Forgiveness and Consequences
I have found that many people misunderstand forgiveness and God's forgiveness, in particular. They think that when they are forgiven for a sin they have committed that there are no consequences for that sin. This concept of forgiveness leads people to sin, instead of leading them away from sin. It leads them to sin, thinking they can just ask for forgiveness, so God will take away all of the consequences. That is not the case. It is not how God acts, because He loves us too much to lead us into sin.
God forgives our sins when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. He removes them completely. He does not hold them against us. However, He doesn't take away all of the consequences of our sins. If we committed crimes before we got saved, we will still probably have to go to jail or suffer some punishment. If we got divorced, we will still deal with the consequences. God gives us grace to handle the consequences, and He may be merciful and lessen the punishment, but He will not take it away completely.(Numbers 14:18)
The Lord shows us this in Numbers 14. Moses prayed for God to forgive the rebellion of the people when they refused to go into the Promised Land after the 12 spies came back. God forgave them, but He still made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the entire generation died. He was merciful. He let them have more years with Him and with their families. He took care of them in the desert. However, none of them saw the Promised Land. That was the consequence of their sin.
Please, don't think this makes God harsh. He knows that sin destroys. It brings death. He loves us so much that He wants to lead us from sin, so He has to try to give us reasons not to give into sin. Consequences are one reason. The other reason we must not sin is that it harms our relationship with God.(I John 1:9) If we want to stay in intimate fellowship with God, we must keep a pure heart by forsaking sin and drawing close to Him each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 18-21.
God forgives our sins when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. He removes them completely. He does not hold them against us. However, He doesn't take away all of the consequences of our sins. If we committed crimes before we got saved, we will still probably have to go to jail or suffer some punishment. If we got divorced, we will still deal with the consequences. God gives us grace to handle the consequences, and He may be merciful and lessen the punishment, but He will not take it away completely.(Numbers 14:18)
The Lord shows us this in Numbers 14. Moses prayed for God to forgive the rebellion of the people when they refused to go into the Promised Land after the 12 spies came back. God forgave them, but He still made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until the entire generation died. He was merciful. He let them have more years with Him and with their families. He took care of them in the desert. However, none of them saw the Promised Land. That was the consequence of their sin.
Please, don't think this makes God harsh. He knows that sin destroys. It brings death. He loves us so much that He wants to lead us from sin, so He has to try to give us reasons not to give into sin. Consequences are one reason. The other reason we must not sin is that it harms our relationship with God.(I John 1:9) If we want to stay in intimate fellowship with God, we must keep a pure heart by forsaking sin and drawing close to Him each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 18-21.