Does God punish his people when they did wrong ?

[Melissa.T]

Does God punish his people who did wrong? Each of my friend has a different idea on this subject. One of them said God never punishes anyone but let people realize his fault by himseld and become to regret. Is it real?

Edited November 25, 2014 by Melissa.T

[OakWood]

This is a good question and also a tough question to answer.

I have my own experiences of this, so I'm going to try and answer your question according to what I believe you are really asking. You're not asking about post-death judgement. You appear to be asking whether God punishes you in this life for your sins. Am I right?

If I am, then this reply is the best that I can do:

 

In the same way that God doesn't always give you what you ask for when you pray, by which I mean he won't always give you what you want, then I also believe that God doesn't always punish people when they sin.

Look at it this way. Life is a learning process. Sometimes you could ask for God to help you with something, or give you something, but he doesn't oblige. That's because he knows what's best for you, and what is best for you is not always that which you think you may want or need. I know that when I was younger I really wanted a girl named Nellie Carson (name changed for legal reasons), but no matter how much I prayed, I never won her heart.

Now I realise that it probably wasn't good for me to have her. I don't feel the same way as I did then. God knows best, even though I was angry with him at the time.

 

If we apply the same theory to sin, then God rarely appears to punish sinners and if he does it's not always straight away. Sometimes he doesn't punish them at all and sometimes he might after a period of time, but I'm still unclear as to whether such punishments are divine judgements or whether they come from sinister, darker forces.

It may sometimes even take decades for you to be affected by the consequences of your own actions.

 

Don't be upset because your life is going badly at the moment and other people's lives appear to be great. It could be that your current sorrow means that God has something even better for you waiting in the near future. You never know (and to be honest with you, neither do I).

 

And finally, I have to say this:

You're not alone.There's hardly an adult on this Planet who hasn't felt the heartbreak and disappointment that you are feeling right now... Seriously,.. we've all been through it but you probably don't realise it because people put on brave faces and try to smile to cover up the pain. The problem is, we're all egocentric. If you think about others and concentrate less on yourself, the heartache diminishes.

[Hall7]

I believe that the passage in Galatians 6:7-9 indicates that we punish ourselves through our actions:

7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

[Hall7]

And in addition, God isn't punishing you with this pain, this pain was brought to you by what your ex boyfriend has sowed, you are reaping what "he" has sowed. God knows the both of your hearts and everyone's intention; intentions and choices carried out by the flesh never are a wise choice, but intentions guided by His Spirit never fail...

[KPaulG]

Of course he does.

 

In the Bible **I don't know what verse, sorry** it says David, and I think he's one of God's men, was punished by God for killing Bathsheba's husband.

 

And we can't think, "Oh, just because we're God's people we can go unpunished." No!

 

That will cause many people to fall if God allowed His people to go unpunished if they sin.

Edited November 28, 2014 by KPaulG

[Willa]

God sent the nation of Israel into captivity for 70 years for neglecting the sabbath (7th year) rest of the land.

God allows us to reap the consequenses of our actions. He also chastens us spiritually to humble us, so that we will yield the fruit of righteousness. We are told that we know we are truly His children when He treats us like His kids and gives us a spiritual whipping. He also corrects us to guide us and train us.

Hebrews 12:5-11

[KPaulG]

God sent the nation of Israel into captivity for 70 years for neglecting the sabbath (7th year) rest of the land.

God allows us to reap the consequenses of our actions. He also chastens us spiritually to humble us, so that we will yield the fruit of righteousness. We are told that we know we are truly His children when He treats us like His kids and gives us a spiritual whipping. He also corrects us to guide us and train us.

Hebrews 12:5-11

Those were God's chosen people.

 

So we can conclude that the answer is  "Yes."

[Wildstar]

The whole bible warns His people to do well and not sin.  When they do sin he gives warnings.  He then starts to act by doing things his people wouldn't like with varying intesnities depending on what they are doing and how hard their hearts are to his rebukes.  Eventually at the end he destroys those who ultimately don't repent of their sin.  

[Qnts2]

My question is 'what do you mean by His people'.

 

His people are Israel, and His people are the church/Christians.

 

Most of Israel is under the Mosaic covenant, which is a bilateral covenant.

 

The church/Christians/Jews and Gentile who believe on Jesus are under the New Covenant, which is a unilateral covenant.

A unilateral covenant means one person is responsible for fulfilling all, and a bilateral covenant is when one person promises certain things contingent on the other people involved fulfilling their responsibilities under the covenant.

 

The Mosaic covenant had punishments for Israels failure to fulfill their obligations.

 

The New Covenant does not have punishments since Jesus died for the sins. In the New Testament, God is called the Father, and believers who are under the New Covenant are called the sons of God/children. When a child does wrong, a good Father will discipline. Discipline is to teach.    

[Wildstar]

My question is 'what do you mean by His people'.

 

His people are Israel, and His people are the church/Christians.

 

Most of Israel is under the Mosaic covenant, which is a bilateral covenant.

 

The church/Christians/Jews and Gentile who believe on Jesus are under the New Covenant, which is a unilateral covenant.

A unilateral covenant means one person is responsible for fulfilling all, and a bilateral covenant is when one person promises certain things contingent on the other people involved fulfilling their responsibilities under the covenant.

 

The Mosaic covenant had punishments for Israels failure to fulfill their obligations.

 

The New Covenant does not have punishments since Jesus died for the sins. In the New Testament, God is called the Father, and believers who are under the New Covenant are called the sons of God/children. When a child does wrong, a good Father will discipline. Discipline is to teach.    

Punish / discipline is the same thing.  And you answered your own question