96. How does God carry out His punishments and blessings in this life?
God punishes by
A. subjecting us to the difficulties of earthly life in a fallen world;
Genesis 3:17-19 To Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Read Leviticus 26:18-20; Jeremiah 12:4; and Romans 8:18-23.
B. authorizing parents and other authorities to discipline us when we have done wrong;
Romans 13:1-2 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Read Proverbs 13:24 and 2 Chronicles 36:17-21.
Note: In the Old Testament, God often used foreign powers to punish Israel (see 2 Kings 25:1).
C. handing us over to our self-destructive habits and their consequences.
Romans 1:24-25, 28 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. ... And since they did not see fit acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
God fulfills His promises by
A. blessings the earth (good weather, plentiful harvests);
Psalm 85:12 Yes, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Read Genesis 1:11-12, 19-30; Psalm 65; 67:6.
B. giving us parents and other authorities for the support of life;
2 Corinthians 12:14 For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.
Read Genesis 48:15; Psalm 78:4-7; 103:13-19; and 1 Timothy 5:8.
C. blessing us with health, talents, work, family, and possessions.
Daniel 1:17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
1 Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Every blessing of God flows from the fact that He has sent us a Savior from sin--in Him, all God's promises are fulfilled.
Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, "These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the Law but through the righteousness of faith.
Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Eventual commentary
| Previous Question | Next Question |