Do we get punished?

[Tee]

My brain fights back and forth with me on this, well maybe it is my heart that is fighting....but anyway....
If we sin, and we know that we are sinning, do we get punished for it. Does God punish us to show us not to do it anymore? Does something unfortunate, even if it is the smallest misfortune, is it connected with our sins and us being punished? Or is the guilt that we feel afterwards the punishment that we are supposed to endure and it is up to us to ask for forgivness?
What do you all think?

[carmen]

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

Chastening is performed not to punish, but to train, teach, and mold character. We aren't punished with the sole intent of that being restitution for our sins. Rather we are disciplined so that we will learn not to sin again, and so that we become more and more like Christ as we grow.

Guilt isn't from God, except in the sense that God gave us a conscience in order to help us know right from from wrong. Conviction isn't a result of conscience, but from God to tell us we need to correct an action and seek forgiveness.

My two cents :):

[HeIsEnough]

If we sin, and we know that we are sinning, do we get punished for it.

I would say yes. But, be of good cheer, the Lord disciplines and rebukes those He loves....and that is ok for me. Even if it is painful.

[OwnedByJesus]

Also, to follow the Lord's Ways is for our own good. The result of sin is harmful to us and could be seen as punishment. An Example could be an affair in marriage. It's a sin which is due a punishment and even thought you are forgiven through Christ (if you have repented) the results of that sin could be a divorce and losing most possessions.

Is this sort of what you were thinking?

Praise Him, for we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 :clap

[Big Daddy]

My brain fights back and forth with me on this, well maybe it is my heart that is fighting....but anyway....
If we sin, and we know that we are sinning, do we get punished for it. Does God punish us to show us not to do it anymore? Does something unfortunate, even if it is the smallest misfortune, is it connected with our sins and us being punished? Or is the guilt that we feel afterwards the punishment that we are supposed to endure and it is up to us to ask for forgivness?
What do you all think? If one sins, wouldn;t it be better to thank God for already forgiving you, rather than ask for the forgiveness He already provided?
Seems to ask for forgivness, is like saying His Sons sacrifice wasn;t sufficient.

[carmen]

If one sins, wouldn;t it be better to thank God for already forgiving you, rather than ask for the forgiveness He already provided?
Seems to ask for forgivness, is like saying His Sons sacrifice wasn;t sufficient.The bible teaches us to seek forgiveness when we sin. Here's one passage that's very specific :):

1 John 1:8-10
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

[BloodoftheLamb]

The Lord has worn out a couple of Lebanese Cedars on my backside!!!!:fish

[Charity4Ever]

If something happens, how can you tell if it is something you did or if it is a spiritual attack, or if it is just a test and not based on something you did?

And if it is something you did, how can you know what exactly it is so that you know you can repent of it promptly, if you haven't the foggiest idea of what it could be, without resorting to the trial and error method and in the meantime, keep getting burnt?

For instance, I had a VERY difficult time writing a paper I had due a couple weeks ago--not content-wise, but it felt like something was keeping me from getting it done, with all these little problems coming up. I hadn't the foggiest idea of why. Was it punishment? Was it just a natural occurrance and would have happened anyway w/o being an intervention of God? Or was it just a test and opportunity for me to bring glory to Him?

If it was a punishment, how could i know what it was? There are a million possibly related sins I could think about that may relate--but not all of them were rational and I didn't have any clue why God would discipline me on that, others didn't seem to relate as much, and nothing really came out on top. Was it one of them, or was God overlooking the sins for now and just testing me? Or was it a natural occurrence in daily life, or was it just a spiritual attack?

How could I know what the problem was so if it was chastisement I could remedy the situation quickly so I wouldn't have to keep guessing and therefore continue to be chastised in the meantime?

The best way for a child to learn not to do something is to not have them play guessing games at what they did that was problematic, or whether they did something that was problematic at all, you know?

[Big Daddy]

The bible teaches us to seek forgiveness when we sin. Here's one passage that's very specific :):

1 John 1:8-10
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Agreed.
I was thinking more like those that seek to do penence.

I stumble and fall, and I am remorceful, and convicted.
It always brings me to a deep feeling of thankfulness for what Jesus did for me.
It truly helps me to turn from my sin.

[andy]

Our Father does not punish His children but He certainly corrects them. Correction can be hard and painfull, but His correction is for our good. The scripture Carmen gave is the one I was thinking of as I read your post.

The price for our sins was paid by the blood of Jesus on the cross, but our sin still has consequences we must face. God, as the perfect father, corrects us out of love for us, not anger. Our God loves us,never forget that.

[carmen]

If something happens, how can you tell if it is something you did or if it is a spiritual attack, or if it is just a test and not based on something you did?

And if it is something you did, how can you know what exactly it is so that you know you can repent of it promptly, if you haven't the foggiest idea of what it could be, without resorting to the trial and error method and in the meantime, keep getting burnt?

For instance, I had a VERY difficult time writing a paper I had due a couple weeks ago--not content-wise, but it felt like something was keeping me from getting it done, with all these little problems coming up. I hadn't the foggiest idea of why. Was it punishment? Was it just a natural occurrance and would have happened anyway w/o being an intervention of God? Or was it just a test and opportunity for me to bring glory to Him?

If it was a punishment, how could i know what it was? There are a million possibly related sins I could think about that may relate--but not all of them were rational and I didn't have any clue why God would discipline me on that, others didn't seem to relate as much, and nothing really came out on top. Was it one of them, or was God overlooking the sins for now and just testing me? Or was it a natural occurrence in daily life, or was it just a spiritual attack?

How could I know what the problem was so if it was chastisement I could remedy the situation quickly so I wouldn't have to keep guessing and therefore continue to be chastised in the meantime?

The best way for a child to learn not to do something is to not have them play guessing games at what they did that was problematic, or whether they did something that was problematic at all, you know?
God doesn't arbitrarily "do things" to us because we sin :):. If you had trouble on working on your paper, I think the most natural and likely thing to blame isn't spiritual attack or a test from the Lord--it's just being human and trying to focus. Certainly if you were feeling convicted over some sins, and were distracted by that, you should put down your pen, bow your head and simply confess to Christ and ask forgiveness. Then thank Him for forgiving you, pick up your pen and carry on.

God's goal is to shape us and make us like Christ. That is the be-all, end-all goal of everything He does in our heart and life. It's the big picture. He is training us, and as part of that training, He allows us to encounter opportunities to exercise certain traits He wants both IN us and OUT of us. For instance, a traffice jam gives me an opportunity to rely on Him and exercise my patience. That doesn't mean He caused the traffic jam. Those are a natural result of living in a city and driving a car today. However, it is a good training ground for patience, and God uses it.

When it comes to sin in our lives, and chastening, God again uses natural consequences for the most part (at least in my experience). Sin brings it's own terrible consequences, and God uses those consequences to correct and teach us. I'm not saying God never brings to pass specific events in our lives as chastening, because I think He certainly can and sometimes does. But much of sin has it's own natural end result, and in my experience God has frequently used those those to chasten.

Let me assure you, if your walk is what it needs to be, you will know when God is chastening you. There are no guessing games with God in this. First, you will know because you will have sinned, and God will be convicting you over it, and that sin will be something you haven't yet turned from. You will not be able to escape that conviction until you repent and seek forgiveness. When you repent of the sin and seek forgiveness, you may still not be released from the the consequences, but your walk will be restored and you will be able to walk though them with the grace and peace of God to carry you through.

Also, in my experience, God generally uses related events as chastening. He uses things that are naturally connected to the sin in question to bring chastening. So if you are being disciplined for having premarital sex, the consequences are usually related to that. Of course, the further you go in the sin without repenting and turning from it, the more the consequences may be allowed to grow, touching many areas of your life. But there has never been a time in my life where the discipline wasn't related to the sin, or I wondered why God was unhappy with me. On the contrary, I am pretty much always aware when I am doing something that displeases Him. Just as His Spirit testifies to my spirit about my salvation, so He testifies about my sin. I can ignore that voice for a time, but I cannot block out hearing it completely.

God isn't arbitrary, and He isn't playing guessing games with us. If we are walking with Him as we should, we will know when He is correcting us. It may not always be as easy to see our way out of the consequences of the behavior, but we can easily see our way out of displeasing God over it. We turn to Him, confess our sin, and ask forgiveness. Then we turn from that sin, resolving not to commit it again. Sometimes we'll fail and do it again anyway. We may struggle for a long time overcoming a sin, but the point is that we are struggling with it. God may use that struggle to discipline us to obey Him; the consequences may get more grave. But again...there won't be any doubt what it is we are doing that displeases Him or what He is training us away from.

I hope this makes sense, and helps a little :):

[carmen]

Agreed.
I was thinking more like those that seek to do penence.

I stumble and fall, and I am remorceful, and convicted.
It always brings me to a deep feeling of thankfulness for what Jesus did for me.
It truly helps me to turn from my sin.:): I know what you mean. There have been times when I've sought and found forgiveness for some truly ugly events in my life. I'm amazed and awed at His grace and mercy, and so thankful that He loves me in spite of myself.

[PlentyGroovy]

I think we mainly punish ourselves when we sin. We sin, we incur pain from our sin and then say 'why me, Lord?' I think the Lord is always nudging us in the right direction, away from sin by convinction but I think we bring a lot of troubles on to ourselves (well I do:cry ). He is faithful to forgive and set us on the right path, again and again and again.

[Tee]

your veiws are something to think about and are appreciated
i just always wonder and beat myself up when something bad happens
i dont want to but quitely think "did i commit a sin that i am being "punished" (for lack of a better word) for?
it is a constant battle in my psyche

[Charity4Ever]

It didn't help.

First of all, it was not the writing that was the problem! It was like, I had a certain amount of time to get it done, and it was like something or someone was doing things to keep it from getting done. I needed the Internet to write part of it; my Internet went down the day I started to write and didn't come back up until after I turned it in so I had to go to the library to use the Internet to get that part, and that took a lot of time. I tried using the Internet at a closer computer lab, but the computers there stopped working too. I had all my research articles organized in piles, and no matter what I did or where I put them, they all kept falling and getting messed up. I tried to make spots for them where they wouldn't fall, and whenever I tried to do that, there were two or three huge palmetto bugs there that needed to be killed first, except they were too fast to kill. My phone kept ringing. Something I ate made me sick. That kind of thing.

My first thought was that God was chastising me for skipping church twice in a row because I had to work on my schoolwork and had too much, and I was convicted of that, but then I think of how much time I spend with God and how much I study the Bible and worship anyway (it's a lot), perhaps when I should be working on schoolwork instead. I don't think it's demonic because no demon could stand being in there. I still haven't the foggiest idea why. I didn't feel convicted over anything until I started thinking about it, and then even that didn't make sense. I couldn't think of anything else.

I really didn't want to get into the specifics of this. It was meant to serve as an example to help me make a bigger point, not something specific i've had problems with. It's over, and I got an A on the thing.

Another example is another class where I'm not doing well, and I tried to talk with my professor and that was horrible, and then I can't even meet with someone at disability services to help me. I've thought it may be pride, unthankfulness, an attitude problem, and all of them are related to some extent and all those I thought about afterwards, but I have no idea which ones (some or all) that is the source of the problem, or if that is the reason or if there is some other higher reason I don't know about.

Any of those I haven't been able to fully turn from (I'm human) although I've confessed these things and have asked Him to remove them, as well as done things to avoid them myself. I love Him, and I try to follow God and do what He wants, so, I don't think I'm off the right track. But I obviously don't know how to read events in my life, so maybe I am.

[blitzkreig]

Tee you need to understand the difference between your "Standing" in the Lord and your "State" as a human in this sinful world. Until you understand that ... you will battle psyche.

I am going to post something over in the Bible Study Forum which should give you and others in the same postion something to consider.

I will title it "The Believer's Standing And State" by CI Scofield.

[carmen]

It didn't help. I'm sorry :hug

All the things you mention just sound like life to me; they don't really need a supernatural explanation, IMHO, and I don't think they mean you can't read events in your life :):

[DeeLeeKay]

When bad things happen it is best for us to go to God in prayer. Ask foregiveness and praise him. Even in the bad times. For nothing touches us that God has not allowed(reference here Job). Seek his guidance. He will give it. Disipline is not punishment necessarily. Think of it this way.

A ten year old boy and his friends were playing baseball in the field next to their house. One of the boys hit a ball through a window. What should the parent do?

A) Beat the Kid? Punishment
B) Make the kids pay for the repair or work their debt off? Disipline

As we go about our daily lives we tend to break windows unintentionally. God tells us to make restitution(disipline, rather then beat us-punishment). I am not talking about salvation here. Just general everyday living.

[col311]

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

Chastening is performed not to punish, but to train, teach, and mold character. We aren't punished with the sole intent of that being restitution for our sins. Rather we are disciplined so that we will learn not to sin again, and so that we become more and more like Christ as we grow.

Guilt isn't from God, except in the sense that God gave us a conscience in order to help us know right from from wrong. Conviction isn't a result of conscience, but from God to tell us we need to correct an action and seek forgiveness.

My two cents :):



Right it does say that if they don't get punished, they are Bastards (KJV)