Punishment and Forgiveness

This might challenge you...

How self-righteous do you have to be to think that God is punishing you for your sins? If God was punishing you then you could save yourself.

Think about it - Christ took the punishment for our sins and shed his blood for our forgiveness. His blood doesn't just cover our sins, it takes them away. So if you can survive the "punishment" you are undergoing, then you really don't need a savior. Jesus DIED when he was on the cross. If you are truly being punished for sins, there must be a death or shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).

So you must come to this conclusion: We are either totally forgiven (as we put our faith in Christ) or we are not forgiven at all. There is no in between.

Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus "is able to save completely (or forever) those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them."

I think a lot of Christians don't understand what it means to be saved. Jesus saves you completely/forever from your sins. That means that you are saved from what your sins deserve - punishment. If Jesus has saved you, how can God be punishing you? Again, can you pay for your own salvation?

"Where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." Hebrews 10:18

You can conclude that since they have been forgiven and sacrifice is no longer needed, there is also no more punishment for them. Christ appeared once for all to do away with sin. That means past, present, and future. All of your sins were in the future when he was on the cross. He doesn't suffer again and again for you. What Jesus did was so good the first time that God was eternally pleased with it.

The only sacrifice that has any value in God's eyes is Christ's. Since these sins are forgiven there is no more a need to try to have them forgiven. The only thing to do in regard to sin is to remind your self that Jesus has saved you completely and that he has broken (put to death) sin's power over you. Remember what God has promised -

"So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you." (Isaiah 54:9)

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all "yes" in Christ." (2 Corinthians 1:20)