally in to a blessing for us temporally, spiritually and eternally at the end of it all. Praise the Lord! We will never be the same through the trials like before it. Through it all our Heavenly Father wants us to become mature sons and throw away our childish behaviors, so that we who suffer now will reign with Jesus Christ for eternity ahead like He reigns over the Universe now for the Glory of our Abba Father in heaven (2 Tim 2:11-12; Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 5:10; 21:24, 26).
Much Blessings....
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