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Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
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Punishment for past sins
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Does a person who has invited Jesus into his life continue to be punished for past sins? If your answer is that they will continue to suffer consequences for past sins, please define consequences and what is meant by that. I was recently having this discussion with someone and we couldn't reach an agreement.
Thanks for your help!
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Marcie in MO 06/01/2011 20:51 |
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Cabingirl
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06/02/2011 08:28 |
Hmmmm! Just my thoughts, but I think there's a difference between punishment and consequences. Look at King David.... he sinned, and was punished by losing his child. But we know he was forgiven. Yet the consequences went on for a long time. Like a ripple effect. It's easy for me to look at this story and say God told David right off the bat that this was gonna happen, so my first reaction is to say "God said it, it happened, the end." But I was reading the story of Bathsheba in the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers, and it really helped fill in the blanks, why the story played out the way it did. David didn't just mess with his and Bathsheba's life, he messed with the trust of those closest to him, and in the end they turned on him, and pretty soon all of Israel was affected by it.
Hope this is making some sense, my morning coffee is not kicking in yet, and I feel like I'm rambling. ;)
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Bibleman
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06/02/2011 22:49 |
lets say someone has AIDS and they accept Jesus into their life. They still have to suffer for someone's sin (if not their own), but they have life nonetheless.
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rhysy
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06/02/2011 23:26 |
This is a huge topic, but in a few paragraphs, I’ll give it a shot. In terms of punishment, Jesus took all the wrath of God on to himself. The Apostle Paul says in Romans that there is no condemnation for those in Jesus. If Jesus died for you, then all your sins have been forgiven.
In terms of consequences, I think you might need to define these ‘past sins’. Jesus death and resurrection is about reconciling us back to God and each other. To restore relationships may mean working through things with people in the light of the cross.
If your ‘past sins’ have led to some form of physical or even emotional etc consequences, we won’t see the complete work of the cross until Jesus returns.
This is really brief but I hope it helps. Email me privately if you want to talk more. I’ll see if I can find some books that address this issue.
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Marcie in MO
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06/03/2011 17:23 |
Thank you for the responses. Rhysy, this is the thoughts I have on the subject as well. Any books you can think of would be awesome. My friend has been really struggling financially for years now, and he is convinced it is because he is being punished for the sinful life he lived before knowing Jesus.
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Pam
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06/03/2011 23:02 |
Marcie,
I've read all the comments here and wasn't going to add my own, because I felt I had nothing to say on the subject. But your last post got me thinking, because it sounds exactly like what a friend of mine believes...that she is being punished for some sin she committed, either before or after coming into a relationship with Jesus. For as long as I've been friends with her, I've known her to be a godly, loving woman, steeped in God's Word. Now, I'm watching her fall to pieces and turn from the Lord, totally convinced that He 'has it in' for her. I don't believe that it's true, but my friend continues to point to all the things in her life that are going wrong, all the things she struggles with. But sitting her pondering this, I have to wonder if these struggles aren't really consequences that are a result of her poor choices instead. For example, my friend is also struggling financially and has been for a long time. Years ago, she and her husband purchased a home in a neighborhood that was mega elite, a great deal above where they had previously lived. They got the house for an incredibly low price, but the furnishing, the maintenance, the taxes, heating & electric bills, etc. are killing them now. My friend is scrambling to find money in order to send her son to 'the best' Christian college in VA (we live in NJ); she doesn't want to disappoint him, SHE went to that college, nothing around here is good enough, and she refuses to send him to a non-Christian college, as it will only cause his downfall (her words). She and her husband also bought two brand new cars. But she blames God on her financial woes, crying to me that she can't understand why God isn't showing her favor. She also suffers from a very unmanageable form of diabetes. She's worked 16-18 hour days 6 days a week for years, skipping meals, eating crap when she does eat, not taking her insulin, trying to control everything and everyone at her job (she's a district manager of an H&R Block). So now that her body is falling apart, her healt continues to decline, she is blaming God, saying He's punishing her for her sins by not healing her. But it's the consequences of her poor choices that are killing her, at least that's how I see it. Because the God I know doesn't treat His daughters (or sons) like this. I have to believe God is just as distraught and heartbroken over my friend as I am. To me, if God WERE to do this, to play The Punisher, then Jesus' death and resurrection was all for nothing, right?
I don't know your friend, Marcie, so I can't say that this is the case with him, and I do hope I haven't sounded harsh or flippant in all I've said. Just thought I'd share what I was thinking about tonight. We need to pray for God to open up their eyes so they can truly see Him for Who He is (our loving, compassionate Abba Father God) and for Who He isn't (The Punisher, Hannibal Lecter, someone who delights in tormenting weaker individuals).
Peace to you,
Pam
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Marcie in MO
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06/08/2011 09:02 |
Pam,
Thank you for your thoughts. I believe this is very much a part of what is going on, although there is more to it than this also. I'm so glad you decided to share!
Grace and peace,
Marcie
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Mike Mead
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06/09/2011 21:45 |
If I could add one thought. All of us have sinned, all of us have past sins that may never see the light of day. If we have made them right with God, then I believe that Romans 8:1 is where to turn. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Physical consequences such as disease are there in our bodies that are dying anyway. God already knows our sin and it has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus if we have accepted that salvation. Too often we beat ourselves up about things in our past that we cannot change. Jesus said to come to Him and take His burden because it is light.
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dreamwalker
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06/22/2011 11:46 |
Marcie,
one of the most encouraging readings on this matter is, Psalms 32. or even better, if you still have the DAB reading from feb.10.2011, listen to it as Brian reads these verses (after the new testament part) and then, at the end of it all, he discusses what we heard with insights of his own as led by the Holy Spirit. the session then ends with a beautiful song that brings forth one's mood of reverence and a repentive heart. it will be uplifting for you, for sure.
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