Does God Punish Christians?

Does God Punish Christians?

Jesus was once asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” His response:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'”

What happens to us if we don’t love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind? Is it a sin if we don’t? Can a person be saved if they don’t love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind? I am going to use the greatest commandment to illustrate the error of legalism.

First, let’s start with the penalty of sin. A lot of Christians believe there are varying degrees of sin, and there are. Jesus Himself, verifies this:

John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."

So which sins are ok for people to commit and still be safe from eternal damnation? The answer is simple, none. The WORD Says:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

This particular blog was inspired by a conversation I had with my beautiful sister-in-law, Lorena. She expressed concern with another blog I wrote about forgiveness. In that blog, I explained that God’s forgiveness of our sins is no longer predicated on our forgiveness of others. Her concern was that failure to forgive others would remove us from our right standing with God.

All sin, even the smallest lie or tiny bit of worry merits the same penalty, death. God’s standard is perfection. God knew man could not get through life without sinning. Take Adam for example. He lived in a perfect world with a woman literally handmade by God Himself. He didn’t have to deal with slow drivers in the passing-only lane when he was late for work. He didn’t have to deal with any indecisive customers in front of him at the drive thru. He didn’t even have to deal with a drunk neighbor blocking his driveway. Despite all this, Adam still sinned. God is infinitely omniscient. He knows we are bound to sin. Because of this, the ONLY way anyone was going to make it into heaven was to send us a perfect proxy. That proxy was Jesus and He took the punishment for ALL of our sins. All means all. It is finished! But just because Jesus died for us, we didn’t magically develop the ability to live perfectly. We are still imperfect humans living in a broken world.

Jesus did not take away our ability to perform sin, He took away the penalty of our sin. He did not wave a magic wand over our heads and change us into perfectly performing individuals. We are still human. He did not give us the ability to perform perfectly; He just made us perfect in the eyes of our Father in heaven. When God looks at you now, He sees you like He sees His Son. Is it because of anything that you did? No! It is only because of Jesus.

Romans 3:19-31; 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, 30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Your sin and my sin deserved death. Jesus died for us. The ONLY righteousness that I have is Him. Anything that I do or that I am able to abstain from doing is still just filthy rags. Jesus took ALL of my sin, even the shortcomings that I have committed after I was born again. Do I want to sin? NO!

Romans 7:14-24; 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

If Paul, who wrote 13 books of the Bible couldn’t conquer the flesh, what chance do I have? I am incapable of getting it completely right, no matter how hard I try. Should I obey all the law? Yes. But when I fail, and I do every day, my standing with God does not change. I am still the righteousness of God in Christ. I am still His son, and He looks at me through the blood His Son poured out for me. He sees me without blemish! Hallelujah! I cannot be punished for the same sins that Jesus was already punished for. If I am punished for my sin, then I was not completely forgiven.

We started this blog with the question about the greatest commandment. I asked if we are required to keep it? The answer is the same, no. I wish I could keep it. If I could, then I would certainly screw up a lot less. But God knows we cannot even  perfectly keep the greatest  law. In fact, Jesus rebuked Peter for bragging on his love for Jesus. Peter was taught by Jesus for years, saw Him perform countless miracles, and he still messed up continually. God knows we are unable to follow wholeheartedly, even that one commandment. If it was still a requirement for right standing with God, how could a brand-new hearer of the Word be considered a Christian? They know nothing of the Lord so how can they be expected to love Him with all their heart, mind, and soul? No, no, no, a thousand times no. There are no commandments that born again believers will be held accountable to. Dead to the law means dead to the law. Any and all of my shortcomings were already judged. I am no longer held to the same standards as the world. I am free! Thank you, Jesus.

The Bible says that there is only one sin that cannot be forgiven; that is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Why only that one? Because you are calling the Holy Spirit a liar. You are probably thinking, “That doesn’t sound all that bad. Isn’t murder worse?” I’ll tell you why you cannot be forgiven for calling the Holy Spirit a liar. Because the Holy Spirit is the One that tells every person that Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Only Jesus can bridge the chasm between God and man.

1 John 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.

So, if you don’t believe that Jesus is the only Way, you are calling the Holy Spirit a liar. You are refusing from Him the only truth that can save you. You have until your physical death to accept Jesus. If you die before you do, then you blasphemed the Holy Spirit to your demise. You did not believe Him and there are no second chances. That is why it cannot be forgiven. What is the evidence of salvation? When a person receives Jesus, that person is sealed forever with the Holy Spirit.

And if that is the only sin that cannot be forgiven, then no born again believer sealed with the Holy Spirit can do anything wrong that Jesus has not already paid for. Even Paul said, “When I sin, it is not me that does it. It is sin living in me.” Sin is in the flesh, and we died to the flesh. Our spirits have been united with Christ. This is why we are instructed to walk by the Spirit and not the flesh.  We must make Jesus our Savior and Lord. We have to crucify the flesh. However, we are not condemned for the unrighteous acts done in the flesh if we are born again nor should we be fearful of punishment or of losing our right standing with God. We did nothing to earn it, nothing is required to keep it. Does that mean we have a license to do anything we want? Absolutely not. If you have that attitude, you most likely have not truly repented, and God will not be mocked. He sees the heart.

One more verse and I’ll end this discussion. I almost always use the New King James Version when quoting Scripture, but this one I am using the NASB because it says a little bit more to me.

Romans 8:1-2; 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

I love how it says “…at all…”. And if there is no more at all condemnation, then there is no more at all punishment.

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!