Proverbs 3:11-12 – My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Sin has consequences. We should not be surprised by this, although we often become quite upset with God for allowing us to suffer the consequences of our sin. What we don’t realize is that His allowing this is demonstrating grace to us in at least two different ways.
First, God’s allowing us to suffer consequences for our sin is a means to train us to live rightly. If there were no consequences, we’d be far more likely to pursue the same route again. If we didn’t feel pain from touching a hot stove, we would not be as likely to keep our hands off of it. It’s the same with sin.
The second demonstration of grace in God’s allowing us to suffer consequences for our sin is something most of us don’t realize. We never suffer the full effects of sin. God has his grace upon us to keep sin from having its full effect. Were it not for God’s grace, we would not only suffer more for our sin, but we would sin more and more. In Romans chapter one we see some understanding of this. It states several times that as a result of sin and people’s unwillingness to acknowledge God, that God “gave them up” to sin. Here’s two examples:
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves…. ( Romans 1:24 )
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done…. ( Romans 1:28 )
Sin could fully destroy us and our ability to think or comprehend. God, through His grace, restrains the effects of sin, not just on us but upon the world. The acting out of God’s wrath, mentioned in Romans 1:18, is simply to allow sin to have a fuller effect–He withdraws some of His restraining power upon sin. God doesn’t have to destroy sinners, without His grace restraining the effects of sin, they would destroy themselves.
God is gracious to us as believers to discipline us, to allow us to suffer some of the effects of our sin, in order that we would repent and turn back to Him. He is gracious to not allow us to suffer the full effects of sin, otherwise we would have no hope at all.
God desires what is best for us. We should be thankful when we experience His discipline because it is evidence that we are loved by Him and that He is seeking to protect and to provide for us.
Filed under: Discipline, Obediance, Sanctification, Sin | Tagged: a word for today
