God Does Not Punish in This Life? Part 2

God struck Miriam with leprosy for speaking out against Moses’ choice to marry an Ethiopian (Cushite) woman in Numbers 12. When Jesus was on the way to his crucifixion, some women wept for him. But Jesus said, “Do not weep for me, weep for your children.” (Luke 23:27-31) Previously the Jews had said of Him, “may (his) blood be on our heads and on the heads of our children.” (Matthew 27:25) Ananias and Sapphira were struck down by God for lying to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5:1-11. Verses 5 and 11 indicate that there was great fear in the church because of this. An angel of the LORD struck down King Herod Agrippa I for accepting praise as if he were a god (Acts 12:23).

God promised the Israelites that if they would obey His commandments, He would bring upon them “none of these diseases, which I have brought upon the Egyptians”. Exodus 15:26, Deuteronomy 7:15. He threatened to bring back the diseases of Egypt if they did not observe all the words of the law (Deut. 28:58-61). God also heals diseases if there is repentance of sin, as you can see Psalm 103:3 and the many instances of healings in both the Old and New Testaments.

Ezekiel (see chapter 4, for example) prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed for its wickedness (and then it happened). Why did God do this? The phrase “then you (or they) will know that I am the LORD” appears about 60 times in the book of Ezekiel. That’s 1.2 times per chapter! God’s punishment of people on the earth is evidence of His true nature and it is evidence that there is an eternal punishment. Otherwise, probably no one would believe it.

Whenever God sends prophets to warn that destruction is coming, there are always false prophets who say that it isn’t going to happen. Isaiah 30:10 says:

They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.

We can’t usually understand why God punishes some people immediately and other times he delays punishment, even until Judgment Day. It isn’t, in general, because one person is worse than other. Read Luke 13:1-5.

Stasia St. James wrote…


Jesus brought the message of hope into a world hopelessly lost. A message of love to the unloved. Redemption, Santification and Glorification to those who believe.

Yes this is true, but most people don’t see that they are hopelessly lost. They think that they are basically good and won’t be punished. In order to know God’s mercy, these people need to know what they are being redeemed from. It’s wrong to try to motivate people to become Christians with the promise of peace. The Bible teaches that we should expect persecution and a lot of struggling with sin (Romans 7:14-25). Peter was not too politically incorrect to the Pentecost crowd that they crucified Jesus (Acts 2:36). The reason why real Christians become born again is that they are “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). Real love confronts sin. It does not sweep it under the rug.

God doesn’t just punish people who are going to Hell. He “disciplines those that He loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” (Hebrews 12:6) In fact if you are not being disciplined by God, then you should be worried. Hebrews 12:8 says that you are an illegitimate child! God disciplines us for our good so that we may share in his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10) The discipline is painful, but it produces righteousness and peace. (Hebrews 12:11)