• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2 NASB)

The message we have for the world is not that God is punishing them with this or that. No, God was in Christ “reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). The punishment for the sins “of the whole world” was paid in full (1 John 2:2). Here’s what the Lord himself says he wants for the world:

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18)

When Consequences Hit

That’s not to say there aren’t consequences for our actions. For example, there’s no question that scientific research has shown a strong correlation between smoking and the likelihood of contracting lung cancer. Without a doubt, a smoker takes on a great risk by inhaling smoke into his lungs on a daily basis.

And there are all kinds of earthly consequences for our risky or foolish choices. In fact, it’s just as risky to eat fast food frequently as it is to smoke. Have you ever noticed that pastors can be very good at preaching against smoking (and drinking)? Yet at the same time studies have shown that we ministers tend to be some of the more obese people in America!

There are all kinds of choices—health choices, lifestyle choices, morality choices—and each choice carries a certain risk. Rather than insinuating that certain choices bring punishment from God, we should teach the cross as sufficient punishment for all sins. Sure, we should warn other believers about the consequences of their actions—health concerns, broken relationships, trouble with the law, or personal ruin. But let’s not call those “punishment from God.”

With regard to punishment, it is finished.

God’s Discipline

Even though God doesn’t punish us, doesn’t he discipline us? Yes, Hebrews talks about the discipline that we experience as children of God:

And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him. For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Heb. 12:5–6 NASB)

Wait, rewind. Scourges? That’s the act of beating someone on the back with a long strip of leather that has shards of sharp metal embedded in it. The metal digs into the person’s back and leaves open wounds that can, if left untreated, kill the person. This is precisely what the Roman soldiers did to Jesus before he was taken to the cross to be crucified. If you’ve seen Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, you know exactly how to picture it. This is not what most parents of the day did to their disobedient children. After all, it could kill them!

Is this how God treats us as his children?

First, it’s important to note that the phrase “and He scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:6 NASB) was added to the Proverbs 3:12 quote. It does not appear in the Old Testament passage. Even more interesting, there’s a Hebrew term biqqoret that can mean “to scourge” or “to inquire into.” And the “inquire” meaning is older than the “scourge” meaning, as the scourging weapon was invented much later. Is it possible that Hebrews was originally written in Hebrew and that biqqoret (also meaning “to inquire into”) originally appeared in this controversial verse?

The early church scholar Clement (ca. 150–215) and others believed that Hebrews was written in Hebrew and later translated into Greek. Interestingly, more than 150 words used in Hebrews don’t appear in any other epistles. In fact, some expressions aren’t found in biblical or classical Greek at all. On top of that, the epistle’s literary characteristics mirror Hebrew poetry at times. So either Hebrews as a whole or just the altered Old Testament quote in verse 6 may have been written in Hebrew and later translated to Greek. This would mean that the original author