Punishment is something that God Institutes, as a result of some sin or sinful lifestyle. It can come in the form of sickness, but does not necessarily involve illness. And as we know, God does as He chooses; it is only in accordance with what He has Ordained whether He chooses to punish someone or not. Interestingly, the sick patient can either be a victim of the Enemy, as he is the one who brought sickness into the world, or quite to the contrary; he/she may be under God’s punishment for sin.

Furthermore, we know God allows illness for His Glory, to bring revelation, to aid in spiritual growth through suffering, to bring us closer to Himself, or call someone unto salvation. But just as certainly, we know that not every alignment comes as punishment for sin:

“Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

Contrarily, consequence comes about in the natural, as a result of something negative or positive. (For the purpose of this study, we are focused on the negative.)  

Moreover, God uses consequence similarly, to bring revelation, lessons and spiritual growth. However, with punishment, consequence is involved, but there is more to it. God puts one or more negative consequences in order of punishment, while consequence that does not involve punishment is a result of sin or illness and basically speaking, is not a punishment from God, but rather, simply has to run its course.

Punishment is always a consequence, but consequence isn’t always a punishment.

The Bible teaches that we are forgiven of our sins when we believe that Christ Jesus is our Savior and God even forgets our transgressions upon repentance:

“I, even I, am He that blotted out thy transgressions for Mine Own Sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the time of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

Ultimately, even as God forgives, consequences may nonetheless linger. Chronic illness is a case-in-point, as it may appear to the sufferer that perpetual pain is a punishment; that could be so. (?) It depends on whether or not God has instituted punishment. It could also be that the sufferer is simply needing to go through the course of that consequence. This is not to imply a sin consequence necessarily, but due to simply living life in this fallen world.

So many of us suffer for such extended periods of time in one or even several ways, which makes suffering feel like a punishment. We cannot help but wonder why we continue to suffer even when we are assured by God of our salvation. Yet, the suffering continues with the distinct feeling that God is not even going to heal us, at least not while we are still in our earthly bodies.

The Scriptures provide great comfort in order to encourage our faith, that we have healing thanks to our Precious Lord Jesus, and that it is the Will of God that we believe that we are healed, even if we are still waiting on God’s Timing to see the manifestation of that Promise. What the Scripture does not tell us is on what side of Heaven will relief in healing be bestowed upon us.

And in His Word, God promises that punishment will come for the wicked, if not now then later in the Lake of Fire:

“Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the prosperity of the righteous will be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:21)

God’s Word also provides examples of punishment. For one, we can look to Moses and Aaron for taking the credit for what the water from the rock. God did not allow them to enter the Promised Land in Numbers 20:11-12. (This was a permanent punishment for them personally, but did not affect their descendants.)

Moreover, God punished king David for his affair with Bathsheba in 2Samuel 12:13-14:

^“13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. ¹⁴ However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

“………great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme…….” signifies that because of the high position of king and all the responsibility and example before Israel, God punished David by denying him his son, even though David repented continually in Psalm 51 & 32. Therefore, forgiveness does not negate punishment, if punishment is what God has Ordained.

Then, we see another example of God’s punishment on Saul on the road to Damascus. God punished him and got his attention with a consequence for his hatred and brutality with the same plague: 3 days of blindness. See Acts 9:1-19.

Also noteworthy, punishment can sometimes be permanent like with David’s son’s death, or temporary like with Saul, whose name was changed to Paul at his conversion to Christianity. And he went on to write a great portion of the New Testament! Likewise, consequence can be temporary or last until death, but consequence and punishment have distinct differences that are interesting to say the least….

Furthermore, we know through God’s Word that God allows suffering for a bigger purpose for those who are walking with Him:

“So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.” (1Peter 4:1, NLT)

And in the King James Bible the passage reads:

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.”

Taking it in sections:

The first point Peter makes is that Christ suffered GREATLY, so why should we think it strange when we do? We ought to be willing, AS HE WAS WILLING.

The second point he makes is that when we have the Attitude of Christ, (willingness, patience, endurance, tolerance, meekness) there is a progression in spiritual maturity: To be free from sin is far more beneficial than freedom from physical suffering.

The Apostle Peter is saying several key things:

1). It’s better to suffer in the body, then to continue in sin.

2). When consequences snap us out of our illusions and back to reality, they change us: we not only learn our lesson, we aren’t even interested in the “old man” we used to be, for our uncircumcised flesh is no longer a stumbling block. See Ephesians 4:22-24.

Virtually any sin we commit, can and most likely will come with some form of consequence. The sin may have been forgiven, but the consequence continues. But, fortunately, consequences do come to their inevitable end much of the time.

PROVERBS ON CONSEQUENCE:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)

“He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind, And the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.” (Proverbs 11:29)

Through the wise words of King Solomon, we also find those consequences for goodness:

“The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:25)

NLT, KJV

Linzy is a certified Bible Counsellor, with countless republications on her viewers blogs, Bible Studies, Ezines and the like. Her portfolio includes, non-fiction articles, short stories for all ages, and Christian poetry.