Does The Lord Punish???

[LongingforHome]

:confused CAN SOME OF YOU PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR ME?
DO YOU THINK THAT THE LORD ALLOWS BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN TO CHRISTIANS WHO ARE DOING WRONG? THIS MAY BE A STUPID QUESTION BUT IT IS A SERIOUS ONE. :(:

[B A N E]

Rom 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
KJV


Yes, the good, the bad, the inexplicable...

[Anne-teeter]

Well, if you read the Old Testatment, there is story after story of how God punished the Israelites. You can read many times where God was ready to give up on them, but yet Moses and Aaron would cry out to the Lord to spare them. Edited to add: They wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. :freaked

I think when we choose to sin -- God allows us to make that choice -- there are consequences to our sin.

Now, sometimes those who are following the Lord have things happen to them and maybe fall on hard times. Does that mean that they're being punished? I don't think so. I think that through trials in our lives, it builds our character so that God can be glorified.

Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

We need to constantly put God as number 1 and remember He's always in control.

YSIC

[Bondservant]

Punish is not the correct word. All our "punishment" was laid upon Jesus . Our Father brings correction to turn us back , His chastening is never punitive (punishment), it is corrective. His chastening is never confrontational. It's consequential. If you are a Christian ,God does not confront you in a disciplinary manner for the sins that you have done or will ever do. Your sins are forgiven-past,present,future. However in Numbers 32:23 it says," Be sure your sins will find you out." It's not God finding us out-it's our sin. God is not sniffing around, searching for our failings and shortcomings so that He can have reason to punish us. The sin itself will track us down and deal with us . "Be not deceived, whatever a man sows, that will he reap" Gal.6:7..How many sins have repercusions? Every single one. Jeremiah 2:19 " Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliddings shall reprove thee.."
Sin stinks. God forgives it and doesn't even remember it. But sin itself searches us out and has terrible reprecusions.

[Anne-teeter]

Bondservant, you said it so much better than I did. ;):

YSIC

[annie10]

Punish is not the correct word. All our "punishment" was laid upon Jesus . Our Father brings correction to turn us back , His chastening is never punitive (punishment), it is corrective. His chastening is never confrontational. It's consequential. If you are a Christian ,God does not confront you in a disciplinary manner for the sins that you have done or will ever do. Your sins are forgiven-past,present,future. However in Numbers 32:23 it says," Be sure your sins will fins you out." It's not God finding us out-it's our sin. God is not sniffing around, searching for our failings and shortcomings so that He can have reason to punish us. The sin itself will track us down and deal with us . "Be not deceived, whatever a man sows, that will he reap" Gal.6:7..How many sins have repercusions? Every single one. Jeremiah 2:19 " Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliddings shall reprove thee.."
Sin stinks. God forgives it and doesn't even remember it. But sin itself searches us out and has terrible reprecusions.

Bondservant, Is it the HS that brings our sins to our attention, and that we have guilt, that brings about our discipline?

[TSH1]

Hbr 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:


Hbr 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.


Hbr 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?


Hbr 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.


Hbr 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?


Hbr 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened [us] after their own pleasure; but he for [our] profit, that [we] might be partakers of his holiness.


Hbr 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
-----


Tami

[antsinmypants]

:confused CAN SOME OF YOU PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR ME?
DO YOU THINK THAT THE LORD ALLOWS BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN TO CHRISTIANS WHO ARE DOING WRONG? THIS MAY BE A STUPID QUESTION BUT IT IS A SERIOUS ONE. :(:


Yes, in reference to the verses in Hebrews:


CHASTISEMENT, n. Correction; punishment; pain inflicted for punishment and correction, either by stripes or otherwise.


CHASTEN, v.t.

1. To correct by punishment; to punish; to inflict pain for the purpose of reclaiming an offender; as, to chasten a son with a rod.

I will chasten him with the rod of men. 2 Sam 7.

2. To afflict by other means.

As many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Rev 3.

3. To purify from errors or faults.


:wave

[Bondservant]

The story is told that in the late 1800's, a bank teller stole a silver dollar every day and hit it in his attic. Knowing how to juggle the books and cover his tracks, this went on for days,weeks,months, years~until one day, after 18 years, he was lying in bed and his judgement came. The rotting attic finally gave way, causing the coins to fall through the ceiling,crush the embezzler in his own bed, and bury him in his iniquity.***

[LanceVB]

If God punishes or corrects us, and the Scripture plainly states that He does. Why does He do it? I think John 4:24 is a key verse for the Christian today. We must be in fellowship to worship God, and we must worship him in truth (The Word of God) and Spirit (a reference to God the Holy Spirit as per Eph. 5:18). I think there is a protocol when it comes to being in and out of fellowship. When we sin, we are out of fellowship. Then how the heck do we get back in fellowship? Use the promise of 1 John 1:9.

I think God disciplines us so we confess our sin to Him as if in a courtroom case: "Father I committed the sin of lying" When we do this we are in fellowship.

If we do not confess, then there is warning discipline, dying discipline, and then sin unto death. Reference 1 Cor 11:27-32

Lance

[LongingforHome]

Thanks everyone for your answers. You have really helped alot.


YSIC

[Doublezero]

i think the mistakes we make by not living by the Word causes us to have problems that we would otherwise not have. Things like natural disasters and stuff....well, that just happens. The reasons can't be explained by me (or anyone for that matter)

[blessanna]

When we deliberately sin I think we will have consequences not because of God but because of the sin and the enemy. There are many sins that carry consequences with it and God most likely will not protect us from those consequences especially were we know better. When we make a decision to follow the enemies' path we are in serious trouble and may endure some serious and possible lifetime consequences for it.

So the question I have is will God protect us from the wiles of the devil when we sin or will He allow us to suffer at the enemy's hand? Is God obligated to protect us when we do sin?

[B A N E]

It depends upon whether or not the consequences of the sin will long term
harm or help us in some way.

"all things work together for good..."

We are being conformed to the image of Christ.
We're the clay, he's the Potter.
We've got lumps.