A very good person who has shown love to everyone he or she comes in contact with is suddenly killed in a vehicle accident. Is that person being punished by God? Was there some sin in that person’s life that justified God’s punishment? It seems that was the case with Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5. How about an infant you know that is diagnosed with incurable cancer. Could that infant possibly have sinned? Maybe it was the parent’s actions that justified God’s punishment. That was certainly was the cause of the death David and Bathsheba’s son in 2 Samuel 12. What about the earthquake in Haiti that killed many thousands. Was that punishment from God? He certainly showed that kind of wrath on the families of Dathan and Abiram when they were swallowed up in the sand of the desert for inciting the rebellion found in Numbers 16.

You can see this is question that many have. It is a question whose answer can be perplexing. As I look at this question, I am approaching it as a sold out Christ follower. Over the years I have been taught that once forgiven through placing my faith in the work of Christ on the cross, my sins are forgiven past present and future. Hebrews 9: 26 bears this out. Christ “appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” I have been taught that my salvation depends solely on Christ and what He has already done for me through His death on the cross, not on how bad or how good I have been. Also in Romans 8:1-5 it says ”So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit”

Because of verses like these and others, I am confident that my salvation is permanent no matter my current circumstances regarding sin. This is true not because I am “not guilty” but because I am declared by Christ to be “guilty but justified” and that He has already been punished for my sin. Not just those that I have committed or just those that I am committing, but also for those He knows I will commit in the future.
So what about punishment? Let’s look at things that we have been taught. One thing we hear almost every time the Gospel is explained is this. “Christ died on the cross and accepted your “punishment” so that you could be forgiven of your sins….” Other times it goes like this,” “Christ died as a substitute for you and accepted the “punishment” that you deserved so that you don’t have to….”

Now think about these two points. Christ’ sacrifice is sufficient to provide justification and forgiveness for you at the moment you accept that sacrifice. Christ was punished for your sins and that forgiveness and justification continues through eternity. So if we accept these two points, why would God punish us again for those sins? To me, it is pretty obvious that He does not, and will not, punish those of us who are genuinely sold out to the grace provided by Christ’s sacrifice for all of our sins, past, present and future.

Still we have to question the things in the bible that we mentioned our opening comments. Before the law we are told that it was faith in God that justified. This was the case with Abraham. His faith was counted to him as righteousness. We also are told that after the law was given to Moses, justification came through the law. But if you think about it, keeping the law or even trying to keep the law can only happen because of faith in the God who gave the law. Another thing we see when we examine all of the incidents mentioned above is that, in all of these, there was no request for forgiveness or repentance until confronted by someone else about their sin. Though David did ask for forgiveness he did so only after he was confronted by Nathan. None of the others asked for forgiveness or repented of their sin. In the case of Ananias and Saphira who were mentioned as being part of the church group hinting that they were justified believers who were punished. However, based on my believe that God does not punish us for sins after we have committed to Christ’s lordship, one must assume they had not fully trusted the sacrifice of Christ, but instead they trusted in their stuff, and hence deserved the Judgment (punishment) meted out by God.

Remember Paul tells us that instead of not sinning because we no longer have any fear of punishment that we should not sin because we have been given freedom from sin itself. Romans 6: 15-16 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?…

In this discussion we need to consider Hebrews 12: 5– 11

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the LORD disciplines those he loves,
and he chastens each one he accepts as his child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way

The Greek Word “paideias” (translated in this version as “discipline”) is defined as the rearing of a child, training , discipline; so we need to discuss discipline vs punishment. Punishment has as its purpose; “to inflict a penalty for an offense”. Discipline has as its purpose; “to train for correction and maturity”. Punishment has as its focus; “past misdeeds”. Discipline has as its focus’ “future correct acts”. Punishment has as its attitude; “Hostility and frustration”; Discipline has as its attitude “love and concern”.

My belief is that I never have to fear punishment from God. Jesus took care of that for me. I also know that I am not perfect and when I sin I need to humble myself and admit the wrong and adjust my ways. But I do not have to fear God’s punishment. Because of Jesus, God will not respond to me with wrath or with condemnation. He may chose to discipline me by allowing me suffer the consequences of my sin and that may seem hard, but, that discipline will always bring great spiritual benefit. It is also true that even without sin I may suffer trials of sickness or loss due to living in this sin drenched world; but, that discipline will also always bring great spiritual benefit. As James says in chapter 1, I need to count it all joy when these trials come because from them I can become stronger. If it were punishment I would not grow spiritually