Dearest,
Around 3 a.m. yesterday, I woke up and wasn’t feeling sleepy. So I decided to continue with my Bible-in-one-year plan on YouVersion—I’m seriously lagging but I’m still pressing on. And it’s not because my parents are always challenging me with how many times they’ve read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. I find that this system wards off complacency. I’ve always loved reading the Bible since I was a kid, but now that I’m older, ‘see finish’ tends to creep in; I sometimes think I know so much. But when I read the Bible all over, the Holy Spirit always teaches me something new or reminds me of truths I’ve forgotten. I also observe new details in stories that I had never taken note of previously.
Anyway, I read one of the most heartbreaking passages in the Bible: 2 Samuel 11-12. It’s the story of David’s affair with Bathsheba, how he murdered Uriah, her husband, to cover up his sin after she revealed she was pregnant, and how God called him out through Prophet Nathan.
After Prophet Nathan rebuked David and pronounced God’s judgment over his sin, David confessed his sin. And Nathan told him that God had forgiven his sin, however, in addition to the adversity that would befall him and his family, he would suffer yet another consequence: the son born to him would die.
As I read this portion, I remembered that, twice now, I’ve been in Bible Study sessions where people have argued about whether being forgiven by God means you don’t suffer the consequences of sin. And I would hear things like “God has forgiven you but you will still pay.” Many other believers may have this same question, so I thought I’d share my meditations on this issue, using David’s story as a background.
When God forgives our sins, it means that we do not suffer the punishment due to us. I think many believers don’t fully grasp what that “punishment” entails, they seem to equate it to karma: bad things happening as payback for what you did in the past. But that’s not primarily the punishment God’s forgiveness spares us from. The punishment is death, spiritual death: separation from God, condemnation to hell.
The wages of sin is death - Romans 6:23a
That’s why Jesus came to the world. He died on the cross, in our stead, to satisfy God’s just demands. His blood was shed to atone for our sins, purchasing our forgiveness. By believing in Jesus, the sins that separated us from God are taken away and we are reconciled to God. We are no longer spiritually dead because of our sinful nature, we now have eternal life and God’s nature.
Let’s circle back to David. Nathan said,
“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
Under the Law, the penalty for David’s sins—adultery and murder—was death.
The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death - Lev. 20:10
Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. - Lev. 24:17
David even affirmed this penalty before he knew Nathan’s parable was referring to him.
So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! - 2 Sam. 12:5
God spared David’s life even though he deserved to die for what he had done.
But God’s forgiveness was not merely judicial, it was also spiritual. Because David’s sin had been “taken away”, he would have right standing with God and be reconciled to God. David was already tasting what we New-Covenant believers would fully enjoy in Christ. He writes about this in one of my favourite psalms:
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit - Ps. 32:1-2
When a person receives the life of Jesus and becomes born-again, their sins are forgiven. The record is completely wiped out and no longer counts against them.
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. - 2 Cor. 5:19 NLT
Apart from spiritual consequences, I also believe this forgiveness covers ‘karmic events’, for lack of a better word. To use the example someone gave in our Sunday School class, an armed robber who murdered a child during an operation, and received the life of Jesus years later, will not be hindered from having children if he gets married in the future. Even if he does, it’s not because of his past sin. That’s simply not biblical. And it’s dangerous for us to assume that adversity or trouble is a result of someone’s past sins before they were in Christ.
What we must hold on to is this: our sins have been forgiven and no longer count against us. We have been justified and made righteous, Satan cannot condemn us.
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:33-34
But…but, Dunni, David still suffered consequences even after he repented and his sin had been forgiven. Isn’t this contradictory?
I understand this sentiment. When I found out I was pregnant, I actually told God, “But I acknowledged my sin after it happened and received your forgiveness, why would you let this happen to me?” And He shared with me lessons I’ll share now.
As God’s children, we often think forgiveness means we’ll get away with anything. In fact, we consciously sin sometimes and say we’ll “ask God for forgiveness.” But as we’ve seen, that’s not the aim of forgiveness. It makes us right with God and reconciles us to Him. Yet, He may allow us to go through painful consequences stemming from our sin, not as payback or punishment, but as a form of His discipline.
Here’s where we have to distinguish between two words: punishment and discipline. Those words are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not synonyms in all contexts (you can confirm from the dictionary), and even in God’s Word. The purpose of punishment (or penalty) is to satisfy God’s retributive justice, the purpose of discipline is training unto obedience. To be clear, the former is for unbelievers, the latter for believers. When I say forgiven sin can have consequences, I’m speaking of sins committed by blood-washed, blood-bought believers.
David suffered consequences, not as a judicial penalty for his sins, but as God’s disciplinary measure. And God is so amazing, He actually explained why.
…because by this deed, you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…
David was the king of Israel. But this wasn’t your regular human-established monarchy, David was also a spiritual authority over God’s people. As king, he was an extension of God’s rule on the earth. God had anointed him and delegated power and authority to him. By committing such a grave sin, he had fallen short of God’s standards and smeared God’s Name. Also, Israel was supposed to be a holy nation, God’s chosen people, called out from other nations. Unlike other nations, they had God-given moral laws to guide their conduct. By doing something so lawless, so morally bankrupt, David had acted no differently from those ungodly pagans. The Gentile nations would profane the Name of God. Oh, they would mock, “Look at them, with all their laws, they’re no better than us. What kind of God are they even worshipping if their king can behave like this?”
If David had not suffered consequences, it would seem as though God approved of or condoned his misconduct. Through His judgment on David, He demonstrated His holiness and his displeasure at sin. For the sake of His Name.
Apart from this, David was also a man after God’s heart. He had such a deep, intimate relationship with God. And he did have a measure of God’s Spirit upon Him. Yet, he fell short of God’s standards. And because God loved him as a son, God had to deal with that sinful propensity in him and train him unto obedience.
These principles apply to us, too.
Apostle Paul speaks of God’s discipline in Hebrews 12:
…the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son - v.16 (NIV)
And He spells out the purpose of God’s discipline
God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. - vv. 10b-11
As believers, we have been made new. We have the holy and righteous nature of God and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. When we sin, we act at odds with our nature (and also give unbelievers occasion to blaspheme), and God’s discipline serves to bring us into conformity to our nature as a new creation.
Painful consequences help us to see the gravity of our sin and God’s hatred of sin. That should be the work of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. In 2 Timothy 3:16, we see that the purpose of Scripture is “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” God’s primary means of discipline is the Holy Spirit through the Word.
However, sin—habitual sin—often dulls and deadens our spiritual senses. We can actually be reading a Bible verse that condemns that act, and yet we do not acknowledge our sins. The Holy Spirit may be convicting and correcting us, yet we fail to pay attention. So God has to use other disciplinary measures (mild or drastic) to call us back to our “senses”, to show us the error of our ways, and the right way to act.
Look at David, many months had passed after the initial sin of adultery and the cover-up sin of murder, and he did not confess his sins to God and seek mercy. Is it that he didn’t know his actions were wrong? He did. But sin can make our hearts so dull, so insensitive to God’s holiness. It wasn’t until Nathan rebuked him that his eyes were opened and he realised how grievous his act was.
It was God’s mercy and love that made Him give up His only Son as the atonement for our sins. And it’s still that same mercy and love that makes Him sanctify us through disciplinary measures. Because He loves us, He is pruning and cleansing us to protect us from the disastrous and destructive effect of Sin (feelings of guilt, condemnation, and separation from God) and to make us more like Him.
On one hand, we should not hold the belief that our past forgiven sins can still catch up with us in the future. The saving work of Jesus and the mercy of God is absolute. Jesus is still our Advocate, and His blood is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). We must always bask in joy and peace at the wonderful mercy of God.
But on the other hand, we should not treat sin lightly and take God’s mercy and grace for granted. Sin can have painful consequences that not only affect us but the people around us. Isn’t it easier and better to be trained by obedience to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, than by the painful consequences of disobedience? I think of the terrible things David faced in his later years and I am overwhelmed with grief.
And if we ever suffer the consequences of forgiven sin, know that God is dealing with us in mercy and love and that it is ultimately for our good. We should not shake our fists at Him and turn away from Him. We should surrender to His dealings, that it may “produce a harvest of righteousness and peace”.
I pray that we all continue to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him in all things.
Jesus loves you. Have a beautiful week.
Dunnie
P.S: Substack says I have 100 subscribers. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is to me. Thank you all for subscribing, reading, sharing, and commenting. I love you!
This is beautiful, I was blessed
Quite a while Dunni. Good to read from you again.