Do you know anyone whose kids are real brats? Undisciplined, disrespectful of anyone else, and noisy?
Have you also noticed how the parents of those kids are so loving and understanding, never punishing them or even telling them they are acting badly?
Now, how many people do you know who say that God is like those parents: loving, forgiving, and compassionate, never cruel or punishing?
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God is loving, is compassionate, is exceptionally understanding, and remarkably forgiving. In fact, he not only is willing to forgive us when we repent, he desires to forgive us. He even says so in Ezekiel 18:23!
So, because God is loving, compassionate, and forgiving, he also will kick your tuchas if you continue to do wrong without repentance.
Too many people don’t know what Proverbs really says about punishing a child; they think it says if you spare the rod you spoil the child.
WRONG!
Proverbs 13:24 says:
Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.
and Proverbs 22:15 says:
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.
and, finally, what I consider to be the most important one is Proverbs 23:13-14, which says:
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
Punish them with the rod and save them from death.
Note how discipline is designed not to hurt the child, but to save it, essentially, from itself. And sparing the rod doesn’t just spoil your child, it condemns your child to death!
We have to remember that God doesn’t concern himself with mortality: when he says life or death, he is talking about your eternal condition. An undisciplined child will not only have trouble during its lifetime, but it will likely end up in hell, forever.
And whose fault is that? It’s the fault of the parents!
This is why truly loving and compassionate parents will discipline their child, but in the way that God disciplines us. No, I don’t mean to rain fire and brimstone on them (well, maybe…. no, I’m kidding), but to punish without anger, without yelling, and with mercy.
I don’t think corporal punishment always works, but as a last resort it may be necessary: some people just naturally refuse to listen until the consequences of ignoring what people tell them are painful.
What this is all leading up to is the truth about God and punishment: God will punish us not just because he is angry with us (which he probably is), and not because we have done wrong (which we did to make him angry), but because he loves us and he wants us to be with him forever.
I know it is so much nicer to believe God forgives us no matter what, and that is probably why someone came up with that silly idea of OSAS (Once Saved, Always Saved), claiming that sins are automatically forgiven once you accept Yeshua as your Messiah. And not just the sins you’ve already committed, but the ones you will commit for the rest of your life.
How biblically ignorant to even think that could be true.
And I understand that we would much prefer a God who forgives us so long as we say, “Oops, sorry ’bout that, Chief !”
But God will punish us when we do wrong without confession, or even worse without repentance.
Many Christian teachings state that their God (you know, the different one who sent Yeshua, not that mean guy from the Jewish Bible) is loving and forgiving and all anyone needs do is believe in Jesus (whatever the heck that is supposed to mean) and love their neighbor and they will be forgiven and go to heaven. They say that punishment is the old way, but with Jesus it is all just loving forgiveness.
Of course, anyone who knows the Bible and has a reasonably good understanding of who God is, knows that is a lie from the very pit of Sheol! As the title of this message says, if we cannot trust God to punish the sinners, then we cannot trust God to reward the righteous.
God has to punish those who constantly do wrong without repentance because he said he would. If he doesn’t, then he lied, and as such can’t be trusted to keep his word about rewarding those who obey him.
In other words, if you have been taught that the God of the New Covenant is different from the Old, that he is only loving and forgiving instead of cruel and punishing, then you are worshiping the wrong God and on the wrong path.
God is holy and cannot lie, and when he says in the Old Covenant that he will punish the sinner, he will do that to any believer in Yeshua who sins continually without confession or repentance.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, and no such thing as forgiveness without confession, repentance, and ASKING for forgiveness.
The God of the Old Covenant is the same God of the New Covenant, and the only reason he seems less punishing in the New is because the people are now established in the land, and the storyline is about Yeshua.
If you really think the “God of the New Covenant” isn’t one to punish harshly, ask Ananias and Sapphira. Oh, wait a minute, you can’t ask them because they were killed off in an instant for lying to the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit).
Yeah, sorry to burst your “I’m Okay” bubble, but it’s the same God, and if you screw up enough, you will get the same punishment he gave to people in the Tanakh.
Don’t think for a second that because you have accepted Yeshua as your Messiah that you do not have to be concerned with sinning or punishment, or that your salvation is guaranteed.
You may be saved at this time, but it is how you act for the rest of your life (and hopefully your parents taught you how to act) that will guarantee your salvation.
Or lead to your destruction.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for this week, so l’hitraot and (an early) Shabbat Shalom!