Forgiving Sins, but Bringing Consequences
One of the most misunderstood things about how God acts is how He forgives our sins after we are saved. Many people think that when God forgives a sin He takes away the consequences, too. That is hardly ever the case. (Numbers 14:18) Moses explained that before the Lord pronounced the consequences of Israel's refusal to enter the land of Canaan, after 10 of the spies brought back a negative report. We all need to hear what Moses knew, because it will directly impact our lives over and over again, if we do not learn this lesson.
God is slow to anger. He gives us many chances before His anger burns against us. This is because He is abounding in faithful love for everyone. His love leads Him to be very forgiving of iniquity and rebellion, just as He forgave Israel after their rebellion. However, He will not leave the guilty unpunished. His punishment is necessary to keep us from going back to sin over and over again. That is why He brings consequences on us for our sin, and those consequences can last for three or four generations after us, if we do not break that chain. We see this quality of God in that He forgave Israel for rebelling and refusing to enter Canaan. However, His consequence to this serious sin was that none of the generation 20 years old and above, except Joshua and Caleb who were faithful, would live to see the land of Canaan, only their children would see it. He sent them to the wilderness to wander 40 years until they all died. Then, He enabled their children to enter the land. That was a very serous punishment for a sin that was just as serious.
I pray that we will not think that forgiveness means no punishment for our sin. God loves us too much not to punish us as a deterrent to further sin. However, He gives us grace to endure the consequences, as we trust Him, just like He cared for Israel in the wilderness.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Number 16-18.
God is slow to anger. He gives us many chances before His anger burns against us. This is because He is abounding in faithful love for everyone. His love leads Him to be very forgiving of iniquity and rebellion, just as He forgave Israel after their rebellion. However, He will not leave the guilty unpunished. His punishment is necessary to keep us from going back to sin over and over again. That is why He brings consequences on us for our sin, and those consequences can last for three or four generations after us, if we do not break that chain. We see this quality of God in that He forgave Israel for rebelling and refusing to enter Canaan. However, His consequence to this serious sin was that none of the generation 20 years old and above, except Joshua and Caleb who were faithful, would live to see the land of Canaan, only their children would see it. He sent them to the wilderness to wander 40 years until they all died. Then, He enabled their children to enter the land. That was a very serous punishment for a sin that was just as serious.
I pray that we will not think that forgiveness means no punishment for our sin. God loves us too much not to punish us as a deterrent to further sin. However, He gives us grace to endure the consequences, as we trust Him, just like He cared for Israel in the wilderness.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Number 16-18.