Does God punish?

[sheila]

well,about 50 dollars was most likely all they had left for the whole month for anything . and it was the unregenerate again

  that spent their 50 dollars at the casino. what's the difference from giving it to the crooks at the casino or the crooks of sme

  of these so called 'ministries"?  only difference is one is robbing in the name of God and the other the state.

  now this is imo Anna..but I do think I have a scriptural basis in regard to it.  no offense meant to you  :HeartThrob:

 

[Seth]

Oh Seth, don't be sad... those little old ladies delight in giving (outward behavior) "tithes"...   I live with many little old ladies who rush to play bingo, travel to casinos, etc., etc.,.... they're doing what they as unregenerate beings are capable of doing...   If you're going to be sad... be sad that many of us who claim to be born again are wasting time... are we doing what we are capable of doing?????

I know what you mean,  but I feel that if it didn't make me sad, I wouldn't care. Does that make sense?

[ed]

I know what you mean,  but I feel that if it didn't make me sad, I wouldn't care. Does that make sense?

It is hard not to care when seeing the bondage of sectarianism.

Had a Christian brother come up to me today to share some stuff.  It got into some uncomfortable territory talking about sect led Christianity.  I cared.......too much.

[sheila]

  thinking of His teaching of the unjust steward..when he was to be removed from his position..and all that has been done

  in the name of God/Christ..by such as these.

[donken]

Hello.   IN the world punishment is seen as something undesirable happening to someone for something they did that was not good.  In a human family situation the good is done very often by the same person that spanks us or makes us go to be without supper, or removes some thing we like or want from us for a time.  the same person that does good to us also can do something we as children may consider bad.  God does not operate that way.  Why?
He never does any evil.  He is stronger than evil and it does not even exist with God at all.
Evil does evil.  Our own consequences of our own wrong doing, or the evils of the world such as tornadoes, etc, or people who rob us or kill us or war against us do the evil to us.  Satan... the lusts of the flesh and the worldly spirit and happenings. 

The scripture tells us often that it is our own "evil" ways that will "correct us".  Those ways are not God's ways.

What crucified and whipped Jesus and eventually killed him was SIN IN MAN operating upon Jesus' body and that sin in man allowed to continue caused Jesus' death.  Sin, or ungodliness causes pain, sorrow, sin, death.   God does not.  God spiritually slays or ends sin and the results of the sorrow and pains of sin, thus abolishing death in whoever he establishes a clean spirit in.  Make the inside clean FIRST and the outside will become clean at the same time.

God bless.

[lastpost]

1 Peter 4

14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler.
16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And,
    "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"[Prov. 11:31]
19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

I believe that "Insulted" is a true word Peter. When I hear Jesus Christ insulted it feels like an earthquake inside, they bite the Hand that feeds them Life. And I thank you Peter for letting me know. All Glory to the Master.

[eaglesway]

Hello.   IN the world punishment is seen as something undesirable happening to someone for something they did that was not good.  In a human family situation the good is done very often by the same person that spanks us or makes us go to be without supper, or removes some thing we like or want from us for a time.  the same person that does good to us also can do something we as children may consider bad.  God does not operate that way.  Why?
He never does any evil.  He is stronger than evil and it does not even exist with God at all.
Evil does evil.  Our own consequences of our own wrong doing, or the evils of the world such as tornadoes, etc, or people who rob us or kill us or war against us do the evil to us.  Satan... the lusts of the flesh and the worldly spirit and happenings. 

The scripture tells us often that it is our own "evil" ways that will "correct us".  Those ways are not God's ways.

What crucified and whipped Jesus and eventually killed him was SIN IN MAN operating upon Jesus' body and that sin in man allowed to continue caused Jesus' death.  Sin, or ungodliness causes pain, sorrow, sin, death.   God does not.  God spiritually slays or ends sin and the results of the sorrow and pains of sin, thus abolishing death in whoever he establishes a clean spirit in.  Make the inside clean FIRST and the outside will become clean at the same time.

God bless.

In this post you are equating a certain set of actions as "evil"..... "spanks us, makes us go to bed without supper, takes away something we want...."

Such actions are not necessarily evil, altho like any form of discipline they can done in an evil manner or to an evil extreme.

For instance. God disciplined David for the murder of Uriah by not allowing the child of his union with Bathsheba to be born, despite David's pleading.

[Seth]

God never does evil, but he does cause evil to occur.

Isaiah 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

Other scriptures reveal, to me, that not only does God "create darkness" and "create evil" he also uses those things for a purpose, to humble people. He used Nebuchadnezzar as a servant to enslave the Jews. For 70 years, he used evil as a tool for judgment upon Israel. Then he reached out his arm and judged Nebuchadnezzar. He set Israel upon other nations, and other nations upon Israel. That's how he operates, and I see it no differently in the spiritual realm, concerning how he uses moral evil for the same purpose.

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: Absolutely He does!

I have seen and heard the wrath of God when His people have willfully chosen to do things to the brethren they knew they were not to do, and I have also been on the receiving end of it myself, and it does not take many stripes before you learn not to do it again!

The fear of the Lord is not a bad thing; it's reverence He is due as a Father, and as a Father, He DOES chastise and it CAN get ugly depending on the offense. That is PART of His love. That's why the scripture says a man who will not discipline his child, HATES his child. Let that REALLY sink in for a moment.

Is man more righteous than God? God forbid! Blessings....

[donken]

My take is, Satan is the "punishment", or.. our own ways. The spirit of disobedience\sin\immaturity is what we may receive if we willfully disobey in knowledge when we know what Jesus desires of us and what we should be doing.  Ie... it is the spirit or ways of sin or immaturity that come upon us in and as our growing pains.  We may also suffer things from people doing ungodly things in the world to us and we are to take it like Jesus did "if" we can.   We can also endure loss of gain, say in financial areas, by not "lying or cheating" to get that gain and thus we obey Jesus' Spirit instead of Satan's spirit.

So, our own ways of sin is satan's way and spirit, is it not.  Our own ways shall come upon us we are told.  Well, here are a few examples of what happens to CHRISTIAN believers when they are in error even about doctrine and will not correct themselves when made aware of the truth by the Spirit of GOD.
These examples are of Christians who are baptized with the earnest of the Holy Spirit.

1Co 5:3  For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
1Co 5:4  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1Ti 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
1Ti 1:20  Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Their error was in teaching that the resurrection was already over or completed. Obviously this is not in reference to Jesus' personal resurrection in Israel, because Paul who is "giving them over to Satan" teaches that Jesus is resurrected.  It is in reference to the Christians resurrection LATER, much later.  Here is what they were teaching.  It is told to us in second Timothy but referring to what happened to them being given over to Satan {world} in 1 Timothy above.

2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

What is this, given over to Satan?   It is our own ways.  Satan sins from the beginning, scripture says.  {ei.. at the beginning of life in the physical creation }
Jer_17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Pro_14:14  The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
So, our own ways are the ways of SATAN, yes?

Here is another example of the "spirit of hurtful ways that come upon us from ourselves" or others doing ungodly things that are like we do also.

Jer_46:28  Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Jer_2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Please read the quote above.  OUR OWN WAYS and OUR BACK SLIDING, our own wickedness will correct us.  SURELY we do not think God does ways that are of our own wickedness, or DO SIN upon us?  No.  The world does it, naturally and sometimes it takes a while also.  As Paul said, if we judge ourselves {with God in us} we will not by judged with the world.  Meaning, the ways of the world will not be what we receive because if we do not follow the ways of Jesus then we are already doing the ways of the only thing left over us... the elements of the world including the things of man that is in it and of it, earthy, sensual, DEVILISH.

Isa 10:5  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
Isa 10:6  I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Isa 10:7  Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

Yes, nations of men, meaning the BEASTS of Daniel and other dominions of natural man.  They are just doing what comes naturally to them because of wealth and knowledge about better weapons and so on than their neighboring nations and peoples.     

Jer_4:7  The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
Destroyer of or who is the Gentiles, meaning natural carnal man.   So.. the destroyer is man doing works of the lusts of the flesh upon himself and others and the creation also, in destroying some of the environment and so on.

Psa_17:4  Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.   {note, the ways of MEN is the way of Satan\destroyer.

We can see here that the ways of the destroyer, which is the ways of man as mentioned above, is what the Psalmist said he kept himself from... the ways of lustful mankind.  The flesh lusts against the Spirit, as Galatians 5 relates, etc.  There is many more examples of the very same truth, but I enough.

1Co_10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Pro_28:24  Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.

This highlights what I see as the truth.  Satan is the wrath that is said to be "of God" but is really the wrath IN MAN as the lusts of his flesh, the law of sin in our members that is enmity with Christ in us.

Donken

[josh]

god's grace always lessens the consequences that a soul deserves from its abuse of will and mind
using its gifts for self glory at the expense of its own soul energies
and seeking out to flatter others into a weak position
so that they can rob them and turn them to evil too

the depth of evil is unknown to many souls
as much of their evil is that from past life time
by the grace of god such that they do not become paralyzed
and unable to experience lessons
that can bring them to repentance...

the heart of the soul is so divinely made
that .............................