really? are you kidding me?
the Word says that there is one punishment for sin - death. ...if you get physically sick, lose a job, etc, etc, etc, you are expressly NOT being punished for sin. ...death is the one and only punishment for sin that there is; you are kidding yourself if you think you can be punished by anything less of death. [or did you really think that sin can be punished with a light slap on the wrist?]
in my opinion, people who believe they are punished by God have yet to internalize:
- how truly abhorrent God finds sin
- why death is the only punishment for sin
- that Christ was punished for all our sins, INSTEAD of us
- that the punishment for our sins is totally complete
- that the work of Jesus Christ is totally complete
- that no sins remain to be punished
- that God has completely forgiven us by His complete, amazing grace
Takeaway
we are never punished by God; Jesus Christ was punished instead.
Application
it is suitable to believe we are never punished, that God is wholly happy with us.
i used to think the ultimate goal of my life is to glorify God (perhaps as many other people think). i tried so hard to figure out how to glorify God... by working hard at work, serving church, and eventually by being a sincere follower of the Bible.
ReplyDeleteand i kept falling and falling and after all, left church for not being that sincere and holy in fear, sadness, and confusion.
now i see that a lot of church still emphasize glorifying God. i think they should be very careful approaching that concept not to confuse people ...
instead of by being under the law, by just being happy with God, we are already glorying God