Sin, Punishment and Consequence.

Sinful acts in general are doing something that is not wrong in itself, but at the wrong time and place, for the wrong reasons. In I Timothy 4:4, 5

Paul says, “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”

The problem is that we often do things which we feel God forbids, but we do them anyway, so obviously we cannot do them with thanksgiving and prayer, and this makes them sinful. Romans 14:23b, “whatever is not from faith is sin,” was written about eating, which is obviously not sinful in itself, but the motive and circumstances can make it sinful. It wasn't wrong for David to marry Bathsheba. It's only wrong under circumstances and time that he married her. This is apparent in our everyday activities if we give genuine attention to it. Someone is going to say, oh man, stop that crap. So, raping get timing and circumstances? Killing get timing? Wait a minute! I'm not here talking about a type of sin, but sin in general. Why an action is a sin.. I'm basically saying you can do the same thing under different circumstances and time, and the results, one could be wrong while the other would be right. Raping for example, is a name given to a wrong done, and a wrong is an action done at the wrong time or circumstances. Raping, Adultery, Fornication is sex in a wrong situation. So, sex itself is not wrong. To kill is not wrong either.

Why do some bear the consequence of someone else's wrong?

Someone sinned, and many would bear the consequences. Sometimes, it happens because the victim's life is tied around the person that did wrong. For example, If someone in a family does wrong, the whole family would probably face the consequences. This appears to be unjust, but we have all done some wrongs and no apparent consequences. In fact, the problem is not actually that we suffer the consequences of someone else's wrong, because we enjoy someone else's fortune too, and we don't see injustice in there. The problem is the reason why we suffered, which should be taken care of, not accusing God because you bear the consequences of someone else's wrong. Start asking yourself, "Why do some bear the consequences of someone else's right". Do you blame a car manufacturer because someone drive recklessly and hit you? In short, there's nothing in this argument except that we are capable of suffering. And why? Why do we suffer? That's the question here.

Is God punishing us and make us suffer for our wrongs?

Many people hold onto an assumption that all our sufferings and problems are punishment from God. He claimed he Love us, and ready to forgive us if we repent. Why are there still punishments for our wrongs if he truly forgives us? Punishments and Consequences are two different things which result from sin. If you are forgiven, you will definitely receive no punishment, but forgiveness has nothing to do with consequences. The only thing God does is to help and support us as we walk through the consequences, not stopping the consequences. You may be wondering why God can't just help us to do away with consequences as he does with punishments. The simple answer is, there won't be free will. You may now be wondering, how?. If you committed a murder, and the victim's relations or families found out, they have a choice to make, whether to let you go and you over to the government or kill you. So, there's still a choice to make, if God should intercept, they would lost their freewill. Moreover, sin has natural consequences, though the Bible teaches that, God punishes persistence sin and it's an act of discipline, because God cares for his children.

Deuteronomy 8:5 Be convinced in your heart that as a father disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

Sin separated us from God, and Forgiveness removes our separation from relationship with God, and it doesn't overrule the law of cause and effect. Lot of damaged might have taken place during the separation, and many things we need might have passed away and gone during the periods of separation. We might have hurt others, even ourselves. Even though restitution and restoration is possible, but it's not possible in many ways, what is done cannot be undone. As David Newquist would put it, "Sinning and being forgiven is not the same as not having sinned at all. "