Short thought and to the point on when bad things happen if it is a sign God’s punishment.
When Jesus was on the cross, God poured out all his wrath for sin upon His Son Jesus. Therefore the believer is legally forgiven and cannot be punished for their sin since Jesus bore the penalty on the cross.
Therefore, we may not know why something bad happens to us, but we can know what it CAN’T be! It can’t be that God is angry with us or punishing us because that issue was settled on the cross!
Then the issue becomes to understand according to James 1:5…
Since I am concluding James this Sunday, my mind is on the section of Scripture where the sick call the elders of the church to pray over them. I agree with Wiersbe, MacArthur and others that the “sick” in this situation MAY be those who are sick due to sin. Not all sickness is due to sin, but some sin does lead to sickness. You will note the comment that “if he has sinned” in verse 15b. The word for “sin” refers to a continuous act of sin.
Don’t you find it interesting that James speaks of confessing sin to one another in this section on healing. I think it has to do with someone so out of fellowship with the Lord, that He must use their sickness to restore them. The last two verses speak about restoring someone who has wandered from the truth.
In conclusion, I agree with you about not being punished by God. However, God will do whatever it takes to have us repent!
I am curious to hear your thoughts.
Ryan… thank you for your thoughtful response! Here are a few thoughts for consideration…
ALL sickness is because of sin (Everything from colds to cancer)! Sin is the reason for all death and destruction. The world is deconstructing because of sin. Even Jesus experienced this because he lived in a fallen world.
I agree that God will do whatever it takes to get our attention… including bringing discipline as is found in Hebrews 12:4-11. It is my opinion that God’s discipline toward believers is always formative (“For our good”), not punative. Again… because Jesus satisfied God’s wrath toward beleivers on the cross.
It is important to discern the meaning of God’s activity in our life (James 1:5). Jesus’ words about getting the board out of our own eye SO THAT we can see clearly to help our brother get the speck out of his eye is an important aspect of this whole thought. Thus the confession of sin that you allude to in your comment certainly is to be considered as important.
My desire in writing this post was to help people see God as loving, merciful, and gracious. God does not sit in heaven waiting for Christians to mess up so he can pour out his anger on us.
God did what it took to get our attention by pouring out His wrath upon Jesus on the cross. That is why nothing can seperate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:31-39)… which includes our own failures and mistakes. When we realize the love of God as pictured on the cross, THAT will both cause us to repent AND hinder us from sinning (“The love of Christ controlls us…” 2 Cor 5:14 ESV).
Thanks again for your thougts. I hope these thoughts help. I think it would be good for us to continue this discussion!