A Punishing God

English: Old punishment: walking around in a wooden barrel Nederlands: Straf in oude tijden: de schandton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Punishing God

Genesis 4:13

Cain replied to the Lord, “My punishment^£ is too great for me to bear! ¹⁴ _ You have banished me from my land and from your presence; you have made me a wandering fugitive. All who see me will try to kill me!”

¹⁵ _ The Lord replied, “They will not kill you, for I will give seven times your punishment to anyone who does.”

Leviticus 22:9

Warn all the priests to follow these instructions carefully; otherwise they will be subject to punishment and die for violating them. I am the Lord who makes them holy.

Leviticus 26:43

And the land will enjoy its years of Sabbath rest as it lies deserted. At last the people will receive the due punishment for their sins, for they rejected my regulations and despised my laws.

1 Samuel 25:39

When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord, who has paid back Nabal and kept me from doing it myself. Nabal has received the punishment for his sin.” Then David wasted no time in sending messengers to Abigail to ask her to become his wife.

Job 8:4

Your children obviously sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.

Job 9:34

The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of his punishment.

Job 19:29

I warn you, you yourselves are in danger of punishment for your attitude. Then you will know that there is judgment.”

Job 37:13

He causes things to happen on earth, either as a punishment or as a sign of his unfailing love.

Psalm 10:3

Yet they succeed in everything they do.

They do not see your punishment awaiting them.

They pour scorn on all their enemies.

Matthew 25:46

And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Mark 12:38

But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”

Luke 17:2

It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck than to face the punishment in store for harming one of these little ones.

Luke 20:47

But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property, and then, to cover up the kind of people they really are, they make long prayers in public. Because of this, their punishment will be the greater.”

Acts 13:11

And now the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be stricken awhile with blindness.”

Romans 2:5

But no, you won’t listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin.

Romans 13:2

So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.

1 Corinthians 4:21

Which do you choose? Should I come with punishment and scolding, or should I come with quiet love and gentleness?

2 Corinthians 11:15

So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Hebrews 10:29

Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy. Such people have insulted and enraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to his people.

Punishment

Why are the punishments in the Old Testament so severe?

Genesis 3:14-15; Genesis 4:9-16; Leviticus 20:1-27

The serpent was punished forever for tempting Eve into sin; Cain’s punishment was living with the guilt of murdering his brother. The severity of these punishments was designed to impress upon God’s people the seriousness of sin.

Does God discipline us today? How?

Hebrews 12:7-11

God disciplines us as a loving Father, by both consequences and rebuke. His desire is always to bring us back to him, not to humiliate or hurt us.

Romans 1:18-32

God gives sinners over to the consequences of their own behavior, especially when their sin is intentional and deliberate.

Will we be punished for our sins?

Isaiah 26:21

Judgment and punishment are promised for all sin.

Isaiah 53:8; Revelation 6:10; 1 Peter 4:4-5

Judgment will surely come upon all who reject Christ.

Punishment

The New Testament lays down the general principles of good government, but contains no code of laws for the punishment of offenders. Punishment proceeds on the principle that there is an eternal distinction between right and wrong, and that this distinction must be maintained for its own sake. It is not primarily intended for the reformation of criminals, nor for the purpose of deterring others from sin. These results may be gained, but crime in itself demands punishment. (See MURDER; THEFT.) Endless, of the impenitent and unbelieving. The rejection of this doctrine “cuts the ground from under the gospel... blots out the attribute of retributive justice; transmutes sin into misfortune instead of guilt; turns all suffering into chastisement; converts the piacular work of Christ into moral influence... The attempt to retain the evangelical theology in connection with it is futile” (Shedd).