Does God Punish Us When We Sin..?

God hates sin. He does not like his children involved in it, and He pleads with everyone to repent of their sin and to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. However, sometimes sin gives God no other choice but to punish us unless we repent or turn away from it. God's punishment is sometimes complex to our limited minds; therefore, we sometimes develop attitudes that God will immediately punish us for even the slightest mistake. Actually, this is not so because God is patient with all of us. However, we must continue to deal quickly with our sin before God has no other choice but to administer punishment. Let's examine God’s methods of punishment below. 

It is important to understand God’s two types of punishment. 

First, there is the punishment that God will pass to those who never accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is punishment that consists of eternal separation from God in a place of torment, known as Hell, after physical death. This punishment is also known as God's judgment for the non-believer. The Bible says in Luke 12:5-8 (NIV) that we should fear God because He has the power to throw a person into Hell after the body is dead. The other type of punishment is discipline from God the Father on His “children” who are the true believers (Christians). It is discipline intended to teach and direct His children, and is done out of love, as explained in Hebrews 12:8-9 (NIV). It is equivalent to the way we as parents discipline our children when they fall short of our standard or do something we consider to be wrong. 

God will not punish the Christian for sin after physical death in eternity. 

This is the beauty of the Gospel in that the blood of Jesus Christ covers the believer's sins for the past, present (today), and the future. For the believer, it's “almost” as if we are sinless because Jesus already took the punishment for our sins. Judgment day for the Christian is much different than for the unbeliever. In eternity, the Christian will have his or her works or actions while on this earth examined to see if they were done with the right motives. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NIV) tells that the works or actions done during the life of a Christian will be put to the “fire” test. This means that, on the day of our judgment, good works or actions (with good intentions) will be rewarded, but bad works or actions (including good works with bad intentions) will not count. Furthermore, this means that although the believer will still be saved, they will lose their “could-have-been” possessions, accomplishments, or rewards (due to bad works) like a person will lose their possessions if their house burns down from fire.

Absence of punishment for sin does not mean the believer is without consequences in this life. 

 Many people accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and become Christians after their lives are damaged by their sin. It's usually at this time that a person seeks God because nothing else has worked. But accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior will not free you from all punishment you might receive for your sin. For example, if you injured someone while driving intoxicated, you will still have to pay the penalty for that crime. Matthew 5:25-26 (NIV) gives an example of how one should settle adversarial matters quickly, or they'll risk being thrown into prison until every last penny is paid. This passage appears to deal with the topic of owing someone money for so long that the matter has been taken to court, but the point is that the penalties (getting thrown into prison) cannot be reversed.

God is also patient and long-suffering with us. 

The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) that the Lord is patient with us and wants every one of us to come to repentance. He wants no one to perish in their sin. If we confess our sins, we will be forgiven and many times avoid God's punishment. A good example is God's patience while Noah built the ark. In fact, God waited 120 years for Noah to finish the ark and for people to repent; however, no one repented, so only Noah and his family were saved. 1 Peter 3:20 (NIV) also says that God “waited patiently in the days of Noah.”