Does God Still Punish Us?

Revelation 3:19,20 Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behaviour—seek God's will]. Behold, I stand at the door and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. (AMP)

So let me ask you, does God still punish His children?  When you do something wrong, and you know it was wrong, does He still get out His big cosmic ruler and rap you over the knuckles?

It’s a good question to ask and a very good one to answer because in this world of cause and effect, our expectation is very much that those who do wrong should be punished.

But here’s the thing. If you believe that Jesus died on that Cross to pay the price of your sin, then you know that He took your punishment upon Himself once and for all. So it wouldn’t make sense for God to punish you again, would it? Indeed, Jesus Himself says this:

Revelation 3:19,20 Those whom I [dearly and tenderly] love, I rebuke and discipline [showing them their faults and instructing them]; so be enthusiastic and repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, your sinful behaviour—seek God’s will]. Behold, I stand at the door and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. (AMP)

Does God still punish us? No. Does He rebuke and discipline us out of His great love? Absolutely. Why? To teach us, to restore us, to fellowship with us.

There’s a big difference between discipline and punishment. Award winning author L.R. Knost explains it like this: “Discipline is helping a child solve a problem. Punishment is making a child suffer for having a problem.” Jesus is focussed on the solution, not the problem.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.