Tag Archives: Punishment

God Punishes Christ

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service
are portions of Psalm 22; Zechariah 13:1, 7-9; and Mark 14:32-41.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

One of the common objections that pagans have against Christianity goes something like this: The Christian god is nothing more than a spoiled brat. He gets upset when humans decide to eat a piece of fruit, and you silly Christians believe the only way to make him happy is for him to torture and kill his own child. The pagans will then say that if god were truly loving that he wouldn’t threaten us with eternal punishment simply because we don’t follow his contrived rules. They think that god should just love and accept us for who we are and not who he expects us to be. He’s simply too demanding and stubborn. If he wants to forgive us, he should just get over his rules, ignore our deficiencies, and move on.[1]

That type of thinking is all the evidence you need to know that person has no clue what Christianity actually teaches. So, let’s try an analogy – just know this analogy isn’t a complete picture of Christianity either. The hymn we just sang, “Salvation Unto Us Has Come,” does a great job giving a fuller picture than this analogy does, but the analogy helps address that objection, so here it is:

Imagine a mom and dad who have a perfectly loving home with several children. In this home, there is no anger or selfishness. The children never fuss or complain. They all treat each other and with perfect, complete love and respect.

Then one day, a virus attacks the children, and it causes them to harm themselves and each other in horrible ways. They also fight against their parents. (Please know, the analogy already breaks down here because it doesn’t place any culpability on the kids for contracting this virus. We are entirely guilty for all of our sin. But, again, it’s not a full picture.)

In that instance, could those parents simply let that virus eat away at their children? Could they just decide to love their children the way they are while the virus progresses, and the conditions keep getting worse? Could those parents ignore how that virus mutates the genes of their kids and spreads to others too? Could they just let that virus fester and kill their kids along with all their descendants while the kids get more and more violent and dangerous? No!

The parents would hate the virus. They would be angry at the destruction and devastation it brought to their family. They would do anything they could to annihilate the virus. But those parents know two things. First, they know that the virus has run so deep that killing the virus would also mean the death of their children. Second, they know that only way to abolish the virus and stop the suffering it brings is for one of the parents to receive a treatment that sucks all the virus out of their children and puts it all into one of the parents. It means that one of the parents will have to die, but the children will live and be cured. So, of course, one of the parents, out of love for the family willingly volunteers to be the cure and die.

Now, this analogy doesn’t present all the aspects of what Scripture teaches, but it addresses the “God-is-a-child-abuser” objection against Christianity that I mentioned earlier.

Dear saints, the virus of sin is horrific. Sin isn’t just something floating around out there that periodically causes pain. No, sin is a completely devastating infection coursing through your veins. Your sin causes hurt and harm to others and to yourself. Sin kills you.

Yes, God loves you just the way you are. But it would not be loving for God to leave you just the way you are. Instead, He loves you in such a way that He will not allow sin to drag you into eternal suffering. In Christ, God came down to draw all the infection of sin from you. Jesus took all that sin and disease from you (Is. 53:4; Mt. 8:17). In 2 Cor. 5:19, 21, Scripture tells us, “In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them… For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

When the virus of sin first infected humanity in the Garden of Eden, God promised to send the Savior (Gen. 3:15) and draw all the disease of sin out of you. In love for you, God kept that promise when, in the fullness of time, the long-promised and long-awaited Christ came to willingly suffer all the pain and torment that the virus of sin brings.

In Christ, God was at work keeping the promise He had made. But even though humanity first heard that promise in the Garden of Eden, Scripture teaches that even before He created all things, God knew that humanity would choose to contract that virus and He knew what it would take to cure you. So, Scripture comforts you by clearly stating that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8 [KJV]; 1 Pet. 1:19-20).

When God poured out His just anger and righteous wrath against the virus of sin, He first placed it all upon Himself, on Jesus (Jn. 1:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Jn. 2:2) to spare and rescue you from that punishment. And when Christ suffered God’s punishment for your sin, He knew exactly what He was doing (Mk. 14:36, 39). No one took Jesus’ life from Him. He had the authority to lay it down and to take it up again (Jn. 10:18).

He knew that He was the Shepherd who would be struck for your sake (Zech. 13:8; Mk. 14:27). He willingly took the blow of God’s punishment and laid down His life for you (Jn. 10:11). Christ did this so that you would call upon His name and be His people (Zech. 13:9).

It was not out of hatred for His Son, but out of love for you that God the Father punished Jesus on the cross. The Good Shepherd willingly took all of God’s wrath against your sin in order that you would be His forever. He was punished so that you would be restored and forgiven, brought back to your proper place as a child of God. Because of what Jesus has done for you, you can confess, “The Lord is my God.”

Christ has opened the fountain that cleanses you from the virus of sin and uncleanness (Zech. 13:1). Because Jesus has taken your punishment God is not ashamed to say, “[You] are My people” (Zech. 13:9). Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] I have intentionally used lower-case references to God here because this argument does not – in any way, shape, or form – represent who God truly is.

Never-Ceasing Mercy – Sermon on Lamentations 3:22-33 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lamentations 3:22-33

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 
his mercies never come to an end; 

23 they are new every morning; 
great is your faithfulness. 

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, 
“therefore I will hope in him.” 

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, 
to the soul who seeks him. 

26 It is good that one should wait quietly 
for the salvation of the Lord. 

27 It is good for a man that he bear 
the yoke in his youth. 

28 Let him sit alone in silence 
when it is laid on him; 

29 let him put his mouth in the dust— 
there may yet be hope; 

30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, 
and let him be filled with insults. 

31 For the Lord will not 
cast off forever, 

32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion 
according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 

33 for he does not afflict from his heart 
or grieve the children of men.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

I mentioned the name of this Sunday at the beginning of the service; does anyone remember what today is called? (Yes, “Make a joyful noise,” Sunday.) So, why, on a day where we are making joyful noises, are we listening to a sermon from Lamentations, the book of the Bible whose name contradicts the name of the Sunday? Why even bother with Lamentations? I’m glad you asked.

The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah and is basically a funeral hymnal with five dirges; each chapter is its own song. But whose funeral is Jeremiah writing about? It is the funeral of God’s people. The Babylonian empire has come. Jerusalem has been destroyed. The leaders of Judah have been taken into exile. The Temple has been torn down and left in charred ruins. And the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God had promised to meet with His people, was gone. God’s punishment of His people has been severe.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, begins the book, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people!” (Lam. 1:1). He says that Jerusalem had been “the perfection of beauty” but is now the laughingstock of the world (Lam. 2:15). God’s punishment against the sins of idolatry, wickedness, and injustice that were so prevalent among His people has come, and it stinks. And Jeremiah calls on the people to recognize that God’s intention with this punishment is to bring the people to repentance. God longs for His people to confess their sins and be forgiven. All this punishment isn’t just to make God’s people uncomfortable and miserable; instead, this suffering is meant to heal and restore them.

So, Jeremiah paints this pathetic picture about the suffering of God’s people. He asks that God would see all their suffering under the punishment of their sins. Then, Jeremiah just sits back and waits….

Jeremiah can wait because he knows, “though [the Lord] cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not afflict from His heart or grieve the children of men” (Lev. 3:32-33). Dear saints, the only rescue from God’s wrath against sin is found in the very nature of God Himself. Let me say that again in case you missed it:

The only rescue from God’s wrath against sin is found in the very nature of God Himself. That is why there is hope throughout the funeral songs of Lamentations. The reason for this hope is that God’s steadfast love never ceases, and His mercies never – never ever – come to an end. They are new each and every morning. Great is His faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23). That is why Jeremiah can wait for God, and that is why, in the midst of suffering and sorrow, you can too. “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam. 3:25-26). “[God’s] anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps. 30:5).

Dear saints, whenever you face suffering, whether it is because of your sin and God’s punishment or whether you are suffering because of the devil’s attacks or whether you are simply suffering because of this fallen, broken world, whenever you face suffering that is not the time to run from God; that is the time to run toHim. His steadfast love, mercy, faithfulness, and compassion is your hope.

Whenever you face trials, tribulations, hardships, and suffering, it is always, always, a call to faith. When we suffer, we try to look for answers, answers to questions like: Is God punishing me for some sin; if so, what is that sin? Is Satan tormenting me? Am I suffering because of the evil that surrounds me? We look for answers to those questions, but in the midst of suffering, both the cause of our suffering and the answers to those questions are often hidden from us. Remember Jesus, even in the midst of His suffering on the cross, asks the why question. “My God, My God, why? Why have You forsaken Me?” (Mk. 15:34).

In the book of Job, we see Job looking for those same answers. Job’s friends are all insisting that Job must have some secret sin that he needs to confess. But we know that isn’t the case. Repeatedly in the book of Job, God says that Job is righteous, blameless, and upright (Job. 1:8; 2:3). But God does allow the devil to cause Job great suffering – the loss of all his property and even the death of his children. God knows that Job can handle and navigate all of that and still retain his faith (Job 2:6). And of course, Job does. He continues to trust in God’s mercy and grace. And at the end of it all, Job is restored (Job 42:10-17), and his faith is strengthened.

Now, in the case of God’s people in Jeremiah’s day, God’s people were suffering because God was sending the punishment for their sins and calling His people to repent. Even when you are suffering because of your sins, it is a call to faith. Repentance always requires faith. You don’t repent or bring your sins to God, unless you know there is the possibility of forgiveness. Otherwise, you simply try to hide your sins, pass the blame to others, or ignore them all together. But none of those options ever work.

To repent and confess your sins is always an act of faith. Both repentance and confession is simply believing and saying what God says about your sins. First, you say that those sins have angered God and harmed your relationship with Him. They have brought God’s anger and wrath. Typically, we don’t have a problem with that part of confession and repentance. We know that. But the other part of repentance and confession is to continue saying what God says about those sins – that they are taken by Jesus (Jn. 1:29). That the wrath those sins deserve has been poured out upon Christ as He hung on the cross (1 Thess. 1:10). That those sins are removed form you as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12).

So, again, whenever you face trials, tribulations, and suffering, faith and trust is always the proper response. In suffering, God doesn’t always give you answers to all the questions you have, but He does always give you promises.

Most importantly, God has given you the promise of His grace and mercy. God has sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus bore the yoke of our sins (Lam. 3:27; Is. 53:6, 12). Jesus put His mouth in the dust (Lam. 3:29) when He took on your humanity. He gave His cheek to be struck (Lk. 22:63). Christ took the insults that belonged to you. And on Good Friday, as darkness covered the face of the earth, Christ cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mk. 15:34). There, in that moment, God forsook His own Son so you could be accepted as God’s own child. But God did not reject Jesus forever.

When Jesus cries out, “It is finished,” (Jn. 19:30) on the cross, God’s wrath against sin was done, completed, and ended. The resurrection proves that God accepted the offering Christ made for you.

Dear saints, God’s anger has an end. God’s anger ended with the death of Christ. The only way God’s anger could continue against your sin is if you continually reject what Jesus has done for you. Those who are lost in their sins and spend eternity in hell are those who reject God’s mercy in Christ.

But, dear Christian, that isn’t you. You trust in God’s mercy. You repent, confess, and receive forgiveness for all your sins. For you, God’s wrath and punishment, what the theologians call God’s ‘alien work’ – in other words, what God doesn’t naturally do – has come to an end. You live and abide in His mercy.

 And His mercy is even more certain than the rising of the sun. Mercy is who God is and how God is toward you who believe in Christ.

Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.